Don't Answer

I've visited plenty of places that were supposedly haunted. Abandoned buildings, empty houses, and locations where people swore they'd seen things that couldn't possibly be explained. We'd heard unexplained whispers and footsteps when nobody was around, and even had cameras malfunction for no apparent reason. Most of the time, though, we left with nothing more than a few strange noises and a lot of footage of empty rooms.

The Enchanted Forest was different. At the time, though, I had no reason to think our latest assignment would be anything unusual.

I was a college student studying film when my friend Marcus offered me the opportunity to help with a small TV documentary series. The show explored everything from personal struggles to unexplained supernatural encounters, and getting some experience behind the camera seemed like a pretty good opportunity.

Most days, my job consisted of carrying equipment, holding a boom microphone, and trying not to get in anyone's way. Occasionally, though, Marcus would ask us to investigate locations rumored to be haunted. Those assignments were considerably more interesting, although I wasn't entirely convinced we were dealing with anything supernatural. I always figured there had to be a reasonable explanation for the strange things we'd encountered. At least, that's what I kept telling myself.

This particular investigation would take us to a location known as the Enchanted Forest.

"Seriously?" I asked when Marcus told us. "The Enchanted Forest? What are we supposed to find there? Fairies? Talking animals?"

"Hopefully something worth filming," Marcus replied with a chuckle. "People have reported strange lights on the hillside, screaming in the woods, and the feeling that something's following them. A few even claim they've been attacked."

"Well, that sounds delightful," I muttered.

Naturally, we decided the best time to investigate a supposedly haunted forest was after dark. Apparently, wandering through unfamiliar woods in broad daylight wasn't exciting enough for us.

Looking back, I probably should've been more concerned about those rumors. Instead, I was mostly wondering whether we'd come home with anything worth putting in the documentary.

By the time we arrived at the Enchanted Forest, the sun had already disappeared behind the mountains. There were six of us altogether: Marcus, Ethan, Caleb, Sophie, Noah, and myself. We'd taken two cars, both of which now sat alone in an otherwise deserted parking area.

The entrance was marked by an enormous rusted iron gate standing between two weathered stone pillars. Thick vines twisted around the metal bars, while weeds and overgrown bushes crowded the surrounding fence. It looked like something that hadn't been maintained in decades.

"Well, this is considerably less enchanting than I imagined," I remarked, stepping out of the car.

"What were you expecting?" Ethan asked, retrieving his camera from the trunk. "A castle?"

"Honestly, a few fairies would've been nice."

Sophie laughed as Marcus began distributing flashlights. Ethan checked his camera while Noah prepared the second one. I made sure our audio equipment was working, although I wasn't particularly excited about carrying it through the woods.

"Alright, let's stick together," Marcus instructed. "Ethan, you take the front with Daniel. Noah, stay in the back and keep filming. Nobody wanders off alone."

"Of course I get the back," Noah complained playfully. "If something starts chasing us, I'm the first one it gets."

"Don't worry," I replied with a grin. "I'll make sure they put your footage in the documentary."

"Wow. Thanks, man. Really comforting."

The rest of us fell into formation, with Sophie and Caleb between the two cameras. Caleb, who normally had something sarcastic to say about everything, had been unusually quiet since we arrived.

"What's wrong, Caleb?" I asked. "You look like you've already seen a ghost."

"I just don't like this place," he muttered. That was unusual coming from him, but I decided not to press the issue.

We passed through the gate and followed the narrow dirt trail into the forest. The trees grew increasingly dense overhead, their branches blocking much of the moonlight. Every so often, a breeze stirred the leaves, sending a faint rustling through the darkness.

What bothered me, though, was everything we couldn't hear. For a forest supposedly full of wildlife, the place was strangely quiet.

We continued along the narrow trail, occasionally stopping whenever someone heard something moving through the bushes. Most of the time, it turned out to be nothing more than branches swaying in the wind or shadows playing tricks on our eyes. At least, that's what I kept telling myself.

