In the forest

Grover’s POV

My uncle stood a few meters in front of me, holding a black plastic shopping bag. His gaze was fixed on the front door, which was slightly ajar.

We’d closed it tightly just a moment ago. I immediately had a bad feeling.

“Uncle…” I murmured. He didn’t reply.

Uncle Sargon walked ahead towards the house with steady steps. But I knew he was aware that something was wrong. I followed behind him.

As I entered the living room, my breath caught in my throat.

Chairs were overturned. Books were scattered across the floor. The desk drawer was open. And our photo frame lay shattered right by the sofa.

I froze.

For some reason, seeing this little house in such a mess felt more painful than being hit by Simon earlier that afternoon. My uncle set down the shopping bag without a sound.

His gaze fell on the shards of glass on the floor. Then it slowly shifted to the muddy footprints leading to the back door.

I clenched my fists.

“Simon…” I whispered.

It didn’t take long to figure out who was responsible. My uncle remained silent for a few seconds before finally speaking in a low voice.

“They’ve gone into the forest.”

I turned my head quickly.

“This is bad! I have to go and find them.”

“No! It’ll be dark soon. It’s too dangerous for you.”

He walked towards the back door, which was ajar. A breeze from the direction of the woods blew gently into the house. For some reason, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.

The forest behind our house has always felt strange. Even as a child, I was never allowed to go near it.

It wasn’t just because it was dark. It was because my uncle always became so serious whenever he spoke of that place. But why didn’t we move away if I wasn’t allowed to go near the forest? I sometimes wonder about that.

I walked closer.

“Uncle.”

He was still staring at the dark trees up ahead.

“Lock the doors.”

“What?”

“Lock all the doors and don’t go out.”

I immediately furrowed my brow. “Wait! They’re the ones who’ve broken into our house! We should call the police!”

“No.”

His reply was too quick. I looked at him, confused.

“Why not?”

For the first time that night, he turned to look at me. His gaze was sharp. Not angry… but like someone holding something back.

“That forest isn’t a playground.”

I fell silent. The atmosphere suddenly felt colder. The wind from outside made the kitchen lamp sway gently.

“I'll go pick them up,” he continued.

“Alone?! You’re the one who said it’s dangerous out there.”

“Go inside. Now!”

The tone of his voice made me fall silent automatically. But before I could reply, he had already stepped outside towards the forest without a torch.

And that was the strangest part. Because even in the dark, his steps showed not the slightest hesitation. I stood in the doorway watching him disappear among the trees. Then everything fell silent again.

Simon’s POV

“Hurry! Hurry!”

Tree branches lashed my face as we ran deeper into the forest.

We were all out of breath.

“I told you we shouldn’t have gone into his house!” One of my friends cursed in panic.

“Shut up and keep running!”

I was starting to struggle to see the path myself. The sun had almost set completely, casting the entire forest in a dark, bluish gloom.

The ground was damp. The air was cold. And strangely… the further in we went, the more the sounds of the outside world faded away.

No sound of cars. No sound of the city. Not even the sound of small animals.

“Haa… haa…”

We finally stopped near a large tree trunk. One of my friends immediately bent over, clutching his knees.

“We have to get out of here…”

I tried to look around while catching my breath.

“We just need to keep going straight.”

“We’ve been going straight already!”

I furrowed my brow. He was right. We should have found a way out by now. But all we could see were trees, trees, and more trees.

The darkness was starting to feel unnatural. I pulled my mobile out of my pocket. No signal.

“Great. Bloody hell.”

My friend, who’d been the most scared earlier, was starting to look pale.

“Simon… I heard something.”

I turned around immediately.

“What?”

He pointed towards the dark bushes behind us. At first, I didn’t hear anything. Then…

Crack.

The sound of a twig snapping. We all fell silent.

Crack.

This time it was closer. I stared into the darkness between the trees. My heart began to beat faster.

“It’s probably just an animal,” I said, trying to sound calm.

But even I didn’t believe it because after that… the sound of other footsteps began to echo.

Slow.

Heavy.

As if something were circling us. One of my friends immediately panicked.

“Let’s get out of here now!”

He’d only just turned when a low growl sounded from behind the trees.

Grrrrrr…

My body froze instantly. It wasn’t the sound of a dog. Nor was it an ordinary wolf. The sound was too deep. Too… massive.

