1 The Kids In The Woods

I'm writing this because I don't know what to do or where to go anymore, so if something happens to me, at least someone will know.

My dad left my mom when I was really young. I was ten and, my sister was two at the time. Mom was absolutely devastated; he just picked up his bags and left without even explaining why. Mom was a wreck after that. She still loved and cared for us but she was never the same. 

Things were tough after dad left. Mom had a job, but it barely paid for our rent. She couldn't buy food for all of us, just enough for my sister and me. She would skip meals all the time. I took it as her not being hungry, but I walked in on her crying in her room one night, eating an old piece of bread.

She did her best to take care of us. She would apply for better jobs almost every day, but without a college degree and being a highschool dropout; she could never get them.

After five years of living like this, things actually started looking up for us. After working for so long in that shitty job, mom got a promotion, which came with a raise. It wasn't a lot. Enough to feed us all and allow mom to save up a bit.

A year passed after mom's promotion and she hit us with the "good news." She had saved a good amount of money and was able to buy us a cheap, perfect house in the woods, in another town. Where she also found a better paying job. It sounded so great. I could see the happiness in her eyes as she was telling us the news. It felt good to see her happy. I hadn't seen her smile in so long.

Life was starting to get better. We packed our stuff and got in the car. The house was already furnished, so we just had to take our clothes and our crappy TV.

After hours of driving, we got where the house was supposed to be. Mom took a turn to the right, into a dirt road that went into the woods and would lead us directly to the front of the house. After twenty minutes on this dirt road, I realized how far deep into the woods the house was. The road led to a big clearing in the form of a circle. The house was in the middle of it, surrounded by the woods

We got off the car and I took a look around. All I could see was the thick forest surrounding us, until I spotted the swings on the left side of the house, almost hidden behind it. I called my little sister's name and pointed at it for her to see.

"Cool! Can I play?"

Mom told her it was okay, and she ran to the swings.

I told her we should have taken a look first to see if it was safe because it looked old. She assured me that the previous owner made sure everything was in perfect condition before we moved in.

It didn't look that way...

We took the boxes inside while Jessy stayed outside playing on the swings. I began to look around inside. Unlike the house, the furniture looked new at least.

Mom said she was going to town to buy a few things and visit the place she was gonna work at and would be home soon.

The sun started to set and Jessy came inside. Mom arrived minutes later with groceries and a surprise for her. Mom put a box on the floor and told Jessy to open it.

It was a cat. Jessy was so happy. She always wanted one.

"I'm gonna name him Mr.Catterson."

Mom looked happy too. It was good to see them like this.

Night came, Jessy and mom were watching a movie in the living room and I went to my room to settle my stuff. Around midnight, I came downstairs and found them both sleeping on the couch. I turned off the TV, covered mom with a blanket, and picked Jessy up.

"Time to go to bed, Jessy." 

"No, I wanna play with that kid," she replied in her sleep.

She never talked while sleeping before. I asked her what kid, trying to keep my voice down not to wake her. She kept sleeping and didn't reply. I took her to her room and then went back to mine.

The next morning was normal. Mom was cooking eggs and Jessy was on the couch with her new friend, watching cartoons. I walked downstairs and sat on a stool at the counter. Mom put some eggs on my plate.

She asked me how was my first night at the new house and if I liked it there.

I didn't like it, and I didn't hate it either, but I couldn't tell her that. She looked so happy. So I told her I loved it. She went on and asked me what I had planned for the day. I told her I was gonna take a walk in the woods. Jessy heard us.

"Can I come? I wanna see a deer!"

I didn't want to take her with me but she kept asking.

"Please, please, please."

"Fine, fine, go put on some shoes then," I said, trying to calm her down.

We left the house and went into the woods. We begin to talk. I told her she was talking in her sleep last night about some kid.

"Yeah, he kept asking me to come outside to play with him," she said.

I asked her what else happened while she was dreaming.

"I told him I couldn't because it was late but he kept telling me that it was okay and to come outside." 

I told her that her friend sounded really insistent.

"Yeah, I know. He kept knocking on my window after you put me in bed."

I shivered when I heard that. I told myself that maybe she dreamed that I was putting her in bed, just like in real life. I asked her if what she just said happened in her dream too.

"No, you woke me up when you closed the door after putting me on my bed. That's when I heard a knock on the glass. I looked at the window and saw him. He kept knocking and knocking telling me to come out."

