The girl in the forest
"Are we almost there?" Heather mumbled, her voice tinged with exhaustion. "I really want to reach the hotel soon. This road is giving me the creeps."
Emily nodded absently, but her mind was elsewhere. Her parents had recently gotten divorced, and her mother was moving away to a new town. The trees towered over them like soundless guardians, and the way their branches twisted together made a canopy that blocked the moonlight.
Suddenly, Emily's eyes caught something on the side of the road—a fleeting glimpse of movement, a shadow in the dark.
"Mum, stop the car!" Emily's voice was urgent, cutting through the silence.
Heather glanced at her daughter, confusion and concern written across her face. "What is it, Emily?"
"Just stop the car!" Emily insisted, her voice rising.
"I can't stop the car here; it's dangerous." Heather continued driving, but Emily's eyes remained fixed on the spot where she had seen the shadow.
"Mum, I have seen someone. They need our help. Please stop."
Heather hesitated for a moment, her motherly instincts battling with the fear of the unknown. But seeing the determination in Emily's eyes, she finally relented, pulling the car to a stop on the gravel shoulder.
Before Heather could say anything, Emily had already unbuckled her seatbelt and was out of the car, running back towards the spot where she had seen the shadow.
"Emily, wait!" Heather called after her, her heart pounding with fear. "Don't go into the forest! It's dangerous!"
But Emily didn't listen. Something had drawn her to that spot, something she couldn't explain. She reached the edge of the road and peered into the darkness, her eyes slowly adjusting to the dim light.
There, lying on the forest floor just a few feet from the road, was a young girl, around Emily's age. She was unconscious, her clothes were torn so badly she was almost naked, her face bruised and battered, and her blond hair was matted with dirt and blood.
Heather caught up with Emily, breathless and wide-eyed with fear. "Oh my God," she gasped, rushing to the girl's side. She kneeled down, checking for a pulse and examining her injuries. "She's alive, but she's in bad shape. It looks like she's been in a hit-and-run accident."
Emily shook her head, her brow furrowed in confusion. "But why would a hit-and-run victim be so deep in the forest? It doesn't make sense."
Heather paused, her mind racing. Emily was right—something about the situation didn't add up. The girl wasn't just on the edge of the road; she was well into the forest, as if she had been running from something or someone.
Emily swallowed a lump.
"Perhaps she was assulted."
Heather's eyes widened at the possibility, her heart sinking at the thought of the girl's ordeal.
"We can't just leave her here," Emily said, her voice trembling with emotion. "We have to help her."
Heather nodded, her decision made. "You're right. Let's get her into the car. We'll take her to the hospital and get her the help she needs."
Carefully, they lifted the girl, cradling her between them as they carried her back to the car. Emily couldn't help but feel a deep sense of unease as they walked. The forest seemed to close in around them, the shadows growing longer and darker, as if the trees themselves were watching.
Once they reached the car, they gently laid the girl in the backseat, covering her with a blanket to keep her warm. Emily climbed into the back with her, holding the girl's hand and whispering words of comfort, even though the girl couldn't hear her.
Heather quickly got back behind the wheel, her nerves on edge. As she started the car and pulled back onto the road, she cast a worried glance at Emily through the rearview mirror.
"Do you think she'll be okay?" Emily asked softly, her eyes never leaving the unconscious girl's face.
"I hope so," Heather replied, her voice shaky. "We'll get her to the hospital as fast as we can. They'll know what to do."
Emily carefully wrapped the unconscious girl in a blanket, her hands trembling slightly as she tucked the fabric around the girl's battered form. Despite the dirt and bruises marring her face, there was no denying her beauty. Her hair, though tangled and dirty, was silky blonde, and even in her state, there was something ethereal about her features. Emily couldn't help but wonder who she was and what had brought her to this dark, lonely stretch of forest.
Lost in thought, Emily was startled when the girl suddenly opened her eyes. Panic flashed across the girl's face, and before Emily could react, the girl let out a terrified scream that echoed through the car.
"Hey, hey, it's okay! You're safe!" Emily said quickly, trying to calm her down. She reached out to gently touch the girl's arm, hoping to soothe her.
The girl's screaming died in her throat, and she stared at Emily with wide, frightened eyes. For a moment, there was only the sound of their breathing, heavy and uneven. Then, to Emily's surprise, the girl began to sniff the air around her, her nose twitching like that of a wary animal.
Emily glanced at her mother, who had turned around in the driver's seat, concern etched across her face. Heather raised an eyebrow, clearly finding the girl's behaviour as strange as Emily did.
Finally, the girl seemed to calm down, her breathing slowing as she settled back into the seat. Her gaze, however, remained wary, her eyes darting between Emily and Heather.
Heather broke the silence. "We're taking you to a hospital," she said gently. "You're hurt, and you need to be checked out."
At Heather's words, the girl's eyes widened in alarm. She shakes her head vehemently. "No! I don't need a hospital. I'm fine," she insisted, her voice shaky but determined.
Heather frowned, exchanging a worried look with Emily. "You're clearly not fine," Heather said softly. "You were unconscious, and you have bruises all over. You need medical attention."
The girl's face fell, and she looked down at her hands, which were trembling in her lap. She seemed to be struggling with something, her lips pressed into a thin line as if she were holding back tears.
Emily's heart ached at the sight of the girl's obvious distress. She leant closer, her voice gentle.
"It's okay. We just want to help you. Can you tell us who you are? What happened to you?"
For a long moment, the girl didn't respond. She kept her gaze fixed on her hands, her brow furrowed in thought. Finally, she took a deep breath and looked up at Emily, her eyes filled with sadness and something else—something Emily couldn't quite place.
"My name is Anne," she said quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. "Anne Grant."
"Anne," Heather repeated, her voice soft and comforting. "It's nice to meet you, Anne. But we still need to know what happened. Why were you out there in the forest? Who did this to you?"
Anne looked away, her eyes clouding with sorrow. "I can't say," she murmured. "
Emily and Heather exchanged another glance, this one filled with worry and confusion. Anne's reluctance to speak only deepened the mystery surrounding her.
"Anne," Emily said softly, "you don't have to tell us everything right now. But we can't just leave you like this. If you don't want to go to the hospital, is there someone we can call? Someone who can come help you?"
Anne shook her head again, more firmly this time. "No," she said, her voice stronger. "There's no one. I just need I need to get away. Please."
Heather sighed, clearly torn. On one hand, she wanted to respect Anne's wishes, but on the other, she knew they couldn't just leave her alone in this condition. She turned to Emily, searching for an answer in her daughter's eyes.
Emily took a deep breath, feeling the weight of the decision they had to make. "We can't just drop you off somewhere," she said gently. "We're new in town, but you can come with us to our hotel. We'll figure out what to do from there. Maybe after you've rested, we can talk more about what happened."
Anne hesitated, her gaze flickering between Emily and Heather. Finally, she nodded, her expression one of quiet resignation. "Okay," she said softly. "Thank you."
Emily couldn't help but wonder what kind of trouble Anne was running from and whether they had just unwittingly stepped into something more dangerous.