Not even two minutes later, and we were swiftly pulling into an old eroded dirt driveway, leading to a small horribly ramshackle house. Trumpet vine clawed its way up the chipped and weatherworn red paint, with dirt peppering the sides near the crumbling stone foundation. Bittersweet strangled its way around some unfortunate lilac bushes, and weeds of all kinds wove their way through the overgrown lawn. The small property was circled by a pantheon of trees, with the gnarled branches of elderly maples mournfully looming above like the limbs of long-forgotten skeletons stranded in time.

The car rolled to an abrupt stop, then the clicks of seatbelts being unfastened and zipping back into place quickly filled the car. “I’m only getting out to stretch my legs. There’s no way in hell I’m going in that house.” I firmly stated while pointing up at the place.

“Fine by me.” Justin quickly said, while opening his door and slipping out of the car.

“That’s fine, you do whatever you want to.” Pema added in a much kinder tone, as she exited the vehicle after him.

I sighed, then hesitantly scooted out of the car as well. Smells of blooming flowers and fresh woodland air filled my senses, and the peaceful songs of chirping birds filled my ears. Pema’s black strappy heels clicked on dirty stone steps, as she made her way up to the front door to pick the lock. Justin had already whipped his phone out and began to film their little ghost hunting break-in.

“Just in with Justin, we’re here in Sycamore Valley...” He said his stupid little slogan with a cheesy grin and began to explain what they were doing to the camera.

Not wanting to be caught on film, I decided to sneak behind the house. Tall grass parted around my ankles, as I slowly walked around to the eerily deserted backyard. Years of decayed unraked leaves and broken sticks threatened to reclaim the lawn as a part of the forest floor. There was a crumbling firepit that looked like it was once a nice spot to hang out with friends, surrounded by mushroom-covered stump seats. The sun was shining through the bright green maple leaves, casting dancing rays of light across a little patch of wavering red clovers.

I began to hear the peaceful sound of running water and followed it deeper into the weedy woods. I strolled beyond a few tall old maples and shady reishi adorned hemlocks until a small creek came into view. My hand gently rested on the rough bark of one of the maples, where a heart with the initials W. E. and O. S. were carved into the trunk. I felt a strange sense of sorrow as I looked at the engraving, wondering if they had passed away in the tragedy, whoever they were.

A soft smile graced my lips, as I looked around the little forest alleyway. Tiny ruby-throated hummingbirds happily zip-zoodled around a flowering black locust tree, slurping down the sweetly succulent nectar of its dangling puffy white blooms. I looked up and saw a beautiful black and brown spider weaving an orb web in the branches above me, with the silken threads glimmering in the sunlight. A mother robin was teaching her three noisy young to fly on a nearby moss and mushroom adorned log. Red squirrels territorially chirped in the silvery branches of sweet birch. And a fat old porcupine slept within the shade of a hemlock.

Since it was such a hot June day, I decided it would be a good idea to slip off my silvery heels and dip my feet into the cool stream. I bent down and ungracefully fumbled with the straps, then stepped out of them, leaving them safely under the tree amongst some purple meadow-rue flowers. I had to hold my arms out for better balance, as my bare feet pattered over a few round mossy stones, while I made my way over to the water’s rocky edge.

Tall woodland phlox blooms quivered in the warm gentle breeze beside me, as I dipped my toes into the refreshing running water. A fallen oak log created a short trickling waterfall, filling the area with an aqueous melody. I tucked a strand of my long golden hair behind my ear, as I looked down at the slippery stones and small fish beneath the water’s shimmering surface.

Closing my bright blue eyes, I sucked in a deep breath of the fresh early summer air and allowed all my worries to temporarily melt away. Then I began to slowly and carefully twirl within the flowing stream. The lovely cadence of songbirds chimed all around me, the sound dancing upon the wind while I danced deeper into the tranquil water.

I softly giggled as I kicked up with my foot, creating a splash, and watched as the tiny beads of water caught the sunlight like glittering crystals. With the flower crown still upon my head, I felt like a little woodland fairy, dancing under the golden beams pouring in through the wavering leaves. No one was watching, so I didn’t care if I looked like a weirdo or not. Everything was completely peaceful and perfect.

Ahh, sweet serenity...

Wanting to run my hand under the small waterfall, I twirled and slushed my way over to the mossy fallen log. I reached down to hold up the bottom of my silky dress, as the water suddenly became far deeper than I’d expected. My feet stepped onto a very smooth large stone, then with fabric crumpled in one hand, I glided my other palm beneath the short musical cascade, cutting through its shimmering watery veil with a smile.

Figuring that it was about time to head back and find Justin and Pema, I turned around and began to step away. Only, my left ankle had gotten ensnared on what felt like a very thin root. I looked down with furrowed brows, noticing that the stone I was standing on looked very dark, pitch black in fact, and I couldn’t make out what was wrapped around my ankle. I tried to break free again, but with no such luck.

What the hell could I possibly be caught on?

