The woods

Chapter 2 [🎀]

TYLER'S POV:
Part of me felt bad for Cart, part of me wanted to strangle him
I don't believe the ENTIRE thing was totally on him but come on, he could've been just a tiny little bit nicer. To me, Sadie was trying to apologize but he wasn't taking her seriously,
Now I loved meeting him again but this was just mean? I mean I know how much Sadie  had an impact on his life but that was 2 days before winter break. He could've just shrugged off the whole situation, but he got so sour over a small prank. I know that's being a little selfish but can't blame me?
But, aside his arrogant reaction, it was nice to see him. His braces came off, (he looked better with them.) And he stopped wearing the jacket I'd give him. I expected it but it still hurt, I noticed small details that changed about him. He stopped covering his mouth when he ate, he started painting his nails, his all time favorite perfume he had 7 bottles of was replaced by the smell of pumpkin.
I felt so good seeing him again, until Sadie came along. The poor girl just tried to be friendly, but of course Carter had to be rude to her. AGAIN. I thought about giving him some knowledge about basic respect until he walks away????? I mean what did I even do? He couldn't even say it.
I was walking behind him trying to get him to stop and so was Sadie. But he didn't listen. I went outside the cafe but it was still pouring hard. Sadie stopped beside me and she was tearing up, "I'm so sorry Tyler, you shouldn't have invited Me. I always mess things up," I felt so bad for her and was mad at Carter for just leaving like that.
But, before I could say anything, I caught him at the corner of my eye. He went a sidewalk. I was still mad at him for leaving so I went to yell at him (he'd probably punch me but worth the shot,) "Sadie, none of what happened was your fault. The past is past. Don't worry I'll find him" I followed Carter down the sidewalk.
I'd like to say I caught him in a few seconds. Unfortunately my legs gave up on me while his kept on, I was nearly out of breath yet he still had the audacity to keep running after he saw me right at his tail (well not anymore since I was nearly out of energy.) I kept on tho and probably would've passed out if he didn't swoop inside an alleyway.
I stood, grabbing at the walls for support wheezing, I knew he'd gone through the alleyway. And it's a pretty long one so it wouldn't be hard to get back to him. After a minute or two, I looked down at the alleyway. And what I saw wasn't pretty. I'm not talking about the scene. I'm talking about the people
They looked like walking embarrassments to fashion. First of all they were wearing purple and yellow Jordans so I expected them to be rich, but god the top had me on chokehold. They were wearing XXXXXL shirts, not like mine. It had a random girl in it.... Was that... mitsiki? I felt like throwing up, it was so bad quality as well...
I saw them cornering Cart. I was gonna yell that them to take a hike but Cart instead decided to throw a stick at the middle one and run. Now I really wanted to strangle him. They ran after him like lighting, I felt like bawling since I JUST had a rest break, it's god damn Wednesday people.
I ran after them and lost them about twenty times because I was thinking about how good Carter looked today, not that I like him but I'm allowed to give compliments. OKAY?. I raced after them and finally they stopped when Cart went rolling down a hill like an idiot. I caught my breath and looked at them, I thought they'd just leave but one of the uglies pointed downhill and they all ran down.
I ran after them and when I looked downhill, I saw a large woodland dotted with thousand of trees. Suddenly looking at it, a cold wind ran through my neck, the trees leaves rustled and I could hear every part of the place. The birds,the water flowing,the animals trotting. It seemed inviting yet a vague feeling, almost like something. Powerful.
I shook my head and ran after them. My family used to live near a large forest so I should've known how to coordinate the place. But it just seemed like I knew the place more and not at all. There was no in between, I kept having shocks in my brain for seconds not knowing where I was and the other second I knew. I stopped at a tree gasping for air.
I found a lakeside which entered to a deeper part of the woods. I heard a muffled voice of Carter.. it was almost as if he was.. scared. I knew I had to get to the other side of the lake. I jumped towards a rock but then what happened made me wish I stood around for a few more seconds.
A large wave of pain hit my stomach. I fell down in the water, the pain drifted everywhere around me, it felt like I was being electrocuted and burned alive at the same time. I yelled, but all I could hear was a muffled ring of my yelling. My head felt light. Small blisters started popping on my arms, I reached out weakly to touch one and the moment I did. It popped and released a sprint of blood, that's when I passed out.
