Disclaimer: I do now own GF

Another post-finale short

This is in 2nd person POV, which I've never written in so some feedback would be great!

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The forest was always how you imagined it- huge and dark, emerald needles glittering underneath a burning Oregon sun, only a few thin wisps of cloud cover swirling around in an open blue sea, doing nothing to stop that great golden eye from staring down at you and watching your every movement.

You wipe sticky sweat off your brow, pulling the lip of your hat down lower over your face in hopes that it would give you at least a little protection against the harshness of the sun's rays.

It doesn't however and you have to blink sweat out of your eyes. It burns, but not too much.

You tighten your grip on the backpack straps hanging precariously from your shoulders, pressing your mouth into a thin line. You've heard the stories- the ones whispered around flickering campfires that threw wicked shadows on pallid faces, told in soft tones next to a bright bed, twisting words of warning and chaos tickling a child's ear as they hid underneath their sea of blankets, protected from all the world's evils by a soothing ocean of warmth and a single, flickering sun plugged into the wall.

You did not care for the fears of the world, nor did you care. You weren't some gullible huck surrounding a dying flame and nor were you a whimpering child who couldn't see past their own wet nose. You were grown up now and fear could no longer conqueror you, not even the fear of the unknown.

With a tight smile on your face and determination blazing in your heart, you took a single step inside the forest, right underneath the grand pine trees of the woods.

Dry grass crunched underneath your steps and twigs from clingy underbrush grasped at your legs. You ignored their pleas of attention however, stomping through the undergrowth without care, the only thing plaguing your mind being the twisting stories and a destination you weren't all that sure about.

They said that if one was brave enough, smart enough, and determined enough, and could travel to the deep forests in the simple state of Oregon, far away from any human soul and heartbeat and find a place to sit in a place where only the light of the sun could dapple your skin, you could hear whispers from a creature long ago banished.

Exiled from the universe itself.

Of course, the stories branched off from there, as many variations as pine needles hovering above you.

Some said the creature was a human, one so wicked and deceitful and terrible, that not even the deepest pits of Hell wanted him, and cast him out.

Others claimed for it to be a wild monster, it's abhorrent voice trapped in a language no one could understand, rippling across time and space to touch the ears of those who had the patience and want to listen.

And even more, some said it was neither wild monster from the stars nor human but a beast not even the fabric of reality could understand and want for. So horrible it was, so ruthless its deeds, that the universe itself cast it out and the only echoes that were left was the sound of the universe swallowing it whole.

You didn't exactly know what to think of the stories, piled as high as a mountain. Didn't know which could be true and which could be false. For all you knew, it could've all been a sham and none of it real in the first place.

Still. You were always one to think a little bigger than the rest, see things in a light no others could see. You had hope, had imagination, that things weren't always what they seemed.

And so you trudged on. Over roots and under branches. Through thick leaves and long grass and dying flowers. So far you traveled and went, humming under your breath to fill the oppressive silence and weight in your chest, you didn't even notice the burning yellow of the sun fade to orange.

What you did notice, however, was the dryness of your mouth, the cramping muscles in your legs, and the aches in the bottom of your feet that pleaded for rest.

Rubbing a hand across your thigh, feeling the tensed muscle beneath your palm, you peered around. There wasn't much around you, really. The foliage and trees had finally started to thin out just slightly, leaving a little sitting room next to an odd shaped rock covered in growth, long grass consuming it as well. Gray stone peeked out from between the ocean of greenness. It was larger at the bottom than at the top, which was merely an odd point.

It was certainly odd, but nature had many strange things within her grasp.

You sit down next to it, leaning against it tentatively. Realizing the growth was dry and not even all that itchy, you learned your full body weight across, splaying your legs out before you. Straightening up to take your backpack off and place it to the side, you pulled out a bottle of water and took a long drink, sighing at the fresh taste as it revitalized you.

You blinked, noticing the way the sky was now streaked with red and orange flames, that great golden eye closing on you for the night. You shivered, your heart rate spiking as your nerves flashed, worry settling into your bones. You did not know these forests, did not have supplies to spend the night. So caught up in daydreams and exploration, you had not noticed anything at all.

You stood up suddenly and the overwhelming feeling of someone watching you took over, their hidden eyes right behind you, gleaming in the dark, watching as you tugged your cap down lower, smirking as they stared at your trembling legs. They were so close, right there, causing the hairs on the back of your neck to stand up straight on end, their touch hovering just over the top of your spine, a cold finger tracing the air down, causing icy chills to wrack your body. Your teeth ground together, the only sound beyond your own heavy breathing that was surely masking that creature's malicious chuckles.

Without a second thought, you flung your backpack back over your shoulders, and ran.

You ran and ran. Nearly tripping dozens of times, twigs that had once seemed playful now cruelly slicing at your legs. You ran and ran, breath caught in your lungs, heart beating faster than it ever had before, traveling up to lodge in your throat.

Through the blood rushing through your ears, over the hysteria caterwauling in your head, you heard it. The sing-song voice. Soft, barely there, carried by the harsh wind, reverberating through the trees around you.

"Will you please say hello

To all the folks that I know

And tell them that I won't be long

They'll be happy to know

That when you saw me go

I was singing this song…"

You burst through the treeline, the high-pitched voice evaporating with the pounding fear inside you. All was quiet, not even a hiss of the wind through pine needles. Stars glittered overhead thousands upon thousands of them, painting a mural only known to the rural.

One shoots across the sky, brightening your sight.

You wish, beyond all measures of a doubt, you'll never travel through that forest again.

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Thanks for reading!