I loved my brother, Matt. All brothers do, I suppose. But I still remember his smile the last time I saw him. The last time anyone did, for that matter. That was seven years ago. He was always out there. Said he knew there was something in those woods. Something evil… it takes people that go a little too far off the beaten path.
Of course we all wrote it off as nonsense, but that didn’t stop me from retracing Matt’s last known whereabouts every year. Every year, I would go back to that place where my brother disappeared. It was like a pilgrimage for me, a way to keep him alive in my memory. As I walked through the dense trees, I couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to him. Had he stumbled across something he shouldn’t have? Was he attacked by an animal? Or was it something more sinister than that?
I had come prepared this year, with extra supplies and a GPS tracker. I wasn’t going to make the same mistakes that Matt did. I was going to find out what happened to him no matter what it took. As I walked deeper and deeper into the woods, I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It was like I was being watched.
Suddenly, I heard a twig snap behind me. I turned around, but there was no one there. My heart was racing as I pressed on. I had to find out what happened to my brother. As the sun began to set, I stumbled upon an old cabin. It was in terrible shape, with the roof caving in and the walls covered in moss. But it was the only shelter I had for the night. I cautiously stepped inside, my heart pounding in my chest. The cabin was pitch black, but I could hear something moving around inside. I fumbled for my flashlight, my hands shaking with fear.
As the beam of light hit the walls, I saw something that made me freeze in terror. There were claw marks etched into the wood, as if something had tried to break in. And then I heard it again, a low growling sound coming from the darkness. I slowly began to back away, but then I heard something that made me stop. It was a whisper, a voice that sounded like my brother’s.
“Help me… please,” it said.
I turned around, my flashlight illuminating the figure standing in front of me. It was Matt, but he wasn’t the same person I remembered. His skin was pale, his eyes were glazed over, and his clothes were tattered and torn. I couldn’t believe my eyes.
“Matt? Is that really you…?” I asked, my voice trembling with emotion.
He didn’t answer, but instead took a step closer to me. His eyes narrowed, and I could see a savage hunger in them. I realized then that this wasn’t my brother. This was something else entirely, something that had taken over his body. I tried to back away slowly, but he lunged forward, his hands outstretched and his teeth bared. I screamed and ran out of the cabin as fast as I could. I could hear him chasing me, his inhuman growls echoing through the forest.
I wasn’t sure how long I ran for, but eventually I found a stream. I plunged into the water, hoping to lose whatever was chasing me. I stayed in the water for what felt like hours, my body shivering from the cold. Finally, I mustered up enough courage to climb out and continue my journey. As I walked, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being followed. Every time I turned around, I saw nothing but darkness and trees. I realized then that I had to find a way out of the woods - and fast.
As the dawn broke, I stumbled upon a clearing. In the center of it stood an old tree. It was unlike any tree I had ever seen before. The bark was black and twisted, and the branches hung low, blocking out the sunlight. I felt drawn to it, as if it was calling out to me. As I stepped closer, I saw something etched into the bark. It was a symbol I had never seen before, but it was pulsating with an eerie energy. The stench of rotten flesh and sulfur permeated the air around the tree.
The air felt heavy and damp. There was a tangy, bitter smell in the air… an odor of decay and death about it, though very faint. I knew then that this was the source of the evil that my brother had warned me about. And as I stood there, staring at the symbol, I could feel something inside of me stirring. It was like a dark force was calling out to me, tempting me, and I knew that if I didn’t get out of there soon, I would be lost forever. But just as I turned to run, something grabbed me from behind. I tried to scream, but a cold hand clamped over my mouth, muffling my cries for help. I struggled against my attacker, but it was no use. They were too strong.
The world began to spin as I was lifted off my feet and carried deeper into the woods. I caught a glimpse of my captor’s face, and I knew then that it was my brother. But he was no longer the Matt I had known and loved. He was a monster, a vessel for the evil that lurked inside those woods. I don’t know how long I was held captive, but it felt like an eternity. In that darkness, I was subjected to unspeakable horrors that will haunt me for the rest of my life. I was beaten, starved, and forced to endure all manner of physical and psychological abuse. But worst of all was the feeling of utter hopelessness that consumed me. I was trapped in that place, with no way out.
But one day, I woke up to find that my captor was gone. I don’t know how or why, but I didn’t care. I knew that this was my chance to escape. I stumbled out of the cabin, my body weak and trembling. But as I made my way through the woods, I could feel something inside of me changing. It was like the darkness had taken root in my soul, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t shake it off. Ever since then I’m… sick. There’s something wrong, and the doctors don’t know what it is. There’s no treatment for my symptoms - not for the sleepwalking, the fever dreams, or the strange necrosis that’s slowly eating me from the inside. They can’t tell me whether I’ll ever get better, or how much time I might have left before it’s too late. The darkness that had taken over my brother’s body had somehow seeped into mine, corrupting me from the inside out.
But I fear that it may be too late for me. The necrosis continues to spread, and I can feel my mind slipping away. Sometimes I wonder if it’s all in my head, if the darkness is nothing more than a figment of my imagination. But then I see the marks on my body, the scars that refuse to heal, and I know that it’s as real as the look in my brother’s eyes the night he shared his curse with me.