I was always told not to go anywhere near the woods.738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtB5bftyFdS
738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjIovbm0FSV
Living in a remotely small town, I wasn't sure which they warned me against specifically, because we were surrounded mostly by the woods. But I figured out later that they meant never going into the woods, period.738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFjZnWvyERR
738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiuFv6Zwrju
When I asked why, my folks told me that if I did, the monsters would catch me and I’d never be able to see my loved ones again. According to them, there was a legend that lurked in the woods with claws so sharp, it could cut something that was made of titanium and with its figure so huge, it could make one drop dead in an instant. I thought they were just exaggerating because there was no way something like that existed, not in the 21st century.738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡygXYEMmd67
738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyW1NHvGp73
Back then, I didn’t know what kind of monsters or legend they were referring to but I listened nonetheless because I was four, and any four year old would be afraid of anything that had to do with the word ‘monster’.738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaOpFs2PyTB
738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFN7kpXzWLd
I had a good childhood, of course, one that made me feel secured and loved like there was nothing for me to be afraid of and I felt content. However, there was always this unfathomable feeling that bugged me to look back wherever I go, like a prey that had to be on alert constantly in fear of being attacked. It felt like no matter what I did or where I go, I could never hide from anything, like someone was watching my every movement intently from a distance. 738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZlA9WZj0vg
738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyUMWkgEzhU
But that was just it, because I always knew that I was somewhat different growing up – in a sense, I felt like I didn't belonged anywhere.738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzoUEi0pbbm
738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJxXzHVUNBD
It wasn’t until the 10th grade that I found out about me being adopted. My foster parents had me sat down and explained to me that a woman who lived a few houses down from ours came to their doorstep one evening and politely asked them to babysit me for a while because she had to leave for work right away. They didn’t suspect anything because she was dressed in an office attire and so my parents assumed that she was a clerk or something. They thought they would just help a neighbour in need – being the good Samaritans they were.738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLI4nzavhbK
738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkE9iB7EioT
However, the woman never came to get me back.738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUfiyISt7xS
738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsL1a6HdXsc
Worried turned to skeptical and that was when my parents thought that something was amiss. They went down to the house aforementioned and were confound with what they had discovered. The house turned out to be an old abandoned ruin with broken shutters and tattered curtains. The surroundings wasn’t any better either with dead leaves and twigs scattered around it. They felt unsettled and had left quickly shortly after that.738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvoCSCUnKxA
738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx3YFI5QUOL
According to them, the woman had long, black glossy hair and light brown eyes – so light, it almost looked like gold, both which I seemed to have taken after. 738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmjkAojPe8j
738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxzkmskxoK5
After asking around if they had seen her, and one that lived supposedly in the abandoned house, many had been puzzled and denied, saying that the house had been abandoned since the 1940s and no one had lived there since nor tried to take over. My parents didn’t know any of this because they had just recently moved in. They had gone as far to track down her whereabouts around the town and hoped to find any clue that might linked to that mysterious woman but it was to no avail. The woman had apparently vanished like she had never existed.738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHxpSi31h5O
738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3G0vvGIYSV
She did however, mentioned something strange, according to them before she left and the more I thought about it, the more bizarre this all seemed.
‘Beware of the woods.’738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj0THSERLVU
738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaRCCNpD8dq
After knowing all this, my curiosity grew as I had too many questions that began from who I was and where exactly did I come from. I knew I was different and the fact that I was adopted with no knowing information or whereabouts from where I come from just fueled my curiosity further. The woman just might be my biological parent and one that could link me to my actual roots. Furthermore, what did she meant by those words? I had to know.738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKOrjHcpxMF
738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ33qKh9fmvp
It was one dusty evening that I decided to sort this all out – I just had to. My parents were about to leave for work and I had informed them that I was going out for a walk. Despite all the warnings that I was told and against my good judgment, I set out for the woods and stood in front of a vast land where it was surrounded with nothing but dead trees and dry twigs. My heart was full of anticipation and fear, and for a second I felt iffy about doing this. I kept asking myself, was this worth it?738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI477eT7aVU
738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzKIKnl8a3p
I had two loving parents who loved me and I couldn’t have asked for anyone better but somehow, knowing that the woman who left me 16 years ago could be the key to who I was, propelled me to do this. Thus, with a set of determination, I took a step towards the eerie woods and made my journey to find the truth.738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVuaqre40ER
738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcJ1s4dT6lc
I didn’t know how long I was walking, but I knew the sun had set by now and I was sure the moon was out too, yet I couldn’t find any light from anywhere. My surroundings were pitch dark, saved for my torch light and with each step I took, my heart was thudding with silent apprehension as I felt completely helpless. The air around me grew thicker with an unexpected fog that started to appear as I ventured deeper into this endless abyss of dead trees, filled with an ominous aura. A thousand thoughts ran through my mind and I tried to discern them from wondering if my parents were okay or if they were worried about me, to wishing how I didn’t have the curiosity to do something as insane as this. I started to realize then why they had warned me against this; it was terrifying.738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx8IyxHZ0uP