“What is that…?” someone whispered, their voice trembling.

Then two glowing yellow eyes appeared in the darkness of the forest.

My chest felt hollow. The creature was almost as tall as the lowest branches of the trees. And as it stepped slightly out of the shadows.

I saw long claws touch the ground. One of my friends screamed.

“RUN—!”

We ran off in all directions. The creature’s footsteps pounded the ground behind us.

I’ve never run this fast in my entire life. Tree branches stung my face. My feet nearly slipped time and again. My friend’s screams echoed behind me. Then suddenly—

“AAAAAAAHHH—!”

I turned my head instinctively. One of them fell, dragged by something in the darkness. I froze for a split second. And that was a huge mistake. Because something suddenly appeared right in front of me.

Thud!

My body was thrown onto the hard ground. My mobile phone flew off into the distance. My head was ringing. As I looked up… The creature was standing right in front of me. Its breathing sounded heavy.

Its bright yellow eyes stared straight at me. I couldn’t even move. My whole body was numb with fear. Then… the creature slowly approached. And for the first time in my life… I truly felt I was going to die.

The creature stopped just inches from my face. I could smell the scent of damp earth mixed with something fishy in its breath.

My hands were shaking violently as I tried to back away slowly across the muddy ground. But my body felt too weak to move quickly.

Its glowing yellow eyes stared straight at me.

Unblinking.

Motionless.

As if assessing whether I was worth eating.

“Haa… please don't eat me, help me!”

I tried to reassure myself, but my heart was pounding so hard my ears were ringing. The creature was far larger than I’d seen earlier.

Thick, jet-black fur covered almost its entire body. Its claws were dug into the ground, long and sharp enough to tear a human body apart with a single strike.

And the worst part… The creature was standing on two legs, like a human.

But clearly not human. I swallowed hard.

“Don’t… don’t kill me…” My voice was barely audible. The creature tilted its head slightly.

Swoosh!

Something darted out from behind the trees and struck the creature from the side. The ground shook violently.

I recoiled instantly, staring in disbelief. Someone was standing between me and the monster—a tall man in a black jacket.

Grover’s Uncle.

The creature’s heavy breathing echoed lowly as it rose again. But strangely… this time it looked wary of that man.

He stood calmly, without a single weapon. His cold gaze fixed straight on the monster before him.

“I warned you,” he said softly.

I froze. What did he mean?

The creature growled furiously and lunged forward.

I reflexively covered my head. But the sound I heard wasn’t the sound of a human body being crushed.

Rather, when I opened my eyes again, the man was holding the monster’s claw with one hand.

Yeah! One hand.

My eyes widened instantly. Impossible. A human can’t do that.

The ground beneath his feet cracked slightly under the immense pressure from the creature. But his expression remained impassive as if all this were nothing.

The monster roared right in front of his face. Yet he spoke softly in a threatening tone.

“Go back!”

The atmosphere of the forest suddenly fell silent. The wind stopped.

The leaves around us had stopped rustling. Then something even stranger happened. The creature… slowly backed away, as if afraid.

I watched it all, my breathing ragged. Who is this Man, actually?

The monster continued to growl lowly but did not attack again. Its yellow gaze shifted briefly towards me before it finally stepped back into the darkness of the forest.

And a few seconds later…

It vanished, just like that.

I was still frozen to the spot when the man turned to face me. His gaze made my blood run cold.

Not because he was angry. But because of his eyes…

For a moment, his eyes didn’t look like those of an ordinary human. There was a faint golden hue behind his dark pupils.

“Are you hurt?” he asked flatly.

I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. My brain still couldn’t process what I’d just seen.

“Y-you…”

My voice was hoarse.

“What was that?”

He walked closer without answering. He picked up my phone, which had fallen to the ground, and tossed it onto my lap.

“Stand up.”

“What?”

“If you want to stay alive, never set foot in this forest again.”

His tone was low.

Cold.

And sounded very serious. In the distance, the faint sound of someone screaming from within the forest could be heard.

My friend.

My face went pale instantly.

“My friend is still in there!”

I tried to get up, but he immediately grabbed my shoulder firmly.

“Don’t move!”

“But he—”

“If you go in again,” he cut me off softly, staring straight into my eyes. “This time, no one will be able to save you.”