Stumbling across such woods was a couple no older than 16.
‘Okay, we’re definitely lost.’ The girl said glancing over at the map the boy held.
‘No we’re not. We just have to keep going.’ He said adjusting his backpack.
‘Mark, this is not on the map, I told you we took the wrong turning about half a mile back, if we just go ba-‘
‘We’re not lost!’ He interrupted. ‘It is on the map, look you see this stretch of land here?’ He pointed to the map. ‘That is this forest and our checkpoint is on the other side of it.’
‘But it doesn’t have the little tree sign thingy on it which indicates it’s a forest or woodland area.’ She questioned.
‘Yeah well this map’s really old; this forest probably wasn’t even here when the map was made.’
She rolled her eyes and glanced at her watch. ‘It’s 6 o’clock and it’s starting to get dark, can we just camp out up there for the night?’ Pointing the way they came.
‘No because then we’ll most likely fail the training course if we start lacking behind at this stage.’
‘Well then what are we supposed to do? We’ve been walking since 11 o’clock with these enormous backpacks, I’m so tired and I know that that is not the way.’
‘How do you know, if we haven’t tried it? Look,’ he suggested, ‘how about we go through to the other side and if the checkpoint isn’t there, then we can stop.’
She hesitated.
‘Oh… I see. Is Emily scared of a little forest?’ He teased.
‘What?’ Her face flushed red, ‘no I’m not!’
‘Then why aren’t you coming with me?’
She realized he had backed her into a corner. ‘Fine.’ She huffed walking past Mark. ‘Let’s just find this stupid checkpoint.’
Fallen branches snapped under the weight of the two as they walked. The land here was damp and wet in the spring triggered by melted snow from the previous winter, leaving the stand of trees, and sparse overgrown yellow grass overrun by rogue strands of crippled ivy choking anything in its path. Moss sprouted in spattered patches becoming more and more apparent as they hiked deeper into the rotting heart of the forest.
***
The hoot of a nervous owl sounded in a distant tree before it fluttered away. The sun had set however the reflection of moon cast just enough light for the outline of objects to be seen. This in turn created a shadowy mess, the trees dressed themselves in shadows, branches became skeletal arms towering over them and everything became alive. This was enough to discourage Emily from exploring any further.
‘Why are you stopping?’ Mark asked.
‘I don’t… I don’t think we should go any further.’
He laughed. ‘Are you joking? It’s only 6:30, we’re nearly halfway, come on, stop being such a baby.’ He smiled pulling Emily’s wrist.
‘Why was I partnered up with you?’ She laughed, ‘you have the navigation skills of a donkey.’
‘Actually I think you’ll find donkeys have quite good navigation skills, so I’ll take that as a compliment.’
They both laughed and continued to talk and chatter. Her anxiety began to ease after a while until the fog started to thicken and they came to a clearing. They stared stone faced at a fallen tree that had rotted beyond recovery. The smell of mossy decay arose from this mouldy stump within seconds, though they were at least fifteen meters away. A single strand of frail rope hung from the largest branch, swinging back and forth with the wind. Mark began to walk closer to it.
‘What are you doing?’ Emily questioned pulling Mark back.
‘Let’s check it out.’ He walked closer.
Emily cautiously followed in his tracks. ‘Can’t we walk around?’ Her voice trailed off when she realized Mark wasn’t listening. Once they walked within reaching distance of it they stopped to examine this unusual finding. There didn’t seem much to it other than a dead tree and they were about to move on when Emily noticed something unusual.
The fog had now cleared, revealing a starry sky which was rarely seen in this part of the world. For a few seconds it was a reminder of what this forest used to be. Birds whistling in the wind, squirrels chattering noisily at one another under the beam of the sun, the vibrant colours of the flowers swaying to and fro with the wind.
All gone.
A piercing scream ripped through the still cold air.
The day had now ended for the two adventurers. And it was their last.