Into The Woods

"I don't think it's a good idea," Rachel sighed as she looked at the four who were staring at her.

"I agree, it's pretty dangerous for you guys to head there," Damien chipped in.

"Why do you think it's a bad idea?" Emily frowned as she stared at Rachel.

She felt something was off but couldn't pinpoint what it was. Even though it was only her instinct she still felt that the three were hiding something from them.

Perhaps they knew something about the Killings.

Rachel sighed in defeat when she saw Emily's gaze. Amongst the four gazes, it was only Emily's gaze that made her feel uncomfortable.

It was as if she was unable to hide anything in front of Emily. Even though it was only an intuition Rachel dared not to be careless.

Rachel shrugged her shoulders as she decided not to say anything because she knew she would be unable to convince them not to go.

"I get it now," James said suddenly as he clapped his hands while glancing at Rachel and the others.

"You guys are unwilling to go as you're afraid of the unknown danger, but that's what makes it more interesting," James laughed.

Rachel smiled and looked away, she wasn't going to be convinced.

There was no way she was going to agree to go along with them. It was just too dangerous.

Even though she knew they were only being curious it was still a bad thing as sometimes ignorance was bliss.

If the government had known what they were facing they would have long stopped looking into the cause of the Killings as they would never be able to apprehend the killers.

"Are you still on your stand?" Emily's voice brought Rachel out of her thoughts.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think we'll be going with you," Rachel smiled at the four apologetically.

"Don't worry, we'll tell you about anything we see tomorrow and then you'll regret not going with us," James grinned at Rachel.

Rachel only smiled lightly but didn't say anything. All she hoped was that they wouldn't meet the Harbingers as that would spell the end of their lives.

Seeing that Rachel wouldn't go with the James tried to convince Damien and Jason but was met with the same answer.

Having no choice, the four could only go ahead with the plan themselves.

After a lot of agreement and disagreement, they finally decided to meet at Emily's house that night as Emily's parents wouldn't be at home so it would be easier for them to leave the house.

Also, her house was the closest to Green Wood Street, the latest crime scene.

******

Soon it was nighttime. The night was particularly lively as the moon was out and there were stars all around making the night look colorful.

The wind wasn't blowing too hard nor was it too gentle. It was also not chilly nor was it hot. It was a very perfect night for a bonfire.

But despite all this, not a single soul was outside. There was a kind of deathly air all around that kept the people stuck in their houses.

It felt as if something was keeping watch ready to pounce on anyone who leaves their house at the moment.

Right at that moment in the woods, the trees swayed and the leaves rustled.

Three figures flashed by at inhumane speed.

Next screams of help were heard and rapid footsteps of fleeing resounded through the woods.

In no time, the screams and footsteps died down and everywhere was silent once again.

On the ground were three bodies devoid of blood and looked skinny.

In the next moment, the three figures flashed away from the scene.

Not long after the figures, another three figures appeared at the scene.

"We are late once again," Rachel sighed as she looked at the bodies on the floor.

"It's not our fault, it's usually hard for us to detect their presence," Damien sighed.

"Do you think they'll be able to find this place," Jason sighed as he glanced at the sky.

"They should be able to," Rachel replied.

"Let's go." She continued and immediately they disappeared.

Not far from where the incident had just taken place, James, Emily, Anne, and Natasha were walking through the woods looking everywhere curiously.

They had been searching for over an hour but they hadn't found any clues which led them to the incident and were lost.

Emily on the other hand wasn't feeling too well as she was not comfortable.

She felt as if they were being watched, no matter how much she tried to eliminate the feelings they kept coming back.

Suddenly a blood-curdling scream pieced into her ears and she lost her footing on the floor which sent her tumbling.

The screams she heard were a scream of help, one of despair and sorrow.

"Emily, are you alright?" Anne sighed as she helped Emily up.

"I'm fine," Emily replied, standing up and dusting away the dust on her clothes.

