Chapter 2: The Shadow in the Fog
271 Words
The following morning, Lila drove to the edge of the Whispering Woods. The trees loomed like sentinels, their branches clawing at the sky. A narrow trail snaked into the forest, barely visible through the mist. She parked, grabbed her camera, and started walking, ignoring the prickle of unease on her neck.
The air grew colder the deeper she went. The trail was overgrown, littered with pine needles and broken branches. She snapped photos, noting the eerie quiet—no birds, no squirrels, just the occasional rustle of leaves. After an hour, she found a clearing with a circle of stones, each one etched with strange, spiraling symbols. They looked ancient, worn smooth by time. Lila crouched to take a closer look, her fingers brushing the cold stone.
That’s when she heard it—a low, guttural hum, like a distant engine. It seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere. She froze, her heart pounding. The hum stopped, replaced by a whisper, faint but unmistakable: “Leave.”
Lila spun around, her camera slipping from her hands. The clearing was empty, but the fog had thickened, curling around the trees like ghostly fingers. She grabbed her camera and hurried back to the trail, her breath hitching. The whisper followed her, growing louder, more insistent: “Leave. Now.”
By the time she reached her car, she was shaking. She locked the doors and sped back to town, glancing in her rearview mirror. For a split second, she thought she saw a figure in the fog—a tall, gaunt silhouette with eyes that glowed like embers. When she blinked, it was gone.
- Writer
