Page 16 of Ravaging Red
My mother pulled up and turned to look at me. “Are you sure you want to stay here alone?”
“Yes, Mom. I’ll be alright, I just need to shower and get some sleep.”
She brushed a hand over my cheek. “Maybe get something to eat, too? You haven’t eaten anything.”
I nodded, pressing my cheek into her hand, seeking comfort. “Yes, Momma. Don’t worry about me, just go get some rest. Nana needs you.”
“Youneed me.”
“I’ll be okay, Mom. I promise.” I looked down on the dark street. “No monsters here tonight,” I whispered, and leaned in to hug her.
As I stepped inside, the air felt stale and unmoving. The house itself felt foreign. It was silent in a way that made my skin crawl. I closed the door behind me and locked it, twisting the bolt twice. My keys clattered too loudly on the counter, and I sighed as I stood in the dark. The house welcomed me back, but it was now a lonely feeling.
I made my way to the kitchen, the floorboards groaning beneath my feet, a solid reminder that I was home. Through the small window above the sink, I could see the edge of the Hollow Woods. The tree line rose in the distance, darker than the night around them, their silhouettes jagged and haunting. The trees didn’t move, but the shadows between them did.
I stood there longer than I should have, eyes locked on that black stretch of forest. A shiver curled up my spine, slow and sharp. I used to tell myself that the creepy feeling was all in my head, that the stories about the Hollow Woods were just folklore passed around to scare children into staying close to home. But now I knew the truth.
The woods were alive. They breathed. They waited. They kept secrets that were dying to be released.
I jumped as my phone vibrated on the counter. Glancing down at it, Dulce’s sweet face and big smile stared back at me. I quickly answered.
“Red! Red, my Gods, where the hell have you been!”
Dulce Caro was my best friend and the owner of the only bakery in town. We had grown up together, gone to high school together, and had never parted since. She knew all my secrets, and I knew hers, until now.
“Dulce, calm down.”
“Calm down! Do you have any idea what you’ve put me through? Your poor mother!”
I slid into one of the kitchen’s bar stools and lowered my voice to a whisper. “I was in the woods.”
“What?” She whispered back.
“I went into the woods Dulce, and what I saw… it was…”
“Are you alright, Red?”
“I don’t know. All I can tell you is that what lives in those woods is nothing like we have everimagined.”
“What did you see? You have to tell me.”
“I can’t. Just be careful around those woods and what comes out of them. It hungers and it craves you.”
“You sound crazy, you know that?”
“I know. And I also know you won’t believe me if I told you what I witnessed.”
“It’s that bad?”
“Yes. It has a hold on me, Dulce, and I don’t think it will ever let go of me.”
“Just breathe, Red. I’m sure everything will be alright. Do you want me to come over?”
“No. No, I’ll be okay. I promise.”
“Are you sure because… well, you sound scared, Hun. I can be there in just a few minutes. I’ve got pie.”
My stomach rumbled, but I truly couldn’t see anyone. I also knew that if I had Dulce in front of me, I’d break down and tell her everything, and I wasn’t ready to do that… yet.
