Today, you get a short story.
Starting Word Count: 4,404
Marla felt like she had been driving for hours. It was darker here than any darkness she had ever encountered. The forest had started out serenely enough, and she should have been able to drive through it much more quickly than she was. When she entered the forest, daylight still shone through the trees above her, casting shadows of leaves on the road and glancing golden off the branches above. It was a beautiful forest, and she had enjoyed the picturesque beauty of the nature surrounding her. She had even stopped to take pictures of the silent beauty of the tall trees.
That had been a long while ago. The map indicated that the distance from Ensward to Severland was a mere thirty miles. She should have bene through this forest within an hour of entering.
However, that hour had past long ago. And now she was in pitch blackness, surrounded by trees which, having cast off the warmth of the sun, now projected an air of chill that belied the season.
Marla thought back to the strange conversation she had had just before entering this forest.
Marla pulled into the gas station in Ensward. It was just shortly before six in the evening, and she had a ways to travel today before she intended to stop. The road ahead was long, and she was a bit tired. Still, it was too early to stop for the night.
As she was filling up, a young man wearing a blue shirt with a white and red name tag emblazoned with "Zeke" approached the car. "Miss?"
Marla smiled politely at him, but she was not interested in full service. She was perfectly capable of filling her own tank with gas.
Zeke persisted. "Miss?"
Finally, she turned to him. "Good afternoon."
He looked a little nervous when he approached. "Ma'am, I know this sounds strange, but I can tell you're not from around here. You seem to be headin east. That right?"
Marla was uncertain how to respond. "Is there a reason you're asking me this?"
Zeke nodded. "Ma'am, I don't mean nothin' by it. But I hope you have a place for the night here. Please don't go into the Ensward Forest this late in the day. You won't be able to get to the other end before nightfall."
Marla smiled. "Thank you for your concern. But it's only a thirty mile forest, and I have driven after dark before. Besides, I have reservations already made."
"Ma'am, you really don't understand. That forest ain't safe after dark falls. No one goes in, and no one ever comes out if they do."
Marla decided that Zeke was trying to be helpful, but this ws a local superstition, which she really didn't have time for. "I'll take my chances," she said as she finished up. Then she went to the convenience store to get a few snacks, and use the facilities, before she started the next leg of her journey.
At the time, Marla had felt Zeke to be awkward, but well intentioned. A local boy who grew up with superstitions and truly believed them. She had felt those superstitions to be silly and backward at the time, and now she was not so sure.
It was well past eight in the evening by the clock on her dashboard, and her odometer indicated that she had travelled far more than thirty miles. Marla should have already escaped this forest long ago.
Yet she was determined not to stop now to ask for directions. She had a feeling that would be worse than anything.
It had started, innocently enough, just after darkness fell. At the time, she was certain she was near the border of the forest -- and she may well have been -- but now she was just as certain that this forest closed its borders as the sun was extinquished and all those within its borders were its prisoners until the light of the sun released them.
It was a silly thought, yet one she could not help giving credence to.
As the darkness started to fall, Marla had thought she saw a grey shape near the edge of the road. It was nothing substantial, nothing certain, just a fleeting shape creeping to the edge of the trees - as she passed. Marla had not even been certain at first that she had seen it. It was a trick of the light, or lack of it, playing games with the shadows. Marla had dismissed that grey shadow.
And the next.
But the third time she thought she saw something, she no longer was quite as willing to dismiss the shadows as illusions conjured by her mind.
Marla was just beginning then to think that there might be something to Zeke's superstitious nonsense afterall. However, Marla was not going to allow herself to believe that she would not come out of this forest. She was going to find that exit. Surely one existed, or they would have rerouted the road. If it were truly that dangerous, officials would have done something. Wouldn't they?
Or would they too dismiss the stories as superstitious nonsense?
Marla glanced slightly at the edge of the road. She was certain there was something there.
And just as suddenly, she became certain that if she took her eyes off of those white lines which defined the road, it would disappear, and she'd be left trying to navigate a forest of trees, with no path to guide her.
Marla refused to think that perhaps this path was taking her where the trees wanted her. She had to believe that if she remained on the path, she would be safe.
