MasukEden woke with a start but kept her eyes firmly shut. Memories of the advancing shadows rushed in on her like a tsunami and the fear that hadn't left her in oblivion gripped her even harder. The ground beneath her was not pine needles and dirt but smooth and cold, she opened her eyes slowly and shock replaced the fear, she was laying on smooth black stone that shimmered faintly, as though polished by countless hands. She sat up too fast, her breath hitched and a wave of vertigo hit her hard, she was disoriented, her eyes darted around the cavernous black space, she spotted her canteen sitting beside her, and hurriedly grabbed it, realising it was now full to the brim with cold fresh water, she chugged gratefully.It definitely wasn't the forest, wasn't her camp. The air hummed with a low vibration that seemed to fizzle in the marrow of her bones. Shadows moved along the walls, not like natural ones cast by light into sheltered places, these were...alive, sliding and twisting in shape
Eden stood rooted to the spot, the canteen hanging uselessly at her side,. Her eyes locked on the dark pocket of trees where the voice had spoken, she didn't breath, didn't blink...She was paralysed with shock. The silence stretched and yawned, her chest tightened with every passing second, and then the voice came again, steady and unshakeable... Closer even though the figure had not moved. "You're safe" He said "I wont let anything hurt you" Something inside her cracked loose at the words, her knees weakened and she was able to draw breath again, her skin still tingled from residual adrenaline, she didn't know what she felt, panic, relief....hope? The memory of the hikers grip still lingered on her body, a phantom pressure that made her stomach tighten, But the promise in the shadows steadied her somehow, it slowed the frantic racing of her thoughts. For the first time in the Mystic Mountains, since before Ben, she felt like she was home. This is crazy, IM CRAZY... she tho
The hiker, Markus looked up at her, the shock of her actions seemed to have snapped him out of his delirium, he began to speak, his lips coated in fresh blood still pouring gently from his nose. "We,... We thought it was just an easy trail" He stammered, his shoulders sagged in defeat. "We just wanted to go hiking, there were 6 of us all together, we thought we were safe because of how big our group was.... We were wrong, They..T-They were my friends" His eyes scanned the treeline nervously, the sound of his voice still seemed to hang on the branches after the call from beyond the clearing. Eden had bigger priorities, that voice no longer scared her, she had known that voice as soon as she heard it... She knew the owner of this voice would never hurt her, it was a soul deep instinct."The forest" He continued, snapping Eden back to attention. "It-it isn't right, the paths, they move.. The air, it, it just feels wrong... And the shadows...""What do you mean, Shadows?" Eden pressed, su
No answer came from her whispered thanks, although she knew he heard her, the tether in her chest pulsed with heat as she looked around the still forest, and she realised. It was him that was pulling her onward, he was her destination, her destiny. He left her gifts and seemed to want to help her, so why was she so often afraid? why did the shadow sometimes feel sinister? unless.....She decided to save her pondering until comfortable and safe at her final campsite, she began a slow, careful trek now, her balance still slightly unsteady after her fall, careful of more raised roots and trip hazards. Eden eventually reached a slight curve in the path, she made her way around the bend and then she saw it.A ragged scrap of fabric, snagged on a skeletal branch, at first she thought it was a plastic bag caught by the wind, but as she drew closer, curiosity winning out, its true form revealed itself. A jacket, dark with mud stains, one sleeve torn wide open as if it had been smashed with so
The night was still and peaceful.Eden curled in her sleeping bag, the fire outside reduced to a calming red glow, the moonlight coated the clearing in a pleasant silver glow. For the first time since entering the mountains, Eden felt completely at ease and her body surrendered to sleep without resistance.After a few hours of a peaceful, dreamless sleep, something startled her awake, at first she thought it was the sound of the wind whipping through the trees, she opened her eyes blearily and froze.A shadow stretched across the canvas of her tent, tall and broad shouldered the thing stood, unmoving. Her eyes widened in shock, all she could do was stare at the shape that seemed to have appeared out of thin air.The silhouette lingered, its head tilted slightly as if it could see her through the fabric of her tent, studying her. The outline was unmistakably human in shape, but also somehow distorted, as if it wasn't completely solid, the outlines of the shape coiled like smoke. Eden s
Eden lay frozen inside her plush sleeping bag, her own name still echoing in her ears after hours had passed with no more sounds. Her name, why her name? whispered like a vow, like a claim. The night pressed in thick and heavy, silence stretched to breaking point as she continued to strain her ears.Then came the sound.Soft footsteps were retreating through the undergrowth, slowly, leisurely, as though the owner had all the time in the world. As if the one who had spoken knew she wasn't going anywhere, that she was unable to move.Her throat ached with the scream she hadn't allowed herself to release, she forced herself to take slow, even breaths afraid even the sound of air coming from her tent would call him back. Minutes blurred into hours as she waited for the thing to come back. She didn't remember falling asleep again, or even relaxing her clenched muscles, she only had a vague memory of the surprising mercy of the darkness, swallowing her until the silver light of dawn seeped







