Sudden Change

A fictional short story — Things can change so fast.

Kate found herself surrounded by thousands of trees. Big, tall trees with limbs full of leaves, short bushy trees that hugged so close to each other you couldn’t get through. There were even trees that towered high into the sky but had only limbs. They were barren like a tree in autumn.

She wrapped her arms around herself as a chill racked through her body. The sun shone down brightly through the trees giving her some comfort, but she still felt a chill in the air.

There was something about the woods that just seemed off. Her friends assured her they had hiked here many times, and nothing bad ever happened. Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling of impending doom that hung over her since entering the forest.

She trudged along on a well beaten path. It should have given her some comfort to know others hiked here all the time, but it didn’t. The only sounds echoing through the trees were her own footsteps on the leaves that littered the path, a leftover from last fall.

No squirrels were running back and forth. No birds chirping. Nothing but quiet. Her heart pounded harder as she quickened her steps. An eerie feeling of being watched swept over her as she hurried along. Eyes appeared in odd places, making her break out into a run.