It was silly.
She laughed grimly as it reminded her of her childhood belief that pulling the blankets over her head would keep her safe. But still, the blankets had kept her safe -- perhaps there had been monsters there too.
So she would trust this road, and watch it unwaveringly.
Marla nearly looked to her left as she felt and heard something scrape against her car. This was a distraction. She knew it had to be. Marla reached down and re-locked the doors. She was certain they had been locked, but she was taking no chances in this forest. She kept her eyes glued to the white lines in front of her.
Marla noted things moving, dim lights flashing amongst the trees -- but she did not glance their way. That was what this forest wanted.
She loved forests -- even dark ones such as this. But she knew them. Some forests were old, and felt heavy and ancient with a hidden power coursing through them. Others felt light and welcoming, like a safe haven amongst the world. This one was different. It felt old, but it had a hunger and a hatred. She could feel that it was angry. Angry for the losses it had suffered and still suffered, from people who took its trees and killed them, without thought or care. It was angry and was taking out its revenge. The dark heart of this forest reached out its power when the sunlight no longer warmed its leaves.
Marla had felt the change in the personality of the forest as it had darkened. While on other occasions, she would consider stopping and looking at her map. This would give the forest its victim. Marla knew she had to drive. Drive like her life depended on it. The rules of nature did not apply here in the night time of the Forest of Ensward. Here in the Forest of Ensward, she had to survive the night.
So Marla drove. She held fast to the belief that this was only thirty miles, and the gas in her car would last that long. If her tank ran empty, she would never leave this place.
She stayed on the path and drove. The white line blurred as it became the life line she held tightly to as she drove through the night. She ignored the sounds, the scrapes and shakes she felt as the car sped through the night.
And finally, a glimmer of light hit a leaf, and the forest started to change. Marla was exhausted, but she kept driving. More light came and the branches began to glow with the sun. Warmth filtered from above, and the forest opened up and Marla drove out. She had made it through the night and survived the Forest. Finally, she was free.
There was a little cafe and gas station right at the edge. She pulled over and looked at her gas tank. It was on empty. Marla got out of her car and saw all the scrapes she had heard through the night.
She got back in and drove up to the pump. Marla frowned, confused for a moment. However, before she could really look at her surroundings, she was approached by someone who clearly worked at the cafe.
"Did you....did you just come out of the forest?" the woman asked.
Marla looked up to see a kind looking woman in an old-style diner uniform. Her name badge said she was called Cindy. Marla nodded.
"Welcome to town," Cindy said, cryptically. Her voice had a tint of sadness and rang with irony.
Marla was not sure what to make of Cindy's comment, but decided to ask for some information from her. "It's been a very long night," Marla said. "I don't suppose there is a hotel or something nearby where I can get a room?"
Without answering Marla's question, Cindy looked at the car. "I've never seen a car like this before!"
Marla raised an eyebrow, then took a look around her. There were no modern cars at all. And they were all beat up and covered with scratches.
"Come on, honey. I guess we should introduce you around," Cindy said.
"Introduce me?" Marla asked. "That really won't be necessary. I just want to get a room at a hotel, rest up, then continue on my way."
Cindy looked at her with pity. "I know, honey. Don't we all. But, you're here now, and you ought to be grateful for that at least."
"What do you mean?" Marla asked with alarm.
Cindy took a deep breath. "You drove through the forest at night, and you survived. Not everyone does. But you did not get out. You'll never get out. I'm sorry."
"Why?"
"We belong to the forest."
"What happens if I try?" Marla asked.
"One of two things: you'll end up back here, in one piece but out of your mind. Or your car will be returned to this town the next day -- empty."
Cindy spoke with certitude.
"So, we're prisoners," Marla said.
Cindy nodded. Marla stood there a moment. She stared at the forest, which seemed so serene and calm and welcoming now as it glistened in the sunlight. As she watched, the forest seemed to expand. Everywhere she looked on the horizon surrounding the city were trees. Gold and green and red. Trees surrounded them.
"Looks so innocent and harmless, doesn't it?" Cindy said.
Marla just nodded.
Today's Word Count: 1,858
Total Word Count: 6,262
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