What You Find in the Woods

Silas walked along the forest path. It had just turned dark and his only light was the faint, light gray glow of the moon. A thick mist had settled across the forest, further obscuring his vision. The sounds of crickets chirping in the distance was the only comfort Silas had. He’d heard tales of dangerous creatures in the Southern and Northern Lands that prowled through forests looking for unsuspecting victims. Of course, he was in the middle of the Frontier, where stories like those, held no place. It was still a place of death, but not in the way the rest of the continent was. Most people here died from starvation, dehydration, and illness, not from dangerous animals. There were wolves and bears in this specific region, but Silas had brought beast-repellant powder. It was fairly inexpensive in the Frontier, so he’d bought quite a few containers before leaving town. He’d grown up in the Frontier his whole life, but he’d never gone out at night without the powder. Using powder when outside of town was the first rule Frontier children were taught.

Silas had started his journey early in the morning, but the night had come earlier than he’d expected. That in it of itself wasn’t too serious. Growing up in the Frontier also meant you got very used to seeing in the dark. The bigger issue was the mist. For whatever reason, it occurred much more often in the Frontier than it did in the North and South. One would expect that those in the Frontier would’ve also adapted to the mist, but they’d be wrong. If anything, the mist had adapted to them; it obscured their night vision almost completely, leaving them with the same eyesight as a regular person. Silas had been told that those outside the Frontier weren’t affected whatsoever by the mist, but he didn’t believe it.

“Damn, this lantern barely has any wax left. I should’ve known that guy was ripping me off.”

The lantern he’d bought had seemed too good to be true; the shopkeep had said it would last his entire journey and then some. Silas had doubted that, but after buying all his other supplies, it was the only thing he could afford. The village he was traveling to wasn’t far, but traveling for any time in the dark was dangerous, especially out in the Frontier.

Silas sighed, but continued walking; the more distance he could walk with light, the better. The mist seemed to almost tighten as he walked, further obscuring his already weakened vision. Just my luck, I’ve got almost no light left, I can barely see in front of me, and it’s the middle of the night. At least I’ve got these salts with me; better to die from a pitfall than a starving bear. Mother wouldn’t be too happy about either of those options though. She’s probably yelling from our house that I should’ve listened to her and waited a few days.

Silas chuckled a little at the image of his mother screaming from a window. When he opened his eyes, the fog had thickened once more, obscuring anything further than a small circle around him. Seriously? If this keeps up, I won’t be able to see anything. Whoever said fog’s the worst in winter is crazy, this spring fog is way worse than it ever is during winter.

Silas continued walking, but now kept a closer eye on the mist’s thickness. He’d been walking for 10 minutes when he realized it hadn’t thickened at all. Huh, guess that really was the worst of it. Maybe I will make it to town.

As he thought, he noticed a figure ahead of him on the path. There’re other people out here? Guess I didn’t notice because of the fog.

“Hey, you there!” Silas yelled, raising an arm and waving to the figure. It didn’t turn around or seem to react to him at all.

“Hey! Are you okay?” he yelled again, this time picking up his pace and sprinting towards it. When he got close, it seemed to notice his presence and turned around.

“Yes, I’m alright. My hearing’s just not what it used to be.” The figure said, a smile forming on its face.

Now that he was closer, Silas could see that the figure was an old man in a dark cloak that covered the top of his head and face. The man had a kindly face with crow’s feet around his eyes and a tired, but quite cheerful smile.

“Oh, that’s alright. I didn’t even notice you behind all this fog.” Silas said, returning the man’s smile.

The man chuckled, “I guess we both have problems with our senses. What’s your name, young man?”

“It’s Silas. How about you, sir?” Silas asked, reaching out for a handshake.

The man returned the handshake with a firmer grip than Silas was expecting, “It’s Kane.”

“So, where are you headed, Kane?” Silas asked.

“I’m visiting an old friend. Got a little carried away on the way here though. I thought I could make it to town much faster than this. By the way, are you from around here? Your eyes are a really dark brown and so is your hair. Your clothing too, it looks a lot warmer than I’d expect from around here.”

Silas tilted his head slightly, “Uh, yeah. I’m from the town we just left… do I not look like a Frontierman?”

“Wait, Frontierman? I thought I was in a completely different region!” Kane chuckled.

Is this guy alright in the head? How did he manage to mess up his destination this bad? The Frontier’s so different from anywhere else… I guess this is just how age affects people outside the Frontier. I gotta make sure I grow old here.

“How did you manage to get into… actually, where did you leave from?” Silas asked, now slightly suspicious of the man.

“Oh, I’m from a small village in the North. My friend lives in the South.” Kane responded with a chuckle and a smile.

“Huh. I don’t know how you managed to wind up-,”

Suddenly, Silas’ head seemed to burst and a high-pitched sound echoed around his head. “Ahhhhh!” Silas screeched, grabbing his head and attempting to cover his ears.

He could just barely hear Kane through the noise, “What’s wrong!? Why are you screaming!?”

Silas continued to writhe on the ground for a few seconds before the pain vanished. I-is it over? What even was that; the noise, my head splitting open…

His thoughts stopped as he looked over at Kane, who for some reason, now seemed familiar to him. He hadn’t noticed before, but he’d seen a man with those crow’s feet and that easygoing face… he just couldn’t remember when.

“Hey, are you alright Silas? Why did you fall to the ground like that?” Kane asked, his expression filled with concern.

“I-i don’t know. There was this noise in my ears and my head felt like it was going to explode,” he grabs his head, “I thought I was dying.”

Kane laughed, “Well, good thing you didn’t. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you died on me.”

Silas returned the laugh, “Probably wouldn’t have been fun to watch… Hey, by the way, have we met before?”

