We snatch the centipedes off the boulder and crack their carapaces, sucking the insides out. There are rules to our eating. Guts slide, wriggling, into four mouths and down four throats. All this under the moonlight, which reflects weakly off the waist-high saltwater that is inescapable in this endless labyrinthine swamp. Around us thickets of […]
It hit me last night, as a chorus of woodsong filled our hiding spot: we’re never getting out of here.But even if I want to lie down and die, I’m clutching one last thread of hope. It’s all I have to offer Chase—it’s still my job to offer him something, even if it’s a lie.“Where’d […]
Milica curses the summer heat as she sets off into the forest with her empty backpack and wicker basket.The basket is all aesthetic—it knocks into Milica as she walks and the twisted cane handle digs into her arms—as is her outfit: a deep burgundy dress with a full skirt and a mushroom-print apron. But her […]
Sometimes we hear him howling, other times it’s a scream to pierce the night, but more often it’s a low keening wail. Tonight the noise is a cat’s yowl; it rises from the woods, creeps under our door, pounces onto our dining room table, and serves itself on our plates. I push the mashed potato […]
The camera was in remarkably good shape. When they nudged the power button, the display sprang to life and the first clip ran without waiting for permission. Amidst the carnage of splintered branches and sap-scented screams, six outlines huddled together around a tiny, shining rectangle in the swelling twilight.“Hello everyone! So good to have you […]
“The woods are lovely, dark and deep,But I have promises to keep,And miles to go before I sleep,And miles to go before I sleep.” –Robert FrostSince the beginning of time, the deep dark woods have always been a place of breathtaking beauty, mystery, and horror. From spooky stories told around the campfire, to Grimm’s classic […]