Chapter 2: The Rules On The Bench

With my only escape route gone I had only 1 choice, forward. I had to find the bench, it is the only information I have, the only safety net within this strange place. As I walked down the path following wisps of vague memory I walked past a small pond. In what I can only describe as a sudden shift in my mental state I stopped my walk and turned around, staring at the first body of water I've seen so far even though there's supposed to be a stream cutting through somewhere within this area. I also don't remember a pond being in that specific spot. Of course its been 13 years, however, something about the pond didn't feel right it had a very slight haze around it, like a blur if you looked very closely. I cautiously walked towards the pond with my right hand in my jacket; ready to pull the revolver hiding in my left side holster. I surveyed the pond and could not pick anything strange about it and that's when it hit me. I see a frog on a lily pad with flies all around it. I see dragon flies hovering over the water and mosquitoes buzzing all around...these are the first living thing's I've seen in this forest. Why are the only creatures I've seen around this one pond? In that moment I ceased moving and picked up a stick from the ground. I then walked within 15 feet of it and gave the stick a toss: I intended to see what would appear from the pond. After the toss I quickly regripped my gun, waiting on baited breath. To my absolute horror the stick didn't bounce before stopping nor sink into the pond. No, it stopped upon the water as though it broke physics. It just stopped and I could not see even the water ripple nor hear the sound of the stick colliding with water. In short order the stick turned into a tar like substance before it slid into the forest. It now had a blobish shape like a slime from a fantasy. Now I heard sound echoing in this hell, the sound of the tar gelatin creature sliding across the forest floor; watching the blob get slightly bigger as vegetation disappeared when it slid over it. What in gods name did I just do. What horror did I just create and where the hell am I for such an occurrence to befall me? I placed a grave deal of mental emphasis on the "evil" forest as a coping mechanism. But to find out I was right. To find out I just stumbled into the devil's playground in my insanity brings me infinite terror and dread.

After creating an abomination to reality itself I crumbled for a few hours sobbing 15 feet from the pond. I then collected myself as I started focusing back on the pond. It seems it has no more reason to hide as the once semi clear pond transformed into a black, oily, tar filled hole with all types of bones inside, it stank something fierce and for a second It seemed I had regained my sense of taste. I stared at it for awhile, perhaps a short 5 minutes in some sort of trance. Never before have I seen such a thing even in my nightmares. I'm curious on how it brought the stick to life and changed it's physical properties, such a thing shouldn't exist. As I got up I could swear the black pit started to jiggle like a demon trying to escape the bowels of Tartarus. I immediately ran down the path, unwilling to encounter such a monster less my mental faculties be crippled by absolute terror. I ran until I was out of breath with my hands on my sides. I do not know how long I ran but I could no longer see the black pit behind me and I started to see sunlight trickle through the tree leaves. This forest is home to some nightmarish beings, I can only pray they leave me in peace along with me not accidently creating more of them.

After catching my breath I made slow progress down the path, conserving my energy in case of an emergency. Soon I saw a hill not far in the distance. Memories flooded my mind as I approached, memories of a better time which, upon recalling, give's me great mental relief. It was a long time ago now, me and Locke illegally drinking cheap vodka looking off into the forest from the bench during the early morning sunrise. Those day's are long gone but in the end, like all things, its the memory which stays with me even amidst my worst struggles. I walked up the hill in a daze as I recalled bygone memories. Before I knew it I sat upon the bench contemplating my life. But a new memory wormed its way in, a memory in which I can't recall yet so vividly remember. We were yelling, Locke and me. Arguing over something. He was telling me about folklore pertaining to the forest. How long ago some unknown privateers found the America's and through some form of karma came upon this forest. Close to 30 men walked in and only 1 walked out. The only survivor he said, died to a tribe who used him for some sort of appeasement ritual, Locke was always saying some crazy shit like that, just recalling his strange stories puts a smile on my face. Later on, when there was communication with the native Indians, they told a story. A story of how 30 white men walked into the forest of madness and ripped each other apart due to not following the rules of the spirits. When he told me that, I got very upset with him. I was always a queer child. Never believing in superstitions but being extremely weary of them. As though I subconsciously knew it to be true but could not handle the fear and madness upon the realization of such facts. His words aroused a primordial fear in me and in some sort of mental defense I became furious. After we argued we walked further into the forest and...saw something. We fled as fast as our feet could take us. I cannot recall anything except...I jumped up from the bench and looked at it. There were ancient words scrawled onto the bench. They were not English and yet I passively understood.

"4 little piggies enter the forest hoping for closure,

only to be trapped in the forest enclosure.

Run little piggies across the forest to the hut,

find 2 doors and keep them shut.

