The wind howled and the trees rustled, the moon was high in the sky, lighting the night sky.
"Whose there?"
A blonde-haired boy looked around, he swore he felt eyes watching him but couldn't see them.
"Show yourself. I know you're watching me"
The boy looked around but couldn't see anything watching him, all he saw was an endless amount of trees and fog covering the forest.
"Heh, I bet they're too scared to even face me!"
The blonde boy grinned, talking to himself was a normal thing for him.
"Nobody can counter the mighty Aisley!"
Arden said aloud, picking a stick up and swinging it around like a sword.
Arden is a high school student, 15 years old and he explores the woods for fun and the thrill, he doesn't mind getting chased by bears, didn't mind getting lost for days. Nobody waited for him and he wouldn't get in trouble for being absent from school because nobody could reprimand him anyway.
As he walked, the unpleasant feeling of being watched returned.
The hairs on his body stood up when a cold chill passed through him.
"Wait what..."
He muttered, seeing some kind of structure in the distance.
Arden, being the curious boy he is... He ran for his life
"FUCK NO"
He yelled when he passed the same rock again, and again, and again.
This had never happened.
Having no choice, he went towards the structure in the distance to see an abandoned run-down elementary.
The doors were wide open and the windows were blocked with wood.
The unpleasant feeling of being watched worsened but the wind pushed him towards the abandoned school.
The unease grew in his chest as he saw shadows of kids playing happily, teachers, and even parents he saw the shadows of.
Arden's eyes widened even further and he froze in place when a shadow passed through his body almost like a ghost.
Finally managing to move his legs, he fled from the scene, he smelled smoke and fire, and he saw nothing but trees, he felt the ground starting to feel mushy but before he could react, the ground split open beneath him and he fell into the abyss.
An alarm went off and he felt a sharp pain in his back, it was agonizing.
"SHIT!"
Arden yelled in pain, he sat up sharply, his back arching.
He looked around and saw his room, his messy room.
His back hurt badly but the bed he lay on was soft.
Arden's memories flashed back to last night, that fall, that abandoned school, the seemingly endless running he endured the night before
"Dream... Was it a dream? But my back hurts... Did I land on my back? But I'm in my bed, it doesn't add up"
Arden thought, god he was confused.
The pain in his back was momentarily forgotten as his mind raced with thoughts.
When the shock he felt subsided, the pain became relevant again
"Ow ow ow ow ow!" He groaned
"ARDEN! WHY DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME UP!? USELESS CHILD!" His mother yelled, getting up from bed.
He froze and looked at his window
"It's now or never!" He thought.
Grabbing the rope, he tied an end to the doorknob and threw the other end out the window.
Arden climbed down the window using the rope and ran in the clothes he wore last night.
He didn't head for the forests today but for the where his mother didn't dare to go, to the cemetery.
Once he got to the cemetery, his legs felt like jelly
Arden panted and sat on the grass, he escaped the wrath of his mother for now but not for long since he did have to go home.
"Maybe I could run away?" He asked to himself
"The abandoned school in the forest could do... Maybe I could stay there? Mother doesn't know about it... But last night..."
Arden thought, he was troubled and also intrigued.
His mother certainly wouldn't come looking for him but he couldn't leave his friend behind.
Arden was confident he could survive in the woods because he practically spent too much time there. He's watched plenty of tutorials and who knows? Maybe he could even hunt.
"Heh, that would be cool," Arden said to nobody but himself.
He sat up and stretched but the ache in his back started again, more painful than before
"I should get this checked..." He muttered, standing up from the grass he sat on.