"The forest breathes," Dara repeated what the man in town had jabbered at her while looking up at the cloudless sky, as she did now. Hanging on to the last of the light, the deep blue spoke loneliness.

Senseless anxiety peaked in her as she watched the trees sway in the cool fresh breeze carrying notes of that most pleasant of decay, dirt and leaves and little things.

She was bored. What had she thought coming on this trip all alone? She had set up six tents, hauled all these supplies. Had she expected to meet someone out here in the middle of nowhere? The unsettling answer was she didn't recall. She remembered being excited to come and laughing alone all the winding way. She had expected something, something very good to happen. What was it?

Dara cracked open a beer. Maybe she should trust herself. Maybe this wasn't so bad. A wet growl came from the shadowed far distance. Were there bears out here? She didn't remember asking.

She pulled down the sleeves of her flannel and sat in one of the many chairs she prepared for herself around the fire. As she rose the drink to her lips, the gleam of the ring on her finger caught her eye. A diamond, a beautiful thing just like what she had hoped to wear one day. Had she found it out here? Surely, she would remember that.

She swatted at a mosquito just above her knee and noticed something strange. A message was written in sharpie along her thigh. She pulled up her shorts to get a better look.

-there are five of us-

-the forest breathes-

She tried to rub it out but only smeared the ink around. The message was still clear. She went to her tent. Weird she thought of one of them as hers when clearly all of them were, but she was just sleeping in this one.

She had a bottle of alcohol somewhere. She had many bottles of alcohol actually but only one of the rubbing variety. She had borrowed it from…someone. No, that didn't make sense. The beer tasted terrible. Why had she brought so much? She doubted she would finish this one.

She unzipped the tent and looked inside. She screamed and backed away, tripping over a risen root. As she watched puzzled, the zipper slowly closed itself. It was noticably darker.

Why had she screamed? The tent was empty. Just more nerves, she guessed. She grabbed a bottle of water instead, smearing half dried brown red on the top of the white cooler. She cleaned her hands and then set to work on her thigh.

She stared a long time, not understanding what she was looking at. The message before had been scratched through and below it a new one was written. When? Had she missed it before?

-not bears not bears not bears!-

She scrubbed, irritating her skin but managing to get the message mostly off. Four lines were written on the back of her left hand in the same marker, below that three lines. She scrubbed there too, taking off the ring to work under it.

It was heavy. She didn't know carats but she knew enough to know she couldn't afford something like this.

The wet growl came again, closer. She heard the forest breathe as she looked inside the band of the ring and the engraving inside.

-Dara, take my whole life too-

Someone's engagement ring. They must have lost it. Not hers of course, a wild coincidence.

Just as slow and smooth, the zipper to the tent opened. Nothing came out and she staggered back, falling on her tailbone. She was holding the sharpie, cap off and pressed against her hand again. What had she been about to write?

She felt that senseless anxiety again as she watched the first stars of the night shine above her. It was hard to get air in her lungs, nothing sitting on her chest, weighing her down.

Pinprick scratches dug into her cheeks. The forest breathed, hot and metallic on her face. She forgot herself as the wet growls resumed.

/r/surinical

Why do I have five backpacks? I wonder, dazed and confused. A forest surrounds me, the leaves black ignoring that it’s fall and they’re supposed to be all sorts of colors. I remember I went here for some kind of Halloween celebration, but my memory is too foggy, just like the forest. Dapples of moonlight dip through the bunches of leaves still on the trees. One backpack is still slung on my back, intact, but the others are messily tattered on the ground. Names are imprinted on each backpack, Ada Baker, Quinn Blake, and Rayn-. Two are too destroyed to make out and one is too tattered to fully read, but I assume it’s Rayna. Who are these people? I question myself. But I have no clue. A photo lay on the ground. I pick it up and am shocked by the image. It’s me. Just standing there. In an empty field. Alone. I seem to have my arm around something, but all that’s there is thin air. Who took that photo? My hands shake and I drop it in fear. I don’t remember having ever taken that photo. My face is pale as a ghost. I drop my backpack and sprint away as a screech echoes out from behind me. I stop dead in my tracks. Screeches. Then more screechs. Then even more screeches. I look behind me.  Four things are on all fours behind me. They look like humans, but all bent and contorted, bones cracked into different shapes, skin stretched out and maimed, their ribs peek out of their chest. The worst part is the face. They have no nose, their ears are almost cut in half, hanging on by just a thread, they have only one eye, and their grin was horrific, wrapping all the way around their face, uncontrollably. 
“Donna?” One of the creatures choke out. I freeze. I must’ve gotten several gray hairs at that moment. Whatever that thing is, just said my name. 
“Help me.” Another croaks. Tears begin to stream down my face. I feel sorry for the poor creature. I cautiously step towards it. 
“O-okay.” I manage to say.  I take another step. And another. And another. I keep getting closer until I’m right next to one. I reach my hand out, but then it contorts back. What?! I hear cracking, but thinking it’s the leaves I ignore it. My legs also begin to contort. Then my chest bursts open and I fall to the ground. Then I’m happy. So happy. I look down and see a photo that’s just an empty field, nothing in sight. Then I see exactly that. Nothing.

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