No Way Home

Chapter 1: The Forbidden Woods

Mercedes stood at the edge of the woods, where the grass turned wild and the trees loomed like silent guardians. Her mother had warned her never to go past the fence. “Those woods don’t like to be played in,” she’d said with a frown.

But curiosity had a way of tugging at Mercedes’s feet. And today, it tugged hard.

She slipped through a break in the fence and crossed the boundary she had always obeyed. The air changed instantly—cooler, quieter, heavier. Her boots crunched the fallen leaves as she wandered deeper.

Chapter 2: The Game

At first, it felt like an adventure. The trees stretched tall, their canopies filtering the autumn sun into gold and copper. She spun in the clearing, laughing, until a voice called out.

“Hey! Wanna play tag?”

A group of children emerged from the mist between the trees. She didn’t recognize any of them, but they smiled wide and ran toward her.

She joined them. They laughed. They played. The forest echoed with joy.

Until it didn’t.

Chapter 3: Gone Too Far

The game ended suddenly. Mercedes stopped, panting, and looked around.

The children were gone.

The woods were too quiet. The air, too cold. She turned in circles, but everything looked the same. She couldn’t see the fence. Couldn’t hear birds. The sun had dimmed behind thick clouds.

Panic set in.

She ran in what she thought was the direction of home, but roots reached up like fingers, tripping her. Branches scratched her cheeks. Tears stung her eyes.

She was lost.

Chapter 4: The Whisper

She sat beneath a crooked tree, arms wrapped around her knees.

Then she heard it.

A whisper.

"Mercedes..."

She froze. It was soft, almost like the wind.

"Come back and play."

She jumped to her feet and spun around. No one was there. Only the mist creeping low over the ground.

Chapter 5: The Pale Girl

Out of the fog stepped a girl. Pale as moonlight. Eyes too dark. Smile too wide.

“You played the game. That means you stay.”

Mercedes backed away. “I want to go home.”

The girl tilted her head. “There is no way home. Not after you play.”

Behind her, more children appeared. Silent. Watching. Their eyes empty.

Mercedes ran.

Chapter 6: The Fog

She ran blindly. The forest twisted. Paths changed. Time slipped. Her memories blurred. She forgot her backyard. Her mother’s face. Even her own name.

She slowed. Stumbled. Stopped.

The pale girl appeared again. “It’s easier if you let go.”

Mercedes felt it. The pull. The forgetting. She reached out.

Then—

Chapter 7: The Voice

“Mercedes!”

A voice. Clear. Familiar.

“Baby, come back to me!”

Her mother. She remembered.

Warm arms. Nighttime lullabies. The smell of cinnamon.

She yanked her hand back.

The pale children hissed.

The forest shook.

Chapter 8: The Boy

A boy burst through the fog. Older. Fierce-eyed.

“I got out once. I know the way.”

He grabbed her hand. They ran.

Branches slashed. Trees groaned. Shadows chased them.

But the boy knew the way. A winding path. A hollow tree. A narrow stream.

Then—light.

Chapter 9: Home

They burst through the trees. Sunlight. Grass. Her house in the distance.

Mercedes fell into her mother’s arms, sobbing.

When she looked up, the boy was gone.

But in her pocket was a small wooden fox.

A charm.

A reminder.

Epilogue

Mercedes never spoke of the woods again. Not really.

The doctors said she got lost. The neighbors called it a miracle.

She kept the fox close. Always.

Years passed. She grew older. But sometimes, when the wind was just right, she heard laughter from the woods.

One fall evening, she stood at the edge again.

She didn’t go in.

Behind her, deep in the trees, a pale girl watched.

Smiling.

Waiting.

Because the woods remember.

And they never stop playing the game.