The Forest

Chapters 1-3

So I accidentally deleted the first three chapters whoops so here is the first three chapters reuploaded (worst case if it doesn't work I will just go back to the doc and copy and paste each chapter manually)

Word count: 5368
Chapter 1
Eden.

The boy sat on his bed, contemplating life and everything else going wrong within his life. Just three months earlier his mother had died in a fatal car crash, his father resorted to alcoholism to cope. Sometimes Eden found himself trying to drown his sorrows as well. As he sat there letting his mind wander he felt a... pull? He wasn't sure, but something drove him to leave his room. The boy stood up in his attic bedroom, his brown hair falling into his face as gravity pulled it from its nest. He took a step forward, the boards creaking beneath his feet. Grabbing trousers and some flip flops. He snuck out and into the dead of night, he followed the feeling within his chest. He walked for a long time, unsure of where he was going, why he was following, or anything. But he followed, wearing his six day old shirt that stuck to him with sweat and dirt, having no energy to be able to shower. His trousers wear all wrinkled and creased from being stuck in the laundry basket for gods know how long. The only clean thing on his body was his shoes, and even then they also had a funky smell to them. He walked for almost two hours, his legs wobbled but he couldn't stop. Following this feeling, he had reached a park he didn't recognize. Which made sense since it was a two hour walk from his house and he doesn't walk over here often. He continued to walk into the park, the trees slowly going from few to many. It continued to raise in the amount of trees till he reached the actual forest, that pull never letting up. Eden could've even sworn that when he paused to rest his legs he felt the pull yank him forward. After a quick breather Eden continued on, going into the forest walking as far as the pull made him. "Why the fuck am I even doing this?" He breathlessly asked himself aloud. "I could be laying in my bed right now, but instead I'm following some feeling?" He continued feeling confused and angry with himself. But he never ceased, walking, and walking until suddenly the feeling just... stopped. Everything was silent, no movement could be heard by the nineteen year old. He stood there as he looked at the well that stood in front of him. It was falling to pieces on some of the stones, moss and vines crawled up the sides. It looked like a well from a fairytale, well a fairytale no one's read in a while. He could swear he could see the cobwebs on it, he took a step forward investigating placing a gentle hand on the ledge as he peaked down. He stared in awe as he looked through the well, and instead of seeing water. He saw... a blue sky? But it's the dead of night... and it's covered with trees no sunlight could possibly remotely get through. As he stared down the well, he leaned further squinting his eyes, trying to figure out what's happening. His hand slipped, and down the well he went. As he fell through the blue sky, he screamed as he was thrown onto sharp grass. He stood up as quickly as possible and spun to look at where he had just come out of. Only for the well to be gone, no hole there to even remotely show where he had come from. "What the fuck!" He called out as he ran to the spot he fell to his knees rubbing the ground trying to find a hole, anything. Maybe he just wasn't seeing it? He thought to himself. Maybe he had just fallen asleep and was dreaming! Yeah that's it, he's just dreaming. He stood up quickly before slapping himself in the face.
"Fuck-" he gasped out as his face stung, nope not a dream. He paused as he sat there, his breath starting to pick up. Why was it so hard for him to breathe all of a sudden? Why did it feel like the world was collapsing? He kept wondering to himself as he started to hyperventilate. He sat there freaking out, he couldn't help himself. He was now in a strange place, it wasn't a dream, he was terrified. He just wanted to be back home.

