Chapter 1

Instructions for a walk in the woods

Never turn around to check behind you. You'll see nothing, but once you start doing it you won't be able to stop, and an ominous feeling will follow you until you don't lock your house's door behind you.

If you stand very still and listen you will hear the woods calling for you. Don't answer. Never answer.

You'll hear things quietly following you, hidden in the trees by your sides. It's okay, they're just checking on you.

Don't be scared, but be really, really wary.

If you have a bad feeling about taking a certain path, don't. You'll avoid whatever is waiting for you at the end of it.

You never know what may be buried under the soil you're walking on. Remember that every time you take a step. Pray that whatever it is, it won't wake up.

Make sure you remember the way back home. As soon as you get lost, you're just another piece of fresh meat.

Source:thanatosjr

"I can't believe she didn't tell me." I saw April looking at the cup of coffee I was holding, the liquid threatened to spill over the edge as I paced through the room. Maybe I shouldn't be drinking coffee this late, I had an early class tomorrow.

"It was a Vegas wedding. I think it was kind of… a last-minute decision." April stood up as she said this and reached for the cup in my hand. April had been my roommate for almost a year and a half now. I had known nobody when I moved into my college dorm. Most of my old classmates wanted to move as far away from home as possible. I couldn't do that. I had to stay close to home, in case Renee needed me.

"With husband number 3 she forced me to wear that ugly pink dress but at least she told me, and I was there. I can't believe she didn't tell me. I can't believe she didn't invite me."

Renee had e-mailed me this afternoon, while I was still in class, that she had gotten married on her trip to Vegas. She had thought it was hilarious and even included a picture of her and husband number 4. She was wearing a short white dress and had written under the picture 'I look a bit like Marilyn Monroe, don't you think?'
I had congratulated her on her marriage, said she looked great and had told her I was doing fine in school. I was glad she hadn't called. I don't think I would've been able to sound sincere while congratulating her.

"I understand that your angry but maybe you should talk to her." I turned around to face April who was still standing next to the bed. I had turned too quickly, and the coffee spilt over my cup and landed on the linoleum floor. Coffee forgotten and I just stared at her in anger. I should call Renee. No! I wasn't in the wrong here. Renee should call me.

April kept quiet. She knew her friend just needed to get this off her chest. She had only once met Bella's mother and didn't really like the women. Sure, she was nice enough, but she acted as if the whole world revolved around her.

"I should talk to her? She should be the one to make the first move. She is in the wrong here April. Not me!" I looked down at the spilt coffee and sighed. Can't anything go right? I should probably clean up the coffee spill.

"She should've told me," I whisper once more before sitting down on the bed next to April.

April didn't say anything, she just put her arm around me. Holding me together. "I know I'm probably making a big deal out of nothing and I certainly can't change anything about what has happened. I just wish she would think, just once, before she acts."

"It will be alright. Tomorrow is the last school day before the holidays start and if you don't want to go home for Christmas you are free to come home with me and celebrate Christmas with me and my granny."

I smile at her with the tears that have gathered in my eyes threatening to spill over. What would I do without April?

April, who had grown up with her gran, having lost her parents in a car crash when she was only 3 years old. She had told me once that she remembered them only vaguely, but the pictures her gran had hanging everywhere help her never to forget the faces of her parents. There was a picture of her parents when they went to their prom. April had shown her that picture and they had both laughed. And a picture of her parents holding April when she was just a baby. April had told her that there was at least one picture of her parents in every room at her gran's.

Hearing this had almost made me cry. Because the only picture I had from my dad was the one picture of him in his police uniform. I suspected that that was also the picture they had used at his funeral. There were no pictures of me and my dad. Or even of my dad and my mum together. Only that one picture, which I had found in the attic when I was hiding from mum because of some argument we had had. I remembered asking Renee who the man in the picture was. Renee had told me that that was my dad and that she didn't want to talk about it.

"So, tell me more about husband number 4," April said after she had poured me and herself a new cup of coffee.

"His name is Phil; he is a Minor league baseball player and almost 10 years younger than my mother. So, god knows how long that relationship will last. I give it 5 years, max." I laugh and take a sip of my coffee. It's still too hot to drink and I feel the liquid burn the tip of my tongue.

"I'm overreacting, I know but it just hurts. It's always been just the two of us. She married husband number 2 when I was 5 years old. And I was so happy because I was finally normal. I had a mom and a dad just like every other kid in my class. He was nice and even if he wasn't my real dad, it was okay. Because he did dad-things like picking me up form school. He left 2 years later. Then there were a whole bunch of boyfriends. And then it was husband number 3, I was 13. He wasn't like husband number 2 at all. He shouted a lot and got angry quickly. And now she's got a new husband. Is it bad that I don't really care anymore? After college, I plan on moving far, far away and never looking back."

