You Could Lose Yourself in These Woods

A brief horror story.

That cool dark labyrinth that many find soothing is anything but once the natural lights dim. Your mind plays tricks on you. Your eyes and ears deceive you. What you thought you knew is no longer relevant and you will learn things you never thought possible. You could lose yourself in these woods.

Reality and dreams collide forming a love child of uncertainty. You will forget logic and reason and rely solely on instinct. You will be afraid, but strangely empowered. Until the daylight wans yet again. That power you thought you had starts to slip and soon it is gone- never to return. You are now afraid and powerless. You could lose yourself in these woods.

You didn't really hear what you heard and what you saw isn't really there at all. That cracking twig and stirring leaf are actually motionless and that sound behind you is non-existent. You don't know left from right or east from west. How did you get in here? Be careful. You could lose yourself in these woods.

The moon, using her stolen light, illuminates your surroundings in her crooked, sadistic way. Nothing looks familiar it is all twisted horribly, convoluted and changed. It was only the wind. Or was it? An owl? Or otherwise? You don't know which way to go, and your compass isn't broken, but you can't read it. You don't remember how. Have you lost yourself in this wood?

Your scream echos through the nothingness, alerting the wilderness to your fear. Your sanity is slipping away with every false assumption you make. It was not a bird. It was not the wind. But you don't really know. The wicked moon and her deceiving light is laughing at you and your worrying. You should have listened to me. You are losing yourself in these woods.

Chills from cold and fear run through your frightened vessel. The wind whips around you, stinging your eyes, freezing your ears. You imagine (?) a noise behind you, an unavoidable one. You take off running, but before you get very far the large oak's crooked root thwarts you and sends you to the forest floor. Like arms, the roots swat at you, grabbing, pulling you. You scream, but it is too late. Far too late. You have lost yourself in these woods.

Author's Note

I actually wrote this when I was like fifteen or sixteen and I just unearthed it. I haven't edited it yet.

Reviews

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

This is quite good...especially for the time in which you wrote it. You did a nice job of keeping the suspense throughout and adding a bit of a metaphorical twist to the end section, which added some depth to the idea. I like the use of imagery and darkness in this, I think it works well with your concept. Perhaps slightly slow in the beginning, but you really came through in the latter half of the piece. Impressed.

[Aaron the Baron]

Damn this is good! I wouldn't have believed that this was a story from when you were 15 if you didn't say it! Very nice use of words in this. As a side note, I read this, and then read it again listening to A Forest by The Cure. The results were interesting lol

[Jordan Bryant]

I found it on my old livejournal and was super impressed with myself. I'll have to give that a shot! thank you!