Stephen silently placed his feet on the floor, each step forcing him further into the darkness. His heart raced, the air pulled into his lungs wouldn’t exhale. He hadn’t realised how much fear affected everyday necessities like breathing.
He coughed trying to force air from his lungs, a tightness in his chest felt like the beginnings of a heart attack. The main muscle seemed to squeeze, shudder and sigh before repeating the process. Deyna’s hands were balled up in his coat as she clung on to him. Thankfully her whimpers stayed firmly in her mouth, which surprised him, even he felt overwhelmed with the urge to scream.
The dip in temperature became more noticeable, the cold air licked at his hands. He withheld a shudder trying not to show his fear; he knew something waited for them. He could only describe it as the electric buzz in the air before the snap. A snap that was life changing.
Before he turned the corner, he smelled it. That
overpowering fragrance that coated you as you stood in the woods after a heavy rainfall, damp earth, wet leaves, fresh air. Surely trees couldn’t grow in this place? They needed fresh air and the warm caress of the sun. This place was cold, dark and sucked the life right out of you.
They turned the corner, each slow step forcing the hairs on his arms to stand to attention. Goose pimples broke out over his skin when he caught a glimpse of the thing responsible for such a smell. He stumbled back like he’d been slapped. He couldn’t believe what he saw in front of him. It was dark yet somehow he could see. He hadn’t questioned this before, but now he did. How could he see in the darkness when Lester wasn’t here? He looked behind him to make sure. No, there was no sign of Lester. Where had he disappeared to? Phillip stepped to the side of him. Deyna remained at his back.
Grass, as dead as Lester, covered the space in front of them. The brown landscape wasn’t very big but he was still surprised to find grass in this place. The area was surrounded by large, leafless trees. The thick branches of the trees swayed in a wind they had yet to feel. Phillip’s body jerked, this movement put Stephen on high alert.
A person was walking from within the trees towards them. Was the person walking? He wasn’t sure, if he focused on the gait of the person it looked like the person was floating? Which only meant it had to be another ghost.
“Sure, bring them on,” Stephen muttered impatiently. Ghosts were old news now. He felt shock jolt every bone in his spine, a gasp escaped from his mouth when he caught sight of the vibrant sunshine yellow hair. Her hair.
No. She couldn’t be here. This wasn’t her place. She didn’t belong here.
She shimmered on the verge of the trees. He couldn’t quite see her eyes, he needed to see the topaz twinkle. Holding his breath, Stephen edged closer to her as he didn’t want to frighten her, but his need to talk became too much. Feeling the rush of tears form a thick knot in his throat, he ran, forgetting the dangers of this place and what may lurk around the next corner.
She turned, startled by his sudden movement, and soared through the trees at lightning speed. Stars sparkled in her wake.
“Stephen!”
He could faintly hear Phillip’s cries as he ran following his grandmother into the silent woods.
He continued to run although he felt winded. A sharp pain in his ribs ripped the air from his lungs as a beast of a stitch latched on and refused to let go. He wasn’t usually this unfit; the pressure of this quest, the things they’d already faced, the relief of seeing her again, was causing his lungs to spasm with fear and grief.
The earth moved, rumbling beneath his trainers which was causing him to slip. What was that? He continued to run, his feet slipping on ground which was as stable as running on a bouncy castle. He’d lost sight of his grandmother but this didn’t stop him from continuing with the hope that he would catch up with her. He had to see her, talk to her, if it was only for one minute.
He stopped and found the ground instantly stilled, again that certain someone was trying to stop him. He listened, his panting the only noise he could hear. He couldn’t hear Phillip or Deyna anymore and now that he stood alone with the wind nipping at his skin, he realised he may have made a rash decision to run into the woods. It was always a bad idea to split up the group. But where had his grandmother gone? Was his mother with her?
He turned searching the woods but the light was growing fainter. He couldn’t understand where the light was coming from, yet it illuminated the thin limbs of the trees ahead of him. He could see his breath puff around his head as he searched. A loud crunch that sounded like the snap of a twig reverberated in the woods. He stilled, his heart was hammering against his chest. Something was here with him. He forced himself to turn although every part of his body refused to comply.
A growl rippled across the air from the left of him. His eyes latched onto red rubies that fiercely glared at him from beneath large undergrowth. He stumbled back as the wolf, midnight blue in colour with a dusting of gold, stalked towards him. Its large paws landed heavily against wet leaves, the crack of twigs sounding like that of a snapping bone.
He didn’t have time to call for help, he noticed the wolf push back on its hind legs and launch itself at him, its teeth dripping with saliva, ones that seemed to smile at him as they travelled with a rapid speed towards his throat.