It was a dark and stormy night when Aaron decided to take a walk through the abandoned forest on the edge of town. He had heard rumors of whispers in the woods and strange creatures lurking in the shadows. He had dismissed them as nothing more than wet-weather superstitions, but he never could shake the feeling he may be wrong.

He followed the winding path and eventually stopped at a large boulder. He remembered coming there with his family as a child. They all laughed as they scrambled over the stones, but now the landscape seemed menacing. As Aaron stood in awestruck silence, he heard a faint whisper. “Come and see what lurks in the shadows.”

He shivered and turned around, but the voice seemed to follow him. “Come and see what you are missing,” it said. His curiosity got the better of him and he followed the sound.

The rain became a downpour, and the forest seemed even darker as Aaron stumbled through mud and tree roots. He eventually came to an overgrown clearing, and as he stepped into it, the voice said, “Look through the trees and you shall find your answers.”

Aaron looked around and saw a figure in the shadows. It was tall and cloaked in darkness. Even though he couldn’t see its face, he felt a dreadful terror that went right to the bone. The figure moved forward ever so slightly and said, “You should not have come, child. You and your secrets are mine now.”

He turned and ran, faster than he ever had before. He felt like he was being watched every step of the way, but he never saw anyone else.

When he got home, he was tempted to tell his friends and family, but he knew they wouldn’t believe him. He only knew one thing for sure: He would never go back to the abandoned forest again.