Into The Lush Forest
The sun had just kissed the hill, giving warm color to the sky, but I was feeling cold. The excitement in my heart was slowly losing its fire. My group was lost, and I felt alone, in the crowd of trees, a cold crowd perhaps. “Sandhya, did you read all the information? It is two hour long hike. You have hardly ever walked an hour. Take rest at home. You would not be able to walk all the way. ” I remembered the wise words of my mother. However, I was here walking slowly through the dense forest defying my mother’s advice. I along with Nitisha and Puja were making loud noises with our steps, crushing the fallen leaves, and the broken twigs. I could hear the constant buzzing sounds of the mosquitoes and the crickets chirping. I was keeping calm until a little lizard scattered off through the grass. Adrenaline rushed through every vein in my body as I heard a strange, yet terrifying growling sound. At that moment, every instinct in my body told me to run. I looked everywhere; all I could see were my two friends, and the cold quiet forest. Even worse my anxiousness increased as I tried to locate where the sound was coming from. Trees, flowers, and everything else where my eyes reached looked lifeless. I felt as if they had no soul and I was slowly losing mine.
I wished it had been a regular Saturday morning, me being home with my mother. Nevertheless, I was there with my school mates for the annual school hike. “This forest is dense. Please do not wander
As we started along the trail, I worried about forgotten items and my decision to only bring one extra pair of socks. However, after a while, I became aware of a pair of birds chattering above me and the soft murmur of water trickling down a stream bed. After an hour of walking, the trail starts winding back on itself in a series of switchbacks. The chatter between my family members slows down, as we soon struggled to breathe from exhaustion. Sometimes I was hunched over so far from my load that I would stare at my rubber-toed boots and forget to look up at the majestic trees surrounding me.
She took a quick look around the last turn before the main street that led to the school. She noticed several boys and girls in the alleyways on both sides of the narrow street. It looked as if every class at her school, several young ladies and even her teacher waited for her in ambush. She ducked back before they could see her, hiked up her dress, and ran as fast as her little legs could carry her in the opposite direction of the angry mob. She didn’t stop until she had found the forest path that she needed and breathed a sigh of relief when she heard no one in pursuit. The forest surroundings felt different for some reason and it frightened her. It had a forbidding feel to it this dawn like she had never felt in the past.
Breathless, Alex ran through the forest. It was twilight, normally his favorite time of day, but this golden hour took on a malicious tone. These woods were full of weeds, slippery moss covered stones , and twisted, thorny vines. Alex’s foot caught on a snarled root, and he tumbled onto the cold dirt. Alex sensed something was amiss, and he knew The Beast was growing ever nearer. As Alex lay sprawled on the forest floor, a single thought ran through his mind. “I’m done.” with the will to live draining from him. Alex lay still in the dirt and leaves resting for his last time. The soreness in his legs was so unbearable he wanted the release of death; craved for it even. “Thump”....... “Thump” The Beast's feet approached slowly and
The closer I got the more the forest seemed to swallow me though. There was no longer any sound of crickets that I could hear, or the hoots of owls, not even the unrelenting creaking of the forest’s swaying branches. All of it been snuffed out by my beating heart’s resonance echoing throughout my ear drums. I could feel something though. I could feel that the temperature was dropping yet again, which gave me a sense that I was getting
She said to herself scrambling through the forest ever more eager to get to the safety of the neighboring country of Salved. As she broke through the branches of a wild berry tree, partially covering her sent from bloodthirsty Shepherds chasing her, she found herself in a small little clearing about twelve feet across. Sunlight lit the clearing from two parted trees somewhere above, the only lighting in this cursed forest, towards the left of the clearing there was a mossy boulder with a tree growing around the backside. Towards the right there was a single tree branch that seems to existed on its own, pulled down by a perfectly seeming fully ripened red apple. Running down the middle of the clearing was a little stream. But as much as her legs yearned to rest on the boulder and as much as her stomach grumbled and her throat begging to be wet by the cold stream water she knew it was either just her imagination or a trap. Real or not she chose to avoid it running around the outer right side still unsealed by the
“Hey! We’re running now. Start moving.” I opened my weary eyes. In front of me was the dark face of the same woman who I talked to at dusk. Heeding her words, I rose and started moving to the exit of the barn, quietly evading the slumbering guard outside. I realized that she stayed behind for me and the rest were gone already. After we went over the fence, we started to run as fast as a tiger until we were out of breath and our limbs were sore. The weather was clear as day and the sun was right above me. Then, I heard the familiar sound of
The woods are silent once more, other than the occasional gust of wind. It had to be at least zero degrees Celsius, yet it physically felt like I was on a beach, the rays of the sun warming up my whole body. It was such a nice feeling. One that I never wanted to go away. The 1000 mile stare adds on of course. For the first time in a long time, I felt safe. Away from the constant gunshots flying over my head. My adrenal glands are finally relaxed. But what was that aura? What were those things? Why was I shown this? These same 3 questions stormed my head and would never leave for as long as I live. I began to get self conscious. I probably looked like an idiot standing there, staring malevolently into nothing, my rifle hanging to my side and my mouth wide open. I shook out of it and continued on straight back St.Petersburg. I had no idea why I was walking there, but I couldn't stop myself. My legs were just working autonomously. The walk was much the same throughout the whole sections of the woods. Nice clean white blankets of snow covering the icy ground beneath me. I began to think about my family. My wife Kasia, where was she now? Hopefully she knows what I’m doing, walking at a baren pace to something. My son Johnnas, should now have turned five. How is he doing without a father right now? On my path, It is impossible not to fall into the 1000 mile stare. Accompanied by the sound of boots escaping snow. How long until I get
The sun was glistening through the tall, swaying pines. To the right of the trail, a gentle river flowed softly down towards the mouth of the lake. Walking across the rickety wooden bridge, I inhaled a deep breath of refreshingly crisp mountain air. The sun beat down on me as I made my way across the bridge and back onto the well-used hiking trail. The ambient sounds of chirping birds, babbling water, and the croaks of several frogs filled my ears as I made my way around the bend. As I entered the mouth of the forest, I could see my father standing in the middle of the path, glancing upwards, taking in the beauty that had began to engulf us. “We better get going.” he said, looking back at me. “There’s still many miles to go.” I smiled and turned, taking in one last view of the beautiful creekside. Then, with determination, we set out to finish the challenging trek we had started.
