Night Noise

They were told to never go into the woods when the sun went down, there was never a reason given and when someone tells you not to do something without giving you a reason, then you more often than not do it, or at least try to do it.

These three fifteen-year-olds were going to sneak out of their bedrooms after ten o'clock. Their parents would think they were asleep or watching TV (they would all leave their televisions on, so their parents would not be concerned). They all lived in single-storey houses so slipping out of their bedroom windows was extremely easy.

They met at the entrance to the woods and they all had their mobile phones, a couple of cans and some chocolate. One of them had some matches, they were going to make a fire, and they didn't want to get too cold while they were out.

They wandered into the woods, and although the breeze sounded like ghostly whispers, there was no other noise as they moved, their footsteps were silent. It was eerie and they started to feel a little disconcerted, as though they were being watched.

The thing is, they were being watched.

They looked and the boles of the trees as they walked and thought they saw eyes, mouths and teeth, but you can see anything if your imagination starts running wild.

The path took them to a clearing, a perfect place to set up a camp or resting place. The middle was blackened as if someone had had a fire there at some point. There was brushwood and branches which they gathered into a small bonfire. There was a good distance between it and the nearest trees, so they thought it would be safe to light the fire.

They sat around the fire drank and shared coke and chocolate and talked, they wanted to take pics and share them on Instagram but no one could get a signal on their devices.

Then one of them noticed eyes on the trees that they had photographed, but when they looked at the trees they were just trees.

They led down and fell asleep as the fire burned down. Then they awoke screaming, they felt tendrils worming their way through their bodies. They could see each other with a tree directly behind them and worming branches into their bodies. They were being desiccated by the trees

As the trees took their sustenance, the bodies shrank and shrank and were assimilated into the trees. All that was left were three phones, some empty cans and chocolate wrappers.

The wood was quiet once more and the whispering wind blew once more, and if anyone could hear it they would think the trees were talking, and the reality was that they were talking, about the feast that they had just enjoyed.

If anyone had been there they may have noticed that the bark of some of the trees had become slightly more crimson. This wood would always look out for itself and humans were fair game.

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Three fifteen-year-old boys are missing. Their mobile phones were found in a local wood by an expired fire. Examination of the phones showed pictures of the trees around the fire but nothing suspicious. No calls had been made and there was no recent social media activity.

The case will be left open, and if anyone sees the boys, please contact your local police station with details. Their parents and school are extremely worried, as they have never done anything like this before.

Thank you for your cooperation, we do need your help on this case.