Otherworldly

This isn’t Greenvale

My eyes continued to scan the surrounding wilderness and fear and panic began to course through my veins. Where the fuck am I? I chanted over and over in my mind, as I began to stand, turning to glare wildly in all directions. This was still woodland, that much was clear, but the trees and plant life were different, almost otherworldly in appearance. The trees were like nothing I’d seen before, their trunks and limbs appearing almost sinuous, as they twisted and coiled, the branches almost appearing to reach towards me, menacingly. I hurried in the direction of the path that I’d taken before the orbs and was met instead with a clearing; softly peppered with plants similar in appearance to that of chives, however the heads appeared twice as large, and the stems a vivid saffron yellow.

I continued to curse every single swear word and phrase through my brain as I wandered aimlessly through the trees, inwardly chastising myself for not listening to Mrs M and her insistence that the forest should not be wandered in the evening. Had I been knocked out by some unknown attacker? Had I experienced some kind of seizure that rendered my unconscious? The rational side of my brain conjured a hundred possible scenarios for my previously unconscious state, but nothing could explain the events preceding and succeeding my lack of consciousness. Touching magical white orbs and waking up in a strange forest with alien looking trees and plants? That could not so easily be explained; and I knew deep in my gut that the two events were connected and had some sort of impossible conclusion, but I couldn’t yet work it out.

I wandered aimlessly, no idea of which direction to pursue or what my next course of action would be. I had no phone, no map and no torch, all of which had seemingly vanished whilst I was out cold. How long had I even been unconscious for? Hours? A day? I had no clue. Raindrops began to fall, gradually becoming heavier as I soldiered on, trying to find some sort of landmark to give me an idea of where I was. I could feel the hot tears starting to trickle down my face, mixing with the cold drops of rain about my cheeks. Strangely I began to think of Mrs M, I barely knew the woman but felt such a closeness and fondness for her, she’d be so worried if I didn’t make it back to the guest house this evening, and the thought of causing her anguish made me feel guilty.

“And who might this be?”

I felt a chill start at the nape of my neck and slowly trickle down my spine as I heard that deep baritone of a male voice to my immediate left. I stood still, almost frozen to the spot, turning slowly to meet the gaze of the stranger. He emerged from the trees, his movements sleek and stealth-like, barely causing a rustle of the leaves that surrounded him. For a moment he appeared so tall and broad he could have been mistaken for a tree himself, standing more than a head taller than I and shoulders so broad he looked he could have carried two of me over each shoulder with ease. I gawked. I openly gawked mouth open at this man, who gave off an otherworldly appearance, similar to everything else in these parts.

“I’m waiting” he spoke again, the words grounding me out of my own head “I asked you a question, woman, who are you?”

My mouth felt dry, despite the rest of me becoming increasingly saturated by the rain. I stumbled over my words, trying to will my brain to process what was happening, before meekly blurting out “Laurel, my name…its Laurel”. I sounded stupid, I knew I sounded like an idiot before I’d even finished speaking, but I felt overwhelmed and the sight of this striking stranger had only helped to compound the list of weird shit that my brain had been trying to process.

The corner of his lip curled into a wicked smirk and he strode confidently towards me as I felt myself rooted to the spot. His hand grasped my arm and I flinched, my instincts kicking into gear I shoved my arm forward in an attempt to shrug him off, hear pounding a million times a second as I realised the danger I found myself in now. I’d have no possible way of fighting him off if he tried to attack me. His hand remained clamped around my upper arm, the pressure becoming painful as he dug his fingertips more deeply into the soft tissues.

“Someone needs to remember their place” he whispered. The tone carrying such a menacing tone that my neck prickled and my hands trembled. “Perhaps I should be the one to teach you your place, female” He lowered his face towards the crown of my head as he spoke.

Wait, is he…is he sniffing my hair?

Fight or flight instinct surging through me, I knew I needed to escape the stranger or he’d kill me or do something far worse. I glanced up and he appeared momentarily distracted, as he lifted his head back up to look into my eyes, his grip momentarily loosening as a look of bafflement befell his face. I knew this was my moment, I might not get another. I yanked my arm as hard as humanly possible, my left foot striking hard against the crook of his knee before I bolted for the trees. I heard him curse loudly as I ran, my adrenaline forcing me to continue forward, to find either people or some kind of hiding place. I could hear the sound of twigs snapping and the padding of swift footsteps behind me and surged forward, allowing myself a fleeting glance over my shoulder as the sounds grew nearer. The moment was like slow motion, as I turned forwards once again and found myself swept off my feet as my body collided with another behemoth figure standing directly in my path.

Shit. I am so fucked now.