We all have that one friend that we have been friends with for longer than we can remember. Mine was Bella. I think our parents met each other during some work thing, but truthfully, I never really desired to know more. I was perfectly content with our friendship in the present.
We were born only 3 weeks apart, at the same hospital. As kids, we played games every day. We ran through bright green backyards and got yelled at by our neighbors, but we didn’t care, we were just a couple of kids looking for fun. For years, we did everything together, we rode the bus to and from school. When I got my driver’s license, we carpooled through the rest of junior year.
Then came summer.
We expected to have a lively summer. Whether it was by the pool at her house or inside playing video games at mine, we were gonna conquer summer together. We never did enjoy going out to the public pool though. We were both introverted so we isolated ourselves as much as we could from the noise of others.
The summer was flying by and we were starting to get bored of the things we had done for the past month. In the hasty search to cure our boredom, we stumbled upon something we had not done in over eight years, explore the forest behind Bella’s house.
When we were kids, this forest was our own haunted house. The only difference is that it went on for miles. Oh and also that you didn’t know if you would get out or not. Our parents told us stories of kids who went in but never came out, but they seemed like the typical, “keep your kid from doing something you do not want them to do,” stories. Like if you’re parent tells you, “If you stay up on Christmas night, Santa may not come.” They want to protect your innocence.
When we entered the forest, the feelings I used to get as a kid entering that place were nowhere to be seen. The tall trees that I used to think maybe hiding something behind them simply looked like trees. Me and Bella strolled through the woods for a while when she stopped.
“Wait a second,” she said with a slight question in her voice, “Do you recognize this place?”
Confused by this I responded, “It looks just like everything we have been walking by for the last 30 minutes.”
“No, look!” She shouted enthusiastically while pointer her finger at a large rock that protruded from the earth at an almost 90-degree angle. “JaBel Fort!”
Sure enough, the rock had the words “JaBel Fort” with a crude arrow below carved into the rock. JaBel Fort used to be mine and Bel’s hangout spot in the woods. The name is a mix of our names, Jay and Bella. It had been so long since I even thought about it, I couldn’t believe it may have still existed.
Ring, Ring! Ring, Ring!
My phone began to cry out from my pocket. I looked at it to see who may be calling me. Of course, it was my Mom. She for some reason has to ask me something at the most random parts of the day. She could ask my dad, but he is at work so that is why she has resorted to me.
“Hey Bel, hold on a sec. My Mom is calling,” I tell her.
“Ugh, fine. I’m going to take a look to see if the fort is still there,” she said slightly annoyed, “Maybe the ghosts of our childhoods will be there.”
“Yeah ok, I’ll meet you there. Don’t go too far,” I added as I began to put the phone towards my ear, “You don’t want to go missing,” I said with a chuckle.
“Who is going missing,” sparked my Mom from the other end of the line.
“Geez Mom, nobody,” I reassured, “We are just looking through the woods.”
“Be careful honey,” she said with a comforting tone.
“We will Mom. What do you need anyway?” I asked quickly
“Oh yes, do you know where the garlic is? I’m trying to make dinner,” she responded.
“I think it is in the lower right cabinet,” I answered
“Let me take a look,” she says as she strains to crouch down, “Got it!”
“Alright Mom, see you later,” I say trying to get off the phone as quickly as possible.
“Bye, honey. Please don’t be too late back,” she says in a slightly sharper tone.
“You got it,” I reply before I hang up.
This was quickly followed by a text message from my Mom.
Text Message from, Creator of Life❤️: Forgot to mention that your dad will be coming home late. He is working on that project.
I simply read the message and then clicked the button on the side making the screen go black.
Once I returned my phone to my left side pocket, I looked around and saw no sign of Bella.
“Bel!” I shouted down the path the arrow was pointing.
“Guess it was farther out than I thought,” I said to myself as began to trek down the path.
The snapping of sticks seems to echo every couple of steps which fills the otherwise silent, slightly dark, forest.
I then reached JaBel Fort, or what was left of it. Surprised by its existence, I began to dig through the mess of dead sticks that were left for years to rot. Then I realized, where is Bella? I told her to meet me at the fort but she wasn’t there.