Frowning in irritation, I stepped completely off of the stone with my free foot, then forcefully attempted to yank my other leg away in order to snap what ever it was off of me. With a yelp, I slipped and fell backward into the stream, pulling something heavy up out of the water with me...

My eyes widened in complete shock and pure horror. Raw uninhibited fear ripped through my soul, as I stared up for a second, unable to mentally process the sight before me as reality... Then I fucking screamed like a bloody banshee.

I was literally face to face with a motherfucking corpse. What I had thought to be a stone, turned out to be some sort of otherworldly spiky black armor. Adipocere glistened on its wet decaying grey skin, which had rotted away from their gapping mouth, giving me a glimpse of terrifyingly sharp pointy teeth and fangs. Its waterlogged long black hair was pulled back in an algae-covered braid, revealing that the thing had pointy elf ears. Its eyes appeared to have been clawed out, which was highly likely since the thing had actual motherfucking sharp black claws.

Holy fucking shit, it’s a dead orc!

“Justin! Pema! Help!” I frantically screamed at the top of my lungs, while flailing my arms like a lunatic, desperately hoping that they would hear me. “HELP!!” I continued to scream and flop around in the water in an unceremonious fit of unbridled terror.

Holyshit!Holyshit!Holyshit! How is this even real!?

The water splashed all around me, and I somehow realized through all the chaos that my ankle was caught on a necklace around the thing’s thick ugly neck. I desperately tried to rip my foot away from it. In doing so, I accidentally cut the bottom of my foot on its spiky armor and caused it to lifelessly fall forwards on top of me, pinning me beneath the water’s cool but deadly surface.

Air bubbles floated out from my mouth as I screamed in absolute panic, unintentionally swallowing large painful gulps of water. Is this how I’m going to die!? I frantically reached for the necklace, grabbing ahold of its simple black diamond-shaped pendant set in grey metal, and once again tried to break myself free of its grasp. Then I felt the black gem sink further into its encasing with a click, like a button being pushed.

To my complete confusion, air suddenly whooshed all around me, and I felt like I was falling in every direction all at once. I strenuously gasped and coughed, while looking around in terror, seeing only the dead orc thing and some sort of black swirling mist all around us.

What the fuck is actually happening!? What the fuck!? What the fuck!? What the fuck!?

With a hard thud, me and the freakish otherworldly corpse abruptly landed on the ground together in a crumpled-up heap. Luckily, I landed on top of the thing, so it didn’t crush me beneath its spiky armor. With trembling hands, I swiftly untangled my ankle from its necklace. Then my pink-painted fingernails desperately clawed at odd-smelling ashen soil, as I scrambled to get away. I hissed in pain, as I tried to stand on my injured foot, causing me to trip onto my face.

Quick as lightning, I got up and began frantically stumbling away. I tripped yet again, then continued stumbling further from the creature. My breathing became sporadic and anxiety gripped my very soul as I suddenly realized that I wasn’t near the little stream at all, and I had absolutely no idea where the fuck I was. I sucked in a shaky disoriented breath, befuddled and also wondering if I had unknowingly passed out for a few hours, as the shadow of night had somehow already fallen.

What happened? Where the fuck am I? How is it already nighttime?

...Oh shit...

I froze in absolute terror and my heart began furiously pounding against my ribcage, while I examined my new surroundings. I was still in a forest, but there was no flippin' way that it was the same one that I had just been in.

The sickly trees had harrowing ghoulish undead corpses encased in their gaunt ebon trunks as if the trees had grown to imprison them. Out from their abyssal black mouths poured whispered screams of anguished lamentations, while bony clawed arms desperately grasped at the suffocating darkness. Long gangly black vines looped down from the higher branches, with ghostly gossamer sheets draping mournfully all around. A black unnatural fog ominously slithered like a shadow along the damp ground and wisped through the haggard spikes of menacing thorn bushes like dismal tendrils of death. Disgusting undead bat-like creatures fluttered and screeched throughout the heavy twisted boughs.

“Justin... Pema...” I warily called, while looking around in alarm like a little lost puppy, unable to wrap my mind around what I was seeing.

Please, no. Nonononono. Where are they? Where am I?

A loud sickly roar suddenly came from right behind me. I slowly turned around, and could hardly believe my fucking eyes. There standing before me was the most harrowing zombie-like beast I’d ever seen in my entire life. Never could my imagination have ever conjured up such a grotesque creature.

Rows of formidable sharp spiky teeth dangled from its long hideous snout. Massive black claws dug into the ashy soil, holding up the heavyweight of its huge black scaly dinosaur-like body. It looked right at me with four fathomless black eyes, then it sniffed the corpse and clamped down on it with its mighty drool-covered jaws. Scaly tattered wings began to flap, and it swiftly flew off with the dead orc into the tempest black sky, with its long whip of a tail swooshing behind it.

Holy fuck...

I screamed loud enough to wake the fucking dead, then began to aimlessly sprint into the forest in a fit of blind idiotic panic, stumbling and tripping the whole way.