The Forest

A couple get stranded in a forest.

The Forest

The leaves rustled in the breeze. The sun shone into the big forest causing a pleasant glow amongst the many trees. Shouting was heard, and walking up the narrow path was a man and a woman, the man seemed angry as he turned to his wife of six years, saying aggressively, "I know what happened is unfair, but we're on holiday to try and enjoy ourselves. How are we suppose to get over this, if you keep acting the way you do."
She gave him that stare which meant you are so out of order. He didn't seem to take any notice as he threw his arms up in the air before storming off further up the path.
What an idiot, she thought.
She decided not to follow, as going after him made her look like she was in the wrong. To teach him a lesson, she decided to walk back in the opposite direction. She glanced at him once as he disappeared from view.
Sod you.
While she walked back to the car she couldn't believe how he was acting, so childish. If she had known what he was like years ago she never would have married him. Maybe that was too harsh. She was just angry with him, and who could blame her. He was being an arsehole.
She knew it was late afternoon because the sun was getting lower, and it would be dark soon. She hated being on her own in such a secluded area. Anything could happen, like a mad man attacking her out of the blue. She proceeded quickly wanting to get out of this place. She peered behind her. Her husband was nowhere to be seen. Cheers, mate, for nothing.
After a few minutes she saw the entrance some distance away. Thank god for that. Her legs ached a little which didn't help. Her phone was in her trouser pocket. To take her mind off things she grabbed it to see if her best friend had sent a message, telling her how the date that afternoon had gone with a new bloke she had met online. Her battery was low, and that was very annoying. No new messages.
Damn.
She put the mobile back into her pocket, then carried on with the journey. All of a sudden she heard a scream from somewhere in the forest. It sounded faint like it was miles away. Now feeling a little freaked out she ran the rest of the way. A metre from the car she searched in her pockets for the keys. Once she'd found them she unlocked the door, then got in. Her heart was beating quite fast, not knowing what to expect next. She waited for ages for Keith to show his face, where the hell was he, why was he being such a jerk ?
It was getting darker as she sat in the vehicle, growing more concerned for her husband's wellbeing. The scream she thought she had heard earlier, was it him in some kind of trouble? She hated just sitting there, helpless, she needed to do something. In the back of the car was a torch. Being careful she left the safety of the car and crept to the back of the vehicle. She opened the backdoor, then looked for it. Under Keith's sports bag appeared the torch. She grabbed it, also picking up her small bag with essential items in, like makeup and a small bottle of water. She was ready to go. Peering back towards the entrance, a light now shone brightly, so it was easier to see the start of the forest. Not being overly happy about what she was going to do next, she proceeded cautiously ahead to hopefully locate her idiot husband. Sometimes he frustrated her so much, like now for example. She glanced at her watch, it was 6.10pm. It was surprising how quickly it got dark, the moon hid behind some clouds, no rain had been predicted so at least that was something.
She was now back in the forest, the torch switched on, while she followed the path. All around her she could hear rustling as little animals went about their business, "Get lost, creepy rodent things," she shouted, hating this s**t. Suddenly she fell amongst some bushes, hurting her leg badly, "For s**t sake," she screamed, utterly pissed off.
What am I suppose to do now? Her energy levels were down. She was exhausted. She got up with difficulty while gritting her teeth. Then limping a little, carried on. The light directed towards the path, which at times would vanish, didn't help the situation. Some leaves tickled her face while she made her way through the many trees. It was like she was stuck in a horrible nightmare unable to wake up.
Could things get any worse?
All of a sudden it did. All about her were little flickering lights while they danced majestically amongst the tall trees. She couldn't take this any longer. She panicked trying to head back in the direction of which she'd came. Chanting filled the forest, echoing all around, she was terrified beyond belief.
"Leave me be," she shrieked. She dropped the torch by accident, now standing in complete darkness.
Someone grabbed her from behind, she did her best to fight back. Whoever this person was they were very strong as they pulled her down to the ground. Something covered her face, she could hear many voices, and shadows above her. What the hell was happening?
Then a woman's voice said, "Take her to the clearing to get prepared."
"What's going on?" She shouted. Scared for her life. She felt her body being dragged along. Time seemed endless while countless thoughts entered her fragile mind. At one point she closed her eyes, wishing to end this bad dream. No luck. Suddenly everyone stopped, and through the blindfold she could observe much light, as it danced in the night sky. Within a second someone pulled her up from the muddy ground to her feet. The blindfold was removed. What she observed next sent shivers up her entire body. Oh my god. Where was she? In the clearing was a huge fire where the flames seemed to reach the heavens above. Many people of all heights and sizes stood in the area facing her, they wore grotesque masks which made her feel sick. Without realising her hands had been tied together. She was s**t out of luck.
She needed to know where her husband was, and asked as calmly as she could in the circumstances. Only silence, which didn't help matters. "Where's my f*****g husband?" she asked again, needing an answer, because she was worried about him very much.
Two people of a similar height were seen as they pulled something along the ground. A few metres from her, both stopped. They uncovered it. She let out a peircing scream realising her beloved husband had been slaughtered by these animals. "How could you do this?"
No answer.
Looking at his body she could see one of his legs had been chopped off. His eyes were wide open. Blood covered his clothes. She puked down her flowery blouse. She began to cry.
The person with the ugly pig mask stood before her, whispering words under his breath. He raised a knife. She knew she didn't have much time left, closing her eyes she said a little prayer.