Kane’s expression seemed to darken for a second before lighting back up, “Unless you’re talking about a few minutes ago… then no! This is the first time I’ve ever met you, Silas.” Kane chuckled, “Or maybe it isn’t. You never know with a brain as old as mine.”

Silas laughed at Kane, but he couldn’t shake the sense of familiarity. Whatever happened to my head must’ve really messed me up. I mean, there’s no way I’ve met this guy before, especially if he’s from the North. Ugh, I just can’t shake the feeling that I’ve seen him before.

“Oh, by the way, I have an extra lantern on me. You look like you need it.” Kane asked, extending his arm out with the lantern in hand.

“Oh,” Silas shook himself out of his thoughts and took the lantern, “Thanks, I was getting worried about my own going out.”

“Of course, we both have places to be.” Kane responded, “Speaking of that, let’s get moving.”

Silas watched as Kane turned and began walking. I really need to stop overthinking it and make sure this guy gets back.

They’d walked for about 20 minutes when Kane suddenly stopped.

“Hey, do you hear that?” Kane asked.

“Hear what? There’s nothing-” Silas began to speak, but Kane grabbed his face.

“Shut up, or we’ll both be dead. There’s something in the woods.”

Something in- but I’ve been scattering the beast repellant powder. Is this what it’s like for people in the North? I guess I’ll just wait until Kane calms down.

After a moment, Kane lifted his hand, but moved his other and put a finger to his lips, signaling Silas to remain silent. The pair stayed like for a few seconds before Kane finally put his hand down.

“I think it’s gone, but that was a close call.” Kane continued looking around while Silas stared at him in confusion.

“Hey, I don’t know what you think you heard, but we’re safe. I’ve been scattering powder this entire time, none of the animals are gonna come anywhere near us.”

Kane glanced back at Silas with a wild look in his eyes that faded almost as soon as Silas noticed it. “Powder… you think powder’s gonna save us?! Also, why would I be worried about the animals? The monsters are the real problem.”

“Monsters? There aren’t any monsters in the Frontier. You should know that already!”

Silas now looked at Kane with a bit of fear. Even if he’s from the North, how would he not know such a simple fact?

Kane scratched the back of his head, “Oh, right. Guess my brain is playing tricks on me again. Let’s keep walking.”

Silas took a step back, “Look, you’re freaking me out a bit here. Even the oldest people in my village have that fact ingrained into their hearts. That sense of familiarity earlier, you appearing randomly, it’s all just a little weird.”

Kane’s expression shifted entirely, a dark glint appearing in his eyes as he stared back at Silas. “Hah, guess that’s as much as I’m getting. I really wasn’t expecting someone this perceptive.”

“As much as you- what are you even saying?” Silas asked, his expression slowly shifting to horror as Kane let out maniacal laughter.

“You really don’t need to worry about that anymore Silas… or should I say, me?”

I need to get away from this guy. I don’t know what happened but he doesn’t seem normal anymore. He’s saying he’s me now, and that laughter… something’s not right.

“Look, I’m just gonna back up and you can keep going to town.” Silas put his hands up as he pleaded with Kane.

“Ugh, I hate begging. I’ll just get this over with real quick.” As soon as Kane finished speaking, cracks began to appear across his body. Silas watched in horror as the cracks widened, some breaking to reveal a bright yellow light. He tried to turn, run, anything to get away… but the second the light met his eyes, he froze. What is this? Why can’t I move? Huh, that’s… A bright flash of light enveloped Silas’ vision.

Norden walked along a dark forest path late at night. It was quiet aside from the occasional periods of cricket chirping. A thick fog had settled over the area, reducing his vision just the slightest bit. He’d been walking for the better part of the day, but his destination was still far from where he was. I honestly thought I’d underpacked, but with how long this has taken, it might be the opposite! The townsfolk said the next town over wasn’t that far, but this is insane. I’d heard about the fog too, but it’s even worse than they say. It’s like it specifically thickens around people and is thin everywhere else. I still have a good amount of that powder I got sold before entering the Frontier, but this lantern… I think I got ripped off. Guess it doesn’t matter, just need to keep walking.

He’d been walking for about half an hour before a figure appeared out in the fog. For whatever reason, the fog cleared up just enough for him to see the figure. It had a dark cloak on that made it hard to see any distinguishing features. It was a few feet ahead of him and walking at a similar pace.

“Hey!” Norden called out, waving both his hands above his head.

The figure turned, waved back, and proceeded to walk towards Norden. In just a couple of seconds, the figure got close enough for Norden to see. It was a middle-aged man with dark brown hair and eyes with crow’s feet. Underneath the man’s cloak was a pair of brown trousers and a dark orange tunic atop it. The man’s face lit up with a smile as he spoke, “Hey there, fellow traveler. Where’re you headed?”

Norden smiled back, “To the next town over, like you I’m assuming.”

The man chuckled, “You’d be right. I’m going to visit an old friend who’s offering me a job. What about you? Why are you headed to town?”

“I’m actually traveling through the Frontier to the South. I’m visiting some family down there.” Norden responded, “Hey, do you hap-”

A head-splitting noise erupted all around Norden; it covered his ears and swept into his head, ringing like an eternal bell. He collapsed to the ground from the sheer force of the sound. Norden could see, out of the corner of his eye, the man, looking down at him with worry. In all the chaos, the man had almost seemed to become… familiar. The pain continued for almost a full minute before vanishing without a trace.

“What happened to you?” the man asked.

Norden looked up at him in confusion. Why does he look so familiar now? I looked over his entire face the first time and nothing…

“I-i don’t know, there was this noise… it doesn’t matter.”

The man extended an arm towards Norden and he took it. Once he’d dusted off and properly reoriented, he turned to the man.

“This is gonna sound weird but, have we met before?”