April just shrugged.

"Your granny won't mind if I stay over for Christmas?" I try to take another sip of the coffee. It's better this time. Still a little too hot for my liking but drinkable.

"You're really considering that?" April asked surprised. "Because that would be great! We could go to the Christmas fair. My gran never goes because it's too much walking and she refuses to sit in a wheelchair."

"That sound's great," I'm already envisioning the hot cups of chocolate milk. April lived in South Dakota and it was a lot colder there than in Arizona. I'm going to have to go out and buy some thick jumpers if I'm going to spend a whole holiday there. "I will phone Renee after I get back from my Freelance and Feature Writing class in the morning, just to let her know that I won't be coming home for the holiday."

My class had ended earlier than usual, the teacher had wished us all a happy holiday and of course had to reminded us that we had an important assignment due right after the holiday and that we shouldn't forget about it or do it last minute, because she will know when an assignment is done last minute and she hates it even more than when it isn't done at all. With that, she had sent us all home early.

"A vanilla latte to go please," I smile at the barista as I search for my wallet. I know I threw it in here somewhere. "And a chocolate chip cookie" I add to buy me some extra time for finding my wallet. Finally, I find it under my notebook. I'm playing with my fishnet-panty while I wait for my drink. Pushing my finger through the little hole, seeing how far I can stretch it but careful not to rip it.

"I like your shirt," the barista told her when handing over the cup. I had to look down to see which shirt I was wearing. I had been in such a rush this morning that I had just thrown something on and ran to class. It was a black shirt with bubbles from the Powerpuff girls. I had combined the shirt with a hot pink skater skirt and a studded belt around my waist

"Thanks," I said with a smile and swung my backpack over my shoulder and walked out. I remembered that I had worn this outfit to a party two days ago, but I couldn't remember if had put it in the wash and had already washed it or if I had grabbed it from the dirty laundry pile. it didn't smell like beer or sweat, so I guess that I had washed it and forgot about it.… but maybe I should change into something fresh when I get back to the dorm.

I thought about what I could wear while walking up the stairs toward the dorm room. There was this little black skater dress with a white-collar that I could wear. It was one of my favorites, and I'm pretty sure I brought it with me to college. I'm sure it is laying around somewhere in my closet. And I could combinate it with a pair of white thighs and black Mary-jane-shoes. The one which I had bought on a whim after watching Clueless with April.

I had to search for my keys in my backpack, careful not to spill the coffee and wishing I had taken them out when I had been searching for my wallet. I had the cookie, which was still in its brown paper bag, clutched between my teeth.

"Come on, I know you're in here" I muttered as I shoved my books aside.

After finally finding the keys to my room and letting myself in, I dropped her bag on the bed and put the coffee and my cookie on the desk. I changed quickly into a fresh set of clothes and looked in the mirror. 'I look like Wednesday Addams' I thoughted to myself with a smile.

I bit off a piece of cookie as I searched through the contacts on my phone.

"Renée Dwyer speaking," mum said as she answered the phone. 'So, it's Dwyer now?'

"Hello mum," I said and took another bite of the cookie. "I'm just calling to…"

"I'm so glad you called. I was planning on calling you, but I kept forgetting it. Doesn't matter, I have to ask you something. Well better said; to tell you something. You can't come home for Christmas. I'm sorry. Phil and I are going on a holiday together and we are getting the house repainted while we're gone. So, you can't come home. You can stay on campus, right? Summer break is the only break when you have to go home right? So, it's okay to stay? I'm so sorry to drop this on you last-minute, I was planning on telling you this sooner, but I forgot."

"Just like you forgot to tell me you were getting married, right?" I couldn't keep the anger out of my voice. It was the same old story. She did something and I would just have to learn to live with it. I had enough of it. If she didn't want to think about me anymore and live happily with husband number 4 then so be it.

"Bella… don't be like that."

"Never mind. I hope you have fun on your holiday. Please, don't spend too much money or else you won't be able to pay the electric bill, again. And I'm not paying it for you again." And with that, I hung up and threw the phone onto the bed.

Sure, I could stay at the campus. And I had already made other plans for the holiday but once again she hadn't taken me into account while making plans and it pissed me off. I found myself wishing once again that I had known my dad. What was he like, would he care for me? Would I've been welcome to come home for the holidays.

April came in when I was taking my last sip of coffee and as nice as she was, I just wanted to be alone right now.

"So, what did your mum say?" she asked as she took her schoolbooks out of her bag and started to put them away on the bookshelf next to the desk.