It was dark. No city lights were visible from the forest trail; the only light source was the dim light of the crescent moon in the clear night sky. A lone hiker walked down the trail in the night. The trail was nothing but a pale brown streak that wound through the endless canopy of trees. Leaves glistened with droplets of water that shimmered in the silver moonlight. Water soaked earth soiled and froze one's feet with coarse sandpaper like dirt and icy water. All was quiet except for the constant sound of sloshing from the wet ground. New scenes of trees, more trees, and an occasional body of water appeared in the distance ahead and dissolved quietly into the darkness behind. Still nothing made a sound except for the ground which sloshed when stepped upon. The smell of fresh pine and sage permeated the cold night air.
The tickling sensation of heat bathing his face forced him to slowly open his eyes. The sun’s golden rays stunned him blurring his vision as he quickly turned away. As his eyes adjusted, he was surprised to find the absence of his father. His heart started to pound and all the confidence and security that he had built up melted in the space of a few seconds. He jumped up flinging his sleeping bag on to the ground and looked around taking note of his surroundings. To him, it felt as if the trees were suddenly sent out to attack him like stealthy assassins gaining on him as they moved side to side from the winds steady breeze. The faint noise of bugs and animals chattering sounded like the grunt of a predator before it hunts its prey. A colossal cloud
I just ran. Before I knew it, I was out of the trailer and walking back down the trail. That’s when the real fear set in, it’s strange how you feel so open and exposed walking on a trail. The trailer was sitting there it looked almost evil. I turned a corner and it disappeared out of sight. But the feeling of being followed remained. The trail was almost a trench carved in along a steep hill one side it sloped down and you could see a small pond. I began to visualize what could've happened. The different ways it could’ve ended. I wanted to go back and see if someone was really there, but I knew that would be a waste of time. I summed it up in my head as the wind pushing the door open. I still constantly turned back, looking over my shoulder to see if there was some truth to what I thought, if something was actually following me. It was a windy day out and as the wind the blew the trees would creak and crack. Branches fell off and slammed on the ground crashing down and taking other branches with it. The sound was amplified through the quiet and almost sleeping woods. It was strange, there were no animals, no squirrels or chipmunks. The woods were dead. I was still looking over my shoulder every now and again, still startled by what I had experienced. The walk took way longer than it should’ve. It felt like the seconds were minutes and no matter how fast I walked I couldn't keep up with the pace in my mind.
As my car climbed the hill, my heart sunk into my stomach. I parked as far away from my friends as I could and quickly exited the car, not once looking at them. Now it was every man for himself. Emerging into the open air, I suddenly became aware of myself. I could feel my puffy, blood-shot eyes. My palms became slimy. My fingers clinched into a fist and my nails dug into my skin. My sight blurred and my tunnel of vision tried to focus on the front door. Every step seemed more awkward than the last. Eyes pierced me from all sides. I felt naked. My body trembled like a sheep in the midst of wolves.
I looked up at the black sky. I hadn't intended to be out this late. The sun had set, and the empty road ahead had no streetlights. I knew I was in for a dark journey home. I had decided that by traveling through the forest would be the quickest way home. Minutes passed, yet it seemed like hours and days. The farther I traveled into the forest, the darker it seemed to get. I was very had to even take a breath due to the stifling air. The only sound familiar to me was the quickening beat of my own heart, which felt as though it was about to come through my chest. I began to whistled to take my mind off the eerie noises I was hearing. In this kind of darkness I was in, it was hard for me to believe that I could be
The howling of the wind brought my eyes to open. Where was I? Focusing in the dark of night, confusion washed over me as I came to realize I was in the desert. Distant landscapes of dry and worn rock surrounded me, and beneath my bare feet I felt the gritty sand caught between my toes. I was surrounded by those rocky hills and yet as I scanned the desolate desert it seemed never ending. The irony of the nighttime desert suddenly set into my body; that ghastly wind moving right through me and chilling my bones to that of splintering ice. The need to move started me forward though, and I felt a sharp ache all over, my body trying to fight against change. Was I lost? My heart began pounding fast in my chest, the blood pumping through my veins
It’s a gloomy day, the sky is a shade of gray, but no rain is falling. The air feels dry, sticky and hot. The young girl is taking a journey to a jungle, a place she normally doesn’t observe, a place where humans and animals inhabit. She trudges her way to the centermost oak tree near Mason Hall. It’s the perfect spot: dry ground, a slight breeze, and shade from heat. On her way, she passes the boy from her psychology class, she neglects to give him a smile. The Diag seems unfriendly today, but she sits down anyways. She pulls out her shiny silver laptop from her overflowing backpack. She starts to read her homework assignment, Werner Herzog’s Conquest of the Useless, for her freshman year English class. She young girl dives her way into the reading, she starts to think about where she is, what is going on around her, and the journey that she is on. Suddenly, a bushy red squirrel approaches the young girl. She’s puzzled as to why the squirrel is advancing towards her. So, she quickly gets up to escape the bushy animal’s presence. As the girl moves from the tree the Diag starts to appear differently and the girl begins to notice specific details she hasn’t before.