Chapter 2: Ch 1 Arrival

Bell ringing, music playing, friends talking. The clamor of the hallways is deafening, but I've gotten used to it. I sit in the classroom waiting for the crowd to pass. I put on my headphones, turn on some lo-fi, and pulled up an e-book on my phone. Fantasy and sci-fi were the stuff man; their worlds were teeming with wonder and mystery. I feel depressed that I can’t experience them for myself. I immerse myself in the book, and everything around me turns into a blur. I lose track of time. Finished with today's chapter I turn to glance at the clock and notice that it's been way past when I should've already left.

“Oh, Damn.”

I sling my backpack over my shoulder and speed through the hallways. Jumping down 6 steps at a time on the stairs, and bursting through the door only to find a bus leaving the spot I should've been in 15 minutes ago. In my mind, I calculate the various times and schedules.

“Goddamnit, If I miss it then I'll have to wait at least another hour or so for the next one…” Speed-walking to the next stop, the forest to the side of the road looms over me with a dirt path going into it. I know this area pretty well, and with the stop on the other side of the forest. I take a gamble and go down the path as a shortcut.

Going down the path I slow down to a stroll and take off my headphones. I've got to admit that this is pretty relaxing and this is coming from someone who enjoys concrete cities and winter. I notice that the forest is becoming denser and taller. The leaves on the trees are being replaced by pine needles but I don't particularly find any of this alarming. I live up north after all these kinds of trees are fairly common. While I'm walking, I remain aware of the surroundings, you know, just in case there's some rabid animal coming up behind me. Though I think that doing so might have been a bad idea as now as I notice, or a better word, feel, an unnerving gaze on me, like when you’ve been caught red-handed after lying. It makes me want to squirm. I try to ignore it, but I can't help but look around me like a paranoid. The feeling fades, but it already prompted me to think that something isn't right. I look behind me and the path I was walking down is gone, replaced by thick bushes and trees. I could tell that the trees around me were unnatural. They were as thick, maybe even thicker than redwoods, but seem to look like pines. It's like I was shrunk down, or the world around me got bigger. Though impressive and majestic I couldn't afford to sit down and rest just yet. Instincts told me to keep walking, ”If you’re ever lost in a forest keep walking in one dire- Wait, I can pull up a map on my phone.” Feeling a sense of relief, I pull up the maps app and turn on my data. Much to my dismay, there was no service, which only tagged onto this disconcerting feeling I had. Alarms blared in my mind and I once again checked the time. It's barely been ten minutes since I last checked in the classroom. I stopped in place, started checking everything I could do, and I came to a single conclusion; I was lost.

As though to calm me down my stomach rumbled, I hadn't eaten at lunch as I wasn't hungry back then. “Heh, at least I can keep myself company,” I sat down against one of the enormous trees and calmly munched on my sandwich. Looking up I couldn't even see the sky properly, the canopy was so dense that barely anything outside was visible. Looking forwards didn't do anything either, though the spaces between the trees were largely empty the trees on the horizon seemed to meld together. Creating a wall that didn't allow for the end of the forest to be seen. “This is lonely, I wonder, how long would it take for me to go insane from loneliness.” I take another bite of the sandwich and swallow it whole. I put my backpack on me again and begin to once again walk, not in any particular direction just calmly walking. “I mean I would consider myself to have a strong mental fortitude.” Taking off my hoodie I fasten it around my waist. My legs were aching but the constant sounds of the forest kept me stimulated enough that it doesn't bother me. The scenery never changed no matter how long I walked. It felt like I was going in circles but thanks to my vigilance and good memory I could tell that I have never been to this area before. It seems that this place is in the late stages of autumn, as is evident by the dried-out leaves littering the ground and the stagnant but cool air. In my wandering I find an unusually empty stretch of dirt, like a road once cut through this forest, trees line the “road” on both sides at regular intervals. At the end of it is some unnatural formation, seemingly man-made. Curiosity gets the better of me and I jog over to the anomaly.

Standing in front of it I realize that it's an abandoned car, “I knew people left old cars in forests but I don't understand why someone would throw out this one. I bet I could drive it if it weren't halfway stuck in the ground,” I said bitterly. “This one's from the nineties probably; I'm surprised the paint job hasn’t completely come off." Looking at the windows, they've been covered over by vines, dirt, scratches, and generally making it hard to see inside but I could make out vague box shapes. I try to open the doors but they are either locked or deep in the ground. “Finders keepers,” I announce to the loneliness and shatter a window with a rock. Carefully chipping at the remaining pieces left to avoid cutting myself. Anything can help in my survival given that I'm definitely not on earth anymore.

I crawl inside and start to rummage through the car, upturning every nook, cranny, box, and bag. I find some lithium batteries in the armrest, a pristine and packaged leather jacket that's 3 sizes too big for me, a box of metal pipes, and a half-empty roll of aluminium foil. Everything is practically useless, but I pack everything into a bag and attach it to my own. I sit down in the passenger seat and relax. It's a bit cramped here but I like it. The dark windows add to the coziness and the fact that the whole car is practically vertical makes me feel like I'm in a spaceship or something. While having my well-earned rest, I smell something foul. I look back and just notice that there's a dead rat in the very back. Apparently, it tried eating instant noodles but choked on them. I hold my breath and crawl back out of the car, time to continue my journey I guess. I check myself, patting down and feeling for injuries. I look up to check at the time since the earth time on my phone and watch don't sync up to this place. The little sky I see is a warm orange and I just notice how dark it's getting. I look back at the car and get a good idea. Crawling inside once again I use a metal pipe to pry out the roof light which I place to the side, I also unstick multiple pieces of tape which were holding together the cracked windows. Once I collected what I needed, I got out of the car and pulled out a small pipe and batteries from my bag. With some ingenuity I connect the batteries to the lightbulb and attach that to the pipe, using tape to hold the entire thing together. By the time I finish, the forest has darkened to the point where minute details and tripping hazards are hard to see. I turn on my creation and it flickers to life, the light isn't as bright as it would have been in the car but it makes do as an impromptu flashlight. “Gotta find some shelter fast before it completely sets into the night.” Looking around for anything I see a sign that's been swallowed up by a tree. Shining the light on it, I can barely make out an arrow pointing to the left. Deciding that there should be something there. I go in the direction the sign pointed. The more I walk the darker it gets and fear seeps in more and more. The once bright and calming forest now feels mysterious and oppressing. Not even the trees dare to rustle In the silence. In the distance a deep moan, sounding almost horn-like booms through the forest, even from that distance I feel vibrations in my heart. Once more I feel the gaze from before. I can't do it anymore. I have to hide and wait for morning to come, otherwise, I'll become prey to god knows what. I run back to the car and grab a stick along the way. Leaning into the car, I use the stick to pick up the rat and throw it out; I also do the same to the instant noodles and cobwebs. Untying my hoodie, I fan out the rotten fumes from the car. Just as I'm about to crawl inside I look behind me, the gaze fades, and I let out a shaky sigh. “I may just be paranoid but there's no way in hell I'm going out there with whatever monster’s roaming around.” I cover up the entrance and roll myself up in the oversized jacket. I close my eyes and drift off into sleep.

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