Chapter 4 Shadow in woods

The dry cracking echoed in the calm air, and the oppressive silence that had been installed until then seemed to break, giving way to an electrical tension. Lucas froze, his gaze passing from motionless trees to the circle of stones behind them.

What was it ... that? Mathias whispered, his barely audible voice.

Alice, his eyes widened, pushed back a few steps, her instinct shouted to flee. – We shouldn't stay here. You have to leave... now.

Lucas tried to hide her discomfort behind a forced smile. -Calm down. It's surely just an animal. You do stories for nothing.

But before he finished his sentence, another noise reached them – a stealthy rustling, as if something slipped among the dead leaves. Mathias hugged his camera against him, throwing nervous looks around the circle of stones.

An animal? And why don't we see anything? Where are the birds? Where are the usual sounds? He asked, his voice trembling.

Lucas shook his head, trying to regain his balance. – Listen, you let yourself be influenced by the atmosphere. It's a forest, there is nothing supernatural here.

Alice stared at him, her gaze imbued with anger and fear. – It's not a question of supernatural, Lucas. There is something. Something that observes us.

Lucas opened his mouth to replicate, but at this precise moment, a third creak sounded, much closer than the previous ones. The three friends appear. Even Lucas seemed unable to hide his concern.

Mathias, her trembling hands raised his device and pointed the lens to the trees. -Maybe ... maybe there is something there.

He took a series of photos, the noise of the trigger mixing with the ambient silence. Lucas, increasingly annoyed, gesture to the trees. – I'll see what it is.

Alice grabbed her arm, her firm fingers. – No. You don't go there.

Lucas looked up at her, ready to protest, but he saw determination in his gaze. She was not going to give in. Mathias lowered his camera, his pale face. – We should really go back ...

Lucas sighed, annoyed but yielding. – All right. You win. But you will see, there is nothing.

The trio left the clearing at a quick look, Alice throws anxious glance behind her with each step. She had the oppressive feeling that something followed them, but each time she turned around, the woods seemed motionless, frozen in a disturbing tranquility.

Back home, Mélanie and Hugo sit in the living room, the faces stretched. Mélanie got up as soon as she heard the door open.

Do you have ... heard something? She asked, her hands trembling.

Lucas shrugged, trying to adopt a relaxed tone. – Just a few crackles. Nothing special. You worry too much.

Alice rushed inside, her dark look. – They were not just cracking. Mélanie was right. There is something here.

Mathias put his camera on the table, massaging the temples. – I took photos ... I don't know what I have captured, but ... some of these images are not normal.

Mélanie approached her, her beating heart to break everything. -Show them.

Mathias turned on the screen of his device, and the group gathered around him. He scrolled through the clichés, showing views of the clearing. But one of the images made Mélanie shudder.

It's ... a shadow. But there was nothing there, she whispered.

Alice felt a shiver browse her spine. – It's not a shadow. It's... something.

Hugo shook his head, displaying a casual smile. – You are all putting your head getting up. Shadows, noises ... It's just the house, the setting. Nothing concrete.

Mélanie crossed her arms, the air of the air. – What if it weren't?

Lucas, although skeptical, finally seemed to lose his insurance. He observed the faces of his friends, realizing that the light atmosphere he had tried to maintain had collapsed.

The sun was declining quickly, and the shadow of the evening spread into the rooms of the house, as a silent presence. Even Hugo, usually carefree, could not ignore the discomfort that settled.

That night, everyone returned to their room, but no one managed to sleep. The silence of the house was oppressive, interspersed with strange noises – a floor of the floor, the murmur of the wind which seemed to sneak under the doors.

Alice, lying on her bed, felt her heart accelerated when she heard steps in the corridor. She straightened up, held her ear. The steps stopped in front of her door, but she dared not move.

Mélanie, for her part, got up to look out the window, attracted by a movement near the lake. She thought she saw a motionless silhouette, but when she blinked, she had disappeared.

Hugo, despite his skepticism, woke up with a start when a thud sounded in his room. He looked around, but saw nothing abnormal.

Mathias, in the darkness of his room, still examined his photos. In each image, he had the feeling that he saw something new – a more defined shadow, a form that should not be there.

Then, a door upstairs slams violently, breaking the silence. Everyone rushed, finding themselves in the living room. The faces were tense, terrified, while the noises seemed to get closer.

The house seemed to breathe, as if it itself was aware of their presence ... and finally decided to manifest itself.

In the living room, the friends gathered, their pale faces illuminated by the low flickering light of a lamp. The heavy silence was only broken by their jerky breaths.

-What slammed? Asked Mélanie, her voice almost a whisper.

Lucas, although usually confident, found nothing to say immediately. He swept the piece of the gaze, looking for a rational response.

-Maybe it was the wind, he ends up saying, but his tone lacked conviction.

Alice frowned, crossing her arms firmly. – Wind? All windows are closed, Lucas. Stop finding excuses, we all know that it was not normal.

Hugo, leaning on the wall, crossed his arms with a false casualness. – You are seriously starting to freak out for nothing. It's just an old house, all of this is logical. The old buildings make noise.

Mélanie shot the look. – And the circle of stones? Shadows in the photos? All this too is logical, Hugo?

Mathias, who always stared at his camera on the table, broke his silence. – What I captured in these woods ... It was not "logical". These shadows were not there when I looked through the lens. They appeared afterwards.

An icy silence fell on them, each digesting Mathias' words. Finally, Mélanie clenched her fists and declared: - We have to leave. Tomorrow morning, we suit our suitcases and we go away.

Lucas haus her shoulders, forcing a smile. – Oh, stop, mel. We are here to have fun. We are not going to flee like kids frightened by a few noises.

Alice interrupted her, her cold voice. – It's not a matter of fear. Something doesn't want us to be here, Lucas. You can continue to pretend, but look around. Everyone feels the same thing.

Lucas hesitated for a moment, Alice's words seeming to infiltrate her thoughts. Finally, he looked away, but said nothing.

Mélanie sighed, tired of the constant tension. – I'm going to my room. If someone still hears something tonight, wake up everyone, okay?

The others nodded, before dispersing, each returning to their own refuge in the house. The shadow of fear still hovered above them, more oppressive than ever.