"She Oké with it. I'm going for a walk. I got this headache and I think some fresh air might make it feel better. "April looked up at me and raised an eyebrow, silently asking 'are you Oké?'

"I'll be back before dark."

"You better. We'll be leaving first thing tomorrow morning and you still need to pack" she shouted as I walked into the hall.

There was a little breeze as I walked towards the woods that lay behind the campus. There was one path that leads towards the woods and teachers recommended not to go into the woods. People tend to disappear. As a first year I, as did many, thought it was just a scary ghost story. Like don't take the elevator to the 5th floor or you may never return. But it turned out that this was real warning. As much as dozen students had disappeared without a trace. April and I had looked into it but couldn't find any connection between the students or the dates on which they had disappeared. All we could find out was that they had all taken a walk into the woods and never got out. And I was a bit ashamed to admit that that was exactly what drew me to these woods. April and I had taken several walks in them and always gotten out. We hadn't even seen anything suspicious. No rocks that were standing upright, or stairwells that ended into nothing. No doors or bright lights. Just plain boring woods.

The first time I walked alone in these woods was after a fight with April. I can't even remember what we were fighting about.

A twig snapped behind me and I turned around to quickly, the heel of my shoe got stuck in the mushy ground and I landed on my ass.

"Hello, April is that you?" I asked but there was nobody on the path behind me. Then the snapping twig sound came from beside me.

"This isn't funny" I shouted and looked around. I wasn't scared. I wasn't scared. I wasn't scared.
There was a loud snap on my left side, and I jumped up, ready to run but I came eye to eye with a deer. Its eyes seemed to almost glow then it bared its teeth at me, and I stayed very still. In my mind I tried to think about how far back it was to the campus and if I could run it and stay ahead of the deer. My chances were slim to none.

The deer turned sideways as if it had heard something I hadn't, and I could see something shiny by its neck. Was it bleeding? With one hand reaching forward I took a step towards the deer. The glowing eyes must have been a trick of the light and of course, it would bare its teeth, it was hurt.

"it's okay, I'm only trying to help." It looked at me, directly in the eyes. It seemed too intelligent for a deer. And then it took off.

"Wait" I shouted as if that would make him stop. I started to run after him, cursing my heels as they got stuck in the dirt. "Wait."

I was struggling to make my way through the woods, I had gone off the pad and it was starting to get darker.

"Bella." It sounded like a whisper, carried by the wind but still very clear.

"Hello?" I looked around. It seemed that I had lost the deer. I hoped it was okay. It hadn't seemed in pain. Maybe it wasn't bleeding at all.

"Bella." This time it sounded closer. I wasn't scared. I wasn't scared. I wasn't scared.
There was a loud snap right next to me and I could feel my heart beating in chest. I just had to get back to the campus. Everything would be alright then. I looked around but had no idea where I was. Surely, I hadn't run that far after the deer.

"Bella." I took off, running as fast as I could. I just needed to get away from this spot. It felt as if someone was following. The snapping of the twigs never seemed to get closer, but it also never faded. Something was following… I was sure of it.

"BELLA." This time it was no longer a whisper, it was a shout and it came from right next to me. I screamed, hoping someone would hear me. April would come looking if I didn't come back.

I duck under a low hanging tree-branch and then I saw the deer again. Animals ran away from danger, so if I followed it, I should be safe. But the deer was fast, faster than I and the tree-branches brushed against my face like fingers trying to grab me. it reminded me of that scene from Snow White. Tears sprung in my eyes, making it even more difficult to run. I wasn't ready to become number 13. I'm not going to disappear like all the others did. I was going to get out of here.

I couldn't see the deer anymore. My lungs were screaming for oxygen, but I couldn't stop running. The feeling like someone was following was still there. I became too scared to look over my shoulder, scared of what I might see there.

I could feel something dripping in my neck and then again against my face.

Drip. Drip. Drip. Boom.

The woods were lit up by lightning. I had to get out.

There. There was that deer again. I ran, ducking under another tree-branch. I could feel something brushing against my back.

It's just the trees. There is nothing there.

BOOM.

I jumped over a root that had grown above the ground, but my shoe got caught and I saw the ground coming towards me. My hands reached forward, trying to break my fall but the pushed right through the leaves that lay on the ground. My face connected with the dirt, hard. I grinded my teeth. I was sure my lip was bleeding. I tried to turn around, but I could feel the ground starting to sag. I grabbed the root as I sank deeper into the earth and then I looked up.

There was the deer. Right above me, looking at me with a sinister look and then it smiled.

And I could feel the ground giving away.