Despite my skepticism, I couldn't shake the uncomfortable feeling that we weren't alone. Every so often, I'd glance over my shoulder, half expecting to find someone standing behind us. Fortunately, Noah was always there with his camera, which was reassuring enough.

"Wait!" Sophie suddenly exclaimed, stopping in her tracks. "Did you guys see that?"

"See what?" Marcus asked, turning toward her.

"There was a woman standing over there!" she replied, pointing toward a cluster of trees.

Ethan immediately aimed his camera in that direction while Marcus and I swept our flashlights across the surrounding woods. We searched for several moments, but there was nothing except trees and thick undergrowth.

"Probably just a shadow," Marcus suggested. "These branches can look pretty convincing in the dark."

"I'm telling you, I know what I saw," Sophie insisted. "There was definitely someone standing there."

"Well, if she's out here alone, she's braver than I am," I remarked, attempting to lighten the mood.

We eventually continued walking, although Sophie kept glancing toward the trees. A few minutes later, I thought I heard someone whispering behind me.

"Noah, did you say something?" I asked, turning around.

"Nope," he replied, lowering his camera slightly. "Why?"

"I thought I heard something. Never mind."

We hadn't gone much farther when a faint crying sound drifted through the forest. Everyone stopped. It sounded like a woman sobbing somewhere in the distance, although I couldn't tell which direction it was coming from.

"You guys hear that?" Ethan whispered.

Before anyone could answer, the crying abruptly stopped.

I glanced toward Caleb, who was staring at the ground with his jaw clenched.

"You alright, man?" I asked.

"Yeah," he muttered. "I'm fine."

I wasn't convinced, but before I could say anything else, Sophie grabbed my arm. "Daniel," she whispered. "She's back." I followed her gaze toward the trail behind us. I couldn't see anyone, but Sophie was staring between two trees, her face growing pale. "She's looking at something," Sophie whispered.

"At us?" I asked.

Sophie slowly shook her head. "No. Behind us."

We eventually reached a fork in the trail. One path climbed toward an open hillside, where people supposedly witnessed strange lights appearing at night. The other continued through the trees toward an abandoned stone tunnel.

"Well, what do you guys think?" Marcus asked, shining his flashlight between the two paths.

"I vote for the flat one," I replied. "I'd rather not hike up a mountain in the dark just to find out those mysterious lights are someone's porch." 

"Fair enough," Marcus answered with a chuckle. "We'll take the easier route."

We continued deeper into the forest. Whatever insects or animals we'd heard earlier had gone completely silent, leaving nothing but the crunch of our footsteps against the dirt.

Suddenly, Ethan stopped walking. "Who said that?" he asked.

"Said what?" Marcus replied.

"Someone just whispered my name," Ethan explained, glancing toward the trees.

"Probably the wind carrying someone's voice," Marcus suggested.

"What wind?" Sophie asked, gesturing toward the motionless branches overhead.

Marcus looked up but didn't answer. Caleb had started looking over his shoulder every few seconds, something Sophie noticed as she moved closer to him.

"Caleb, have you seen something?" she asked quietly.

"No," he replied, keeping his eyes on the trail.

"Then why do you keep looking back?" Sophie pressed.

"Just leave it alone, Sophie," Caleb muttered.

Before she could respond, a piercing scream erupted somewhere deeper in the forest. We all froze, immediately recognizing the voice. It sounded exactly like Sophie. I turned toward her, but she was standing right beside me, staring into the darkness with the same horrified expression the rest of us probably had.

"That wasn't me," she whispered, shaking her head.

The scream came again, this time farther away. Marcus raised his flashlight toward the sound, but there was nothing to see.

"Alright, that's enough," Marcus announced firmly. "We're heading back. Now."

For once, I was more than happy to agree with him. We turned around and started retracing our steps when Sophie suddenly grabbed my arm.

"There!" she exclaimed, pointing toward the trees.

I followed her flashlight and caught what looked like a pale figure standing beside the trail. Before I could get a better look, it disappeared into the darkness.

"She was trying to tell us something," Sophie whispered, staring at the spot where the woman had stood. "She looked terrified."

