Alisha paced around her room, casting anxious glances between Jake, who sat cross-legged on her bed, and Diana, who slouched on the couch, arms folded tightly across her chest. They had barely dodged Mrs. Montes' questions about the haunted looks on their faces, and now, alone together, the room felt like a pressure cooker.
"What the actual fuck, guys?" Alisha stopped pacing, clutching her forehead. "I knew you wouldn't believe me. You think I'm losing it. But I saw it. Golden eyes, claws, fangs… it ripped that guy's head off." Her voice broke, a tremor revealing how deeply rattled she was. This would haunt her forever.
Jake's brows knit together, the seriousness in his expression unusual. "Okay, look, it could've been an animal. A coyote or....." He glanced at Diana, searching for the right words.
"A… werewolf?" Diana raised her eyebrows, skeptical. "Come on, Alisha. Humans don't just transform into monsters. There's got to be a logical explanation."
Jake shook his head. "Think about it, D. Alisha sensed something when that guy bumped into her. She literally smelled death. Who's dead now?"
"Coincidence," Diana said firmly, though her eyes betrayed a flicker of doubt. "You two are seriously telling me you believe in this supernatural crap?"
Alisha's pacing slowed as she stopped and stared into the empty air, wondering if she might actually be losing her mind.
Jake stood and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, looking her in the eye. "You're not crazy, Alisha. I believe you. And if you want to figure this out, I'm with you."
Alisha blinked, a small, grateful smile breaking through her fear. "But how? How do we figure this out?"
"By facing it," Jake said quietly. "We go back to the woods. Confront it. Show yourself it's all in the past."
Diana groaned. "You two are nuts. But fine, I'll be here to say 'I told you so' when we find out it's all in your head."
So they made a plan: to go back to the woods, retrace the steps of that horrific night, and see if facing it might finally bring Alisha some peace.
********
The Next Day, at School.
Alisha sat in class, tapping her foot uncontrollably. The rhythmic beat grew faster as her nerves intensified, drawing Danny's attention from the seat behind her. He knew about the body found decapitated in Natasha's backyard, everyone did by now. But something about the way Alisha was acting unsettled him. She was tense, haunted, like she knew something the rest of them didn't.
"Hey," he whispered, leaning forward. "You alright?"
She kept her eyes straight ahead. "I'm fine. Why do you ask?"
Danny gave her a sideways look. "You're fidgeting. You seem… off."
Before Alisha could respond, the teacher shot them a glare. "You two. Stop whispering and pay attention."
They straightened in their seats, but Danny kept watching her, frown deepening. Alisha forced herself to stop fidgeting, clenching her hands to her lap as she waited, barely able to keep her mind off the plan to return to the woods that night.
Class finally ended, and Danny caught up to her in the hallway before she could escape. "Alisha, wait up. Last night, you bailed on me. I thought you just went to the bathroom?"
She swallowed, forcing a casual tone. "I wasn't feeling well, so I went home."
He studied her, unconvinced. "You know, I'm pretty good at reading when someone's lying." His gaze was intense, like he could see right through her.
Alisha forced a laugh. "What are you, a human lie detector?"
"Pretty much," he said, not breaking eye contact. "Your heart literally skipped a beat."
She blinked, caught off guard. How does he know that?
Danny shrugged, downplaying it. "Just kidding. But… if something's up, I hope you'll tell me. I'm here for you, okay?"
She swallowed, hesitating. "Yeah. Thanks, Danny. I've just got a lot on my mind."
As she walked off, her stomach twisted at the sight of a small gathering near a locker. Candles surrounded a photo of the boy who'd died. The one she had seen in those final, gruesome moments. Her breath hitched. The police had ruled it as an "animal attack," and only she knew the truth.
******
That Night
Alisha slipped out into the cold night air, heart pounding as she met Jake and Diana at the edge of the road. Her stomach knotted with fear, her knees weak as they climbed into Jake's car and drove toward the woods. She could feel something pulling her, a magnetic force, as if the woods themselves were calling her back.
The car came to a stop, and they stepped out into the darkness. As they walked deeper into the trees, the atmosphere grew heavier, thick with an eerie silence that prickled Alisha's skin.
Diana's voice was like a shaky whisper. "Guys, maybe we should come back in the morning. I don't know about this…"
"It's too late for that," Alisha said, feeling the invisible pull intensify. She moved mechanically, her body drawn forward as if under someone else's control. "We're already here."
They reached a large tree with massive claw marks carved deep into its bark. Alisha stopped, tracing her fingers over the indentations.
"This is it," she murmured. "This is where I saw it. This is where it all began."
"Could've been a bear," Diana muttered, inspecting the claw marks. "Or maybe a mountain lion?"
"We don't have mountain lions here," Jake replied, brushing his fingers over the grooves. "And these are too deep, too… precise for any bear."
Diana sighed, frustrated. "So what then, Jake? Werewolves? Supernatural beasts?"
Jake ignored her. "How are you holding up, Alisha?"
She nodded, her voice steady. "Better than I thought. I just… I want answers."
She continued down a barely visible path, her feet finding their way even though she couldn't remember the direction from that night. She knew it, as if the ground itself was guiding her.
They finally came to a slope, and Alisha stopped. "This is where I fell." Her voice was hushed as she remembered hitting the ground hard.
They climbed down the slope, where a lone tree stood, foreboding against the night sky. Alisha touched its rough bark. "I hit my head here. I remember screaming. Next thing I knew, I woke up in the hospital."
"Why didn't it kill you?" Diana asked, her brow furrowing. "Like it did to that guy. What was his name, Oliver?"
Alisha shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe… maybe I'm not worth it." She laughed bitterly, trying to mask her unease.
Just then, a faint sound broke the silence, a small digital chime, like a device connecting to Bluetooth. The noise startled them all, and they huddled together, eyes wide.
Alisha reached into her pocket, glancing at her phone. "It's… my camera. It's connected." Her eyes widened in shock. "It's still on. And it's here."
"Wait, your camera's here?" Jake asked, bewildered.
Alisha knelt down, squinting under the twisted roots of a tree where a faint light glowed. She reached in, pulling out the camera, its screen still glowing faintly.
"Were you recording the whole time?" Diana asked, leaning closer.
Alisha nodded slowly, her heart racing. "I never stopped recording. This might have everything we need to prove… I'm not crazy."
Jake squeezed her shoulder. "Then let's go back and watch it. Maybe it'll have some answers."
Together, they hurried back, adrenaline coursing through them. Alisha clutched the camera tightly, hoping it held the truth of that night, a truth that might finally bring her peace.