3. Mysterious Forest

As I wandered through the forest, the chilly breeze felt like it was biting at my skin. "Hello?" I called out, my voice echoing through the quiet, creepy woods. I followed a narrow trail, heading deeper in, feeling this weird energy all around me.

The sound of leaves crunching under my feet was oddly satisfying, and the bare trees stretched up toward the sky, their branches mostly empty except for a few stubborn leaves still clinging on. The sunlight filtering through created these wild, almost magical patterns on the ground.

Then I heard it…a faint rustling behind me. My heart jumped, and I spun around, but there was nothing there. I let out a shaky laugh, trying to shake off the nerves. "Get it together," I mumbled to myself, rolling my eyes at how jumpy I was being.

But the rustling didn’t stop. In fact, it was getting louder and closer. I picked up my pace, but the sound followed me like it was hunting me down. I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone or something, was watching me.

When I heard a twig snap behind me, I whipped around, ready to face whatever it was. My heart was pounding, but all I saw was a tiny, furry creature darting away into the bushes. I let out a big sigh of relief and laughed at myself for freaking out over nothing. "Really, Crystal? A squirrel?"

That relief didn’t last long, though. Suddenly, I saw a familiar face, and the forest didn’t seem so scary anymore.

"Derek!" I shouted, running over to him. I reached out and grabbed his shoulder, but he flinched like I’d just shocked him. He spun around, his face pale, and there was blood smeared across his skin.

"Crystal? What the hell are you doing here?" he asked, slightly panicked.

I froze, feeling uneasy as I took in the blood on his face. "Uh… I don’t really know. I just… ended up here somehow. What’s going on? Are you okay?"

"Shhh!" he hissed, cutting me off. His eyes darted around, scanning the darkening forest. "Did you hear that?" he whispered.

I shook my head, suddenly feeling the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Before I could ask him what he meant, he grabbed my hand.

"Run!" he shouted, pulling me along as we sprinted deeper into the woods. My chest tightened with fear, and I couldn’t even bring myself to ask what we were running from.

But whatever it was, it didn’t take long to catch up. A shadowy figure appeared out of nowhere, faceless with glowing eyes like fire. Derek pushed me behind him, trying to shield me, but the creature swatted him aside like he was nothing.

It was just me and the monster now. My heart sank as it raised a massive axe over its head, ready to strike. I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for the end—

But it never came. Instead, the sound of metal clashing against metal filled the air. I opened my eyes to see a sword blocking the axe mid-swing. The creature growled, then vanished as suddenly as it had appeared.

I turned to see my savior, a tall man in black, his long leather jacket billowing as he stood there, sword in hand. He had dark brown hair, piercing blue eyes, and a face I recognized immediately.

It was him. The insanely hot guy from the club.

What the hell was he doing here?

He didn’t say a word, just sheathed his sword and turned to walk away like saving me from a literal monster was no big deal.

"Wait!" I called after him. "Who are you? What just happened? And where am I even?"

He stopped for a second, and my heart jumped, but then he just kept walking, completely ignoring me.

Frustrated, I ran after him. "Hey! Don’t just leave me here!" I shouted, trying to keep up. His long strides made it impossible, though, and he quickly disappeared into the trees.

I glanced around, realizing with a sinking feeling that Derek was gone too. The forest was dead silent…no birds, no rustling, nothing. It was like the whole place was holding its breath.

Panic bubbled up in my chest. Sticking with the hot-but-mysterious guy seemed like my only safe option. I took off after him again, yelling. "Wait up! Don’t leave me here alone!"

But he didn’t slow down or look back. His figure faded further and further into the forest until he was completely out of sight.

"Stop!" I screamed one last time, and suddenly I was jolted awake, with my heart pounding in my chest.