"Hope you're alright?" James and Natasha spoke simultaneously with anxious looks on their faces as they observed Emily's pale face.

"Didn't you guys hear any screams for help?" Emily frowned as she looked at her friends hoping they also heard it.

But she was bound to be disappointed as the expression on their faces showed that they didn't hear anything.

"Are you sure you're alright?" James frowned.

"I'm not joking guys, didn't you hear any scream?" Emily frowned as she asked again.

"I think it's just your imagination, we didn't hear anything, it's all quiet," Natasha frowned as she replied while studying Emily.

Emily sighed as she looked at her surroundings. It was just as she had thought, she was the only one who heard the screams.

"I suggest we head back since Emily is not feeling too well," Anne sighed as she looked at Natasha and James.

"No, I'm fine let's continue with the search," Emily replied quickly and composed herself.

Even at that, the three looked at themselves before looking at Emily again.

"Since we didn't find anything up till this point, I suggest we head back," James sighed.

Natasha and Anne nodded their heads in agreement and then turned around to head back to Emily's house.

Right at that moment Emily breathed in a sigh of relief as she had been having a rather ominous feeling since they entered the woods.

Even though she knew the reason they had turned around was solely because of her, she was still reluctant to head back as she wanted to confirm if the screams she heard were real.

The four continued on their journey back since it was quite futile, coupled with Emily's sudden sickness they had no choice but to head back home.

Emily sighed as she walked behind her friends, the foreboding feeling in her heart continued to grow.

It was as if they were heading right at the figure that was watching them.

She tried her best to curb the feelings but it wasn't possible, no matter how much she tried they kept growing.

The wind was gently grazing their skins, but despite this Emily was shivering as she felt the wind was chilly.

Suddenly the trees swayed and the leaves rustled, at that moment Emily heard some footsteps flashing behind her which made her turn rapidly.

But on turning she was met with nothing, at the same time she heard footsteps flashing by the trees which made her turn towards it.

But still, there was nothing. Even though each time she heard the footsteps she was able to make out some figures flashing by.

It was as though the figures didn't see them and were just passing by.

This made the foreboding feeling in Emily's heart grow even more as she could tell that something was in the woods.

"Emily, what's wrong? let's go," James' voice brought Emily back to reality as she quickly walked back to the group.

She wanted to tell the group what she saw but she knew they weren't going to believe what she would say and would think she was hallucinating.

"Why didn't you tell us you're sick? We wouldn't have come in the first place if we knew you were sick," Anne frowned as she observed Emily's pale face which was getting even paler.

"We'll come back once Emily is okay," James added as they continued on their way.

Emily on the other hand smiled and didn't say anything, even though she was curious as to what was in the forest she couldn't just lead her friends to danger.

Suddenly the leaves rustled and the sounds of approaching footsteps were heard amidst the trees.

At that moment the three froze in their tracks as they turned to the source of the footsteps with ashen expressions.

But to their surprise, the footsteps vanished as soon as they turned.

"Let's hurry," James said, increasing his pace.

"Ahhhhhh!"

A scream resounded from Natasha and Anne at the same time. Immediately James turned to look at them only to freeze in shock.

Emily on the other hand was not much better, even though she didn't scream she was shivering.

After a while, Anne and Natasha recovered to glance properly at what they saw.

On the floor were dead bodies devoid of blood looking skinny. It was obvious something had sucked them out with force.

But despite that, they didn't see any sign of injuries on the dead bodies and it looked like they all died of natural causes except for the fact that the bodies were abnormally dried.

The group walked closer to the bodies cautiously afraid the preparator of the incident was lurking behind the trees and would lunge at them at any time.

Even though they thought of this it didn't stop them from advancing further.

The four made sure to take a step while looking around carefully as they got closer to the body.

Even though they didn't talk and only moved slowly while trying to make their footsteps soundless, one could still hear the beating of their heart threatening to burst out of their chests.