Circles

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. And that was the night that 17-year-old Kali Cromwell traveled through those very woods, along with her friends Sarah and Jake. After entering the woods, they started looking for a place where they could drink and enjoy the night.

“Does it really matter where we pick?” Sarah said.

“Well, yeah,” Jake responded. “We need somewhere secluded, with a lot of bushes and stuff to hide us. Imagine how much it would suck if we got caught.”

“I doubt a few twigs would make a difference,” Sarah responded. “Besides, no one even comes in here.”

Kali thought she found the perfect spot: a clean little space between the trees, surrounded by a dense thicket.

“Hey, guys, what about here?”

She ran over, assuming the others would follow. But when she reached the spot and turned around, Sarah and Jake were no longer there.

Even her friends’ voices had suddenly disappeared.

Holding up her phone flashlight, she looked around in all directions but still didn’t see anyone. She hadn’t gone that far, surely…

Running back the way she came, she was confident she’d find her friends somewhere nearby. But no matter how far she ran, she didn’t see anyone.

Her heart started to pound.

It didn’t make any sense. They were just there. To make matters worse, it was completely silent in the forest except for the sound of her own breathing. Where could they be?

Not knowing what else to do, she tried calling one of her friends. But the number wouldn’t even dial. Looking at the corner of the screen, she saw an exclamation mark on the signal bars.

Out of service.

A cold breeze suddenly rushed past her, blowing her hair to the side. The night seemed to be getting colder and colder, and she’d only worn a thin hoodie.

That was it. If she couldn’t find her friends or even call them, there was no point staying in this forest. She started running back to the forest entrance. Only problem was, this forest lined the side of a rarely-used road, and there weren't any streetlights to help guide her toward the entrance.

She kept running and running, until eventually she tripped on a branch and fell onto the forest floor. She got up quickly, brushing off the debris from her clothing. Then, she resumed the run. It seemed that everything looked the same no matter how far she ran. The area beyond the trees was pitch black; she didn’t see a trace of light beyond the woods, and it continued to get colder as the night wore on.

It’d be much easier to find her way out if it were daytime. But that was a long wait. Again, she checked her phone–but still no signal.

How deep did these woods go? She wasn’t even sure. She didn’t know this area well, and this was her first time inside this forest. Maybe she’d gotten her directions mixed up and had been going the wrong way this whole time.

Kali stopped in her tracks, considering what to do.

If she kept running like this, she might end up getting even more lost. Maybe it was better to wait until morning to try and find a way out. But that left an important question: how would she spend the entire night in the woods?

Sleeping was out of the question with how chilly it was. If only she knew how to start a fire or had any useful outdoors skills at all.

Not having many options, she just kept running, periodically checking her phone to see if the signal might return in some other area of the forest. It’s like I’m just going in circles, Kali thought.

That was when she heard a sound that made her freeze as her blood ran cold. It was a deep, guttural noise, almost like a frog croaking, but rather than coming and going, the sound lingered for around 30 seconds or so, slowly growing more silent until it faded completely.

A few moments after the noise ended, she began to run, trying to get as far away as possible from the source of the noise.

The entire forest looked the same, no matter how far she ran. She started feeling like she’d never find her way out.

When she grew too tired to run, she slowed her pace to a walk and then darted her eyes this way and that while trying to catch her breath. She then noticed some sort of structure up ahead. Holding up her phone light, she saw what it was—a cabin.

She sprinted toward the cabin and stopped at the front door. The door was locked but, looking through the window, it was clear that no one lived there. She pulled at the bottom of the glass pane window and found that it was, luckily, unlocked. So she climbed through, landing on a wooden table right below the window. She knocked over a long white candle atop the table while climbing in, and finally she reached the floor. After picking up the candle and placing it back in the holder, she lifted up her phone light and then looked around the dark room.

The cabin was very small and rather empty. It contained a small kitchen area, which she was standing in, and then across the room was a large, old, dusty bed, complete with pillows and a comforter.

This would have to do. She walked over to the bed and brushed off as much as dust as she could, then laid down on top of the comforter. She sneezed from all the dust floating in the air. After turning to her side and tucking her hands under her head, she closed her eyes and tried drifting off to sleep.

But that’s when she heard the noise again.

It was muffled this time, but still clear enough to hear–there was no mistaking that distinct croaking. The wind began to blow, the sound of which mixed with the croaking, and suddenly Kali couldn’t keep her eyes closed anymore. She sat up on the bed and looked around frantically.

And that was when the candle suddenly flickered to life. A flame had appeared on the candle wick.

But… how? Kali thought.

The croaking suddenly stopped, but Kali’s racing thoughts hadn’t. Compelled by curiosity, she walked over to the lit candle on the table. It seemed to be just an ordinary candle, so how did it just come aflame out of nowhere?

She debated leaving the cabin, but the strange croaking made her think twice. It seemed nowhere was safe. I should’ve just stayed home, she thought.

