Short Stories (trigger warning. Depression, suicide, and eating disorders)

Never Trust the Woods

Conner

"Brother, wake up!" I hear my little sister, Aerie, yell to me. I feel her shaking me, making me groan in annoyance. I pull the covers over my head and start to fall back asleep. Heavy footsteps come stomping into my room. My stupid twin brother shouts something incoherent at me before pouring a bucket of ice water on me.
I jump out of bed, yelling a few choice words, "What is wrong with you, Patrick?!" I watch him snicker and Aerie rolls her eyes. She looks at us with an annoyed look on her face, acting as though we aren't 69 centimeters taller than her.
She crosses her arms, "Mother wants you to get up, it's almost time for breakfast."
I walk to the closet, "Tell her that I'll be late, I have to go outside to hang my clothes after I'm dressed. Since some incompetent fool decided to throw water on me."
She sighs, "Mother won't be happy." She walks out and I look at Patrick, the smirk still on his face. I take my shirt off and throw it at him, hearing a satisfying smack when it hits him across the face. He glares at me and walks out as I laugh at his back.
When I'm finished cleaning up the mess, I walk into the kitchen. Aerie is helping mum clean and Patrick is nowhere to be seen. Mum looks at me, turning her nose up, "You decided to finally join us, did you? Just in time to clean the table." I nod and start to clean up, sneaking food when they have their backs turned.
I look at the clock and finish fast, "Mother, have you seen Patrick? We have to get going or we'll be late."
Aerie looks at me, "Patrick didn't come to breakfast either. He must have left ahead of you." I sigh, thinking he is probably still angry about the shirt to the face.
I look at them and nod, "I'll get going then and meet him there." I walk out before they can say anything to me. I run down the path for a few minutes, then slow down. I walk past the path to the woods. I never paid it much mind, no one ever went through the woods. It is rumoured to be haunted and I would rather not know it to be true. As I walk by, I hear a rustling in the brush. I turn as Patrick jumps out at me, making me jump and he tackles me to the asphalt. He lands on me so hard, the wind gets knocked out of me. I look up at him as he moves off of me.
I cough and sit up,"Really? Jumping out of the brush like a child, trying to scare me? I thought that was beneath even you."
He chuckles, "You thought wrong. Also, I wasn't trying to scare you, I was scaring you. You should have seen your face. You should pay more attention to your surroundings, Conner."
I glare at him and stand up, then dust myself off, "We're going to be late now because of you."
He shrugs, "Not if we cut through the woods, I do it all of the time." I look at the woods, then him, "No, thank you. I'd like to not die. I quite like living actually."
He rolls his eyes, "You big baby, there aren't any killers, the woods are safe. Unless you get stung by a bee."
I frown at him, "I'm not a baby, I just have more than half a brain."
He shrugs, "Fine, then you be late." He starts to walk down the path through the woods. I hesitate, we have already been late to work too many times. I sigh and nod, running after Patrick. He looks at me when we are side by side and smirks. I hold my hand up to silence him before he can start boosting. I look around as we walk.
Pretty soon the path is gone and I look at Patrick, "You know where you're going, right?"
He nods, "Yes, Conner, I've travelled this way many times." I sigh and continue to follow, feeling uneasy. The trees are starting to cover the sun and it is only getting darker. I watch the trees closely, jumping when a squirrel jumps from the tree in front of us to another. Patrick laughs, "Calm down, sissy. Wait until I tell everyone how afraid of the wood you are!"
I glare at him, "You better not! I'm just being cautious, so at least one of us lives."
He looks at me, "Thanks for caring about me, brother."
I roll my eyes, "I was talking about myself." I continue to walk and I trip over a root. I grunt when I hit the ground, hitting my chin. Patrick snickers, then it stops. I stand up, not looking at him, "Stop trying to scare me, Patrick." I look around, not seeing him, "Patrick? Stop messing about, we're going to be late!"
I sigh and look around a few trees, not finding him. I put my hand on a tree as I began to think he left me here for revenge on hitting him with my shirt. I then realise that my hand is wet and when I pull it away and look closely, I see my hand is covered in a reddish liquid. I let out a small yelp and look at the tree. It is covered in the reddish liquid. I try to believe it isn't real blood, but it looks very real. I look around, "Patrick?! Come out, Patrick!" I start to run back the way we came, yelling Patrick's name. I'm trying to look around, but it is just becoming darker. I look forward as I run face first into Patrick. I yell as I fall back, then I look at him, "Patrick, you stupid fool! Where did you go, I was-" I cut myself off when there is just enough light to see that he is tied to a tree. His body is covered in blood, but I have hope that he is just unconscious.
I scream, then cover my mouth. I don't want to see whoever or whatever did this. I stand up, feeling a sharp pain in my ankle. I cry out in pain, but I ignore it. I start to untie the rope around Patrick, whispering his name over and over again, but he doesn't answer. I need to hurry, he has a cut on his arm and he seems to be bleeding out. I get him untied and try to pick him up. He is dead weight, I can't go far with him and my hurt ankle. I start to drag him slowly, hoping we can get out fast enough. I hear a growl behind me and freeze, then start to move faster. I hear footsteps behind me and I continue on, trying not to panic. I know if I freeze up, that would be it.
I hear whoever is chasing me getting closer and something grabs my shirt collar. I scream as I drop Patrick. The killer turns me, pushing me against a large tree. I look into his eyes and it is a man covered in scars and burns. I look at his chapped lips as he mutters to himself incoherently. I close my eyes and I hear the sound of a blade being unsheathed. I open my eyes and look at him, terrified. A knife cuts into my throat as I try to scream, but all that comes out is a gurgling sound. He drops me, then grabs my foot, tying my hurt ankle to a branch and steps away, leaving me to hang upside down. The pain in my ankle and neck is unbearable and the last thing I see before the blood from my neck gets into my eyes is my brother's dead body. The pain seems to last forever, but when it ends, there is nothing.