The woods have always felt like home to me; the stillness, the sound of the wind singing through the leaves of trees, and the gentle flow of the river against the fallen rocks. It’s always been my haven, where I go to calm down and clear my head.
My friend and I had decided to go on an adventure as we called it, our mission was to collect the best vintage bottles we could find. So we grabbed our bags and headed out to a strip of the forest not far from my house. Keep in mind, I’ve been to this spot hundreds of times, and not once had I noticed the things we unearthed.
A little way up the mountain we had stopped to sit on a fallen tree log for a break, soaking our toes in the stream. Alice froze, her expression fell to something between blank and sheer terror.
“Alice, what is it?” I asked, looking around to see if I could find what had her anxious.
“Nothing, just thought I’d heard something.” She replied, suddenly calm. I was utterly confused, but I didn’t want to go home.
A little bit later we found a whiskey bottle that had to be at least a hundred years old.
“Jackpot” I exclaimed as I dusted away the dirt from the glass.
“Oh here’s another!” Alice yelled. Her giggles quickly faded into silent whimpers.
“Liza..” she pleaded, “Eliza!”
“What, what’s wrong?”
She pointed down to something sticking out of the ground, “What the hell is that?”
Upon further inspection I quickly realized it was bones that were once someone’s hand, appearing to have been severed.
“Oh c’mon, Alice, it’s probably just a Halloween decoration.”
She nodded her head slowly as she whispered, “yeah…yeah just an old decoration.”
“Oh cool!” I yelled, “Alice, come check this out.” Alice slowly peeled her vision from the severed hand as if she had been enchanted by it.
“What am I looking at?” she asked
“It’s a house.”
We were standing on the remains of a house, seemingly scorched or damaged in a storm.
Behind the fallen house there was barbed wire chained around a tree which was also scorched, leaving a crisp, hollow stump behind. Several strands of what appeared to be black yarn peered out from between the tree and the wire.
What is this
Alice let out a shrill scream, “Those are bones Eliza, BONES!”
“What, what are you talking about?” I asked as I went to move the wire aside.
“No Eliza, don’t!”
Then I saw it, the charred skeleton hiding behind the chained wire, its hand severed.
So cruel.
“We need to get back to the road and call the police, now,” I ordered, just then something let out the most ear-piercing scream I had ever heard.
“We need to leave.”
As we rushed down the hill, stumbling over fallen trees and boulders, the agonizing screech followed.
Alice lost her footing, hitting her head on a pile of rocks when she hit the ground.
“Alice, Alice!” I yelled as I rushed to her side, “c’mon, c’mon Alice, wake up!” I frantically pleaded as I shook her.
She suddenly shot upright, opening her eyes to reveal they had completely glossed over into white.
“Alice?”
“We have to go back.” She said with a voice that sounded nothing like her own
“Alice, what are you talking about? We have to go!”
“We have to free her.”
I followed after Alice up the hill, protesting every step as she seemed to so effortlessly glide up the mountain.
“Alice, wha-” I froze in disbelief at what I was seeing. The house that had been demolished not even an hour ago was standing, seemingly unharmed under its mossy-brick exterior.
“Where is it!” Alice screeched in frustration,
“Wheres what?” I cried out after her,
“My hand!”
I stopped in my tracks, afraid that whomever I was looking at, though they may look like her, was not Alice.
“What’re you talking about?”
“My hand, they took it! They held me down as they cut it from my body, casting it into the wych elm. I need it back!”
“Alice, what are you talking about?” I repeated.
She turned, her face distorting into another. Her dark eyes turned gray, her hazelnut hair faded into a natural platinum blonde, and her face filled out under newly found cheekbones.
“The things..” the women paused, “the things they did to me. How they tortured, violated me.” she cried, “then they burned me alive as they cheered on my screams.”
“Where’s Alice? What’d you do to her?”
“They yelled such vile things at me. Accusing me of sorcery, bewitching young men and women alike in the village.”
“Where’s Alice!?” I screamed at her once more.
The woman’s voice suddenly changed from low and teary, to malicious with laughter.
“Well someone had to take my place in the grave.” She laughed as she gestured towards the tree, setting it ablaze with a flick of her finger.
“Eliza! Eliza, help me!” Alice cried in anguish, her screams piercing the air.
“Alice!” I ran towards her burning body, trying to find anything I could use to diminish the fire.
“Stupid girl, there’s nothing you can do.” She said as she laughed.
“No! Let her go!” I screamed running towards her, she waved her hand and I flew back, hitting the brick house causing me to fall out of consciousness, the women’s laughter echoing against Alice’s cries for help.
I woke strapped to a bed in a room with walls padded in white.
A woman stood over me, tapping a tube running something to the needle in my arm.
“Ah, she’s awake. Can you tell me your name, sweetheart?”
“Um..” I stuttered, taking notice of how dry my throat was… “Eliza, Elizabeth Keen.”
“Well, miss Keen, you’ve been out for quite some time. Your loved ones are worried sick,” she commented as she continued to fidget with the equipment.
“Alice, where’s Alice?” I cried as I tried to pull myself free from the restraints.
“Your friend? Sweet girl that one. She’s been coming in every day. She’s here now.” She gestured to the door.
“Elizabeth” Alice sighed. “May we have a few moments?” she asked. The nurse nodded as she exited the room
“Alice, Alice you’re okay,” I said as she turned to face me, her brown eyes peering back at me. All too familiar laughter began to bubble in her throat as her eyes turned piercingly grey.
“Oh dear girl, but she’s not.”
“No! Alice, no!” I cried, “what did you do to her?”
“Don’t you remember?” she smirked
“I’ll tell everyone, I’ll tell them what you are.”
The woman kneeled, whispering into my ear, “and who’s going to believe you?” she asked before walking out
I began to scream again, causing nurses to run in and hold me down.
“Sedate her!” they yelled.
2 months later
The woods used to feel like home, a quiet all too calm place I’d run to when I needed peace. Now they serve as a reminder of the day I lost my best friend to the witch.
I told everyone who would listen.
“We didn’t find anything Miss Elizabeth.” the police would say
I went out there to search for myself, and there was nothing. The house had returned to its fallen state, the tree where the bones were chained had disappeared altogether, the hand replaced by an oddly shaped bush. Alice’s body is nowhere to be found.
The imposter is free, and I’m the only one who knows the truth.