“BELLA!”
“BELLA!”
I call out at the top of my lungs but nothing but the chilling silence of what seems like a never-ending forest calls back to me.
Realizing that calling her name was not birthing any new information to me, I sprinted home and then stopped.
“I should call her,” I thought to myself.
As my phone sprung back into my hand and my fingers quickly jumped across the screen, I remembered. She was grounded and had her phone taken away a week ago. Noticing that my options were few to none, I kept moving forward, back home.
Maybe she was bored and went home without telling me? She did seem pretty annoyed when she started down the path to the fort. I thought that my best bet was to return home and maybe my mom could get in contact with her parents. I did think about returning to her house, but at this point in the woods, I knew from past years of experience that I was actually closer to my house than hers.
Bursting through the door of my house I called for my Mom. After a quick explanation, she was on the phone with Mrs. Charles, Bella’s mom.
“Cindy says that Bella came home around 10 minutes ago,” she says as her hand places the phone back on the stand.
“Why wouldn’t she let me know she was leaving?” I asked my Mom.
“I’m not sure hon,” She replied, “Dinner wont be ready for 30 minutes. you can go over and ask if you want.”
Shortly after she said this I was putting one foot out the door followed by the other. I quickly reached the Charles’ house and rhythmically knocked like I always did. As the door swung open, I was greeted by Bella.
“How can I help you?” She asked emotionless.
“Why did you leave without telling me?” I quickly fired back
As if she snapped into the personality of herself she quickly responded.
“I didn’t mean to Jay. I tried to call out to you to let you know that I had to leave but you didn’t hear anything.”
“Oh…” I hesitated, “I guess not.”
“Well thank god you made it back okay,” I added.
“Yeah, I sure did,” she responded in a simple tone.
Then the door shut.
The next morning I sprinted over to Bella’s house and did my signature knock. The first to the door was Mrs. Charles.
“Why Hello, Jay,” she gasped.
Mrs. Charles seemed to get surprised at the most minute things.
I returned the greeting and entered the foyer of the house. Bella came downstairs right when I entered.
“Wanna do something today Bel?” I chirped.
“Uh, yeah sure I guess,” she responded timidly.
“Looks like it might rain today so probably best if we stayed inside,” I suggested.
“That’s fine with me. We can go to your house,” she sluggishly answered.
A couple of hours passed by when I realized that Bella had not spoken in what felt like an eternity. We were playing video games so I didn’t think much about it, but quickly noticed that she wasn’t even playing. I had been with bots this whole time.
“What’s wrong Bel?” I quickly asked.
“I just don’t feel great today,” she answered while scratching her head.
That’s when a large, brown lock of her hair fell to the tan carpet of my basement. As my eyes followed its descent to the floor, concern grew within me. As I gazed back up, my eyes locked
on to the perfectly bald section of her head. The hair had been expelled down to the roots.
She quickly bolted from the room, from what I assumed was embarrassment, leaving me speechless and staring at the chunk of hair lying on the carpet.
In an effort not to embarrass her anymore, I cleaned it up and kept to myself for the rest of the day. Well… almost the rest of the day.
I decided to head over to her house again around 7:30 P.M. When I arrived at the door, I realized that the house was silent and the lights were off. Despite the unwelcoming nature of the dark porch, I stepped up to the door and knocked three times. Each knock being evenly spaced.
Knock, Knock, Knock
No response. Once again I knock.
Knock, Knock, Knock
While I wait for an answer, my head falls down to where my eyes are locked at my feet. There I see a small trail of dark red fluid from under the door. Please no. Please no I think to myself. Sick of waiting and curious, I reach for the handle to open the door when it pushes open. I had been so focused on the ground that I didn’t realize the door was actually cracked open the whole time.
