OUT IN THE WOODS

Kali Persephone learned early that silence could be mistaken for weakness. She sat in the back row of the lecture hall, hands folded tightly in her lap, shoulders curved inward as though she was trying to disappear into her own shadows. The room buzzed with voices — laughter, complaints, confidence — but none of it touched her. Noise had always felt like pressure against her chest. Someone laughed behind her. “Kali doesn’t talk," a voice whispered — not quietly enough. “She doesn’t need to," another replied. “She looks like she’s scared of her own breath." A soft laugh followed. Not loud. Not obvious. Just enough. Her fingers tightened. She didn’t turn around. She never did. Turning around meant acknowledging them, and acknowledging them meant permitting them to exist in her space. Outside the tall arched windows, the forest stood pressed against the edge of campus. The university had been built at its edge centuries ago, stone walls pressed against endless trees. It wasn’t like other forests. It didn’t feel distant or decorative. The trees grew close together, their branches overlapping like clasped fingers. Dark leaves swallowed the light even in the daytime, and the line where campus ended and the woods began was sharp — unnatural, too. Professors called it scenic. Students called it creepy. Kali avoided looking at it entirely. Yet somehow, when the lecture ended and everyone stood, her gaze drifted to the window on its own. . Nothing moved. Her heart didn’t slow down. What they didn’t know — what no one knew — was that the woods had started whispering back. Not in words. In understanding. Kali took the long way back to her dorm. She always did. It added fifteen minutes to her walk, but it meant fewer people, fewer chances of someone calling her out, fewer eyes lingering too long. The path curved near the edge of campus, close enough that the forest loomed just beyond the iron fencing. The air changed there. Cooler. Heavier. As if the woods exhaled while the rest of the world held its breath. Kali kept her head down, backpack straps tight in her hands. She counted her steps, a habit from childhood. Forty-seven steps to the lamppost. Twenty-two to the bend. Don’t look up. Forty-eight. Forty-nine. She stopped. Her foot hovered above the ground. She frowned. That wasn’t right. She had always counted forty-seven steps to the lamppost. Slowly, Kali looked down at her shoes. Then behind her. The path was empty. The lamppost stood exactly where it always did, its pale light flickering above the campus. But the branches were moving the opposite way. Towards her. She stared through the iron bars. Nothing. Just trees. Dark trunks. Twisted branches. Leaves trembling beneath the moonlight. She tightened her grip on her backpack. "It's just the wind." Her voice sounded too small. She turned away. One step. Two. Three—“Kali.” She stopped. Every muscle in her was still. The voice came from behind her. Soft. Almost a whisper. She turned slowly. Nobody was there. Her heart hammered. She looked towards the university buildings. They were still visible in the distance, their windows glowing warmly against the darkness. Then she looked at the forest. Nothing. “Kali.” This time, the voice came from the other side of the fence. She took a step backward. The forest seemed darker than it had been a moment ago. Instead, she stood there. Because something about the voice felt familiar. Not a stranger. Not a student Not even a person. It sounded like something that had been waiting for her. For a long time. A branch snapped somewhere deep inside the woods. Kali flinched. “Who’s there?” Silence. She immediately regretted speaking. The trees started moving. The entire forest became unnaturally still. Then something whispered her name again. Not from the forest. From directly behind her. “Kali.” She spun around. Nothing. Her breathing became shallow. She stepped away from the fence. Then she noticed something lying on the ground. A small black object. Kali stared at it. It hadn’t been there before. At least, she was sure it hadn’t. She crouched carefully and picked it up. It was a pendant. Old. The metal was cold against her fingers, almost painfully so. A strange symbol had been carved into its surface. A circle surrounded by three curved lines. Kali’s eyes widened. She had seen that symbol before. In a dream. The memory came suddenly. A dark forest. A woman standing beneath an enormous tree. And those same curved lines glowing against her palm. Then the dream had ended. Kali dropped the pendant. It landed in the dirt with a soft metallic sound. She stared at it. “No.” She shook her head. Dreams weren’t real. They couldn’t be. She stood quickly and backed away. That was when she noticed the footprints. They began at the edge of the forest. Crossed beneath the