The Dark Forest

Chapter 3
Chapter Three: The Strange Girl

Chapter Description: Justin meets a strange girl in the forest. Having forgotten about his objective, Justin spends time alone with her.

Justin kept running. He didn’t care if he made it back to camp or not. All he knew was that if that thing caught him it would kill him. After fifteen minutes of running he couldn’t feel the presence anymore and stopped. Since it was too dark to find his way back to camp and he didn’t know what else to do, Justin lied down flat on his back.

He looked up at the sky. There were no stars. He found it odd since there was no light in the area, but then again the whole place was very unsettling. He tried to make himself comfortable. The hard ground and dead leaves weren’t much in the way of bedding, but it was better than sleeping on gravel or concrete surfaces, which he had had to do before.

Before nodding off to sleep, Justin could have sworn that he saw a pair of green glows, just eye distance apart from each other.

***

When Justin woke up it was the middle of the day and he was sleeping on a cot. He bolted upright, “WHAT THE FUCK!?” he shouted.

He heard footsteps coming his direction. A blonde in her late twenties came into his tent. He couldn‘t see her face, but she proceeded to change his bandages. “Oh, you’re awake? I thought you’d never wake up. I found you unconscious out in the woods. You weren’t too banged up, but you would not wake up.” She looked down into his eyes. Her face had soft features and everything about her looked kind and slightly passive… except her dominant green eyes. Justin paid no heed to that feature. This girl was pretty attractive. It took everything in his power for him to keep himself in line.

“Uh, thanks for saving me,” he said, “What brings you out here?” Justin forgot why he was even out there. The events of the night before were completely banished from his mind. In spite of this, he could tell something was off, but couldn’t quite place his finger on it.

“You were really brave last night to chase off that bear for me. Any sensible person would have run for it, but you really scared off that bear, so breakfast is on me. How do pancakes sound?” That didn’t quite answer his question… what bear?

Justin slapped his hand to his face. Last night was a complete blank. He couldn’t even remember what he was doing out there. “Pancakes sound good,” he said, “I prefer eating them with honey if you have any.” Whatever happened the night before, he’d worry about it later. For now he was starving and she was offering. He watched as she put on an apron and assembled the ingredients and dishes.

The girl sure took her time, but as she finished mixing up the ingredients, Justin realized she was using the recipe his late mother used to follow. He finally found himself famished and almost ate one straight off the skillet. “Dang, you’re just a hungry boy,” she remarked. Justin paid no heed. He wolfed down the food set before him. The honey was so immensely sweet and the pancakes were very nostalgic and tasty.

Having finished his food, Justin looked around. Everything began to grow a lot bigger. The table was level with his shoulders and he had to stand up to reach his plate. He looked over at the girl who had a look of content excitement in her eyes. “Just a little smaller…” he saw her mouth. In spite of the gravity of what was going on, Justin found himself very relaxed about his situation. “Moe ban-gaes!!” he demanded. Deep down in the back of his head he knew that wasn’t even how to request more pancakes, and even that these were probably not normal pancakes, but he paid no heed to the voice inside his head. He craved more pancakes. “Moe ban-gaes!!” He repeated. The girl then circled around him for a visual inspection.

“How do we ask for things?” she reminded him as she came to a halt to his side. “Beez?” he guessed, now completely tuning out his instincts. “Yes, very good, we say please,” she said as she picked him up out of the chair. “But first you need some clothes that fit.” Justin didn’t even care that he was now swimming in his shirt. His shoes were on the floor, his pants were draped over his chair, and he didn’t have a clue where his socks were.

The girl put him down on the ground and grabbed a diaper from her backpack. “Lie down for Mommy,” she told him. Justin obediently got on his back. She fastened the diaper around his waist and picked him up again. This time she perched him on her hip and looked into his eyes. “Does baby still want another pancake?” Justin nodded excitedly.

The next pancake was considerably smaller, but Justin gobbled it down faster than his first, which for him was a huge accomplishment. The honey tasted so sweet that it was beyond description. Justin felt very dizzy. He was grabbed from behind and laid on his back. The world grew bigger again.

The light faded. Bright colors that gave Justin a sense of peace dulled into ominous darker shades. The cheerful woman who had given Justin breakfast started to wither and writhe. Her skin peeled and flaked off. She started to shrink in size. Within a few minutes, a creepy doll was standing where the girl had been.

Justin wanted to do something, but his arms and legs were too undeveloped for him to move off the ground. He began to cry. The presence of the doll made him wet himself. All he could do was shriek in terror as the doll approached him.

The doll stopped right in front of him and looked down at him. Justin tried to stop crying, but was only successful in toning it down to a whimper. The doll then spoke in a heavy, raspy voice, "The woman you just saw is the witch of the dark forest. Do not be deceived by her appearance. Many have met their death at her hands and if you trust her then so will you.The man you seek has already met his demise. Leave this place at once." Justin fell silent and everything became gray and hazy.

***

Justin awoke with a start. He was in a pile of dead leaves that he’d fallen asleep in. Daylight had not yet greeted the forest. “I need to quit drinking,” he mumbled as he tried to close his eyes again. He turned on his side, only to feel a couple of lumps against his stomach. He then opened his eyes. The forest was still dark, but he could vaguely make out the shape of a girl about his age who looked very familiar...