It was a good day to wander in the forest. You had wanted to get out for ages, to enjoy nature in solitude.
There was much to take in on your walk through a faint trail. The dazzling sun shone in a sky smooth and blue as still water. There was the sweet smell of flowers, soft shrieks of birds hidden in the soft green. You wonder if you should sleep here one night, under more stars than you could count in a lifetime.
You lose track of time as your feet find their own way among the springy grass and fallen leaves. A breeze rustles your hair. It's a little cooler now.
Pausing, you glance at the way you came, reluctant to leave. You don't think you've been more than an hour, but there's a night-like glow forming around the trees in the distance. The air is less restful now, breezes lifting the hairs on your neck as waist-high grass waves around you.
Is something wrong?
You realize the noise of the birds has ceased. The forest is silent, only for waves of wind.
You blink, the wind stinging your eyes, and see the light from the sun is fading. Quickly. As if it's being sucked out of the sky.
Scared by now, you want to turn and run, but a hard blast of wind holds you to the spot. You cry out, protecting your face with bare hands, wishing you'd brought something warmer.
By the time you look ahead, only blurry shapes are visible. You stretch out one arm and can barely see your hand in the thick darkness.
It's as if you're cut off from the forest. No, the entire world.
There is no sound or movement in this space of dark and cold. But you aren't alone.
As the last bit of light evaporates around you, you see something at a distance impossible to judge. It becomes two tiny lights, glowing in the gloom. A pair of eyes.
You need to get away.
Your feet move before you can think, and you run a dozen steps before your heel collides with a root. You taste the dirt with a hard thud. And then something brushes the bare skin of your calf. Briefly, but by the time you look up, it's already too late.
A thick, dark vine slithers across your bare calf. A hot jolt of fear runs up your spine and you kick like a startled hare, scattering pebbles, but the vine tightens. It's warm and sticky.
You manage to grab the tip before it can curl tighter- and then a second one has found your other ankle.
You don't resist. You already know you can't.
Maybe you don't actually want to.
The twin tendrils swirl slowly around your legs, reaching your thighs and tightening just enough to hold you fairly still, pulsating against your chilled skin. The warmth is almost pleasant...