The Wrong Turn

Theresa's phone beeped loudly in the silence of the deep forest, it was her mom's call. She picked it just to hear Thalia's trembling voice, "Theresa, my child... Where... are you?"

"I'm on my way to Patra, is something wrong, Mom? You sound flustered." A mixture of worry and confusion engulfed Theresa's heart.

"Listen to me, carefully. Open your location map right now and look outside, are there any traces of people or vehicles around you?" Despite the turmoil, Thalia handled herself in a calm way.

Theresa followed her mom's command properly. She glanced outside the window, just to be blinded by the fog.

"Mom, everywhere is covered with fog. I cannot see a thing." Suddenly the cab stopped.

"Theresa, are you there?" Unfortunately Theresa's line was disconnected.

"Theresa... Theresa. Oh, fuck!" Thalia crumbled on her feet, her eyes were filled with tears. "My child... I need to report to the police." Thalia dialed '112' with her trembling hands.

"Why did you stop, Uncle?" Theresa put the phone inside her bag.

Suddenly the man turned his head 180 degrees to ogle Theresa. She thought it was some sort of prank but he gave her a creepy smile. His smile appeared like a chaser cat which made Theresa freeze at that moment and lose her senses. Both her hands and legs become numb, she couldn't move. Then his eyes began to pop out and his skin became dry. Theresa was dead scared after seeing him, without any second thoughts, she ran away from the cab, unaware of the ephialtes that was in store for her.

Theresa ran to the foggy woods, just to encounter a black shadow casting on her right side. Seeing the black shadow, Theresa got more frightened that she ran away using her whole strength. After running for a while, Theresa heard the Tik-Tik which sounded very small. (Tik-Tik is a variation of the uniquely Filipino supernatural being called 'aswang') It made her quiet scared so she decided to run fastly from there too. She stopped with a hope that the sound would increase but unfortunately the Tik-Tik was quiet. Theresa's breath and senses nearly stopped, she couldn't move nor speak any words as the Tik-Tik was behind her. It is said that the nearer the Tik-Tik is, it sounds less. Well, it's the same case with Theresa. Her legs and hands were jammed up, she couldn't budge. Theresa was unable to think about anything. She remembered God and chanted holy mantras. Slowly, she turned back, fortunately, there was no trace of Tik-Tik and her hands and legs were also back to normal. She got calm and rummaged her pockets to check her phone so that she could call her mother but there was no signal. An idea striked in Theresa's mind as she climbed up the tree for the signal. She called her Mom but she didn't receive the call.

Theresa was frightened, she sat on the branch by benting her knees. She couldn't cry nor scream because if she did then anything could happen to her. She was feeling cold and lonely. Theresa remembered God and everyone whom she loved.

All of a sudden, she felt a hot breath, tickling her ears, "Hello!" Theresa took her time to tilt her head to face the voice which whispered in her ears. For a minute, Theresa blacked out. It was the mischievous tree monster, she screamed out her lungs. Theresa tumbled from the tree, hitting her knees as blood flowed continuously through it. Despite the pain in her injured knees, she instantly stood up and ran fastly, the blood was dripping all over the ground. She reached at the middle of the woods just to bump into a guy. Theresa felt like it was her last day in Earth but to her surprise it was not any of the scary creatures instead it was one of the familiar faces.

"Marcellus!" Theresa took a sigh of relief as a sense of security and happiness engulfed her palpitating heart. She pulled his shirt and hugged him tightly. She explained everything that happened with her however as a result, she got no reaction from him. Well, words of comfort were beyond the imagination. Marcellus seemed to be too cold which creeped Theresa to her core.

She stared at his face, a total unfamiliar feeling splashed her. His eyes seemed to look as if he had cried blood. He looked at her, "You shouldn't have walked alone in this woods." His voice sharp and hoarse as chills shivered down through Theresa's spine. Gladly, she didn't immerse herself on it, "It's not like I willingly stepped my foot in this woods." She found herself stepping back from Marcellus.

"Don't go any far, girl. Hold my hands." Marcellus approached her.

"No, I won't. You can't be Marcellus. You must be his... his doopleganger." There was rage and fear in Theresa's voice.

Marcellus closed the distance between him and Theresa, gripping her wrist.

"Don't touch me." Theresa pulled her wrist from his tight grip, for someone so small in comparison to Marcellus, she was very strong.

God knows what happened but his eyes were back to normal, she was shocked. "Theresa, are you fine?" Concern and softness replaced his previous sharp and hoarse tone.

"Feels like you were possessed." Theresa rubbed her wrist as she scrunched her eyebrows.

"Maybe you're right." Marcellus face showed no hint of emotions. "I am also returning home so let's go together."

Theresa was suspicious, "Wait, how did you know that I was on my way to Patras?"

"Since this woods is the shortest road to reach Patra and you seemed to be travelling from here, so I simply guessed it and I was right, wasn't I? Anyways, follow me, otherwise, you would get lost again." Marcellus sauntered forward.

"Who said I was lost?" Theresa was annoyed by his assumption.

Marcellus chuckled as Theresa walked behind him. Finally, they reached to the main road of the woods.

Theresa's cab was still there. Marcellus noticed that cab, "Oh! A cab is already here. Let's hop on it."

"No! No! We can't go on that cab. Do you remember what I just said you before? The person with the chaser cat smile that I talked about, he was the driver of this cab. He must be still there. He will again haunt me." Theresa's voice trembled with terror.

Marcellus bursted into a laugh, "Seriously, Theresa? Do you think I would believe in your words?"

Theresa was demented after hearing him, "So you think that I am joking and making up this whole thing? You don't understand, do you? Everything that I saw and experienced was real. It was a nightmare." Theresa's whole body was shaking, her face turning pale.

A wave of guilt washed over Marcellus's face, "I'm sorry, Theresa." He took a slight pause before continuing his words, "Now, I am here so everything is gonna be fine. You are safe with me, okay?" Marcellus embraced Theresa in his arms and comforted her. Theresa melted in his arms, a sense of warmth and relief consumed her which drifted her deeper into losing her consciousness.

Later on, after regaining her consciousness, Theresa found herself in a familiar place which was her room in Patras.