"Breathe darlin!" Called a very southern accented voice from behind him. He tried to keep his breathing steady but couldn't. "Oh darlin" she muttered her accent never leaving, he felt a fuzzy hand touch his back and it seemed to help ground him. After a couple of moments of him getting the air back into his lungs he turned to thank the woman. But instead the sound of a scream came from his throat as he backed away. About to fall back into a panic attack. "What the shit?!" He shouted as he started to hyperventilate "where... where the fuck am I?!" He screamed even louder as he looked at the lady with the southern accent, she had a cat body and face. But she stood on her hind legs and was taller than him. Her paws resembled hands and feet and she wore a pink apron, her fur pattern was dark brown with black and yellow stripes and her tail flicked. "Oh darlin I didn't mean to frighten you! Please calm, for heaven's sake my child!" She pleaded with the boy as he tried to calm down again, tears brimming his soft brown eyes. "I- I am so confused..." he muttered out, she only offered him a soft and kind smile before speaking again. "How did you get here darlin? You know this is my farm right?" She said softly, curious about the boy. He only could shrug, "I... I don't know" he said honestly. "I... fell down a well? But that well isn't here now!" He yelled, scrambling to stand up and gesture to where the well would've been. "What the fuck?!" He screamed and he felt so many emotions, all he wasn't sure of how to express. The cat lady gave him a look of sympathy, "how about you come with me darlin, my name Susanne what's yours?" She asked softly, he turned to her tears brimming his eyes even more threatening to spill. She noticed this, but she chose not to say anything, wanting the boy to talk about it on his own terms. He lowered his head and decided maybe he needed to rest, that he just didn't remember walking to the other side of the forest. I mean he was standing in the outskirts of a forest now so maybe he's on the other side? Maybe he passed out and now it's day? He kept on trying to explain it all away but everytime he looked up at Susanne he felt more and more unsure about those possibilities. He walked into her quaint farm house, "my sister is tending the farm now, my nephew is with her as well. You can stay in our guest room for as long as you need, do you have any idea where your home may be?" She asked politely he just shook his head as he looked around, the house looked old yet modern? Bookcases lined the living room's back wall, a comfortable couch sat in the middle with its red upholstery and gold buttons and the green and beige rug to compliment. The kitchen was a red and green color combination as well but it was a bit more muted, he smelled lasagna in the oven and felt his mouth water. He had been on a strict diet of animal crackers and monster energy drinks and the occasional real meals for the last three months. "The lasagna will be done in ten minutes sweetheart. How about you go into the living room and watch something?" She asked with a kind smile, he nodded walking over to the sofa and sitting down. He looked at the television and noticed it was old, like really old. Having grown up with a VHS playing television he was already used to it, standing up he crouched on the floor turning on the screen the all too familiar and uncomfortable noise of static played pressing the eject button he read the title of the VHS tape. "Cinderella" he read aloud quietly, he smiled. It was a classic. He grabbed its respectable box and went to pop the tape back in, only then he noticed the cover instead of the usual Prince Charming and Cinderella. There stood two cat-like people like Susanne, Cinderella being a crème color with orange stripes and Prince Charming being a black tuxedo-like cat. The mice had become kittens and the stepmother's cat was now a big Doberman puppy. Stared in awe, it was nothing like what he thought it'd be. He scrambled to look at all the other VHS tapes, grabbing Aladdin he stared in awe as Aladdin and Jasmine were both dog like humans Aladdin was a tall German Shepherd while jasmine was a poodle. "Find anything good?" He turned around at Susanne, his jaw stuck to the floor in shock. "I'm just stuck... um... why aren't they human?" Susanne gave Eden an odd look, "well around here that's what they look like, why? Do they look different depending on where you are from?" She asks an eyebrow raised with curiosity. He softly nodded, "yeah... it just surprised me." He said softly as he looked at the movies before picking Aladdin and popping it into the VHS player. Rewinding the tape as Susanne walked off, he didn't like the aura she gave off anymore. It went from sweet to sickening in Meer seconds and it made Eden sweat. Unsure of whether he should run or not but the smell of the lasagna drew him in. Unable to leave as his stomach growled hungrily, once he was done rewinding the tape Susanne walked over to him. "I'm going to grab my sister and nephew, so stay right here darlin" she said with a smile that sent chills up Eden's spine as he nodded nervously. Alarm bells were sounding all throughout his head as she walked off feeling nervous he put his attention on the tape hoping the feeling would go away.