Woods of Madness

VIII

We followed the footprints, delving deeper and deeper into the woods. The atmosphere was eerily quiet, devoid of any noise. Not even the small birds were heard. We spread out, cautiously sneaking forward, our senses heightened to their maximum capacity. Though I tried to remain composed, my hands trembled slightly but I was able to still keep calm.

 I had been caught up in the excitement and rushed headlong into this mission. But now, I needed to regain my composure. After all, I had survived the assault on Omaha Beach; surely, you could survive this as well, Shaun.

It had been at least 10 minutes since we entered the woods, and the muddy footprints continued, until strangely, they abruptly stoped. It was as if they had vanished, like ghosts. I looked up at the trees but thankfully they weren't hiding there. 

My fellow soldiers, just as puzzled as I, glanced around, unsure of our next move. The captain signaled for us to spread out further and obediently we complied. Every few seconds, I glanced behind me, but there was nothing there, only the encroaching darkness that grew more prominent with each passing moment.

 I couldn't afford distractions; I needed to stay focused. However, the increasing warmth was unrelenting. My body felt sticky with sweat, and I noticed the captain wiping his brow as well. Unable to withstand the heat any longer, I quickly removed some of my clothes, hoping for relief from the oppressive temperature. Then, unexpectedly, a cold breeze caressed my skin, chilling me to the bone. It felt like the dead of winter, a stark contrast to the present weather. I couldn't believe what I was experiencing.

I quckly got dressed almost as fast as when I undressed but then I heard whispering, the voice of a woman, but there was something disturbingly familiar about it. It dawned on me. It was the voice of the wretched whitch from the orphanage. But why am I hearing her now? No, I must be hallucinating.

 "You're going to die"

 I was startled, turning back frantically. I felt a cold breath on my ear, sensing someone's presence. I panted, questioning how this could be real. How could I be going crazy? The bushes rustled, and I aimed my gun at them. But as soon as I did, they stopped rustling in front of me but then rustled again behind me. Was the enemy playing tricks on me? Or am I beginning to lose it?

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA"

 the sound of laughter filled the forest. It felt like I was surrounded by hundreds of people. "You always were a failure," that wretched voice of the witch from the orphanage. Why is she here? "Leave me alone, leave me the fuck alone!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.

 The laughter continued. I couldn't take it anymore, and I began to fire blindly. But the laughter only grew louder. I couldn't take this. "AHHHHHHH STOP STOP STO-"

Suddenly the ground beneath my feet felt soft and I had fallen down. I fell into unconsciousness for a few seconds. After a slight, blurry image, I finally saw a bright sky.

 I realized I had somehow fallen into a hole about 2 meters deep. I was fine and only had a few bruises. As I tried to get up, I saw something strange. I approached it for a better look, but I heard frantic footsteps approaching me. I raised my gun, ready to shoot.

"Hey, are you alright in there?" It was the captain.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine."

"What happened? I heard screaming," he asked.

"I... don't know exactly."

He sighed in disappointment and extended his hand, saying, "Nevermind, just get out of there."

"No, wait. There's something in here."

I moved into what appeared to be a small tunnel and motioned for him to come in. He rolled his eyes, thinking I was an idiot. But he eventually went inside.

"Did you hit your head since you now like deep holes?"

"No, look at this."

I lit up a match, and in front of us was a small metal door. We were both dumbfounded. The captain began to touch it and slightly pushed it. The door opened very easily.

 Our curiosity got the better of us, and we crawled inside. We quickly got in and exited the hole. What we saw, we couldn't believe our eyes.

 It looked like we were inside a cave, bright blue and easily visible. It was gorgeous. We looked down and saw flowing blue water. It appeared that this was what was giving the place its light.

Other than the strange supposed water, it looked like almost any other cave, except for one thing that made our stomachs turn - the walls. They were not like any other walls. They had drawings on them, but they weren't the drawings of a cave man. Clearly, someone skilled must have made them. The odd thing was that they featured strange shapes, terrifying and indescribable. They looked like no animal that I know. There were only a few that I could barely describe, and even they were so unearthly, having many tentacles, several mouths all around their bodies, and eyes everywhere. The thing that struck me was that there were also drawings of several planets, indeed, our whole solar system. It was drawn at the very top.

For all its strangeness, it was mesmerizing to look at. A truly talented artist must have made this. But how did they find this cave, and why did they draw such grotesque and indescribable creatures? Examining closer, I saw several markings near the bottom. I had no idea what they meant, but my guess is that it's some kind of language. I studied a bit of linguistics before I was drafted, though I was never really good at it. By no means could I decipher this. It had several characters appearing, which means that it is a real language. It looked almost Arabic, though still different and still impossible to get any answers. This whole thing reminded me of the Voynich manuscript.

Despite this, I still looked around, analyzing the wall and I saw this that almost gave me a heart attack.My eyes widened in terror and confusion. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The hair on the back of my head raised. I stepped closer, and my arm was suddenly grabbed from behind me.

"We're leaving this hellhole," the captain proclaimed. I sensed fear in him.

"W-wait," I pleaded, but he pulled me tightly.

Quickly, we exited the cave and started going outside. As I was climbing, the captain nudged my head with his foot and motioned for me to stay put. I was confused and started to worry, especially after getting a glimpse of his frightened face. He looked around carefully and slowly got up. He gave me his hand and pulled me up. I wondered what he had seen.

Finnaly I saw it,

 a large blood trail.