Daily Flash Fiction September 29

The endless fog swirled in the small gusts of wind, caressing the bare branches as it undulated snake-like through the trees. I caught intermittent glimpses of the path as brief flashes of sunlight broke through the thick mist. The light cutting into the eerie, unnatural dusk, stabbing my eyes with quick golden daggers.

Despite the pain, I was relieved. The woods were eerie on the best of days and not a little dangerous. There was a deep, craggy ravine along the path that more than a handful of people had met a gory end in and a pack of gray wolves roamed, these were in addition to the normal, but less fatal, sources of injury in old forests such as these. With the low visibility I was sure my chances of stumbling over the edge or being caught unaware by the wolves was high. Luckily, so far, the snatches of light had been enough to keep me on the path. Although, certainly I should have emerged from the woods by now.

There were only a few small paths branching off the main trunk I was on and I knew I hadn’t turned off and they were far too small for me to find myself on accidentally. Flickers of unease crawled up my spine and my mind drifted back to childish stories told around the campfire. Terrifyingly to my young mind were the ones set in these very woods. Tales of an unnamed horror from the ancient past dwelling here.

I firmly pushed these thoughts away and crept gamely on, but moments later my unease returned and the hair on the back of my neck rose, that old terror cramping my belly. I was paralyzed by fear, just as I had been as a child.

Close behind I heard a noise.

300 words