738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD527deKDPg
Suddenly, the air around me grew still – it was as if the clock had stopped ticking.738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlXXvlujHnm
738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMwYmE3BhyI
My apprehension worsened because I didn’t know what was going to happen next, with the woods being as frightening as it was. Was it going to be a giant creature lunging towards me or some ghastly critter – I couldn’t think of any as my mind went into a turbulence of scary images.738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE0kpO8BPFN
738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzDhKPUVMeN
But then, I heard it. The sound was so low, like it was in a distance that I had to strain my ear just to make sure I wasn’t imagining it….. 738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmcjzkjMgD8
738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR8B55GWYhA
I wasn’t, because what I heard was a distinctive sound of a moan.738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhy83755jaZ
738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS6jf5sLbK9
And because of the countless scary movies that I had watched when I was a kid, I was smart enough to know that whatever sound that was – a moan, definitely – it could not be anything good, especially not in a place as eerie as this dead wood could be, because one: whoever or whatever it was couldn’t be a human as this fogged woodland served as a death trap for anyone and two: it had to be something that I wouldn’t like at all.738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVfp1EP6nzg
738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyA0j7L1fba
My instinct immediately kicked in as my feet propelled me to run faster and faster from whatever the creature was, hoping that I would see the light at the end of this never ending wood-maze, and someone with an advance weapon to just shoot whatever that was chasing me.738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhlp2iPjEjz
738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡekx8YCpAwP
The sound grew louder and louder, but what had me more petrified was the sudden change of sound, from a faint moaning to several low guttural growls – they came from different kind of directions! The one thing that ran on my mind was the fact that whatever had me targeted were not one but more and I thought that was the end of my life.738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Z9THwAPPG
738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBDhE2qTYAx
I was wishing and praying and hoping that I would get out of this damned place alive and hoped that these creatures will stop hunting me when I heard a snide remark that definitely belonged to a man followed by several maniacal laughter.738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqKiIuYtzxe
738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWSb6rdVfAG
“You can run but you can’t hide!”738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvb9rDjAqkW
738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyfUhPgcSqO
All thoughts left my mind except for one thing; I screamed.738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsBFC9CH9kc
738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0xxNeR9Co2
The next thing I knew, I was thrown to the ground with a thud, rolling onto the dirty, dead leaves with a heavy weight on my back.738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRWrAmTlnT9
738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG7yrDlNF6o
I heard it - a he, most probably – breathed down heavily as he whispered to my ear, “Got you.”738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF9lbscg6ym
738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH9l4aFHksG
I quickly pushed myself away and tried to grab my torch light that had been tossed out of my grasp when I fell but I couldn’t find it anywhere. I turned to face him, crawling back with my two bare hands as I looked into the faces of my assailant.738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCOKWNaWrUo
738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtzlPF51fHH
There were four of them, one stood beside another in a pack stance as they loomed over me. Their physiques were completely different than that of a human, although they looked like one, from what I could discern from their shadowy figure, with the exceptions of their limbs which were inadequately disproportioned, their heads tilted in a mocking way as their eyes gleamed – or rather, glowed – crimson red.738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY4prettnqj
738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh0BjbsWGF8
They were completely abnormal, and I was transfixed by their monstrous and gruesome visage that I didn’t realize they were walking towards me. I was completely catatonic.738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6s2lzvmetV
738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFiUznq783K
The creature-man who mocked and assaulted me, which I assumed was the leader came forward to a stop in front of me and brought his face closer with a wide eye and crazy grin to my blanched, stricken one.738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWFgKWgXlgl
738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0rY3IKLO8F
“Welcome home, Princess.”738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVVUQo5TK5q
738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzyAHafO8Wj
My mind went blurry with haphazard memories floating back, from when I was little with my parents to a mirage of the black haired woman as she smiled at me. Her gold eyes were full of warmth but as she spoke, her expression grew solemn. ‘Beware of the woods.’ Her voice echoed to me.738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq0iboc06mD
738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ4kiVJQEkU
My consciousness started to leave but as I gazed up into the pitch black sky, a sudden form of cloud started to create a crevasse, and revealed a bright full moon. The creatures before me suddenly started to morph with a grimace as bones were heard cracking, one after another as they turned into werewolves. My mouth was left open as I screamed until my throat hurt but there were no sounds to be heard.738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMuHryhCrl3
738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeur2Vk7Hto
It was too late now, and I was wrong for thinking that monsters like these were unreal, especially in this 21st century. Oh, how I wished I hadn’t gone into the woods…738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCXFt5RV69W
738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTQsrZagtm2
The werewolves howled and as my vision started to fade, there was one thought that ran through my mind:738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkLNWRb644Q
738Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVExuhbYOcT
‘I guess this was what the woman and my folks tried to warned me against.'