That made my blood run cold. I suddenly felt like we were being watched and felt sick to my stomach.

I picked Jessy up and headed back to the house.

Mom was about to leave for work. I told her everything that happened and that I didn't think we should stay here.

She told me to calm down, that I was overreacting and it was just Jessy's imagination.

I took a deep breath. She was right. Jessy was eight after all. It could have just been her imagination. Our family always believed in this kinda stuff and told stories. Maybe that's why I got so freaked out. I calmed myself down and tried to forget about it.

Mom went to work and Jessy and I stayed home. 

The day passed, night came and mom called to say she was working late tonight.

Later I put Jessy on her bed after she'd fallen asleep as usual, and went to my room. After hours of messing on my phone, I decided to go to sleep too.

A couple of hours later, I was woken by rapid footsteps. I looked at the door and saw Jessy standing there. Everything was dark except for the lights of the hallway coming from behind her, so I could only see her silhouette.

"Jessy, what you doing? Go back to bed!" 

She stood there silent for a few seconds, then she turned around and slowly walked away.

I got up and closed my door. Was she trying to scare me? I went back to bed and tried to fall asleep again.

The next morning was like all the others. Mom cooking eggs, Jessy watching TV. The only difference was the atmosphere. This creepy feeling that I couldn't shake off.

I figured I was still a bit creeped out from yesterday and tried to ignore it. 

Mom served breakfast and started talking about her new job and our new lives, but I didn't pay attention. I couldn't stop staring at the woods through the window. I couldn't look away. The deeper I stared into the woods, the worse that ominous feeling grew. I was getting nauseated. I was able to break the gaze as I ran to the bathroom and vomited.

Mom went to work and I decided to spend the rest of the day in my room with my phone, trying to shake that feeling but still glancing at it through my window almost every minute.

There is something wrong with those woods.

Jessy was out, playing at the swings with her cat. She had been there since 08:00 a.m.

The video I was watching on youtube ended and there was a brief silence. That's when I heard Jessy giggling and talking to someone. I walked up to my window to see who it was. I looked and saw her laughing and talking by herself as if someone was right in front of her. 

Suddenly she stopped for a second, turned around, and looked right at me. She seemed angry.

I walked away from the window and sat on my bed. What the hell was she doing? And how did she notice me? 

My room is on the second floor and we were like forty feet away from each other. But what was really freaking me out was the way she did it. it was as if... Someone told her that I was looking. 

After another hour passed, I went downstairs and made my way outside, to where she was. 

She was standing with her back towards me. I couldn't see her face.

"Jessy, come inside."

She ignored me and kept playing and laughing.

"Jessy, come inside NOW!"

She stopped and just stared into thin air, then started walking to the opposite side of where I was, to the back door of the house, and went inside.

Suddenly I was overwhelmed with a feeling that I was being watched from... everywhere. 

I quickly went inside and shut the door. I looked at it again. There is something in those woods that draws you to it.

I went to talk to Jessy. She was sitting on the floor in the middle of her room playing with her dolls, with her back to me.

"What were you doing?"

She just kept playing with her dolls, no reply.

"Who were you talking to?"

"My friends," she replied.

That was enough to freak me out and I was about to walk away. When I realized something and asked her.

"Jessy, where's Mr.Catterson?"

She calmly turned her head around to look at me.

"We ate him."

And that's when I saw it. Her face, her chest, her hands were covered in dried blood. I gathered the courage to ask her,

"Who is 'we,' Jessy?"

"My friends, the kids in the woods."

Shivers went down my spine. I slowly closed her door. She stared at me as I did so. I locked it and backed away.

I started to lock every door and window in the house as fast as I could. As I was passing by a window in the living room, I saw something in my peripheral vision, so stepped back to look at it. I saw them. They were everywhere. Some of them had blood on their mouths like Jessy. They were pale, really pale and their eyes were white, no pupils, just white. They were staring into my eyes. Into my soul. That feeling grew stronger than ever. I fell to my knees and started to vomit.

It's been three days since I saw my mom. 

The car she went to work with is back somehow. I think they got her. 

Jessy is one of them now. Her eyes turned white. She walked out the door and I didn't try to stop her. Maybe my mom turned into one of them too. I think I'm next. They are everywhere. Hundreds. Maybe thousands of them. 

I'll try to make a run for the car.