iron fence. And stopped directly in front of her. Bare footprints. Small. Human. Kali looked down at her own shoes. Then at the footprints. There were no footprints. No footprints were leading toward them. Only away. As if whoever had them had walked out of the forest … …and disappeared. A distant bell rang from the university tower. Kali jumped. She looked towards campus. The clock showed 9:00 pm. She had to leave. Now. She turned and hurried down the path. She didn’t look back. Not even when she heard footsteps following her. Not even when the footsteps stopped. And definitely not when a voice whispered from the darkness behind her: “Don’t take the long way tomorrow.” Kali ran. Kali didn't stop running until she reached the entrance of her dormitory. She pushed through the doors and nearly collided with another student. “Whoa!” “Sorry,” Kali whispered. The girl stared at her. “Are you okay?” Kali nodded quickly. “Yeah.” It was a lie. She hurried upstairs before the girl could ask anything else. Her room was quiet. Thankfully. Kali closed the door behind her, locked it, and leaned against it. For several seconds, she simply listened to her breathing. Nothing. No footsteps. No whispering. No strange voice calling her name. She slowly walked toward her bed. Then she remembered the pendant. Kali stopped. Her hand went to her pocket. She had picked it up again before running. She hadn't even realized she had taken it. She pulled it out. The strange symbol stared back at her. Three curved lines surrounding a circle. Her stomach tightened. She placed it on her desk. Immediately, the room became colder. Kali frowned. She looked toward the window. It was closed. She checked the heater. It was working. Yet the cold remained. She stepped closer to the pendant. The symbol seems different now. Almost brighter. Kali reached toward it. The moment her finger touched the metal— A flash of light filled the room. Kali stumbled backward. And suddenly, she wasn't in her dorm anymore. She stood in the forest. Moonlight poured between enormous trees. Mist covered the ground. Somewhere ahead, water was running. Kali turned around. There was no campus. No fence. No path. Nothing. Only trees. “Hello?” Her voice disappeared into the darkness. Then she heard footsteps. Slow. Careful. Coming toward her. Kali backed away. A figure emerged from the mist. A woman. She wore a long dark dress that seemed to move with the wind, although there was no wind. Her face was partly hidden beneath long black hair. Kali couldn't move. The woman stopped several feet away. “You finally found it.” Kali stared at her. “Found what?” The woman looked at the pendant in Kali's hand. “That.” Kali looked down. The pendant was glowing. “What is it?” The woman didn't answer. Instead, she looked past Kali. Her expression suddenly changed. Fear. “Wake up.” Kali blinked. “What?” “Wake up, Kali.” The forest began shaking. The trees twisted. The ground trembled beneath her feet. Something enormous moved behind the woman. Kali tried to scream— And suddenly she was back in her room. She fell against the floor. Her chest rose and fell rapidly. The pendant lay beside her. Cold. Completely ordinary. Kali stared at it. Then at the clock. Only three minutes had passed. She slowly got to her feet. Her hands were trembling. She didn't understand what had happened. She didn't understand the woman. But one thing was certain. The pendant wasn't ordinary. Kali picked it up again. This time, she noticed something engraved on the back. A single word. She leaned closer. “Persephone.” Her blood ran cold. Her surname. Kali dropped the pendant. “No.” She shook her head. There was no way. She had never seen it before. At least... She thought she hadn't. A knock suddenly came from her door. Kali froze. Three knocks. Slow. Deliberate. Knock. Knock. Knock. “Kali?” It was her roommate. Kali released the breath she had been holding. She quickly picked up the pendant and hid it beneath her pillow. “Yeah?” “Are you awake?” “Yeah.” The door opened slightly. Her roommate looked inside. “You disappeared after class. I was wondering if you were okay.” Kali forced a smile. “I'm fine.” Her roommate studied her face. “You look scared.” Kali looked away. “I just had a weird dream.” “Already?” Kali frowned. “What do you mean?” Her roommate smiled nervously. “You were talking in your sleep.” Kali's stomach dropped. “What did I say?” Her roommate hesitated. “You kept repeating one thing.” “What?” She looked directly at Kali. “Don't let them find me.” Silence filled the room. Kali felt the pendant beneath her pillow grow warm. Neither of them noticed the faint glow coming from underneath it. Outside the dormitory window, beyond the university grounds, the forest stood perfectly still. And somewhere deep among the trees . . . Something opened its eyes.