Entering the house, I am greeted by pure darkness. I reach for my phone and fiddle with it until I get my flashlight to click on. I strain my eyes in an attempt to make out what the dim light is illuminating when my whole body recoils and ceases any subconscious I was performing before. There on the floor of the foyer, I had been in less than 12 hours earlier, was Mr. Charles. His limbs were bent in unnatural angles and his skin was covered in deep cuts that had clearly been bleeding before I arrived. I assumed that was his blood that had crept under the front door, but it seemed like he had none left in his body to expel. I then moved my light up his torso and to his head where I began to vomit. His Jaw was dislocated so much that it looked like it was trying to break out of his own skin. Then I saw his eyes. They were hanging down his cheeks, only held on by the nerves that originated from the back of the sockets.
In total shock at what I had stumbled upon, I continued my trek through the house guided by the white light coming out the front of my phone. Blood and strands of hair covered the floors of the house. Then I found Mrs. Charles. She was in her bedroom lying on her bed. She had suffered a similar fate as her husband but instead of the blood running onto the floor, that deep red corrupted the sheets she inhabited. It was impossible to tell what the original color of the sheets was. Next to her bed was a large book with a thick spine that I picked up in case the monster that did this to them was still in the house. I then looked for Bella.
Suddenly I got a text from my mom
Text Message from, Creator of Life❤️: Oh my god honey, they found a girl’s body in the woods. It’s Bella look [REDACTED LINK] I’m so sorry.
As my world begins to crumble around me, I skim through the article. One line catches my attention.
“Police say that the girl, age 16, probably died around 24 hours ago”
24 hours ago.
I have been hanging out with her in the last 24 hours. Or have I? As I scrolled through the article in search of answers, I began to hear sounds from down the hall. I shined my light, casting all that was in front of me in a dim light. In the middle of the faint beam, a door pokes through. Walking up to the door, the sounds begin to take shape. Pushing open the door gently, the words begin to take shape. They weren’t sentences, simply words all jumbled one after another. The voice that spoke them was a raspy tone that fluctuated in pitch. It sounded as if someone was practicing a new language, but also trying to make their voice sound feminine. I then let my sight enter the room. There in the corner, crouched down on all fours was a hairless pale creature that had the rough outline of a human figure but with the skin shrink-wrapped to its bones. My breath halted as I realized the few strands of long brown hair that sprouted loosely from its pale, bald, head.
That was the Bella that I was hanging out with earlier in the day, but not the same one I was exploring the woods with 24 hours earlier.
This realization brought my breath back abruptly which alerted it of me. It turned to me and stared straight into my eyes. There was nothing behind its eyes. Its face was contorted in unnatural ways. Before I could even think, the creature was crawling on all fours towards me.
“I’m not going to become another one of your victims!” I shouted as I ran towards it holding the large book I had grabbed.
When I reached the thing, I bought the stiff spine of the book directly down onto the face of it. Fueled by the grief that overwhelmed me, I struck it a second time which caused a black fluid to begin to splash and flow from the abrasions I had just manufactured. Then it began to laugh. A deep, raspy laugh that only made me strike it harder and harder. With each hit, the laugh became more distorted as more black liquid coated every surface in the room. Tears streamed down my face and began to land on what was left of the face that I continuously pummeled. I didn’t stop until the laughing stopped. I sat back in relief. Tears still marinated my cheeks as I left the house of my dead best friend.
This morning I woke up in a panic. Quickly, a woman in blue scrubs came over to calm me down.
“Where am I?” I asked urgently, “What happened?”
“Well,” She started, “You are at Spring River Hospital. Someone brought you in saying they found you not responsive on the side of [THE NAME OF MY STREET]. For how you got there, we were wondering if you may know.”
“I don’t remember anything,” I responded. Honestly, I did remember but I knew they wouldn’t understand.
As the nurse walked out, my Dad took her place and entered the dull white room.
“Hey kid, how are you doing?” he asked in a tired tone.
“I’m doing fine Dad,” I responded with a slight grin.
“You seem to have gone through a lot,” he said, “I just wanted to check in, I will leave you be.”
I stayed quiet as he turned to leave the room. As he began to step away I looked down to my phone but then back up quickly. Just before he vanished around the doorway, I saw something that shook me to my core.
A small patch on the back of his head where there was no hair.
Just pale smooth skin.