For if found by the wolf you will find,

it'll leave you crippled, strange, and blind"

The childlike tone to the message sent chill's down my spine. After reading the ancient scrawled words I heard a thunderous howl from a great distance. The sudden noise caused me to break out into a sudden sprint. As I started to run I slipped upon the loose dirt and fell down the hill, each roll giving me scratches and pain. Some ways down I rolled onto a rock. The rock made contact with my knee and I heard a strange sound coming from down below. Once I had rolled to the bottom and found I couldn't put weight onto my left leg. So, I put most of my weight on my right, finding I could hobble at a slow pace but even the slightest bit of error would cause me to fall in pain as I.

My only thought's are on the hut. I feel like a game piece with my only choice being to flee to the hut to hid against this wolf like creature. As I hobbled my thoughts drifted to the 4 piggies. If i am to place my thoughts correctly then there are 4 humans, me included, who have to hid from some ghastly wolf like creature. If we are "piggies" than its reasonable to believe that this "wolf" is not a wolf at all but...perhaps the beast that ran into these maddening woods. If I'm correct then I have to make haste for if that creature finds me I am not confident on my .357 Magnum Revolver ending its life. At the very least, before my knee became crippled, I could have used it to escape. Instead this revolver will be my escape in a more...spiritual sense should I encounter the beast.

I walked for what felt like hours. For some reason I'm not thirsty despite it being well over an hour of constant walking in the day. I don't feel that tired either, nor hungry. It seems this place is physically changing me in some way. But perhaps I'm jumping the gun on that idea. If I'm not hungry or thirsty by the time the sun goes down then I'll assume I'm correct in my assumption. My needs for relieving myself remain intact though. After another hour of hobbling I saw, deep in the woods far off the path, a nicely size hut. It looked to be a 2 story log cabin with...smoke coming out of the chimney. Knowing it is my only protection I started hobbling off the path towards the cabin. It was taking a good while due to my knee but I persevered. I must have been 100 or so feet away before I heard rustling. My heart thumped faster and I pulled out my revolver, pointed at the bush. Soon a man appeared. He seemed to be in his early 20's and sported a rather shoddy brown mustache you'd expect from a pubescent boy. He had short brown hair, brown eyes, and white skin. He wore a white tank top with jeans. I pulled back the hammer and gave him a cold stare. He flung his skinny arm's quickly in the air upon noticing the gun in my hands and a streak of fear spread across his face. His lips quivered as he stuttered,

"For the love of god dude, don't shoo-shoot please! I beg of you please!".

I peered upon his face looking for a sign of ill will in his below average features. I uttered,

"Who are you and what are you doing in this forest?".

"I'm Paul McCarthy, I-I live in Jackson. I-I just. Don't shoot me please man!".

He seemed genuinely terrified as his eyes were wide and looked to be on the fringe of tears.

"I won't shoot you if you answer my questions. Now why the hell are you in this forest boy!".

I shook my revolver in a back and forth motion. Paul started to breath heavily seemingly to calm himself down.

"I'm-I-I came in here on a bet. Some buddies at work bet me 60 bucks to go deep into the forest and film the old abandoned playset but when I came in...".

He started to cry at this point. His face birthing a true look of despair. Through his sobs,

"The way behind me was just gone man, GONE! I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO FUCKING DO MAN! I-I...".

At this point I decocked my gun and put it back in my under jacket holster and hobbled over. I gave him a few pats on the back to calm him down from his hysteria. Soon he looked at me and spoke in a trembling tone,

"When I saw that the way behind me was gone I just stopped man. I-I g-got work in a few hours man. I can't lose this job dude I've got like 15 points! If I get another 2 from doing a no show no call I'm gonna get fired dude! My phone's not working either. Just fuck man.".

At that I gave him a hard stare. Wondering how I'm gonna tell him that he just wound up in the devil's garden.

"Paul, I'm gonna be truthful with you. You have stumbled your way into hell."

I gave him a moment and gripped his shoulders to let it sink in.

"If you are not careful you might end up dead, you got that Paul?"

He rapidly shook his head up and down in a child like motion. I looked around before quietly uttering

"Did you see any word's or hear anything when you were at the playset?".

"I-I never got to the playset. I just kept walking until I saw that cabin and was just gonna stay there for awhile. Get my bearings you know?"

"Then your gonna want to listen very carefully. From my understanding there are 4 of us in this forest and 1 very evil creature. We need to board up in that cabin and kill the creature after us...It sound's crazy but its true, if you get caught by the fucking thing..."

I stopped speaking and let my serious demeaner explain the rest. Soon a look of what I can only describe as a grand terror enveloped him. He looked all around as though shadow's were hiding behind every tree waiting to grab him.

"Oh fuck man. I just wanted a quick 60 bucks. Fuck...fuck man." 

"Let's make our way into the the cabin Paul. From there you can go through all your emotions. But we're not safe here. Come on. Come on!"

I placed my hand behind his back and put enough pressure to lead him towards the cabin. We began walking up the steps with old creaks crying from the wooden steps. Once at the top I reached for the door handle. As I pulled the door open I saw something dash towards my face from behind the door and all went black. The last thing I heard was an unfamiliar voice utter something...