I woke up, my arm was stretched out to the dirt, I groaned. There was still a throbbing pain around my body. ESPECIALLY my arm. I pulled my arm out yelling and grunting because it felt as if I lifted a large rock with spikes around it. I looked at the blister, it was swelling hard. I looked around. It was a cold night. I got off the water, my jacket felt like a thousand tonnes. I probably would've ran away. Until I heard Carter scream.
I was pretty hesitant at first and I'd seen ENOUGH for one day. But I decided to be the better person, I got up and saw a big blood splat on the dirt. I rose up and probably felt like crying a million times. My knees felt like lead that'd been whipped and my head felt like it was already cut up and balancing on my neck. My vision turned dizzy when I got up but I forced myself to focus,
I walked through the river and thankfully I didn't die of shockwave this time. I tried to follow where the scream came from but I was so dizzy I couldn't even see 3 feet in front of me. But I managed to keep on. I heard a rustling sound in the bushes so I followed that. I probably would've found Carter. But I slipped on a rock and rolled down a hill. I hated this entire day.
I fell at the stump of a tree and a splash of liquid splattered on me. It reeked like something strange. I looked up the tree but I couldn't see anything in the dark, I got up and searched my jackets pockets. I got my tiny flashlight out and turned it on around my surroundings. Still the middle of the woods.
I looked at a bush next to me and saw sweet berries. Now before you say "TYLER!! You can get poisoned!" Listen. I hadn't ate anything since 6 hours. I pulled some out and took a bite, surprisingly, I didn't die. They actually tasted kind of nice. I'd finished almost 8 until I remembered these might be dirty.
I decided to just spend the night in the tree. I looked around and found a small tarp. It was kind of greasy. But it kept warm. I put on my flashlight just in case. And don't worry I had extra batteries. I looked up at the tree, droplets of that strange liquid was still falling down. I realized I never actually checked what liquid fell on me. I was too tired at that time, I felt myself drifting off.
My dreams felt.... Weird that night. It was just a normal Weird dream, like most dreams. But. I felt as if something was wrong. VERY. Wrong. I don't know why, or what told me. But I got a warning from someone. Or something.. I couldn't hear half the things, but I heard one word very clearly. "WAKE UP."
I jumped forward in my sleep and gasped when I woke up. When I looked around, I caught a small, tiny, glimpse of a figure staring right at me. The other second it was gone. It was sunrise, still very cold but light enough to move. I got up and froze. My hands trembled and my face looked like a ghost. I lifted my hands, revealing the liquid that'd fallen on me. It was red..... Blood.
I looked up at the tree and my eyes widened even more, I couldn't catch my breath. I yelled and ran away as fast as I could. Leaping over rivers, getting deeper and deeper into the woods. I ran and ran until there was no sight of the tree. I was wheezing and gasping for air. My hands still shaking. My skin was pale. In the tree. Was a skeleton roiling with blood.
I don't remember the next few hours, because all of it was just insane running around the woods trying to find an exit. No matter what turn I took. It was all just greenary. But that didn't give me an excuse to stop running, I was already startled enough that a dead body decomposed pops up. And now this woods is infinite,
I took one to many turns and got at a riverside again. Now I would've easily jumped across but I still had too much PSTD from rivers considering the last time I tried to do that I almost died of electricity only god knows where came from. But since I'm a hero and legitimately want to save Carter, I ran across.
Still alive and standing. I sighed of relief and continued across. Aside from the fact that this is a never ending infinite woods that most likely has fictional monsters that take people on top of trees and eat them until remains a bloody skeleton, the place looked beautiful. Wild flowers bloomed between bushes, the trees rustled through the wind, I could hear birds singing but couldn't see where they were.
I froze, this place was a great habitat for many animals yet I hadn't seen a single living creature?. I started looking around for some, and almost got too distracted. "Focus Focus" I muttered jarring back to reality. For a horrible second I thought what if Carter has already deceased to a skeleton? No! That couldnt, we havent even had our first kiss. I mean, he hasnt had his first kiss yet!
I ran and ran until I couldnt run anymore, I was wheezing, tired, hungry, and mostly miserable. I sat down for a rest break. I took in the scenery, there were sheets of honey-green grass, dotted with all kinds of exotic flowers. I felt relaxed. I tried to ignore the throbbing pain in my arm. I took a deep breath in and out feeling pretty good. Which ended in the spam of 8 seconds.
I heard rustling behind me. I thought it was just the bushes but then I heard a low growl. when I turned, I couldn't believe it. It was.. Strange. A huge body covered in black fur, its teeth had fangs, they were red on the ends and.. It had a crown made of bones. Covered in blood.