It was a moonless night, and the forest seemed to be holding its breath. Sarah had always been skeptical about ghost stories, but tonight, she found herself lost in the woods, her flashlight flickering like a dying heartbeat. The trees loomed over her, their branches gnarled and twisted, as if they had fingers reaching out to grab her.
She had taken a shortcut through the woods to get home from the party, ignoring the warnings of her friends about the “cursed forest.” Now, she regretted it. Every rustle of leaves made her jump, and the cold wind whispered secrets she didn’t want to hear.
Suddenly, she felt something brush against her leg. She spun around, but there was nothing there. Her heart pounded in her chest as she continued walking, trying to convince herself it was just a stray animal. But then she felt it again¡ªthis time on her arm. It was like tiny needles pricking her skin, and she could almost feel something crawling beneath the surface.
Sarah broke into a run, her breath coming in short gasps. She stumbled over roots and rocks, her flashlight barely illuminating the path ahead. She had to get out of there, had to find her way back to civilization.
But the forest seemed to close in around her, and the feeling of something crawling under her skin grew stronger. It was as if the very trees were alive, their roots and vines wrapping around her, pulling her deeper into the darkness.
Just when she thought she couldn’t take it anymore, she saw a faint light in the distance. With renewed hope, she stumbled towards it, only to find herself standing in front of an old, abandoned cabin. The light was coming from a single candle flickering in the window.
Sarah hesitated for a moment, but the feeling of something crawling under her skin drove her forward. She pushed open the creaky door and stepped inside. The cabin was dusty and filled with cobwebs, but there was a figure sitting in the corner, its back to her.
“Hello?” Sarah called out, her voice trembling. The figure turned slowly, revealing a face that made her blood run cold. It was a woman, her eyes hollow and lifeless, but there was something familiar about her.
“Sarah,” the woman whispered, her voice like the rustling of leaves. “You shouldn’t have come here.”
Sarah tried to scream, but no sound came out. The woman reached out, her fingers long and spindly, and touched Sarah’s face. In that moment, Sarah felt the crawling sensation stop, but she knew it was only the beginning. The forest had claimed her, and she would never escape the skin-crawling horror that now lived within her.
