Page 140 of Nocturne

My breath hitched as I jumped at the snap of a twig to my left. It was probably just a deer or a monkey, but my mind conjured images of predators lurking in the shadows. There was a sighting of a jungle cat not so long ago. I forced myself to take slow, deep breaths, my fingers gripping the straps of my backpack like a lifeline.

Focus!I told myself.You came here for a reason.

My gut told me this place held the answers I was looking for. This forest, surrounding the hairpin curve where my father’s car had gone off the road, had to be connected to his death. And my grandfather’s. I was sure of it. The thought steeled my resolve, and I pushed forward, ignoring the growing unease that coiled in my stomach.

The warnings on the signpost near the road had been clear:DO NOT ENTER THE FOREST. DANGEROUS TERRITORY.

I had scoffed at the message then, dismissing it as some local superstition meant to keep nosy hikers away. But now, drenched and trembling in the middle of this forbidding wilderness, I couldn’t help but wonder if I should have heeded it.

Another sound. A low rustle, this time behind me. I froze, my breath caught in my throat. Slowly, I turned, my eyes scanning the dense foliage. There was nothing. Just the endless rain and shadows that seemed to stretch and shift in the periphery of my vision.

“Hello?” I called out, my voice trembling despite my effort to sound firm.

No answer.

Only the patter of raindrops and the whisper of leaves in the wind.

My heart hammered faster. I couldn’t shake the sensation of unseen eyes boring into me. It was irrational, I told myself. There is nothing here but animals. And the dead don’t come back. But logic provided little comfort as my breathing grew shallow, my hands clammy against the damp straps of my bag.

After what felt like hours of walking, I came to a stop. I placed my hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath. I felt as though I had wandered too far, crossed an invisible boundary into a place where I didn’t belong.

Just then, my phone rang.

The shrill sound cut through the suffocating silence, making me jump. I fumbled to pull it from my pocket, my fingers trembling as I saw my sister’s name flash on the screen. I pressed the answer button and raised it to my ear.

“Where are you? Are you okay?” Her voice was strained, thick with worry.

I forced a calmness I didn’t feel into my voice. “I’m fine. I just went out for a walk. Needed some air.”

“A walk?” Her voice cracked. “You can’t just disappear like this! Not after… not after everything.”

Guilt clenched at my heart, but I couldn’t tell her the truth. Not yet.

“I’m sorry. I’m coming back now, I promise.”

“Please… Just come home.”

“I will,” I whispered before hanging up.

I stared at the phone for a moment, my reflection distorted in the rainwater that clung to the screen. A hollow ache settled in my chest as I thought of my sister, waiting for me at home, desperate for any semblance of normalcy.

I can leave now. I can come back tomorrow.I felt like I went too deep into that vastness in the wrong direction. There was nothing there that could give me insights about my father’s accident. I just needed to mark something there so that if I stumbled across this path in my exploration, I could turn around.

I glanced around the forest again, my gaze settling on a gnarled tree a few feet away. A blackbird was perched on one of its branches, its feathers glossy and slick with rain. It tilted its head, watching me with an unblinking eye that gleamed like obsidian.

I squinted at it, trying to make out the species. A crow? A raven? Something about its stillness unnerved me, and for a moment, I felt as though the bird was staring straight into my soul.

And then, suddenly, out of nowhere, a sharp prick at the side of my neck broke my concentration. I gasped, my hand flying to the spot. My vision blurred almost instantly, the forest spinning around me in a sickening whirl. The last thing I saw before my knees gave out was the blackbird taking flight and two pairs of blurry feet stepping toward me.

Darkness consumed me as I fell to the ground.

II

Month one

I woke up in darkness so complete it felt suffocating, like the chasm itself had swallowed me whole. My head throbbed, my limbs felt heavy, and every inch of my body ached from lying too long on the cold, unforgiving ground. The air was damp, thick with a musty staleness that clung to my lungs.

I blinked several times, trying to see if it was a sight that was affected. But no. One minute, I was turning to get out of the forest and go back to my sister, and the next minute, I was somewhere else. Somewhere so dark, so still, that I can hear nothing but my own breathing and the critters of some animals around.

---