.............................................................................

Earlier that day Samantha and Keith made their way to the pub. So far they'd had a nice day. They had visited some relatives and now were enjoying their short holiday miles from home. They didn't get to do this that often, so it made a nice change.
Both made their way in, it was quite dark, many tables and chairs filled the room, so at least they could sit down and enjoy a refreshing cold drink. At the bar a man in his sixties walked over to them, with a smile on his face.
"Hello. What would you like?" he asked pleasantly enough.
Samantha didn't fancy anything to strong. "I'll just have a lemonade, thank you."
Keith couldn't make his mind up, and looking closely at all the beers on offer, decided to ask the landlord what he would recommend.
The man pointed to one, saying, "This seems to be the favourite, the one most regulars prefer."
Keith looked at the name of the beer, and was quite taken aback.
'Woodland Terror.'
He laughed, before saying, "What a terrible name, but I'll have one."
The landlord didn't see the funny side, grabbing two glasses from underneath the bar he went about his business, then said, "I'll bring them over if you like, how does that sound?"
Thank you," was all that Keith replied.
They proceeded to the nearest table, so the man wouldn't have to walk too far. "Are you okay, love?" Keith asked.
Samantha ran a hand through her hair, before replying, "Yes, I'm fine. I just can't help but think about what happened. Sorry."
"Look," he said reassuringly, "I know you're suffering, but we'll get another chance. I promise you we will."
She looked at him knowing he was right, but even still it hurt like hell. The miscarriage had hit them both hard.
The man put the drinks on the table. "Are you guys on holiday?"
"Yes we are. It's a lovely place," replied Keith. Samantha agreed.
The man coughed a couple of times, then said, "Near here is a beautiful forest which is worth visiting, definitely worth a look."
"Okay. How far is it from here, we have a car, or is it better to walk?" Keith replied. "Could we leave the car here if that's a better option?"
The man scratched his head while he was deep in thought, then answered, "Probably makes more sense if you drive there, as it's about 4 miles away."
Keith liked that idea, glancing at his wife he could tell she wasn't keen. "It'll be fun. Surrounded by nature, Samantha. Makes a good change from city life. Don't you agree?"
"I suppose so," was all she answered, peering through the window at nothing really.
Once both had finished their drinks, they said farewell to the landlord. He wished them all the best. He watched them get into their vehicle, then drive out of the carpark. He ran to the phone. Dialing a number, someone answered straightaway.
"Alright, mate. So what's new?" said the voice.
"There's some tourists heading your way. Get ready, I'll shut up shop and join you when I can," he replied.
"Okay, mate. Should be a good one. See you soon."
He put the phone down, realising the place was empty he headed to the front door to shut up for the day.

.............................................................................

"Open your eyes," said a man's voice.
She did what she was told, standing before her was the scary man with the knife. "Why?" she asked. Looking down she saw her husband's body again. She felt so helpless. "Why, for god sake, why?"
The man took his mask off, followed by everyone else. Samantha was in complete shock. The person holding the knife was the friendly landlord from the pub they had visited. "I don't understand. Why would you do this?" she kept saying, utterly baffled by it all.
The man looked angry as he took a step towards her. "Because I'm sick of strangers coming to our beautiful home and causing bloody trouble. That's bloody why," he yelled. Within seconds she lay dead at his feet, they dragged her to the fire, then threw the body in. "Don't forget the other chap. We don't want to leave any evidence," he said, while washing his knife with a sponge and some water.
"Yeah, sure, Chris," replied a male no older than sixteen.
"Good lad."
A few hours later the fire had gone out, any trace of the bodies had vanished. And in a friendly pub not too faraway, a landlord waited patiently for some tourists to turn up, so he could tell them about the beautiful forest just down the road.

The End