WOODS

chapter two: the losing

We had been walking for a while when my head suddenly started to hurt. It wasn't at all like the migraines I sometimes got or any headache I've ever had. At first it was a numb pain but it quickly got much worse when the center of my brain literally started pounding as if someone had shoved a giant needle into my head.

I felt really dizzy and would've probably fallen over if Mallory hadn't grabbed my arm in time. "Hey Felix, slow down. Are you alright?" I couldn't shake my head, nor could I speak. My surroundings were moving, shifting almost until everything went completely black.

The next thing I saw was a giant tank. Inside of it I was able to makeout the silhouette of a man, holding a rope that was tied around his neck. I wanted to move closer, help him, stop him, but I was petrified. Then everything went black again but only for a split second, before the guy was hanged. His lifeless body started swinging, slowly at first and then faster, until he was hitting the sides of the tank like the pendulum of a really old, big clock.

When I opened my eyes again I was leaned against a tree and Mallory's face was right in front of me. "Thank god you're okay", she sighed and gently squeezed my shoulder. "You just kind of spaced out all of a sudden." "Yeah", I replied with a raspy voice. My throat felt really dry. "That was weird." I paused for a second. "I saw something."

"What?" She raised her left eyebrow. "What did you see?" Just as I was about to open my mouth I saw a shadow run by behind her. "Look!", I exclaimed and pointed in the direction the figure went. "Did you see that?" "No?", she replied. "There's nothing here." "There was a shadowy figure running by!" She looked at me as if I was insane. "Mallory, I swear, there was something there." "You're starting to scare me, Felix", she said quietly.

"No, you don't understand. I have this weird feeling... Someone, or something, is trying to get into my head." "What are you on about?", she asked. "I'm not sure but it's definitely getting closer." Thereupon she rolled her eyes. "Stop bullshitting me, this isn't funny anymore!" Before I could even respond she suddenly started screaming. Her eyes widened in fear as she looked at something behind me and eventually ran off.

"Mallory, wait!", I screamed and immediately followed her. "Something's here, they're chasing us!" I glimpsed over my shoulder and what I saw made my heart skipped a beat; She was right, there were figures chasing us. But to Mallory they were apparently more than just shadows.

"Their heads are covered in cloths", she cried. "One of them even has a mirror for a face." I ran as fast as I could without realizing that we only got deeper and deeper into the woods until I was eventually able to catch up with her. Without hesitating I grabbed her arm and pulled her behind the next tree.

For a moment we just stood there, breathing heavily. Then I looked at Mallory, who was covering her eyes with her hands in fear, so I held her face between my hands and forced her to look at me. "Open your eyes, Mallory!", I said and shook her. "That's how they get in your head, they're tricking you and if you don't focus they will find you!" "But what are they?", she asked with tears in her eyes. Usually she was the tough one but I had never seen her this terrified.

Then I suddenly spotted a dark figure looming just a few feet behind her back. They had pitch black eyes and them staring at me gave me goosebumps. It was an eerie feeling that surrounded me, almost lulled me in.

"It's s̢̟̼̼̬̳͚̍́͌͐̏̔́͘͜ͅͅp̷̬͕͚̱̏͋͐̃̓̔͜͠r̛͕̳͉̀̌͆͑̚͟͜͞ȅ̥͇̳̖̘̒̎̈̽̍̚͢ǎ͖̲͔͓̀̍͛̿͟d̴̢̺͚͎͉̺͍͋̃̄̄̀į̢̱̻̰̓͆͋͊̈̄͆͂͐ͅͅn̨̢̫̲͕̖͎̞̯̓͐̐͌̀͘͜ģ̸̢̨̡̼̟̹̭́̀͐̑̍̂̽̚̚͟",a weird voice suddenly whispered out of nowhere. It came from behind me but somehow also from the shadowy figure. I couldn't locate it's source which made me panic even more. Was that just me or did it get darker as well? I could barely even see the trees in the distance anymore and that's when I knew we were in too deep.

"We can't stay", I said quietly without taking my eyes off the black eyed thing behind Mallory. "We have to leave, now!" "No, I'm gonna get to the bottom of this", she replied, turned around and continued walking until she disappeared between the trees.