Not knowing what to do, she went back to the bed and sat down, biting her nails.

I just have to make it till morning, she thought, and then this will all be over.

Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door. Her heart leaped. She stayed exactly where she was, not daring to move a muscle, but the knocking just got louder and louder.

“Kali, let me in.”

It was her friend Sarah’s voice.

Kali jumped up from the bed and answered the door. Sarah rushed into the cabin and turned to face Kali.

“How’d you know I was in here?” Kali asked.

Dismissing the question, Sarah replied, “Kali, just sit down, okay?”

Confused, Kali complied anyway, going over to the bed to sit down.

“Where’s Jake?” Kali asked.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Huh? What do you mean? I was scared to death out there. I didn’t know where you guys went.”

“It didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what? What are you talking about?”

“We’ve been here before," Sarah explained. "We’ve been in this exact cabin countless times… living the same night over and over. It always restarts in the morning. And one way or another, I always end up in this cabin with you. But this is the first time that the candle’s been lit.”

“And what told you that?”

“The creature in the forest, the one we’re always running away from. It gave me a chance to run away, and that’s when I came here.”

“If all of that’s true, then where’s Jake?” Kali asked.

“He already found his way out. This is our last night here… And if we don’t get out by morning, we’re going to be stuck here forever.”

“The creature… told you all of that?”

“It didn’t tell me, exactly. It just… showed me. This is all like a game to them… There’s more of them, you know. They live in this forest, waiting for prey. I think it’s an alternate dimension or something.”

“We have to get out of here. Let’s find our way out together. If Jake could do it, then so can we.”

“Okay, but… they’re not going to make it easy. If we step out that door, we have to run, and keep running, because they’re going to hunt us down.”

“We don’t have a choice. We can’t just stay here.”

Sarah looked down for a moment, biting her lip, but then she lifted her gaze back to Kali.

“Okay, let’s go.”

Kali and Sarah walked to the front door. Before opening the door, Kali glanced at Sarah, and Sarah nodded. Then Kali threw open the door, and together, they started sprinting, side by side. Kali kept her eyes straight ahead, ignoring any noises she heard, just trying to stay afoot, leaping over any fallen branches in her path. The wind blew back her hair, and her skin felt cold as ice. Seeing a log up ahead, Kali prepared herself and then jumped over it just in time.

But Sarah wasn’t so lucky. She tripped over it, landing face-flat on a pile of leaves. Kali stopped and turned around, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw one of them: a tall, lanky creature with slimy white skin; long, sharp claws; and a smooth, nearly featureless face. It walked toward her, and Kali wanted to scream but she knew she shouldn’t, and all she could do was watch as the creature grabbed Sarah by the feet, dragging her off into the shadows.

Kali knew if she went back to help her, that would be her fate too, so she turned back around and continued to run, her heartbeat pounding in her ears, sweat accumulating all over her body.

And suddenly, she saw something dart out beside her: the same kind of clawed hand that took Sarah. She tried to dodge it, but there wasn’t enough time, and it slashed her arm. She didn’t dare look behind her, instead focusing solely on the path in front of her, knowing that if she tripped, that would be the end.

Then, her vision began to blur. Her surroundings seemed to melt around her, liquefying into a sort of surreal painting. Moments later, it all reshaped, and the forest went back to normal. Ahead of her, she saw a space between the trees, revealing a clear black sky with a luminous full moon, which appeared like a floating pearl in a dark sea.

She couldn’t believe it. She picked up her pace, dashing through the opening in the trees, and there she was—she’d reached the entrance of the forest. The forest was next to a road, and swinging her head left and right, she saw Jake’s car parked on the side of the road. And, unbelievably, Jake was leaning against the car, completely alive and in the flesh.

Kali ran over to him and then tried desperately to catch her breath.

“Kali," he said.

Jake hugged her, and Kali hugged back. But then he pulled himself away and looked into her eyes.

“Where’s Sarah?”

She shook her head, and tears welled up in her eyes. Jake hugged her again.

“It took her,” Kali said. “I watched it take her.”

Jake pulled away and looked down at her arm, and that was when Kali realized that she was bleeding.

“It did this to you?”

“Yeah, but… I’m just lucky I made it out alive.”

“Let’s just go home,” Jake said.

Kali nodded, and they both got back in the car. After sitting down, Kali pulled off her hoodie to get a better look at her wound. Although there was a lot of blood, it didn’t look that deep. Along the edges of the wound, though, her skin looked strange. Wiping away the blood, she saw a white border outlining the thick scratches.

Her throat closed up. She’d never seen anything like it before. She looked at Jake, who hadn’t started the car yet.

“Is it pretty deep?” he asked, twisting the key in the ignition.

“No,” Kali said. “No, it should be okay.”

"Good," he said as the engine revved.

Kali looked out the window as they drove away, and through the trees she saw a flash of white. She swallowed, sinking into her seat.