Caleb stopped walking, his attention fixed on the darkness behind us. "Guys," he murmured, his voice trembling. "Something's been following us."

Nobody said much as we hurried back toward the entrance. Ethan kept his camera pointed ahead while Noah continued filming from the back. Every so often, Marcus reminded us to stay together, although I think we were all more interested in getting out of there. I kept trying to convince myself there was some reasonable explanation for what we'd experienced, but I was having a harder time believing it.

Suddenly, Caleb stopped in the middle of the trail. I nearly bumped into him before realizing he'd gone completely still. "Caleb?" I asked, noticing his expression. "What's wrong?"

Before he could answer, Caleb let out the most horrifying scream I'd ever heard. He grabbed the back of his neck and stumbled forward before taking off down the trail at full speed.

"Caleb! Wait!" Marcus shouted, immediately running after him.

The rest of us followed. Branches scraped against my arms as we stumbled through the darkness, our flashlights bouncing wildly across the trees. Somewhere behind me, I could hear Noah running, but I was too focused on keeping up with the others to look back.

By the time we finally reached the parking area, we were all struggling to catch our breath. Caleb was sitting on the curb beside our cars, trembling uncontrollably with his hands pressed against his head.

"Caleb, what happened?" Marcus asked, kneeling beside him.

"Something grabbed me," Caleb whispered. "Something grabbed me."

Marcus carefully moved Caleb's collar aside, revealing three long, angry scratches running down the back of his neck. They were deep enough that blood had begun trickling toward his shirt.

"Oh my gosh," Ethan muttered, lowering his camera.

"Could've been a branch," Marcus suggested, although he looked genuinely shaken. "Maybe you caught something when you started running."

"No!" Caleb snapped, shaking his head. "It happened before I ran! Something whispered right next to my ear, and then I felt it grab me!"

"What did it say?" I asked, trying to understand what had happened.

Caleb hesitated, staring at me with an expression I'll never forget. "It wasn't what it said," he whispered. "It was my voice. I heard my own voice."

Nobody knew what to say to that. I was still trying to make sense of it when Sophie suddenly looked around the parking lot.

"Wait," she said, counting us with her eyes. "Where's Noah?"

I glanced around, expecting to find him standing beside one of the cars. When I didn't see him, I looked toward the entrance.

"He's probably still coming," I suggested. "He was right behind me."

Marcus walked toward the gate and shone his flashlight down the empty trail. "Noah!" he shouted. "We're over here!"

We waited for an answer, but none came. Ethan tried calling his phone, only to hear it ring unanswered.

"Daniel," Sophie said quietly, "when was the last time you actually saw him?"

I opened my mouth to answer, then stopped. I'd heard him running behind me, but I couldn't remember the last time I'd turned around.

Marcus called his name again, louder this time. His voice echoed through the trees before fading into the darkness. Nothing answered. There were only five of us.

We spent the next several minutes calling Noah's name from the entrance, hoping he'd somehow gotten turned around. Marcus ventured a short distance down the trail, but nobody answered. Eventually, he contacted the authorities and reported Noah missing.

A search began that night and continued into the following morning. Several officers questioned us, although explaining why we'd fled the forest proved considerably more difficult than I'd expected. I could tell they were skeptical, and frankly, I couldn't blame them.

The following morning, searchers discovered Noah's camera lying beside the trail. Unfortunately, there was no sign of Noah himself.

Several days later, Marcus received access to the recovered footage and invited me over to review it.

We sat together in his living room as the recording began. At first, everything looked familiar. Caleb screamed, and the camera shook violently as Noah started running after us. His breathing grew increasingly heavy as he struggled to keep up.

Then the camera turned toward the trees. Standing beside the trail was the woman Sophie had seen earlier. For the first time, I could see her clearly. She was pale, but what disturbed me most was her expression. She looked absolutely terrified.

"That's her," I whispered, leaning closer to the screen.

The woman began gesturing frantically toward the entrance, repeatedly pointing in the direction we'd run. When Noah remained still, she shook her head and reached toward him, almost pleading with him to leave.

Then something behind him caught his attention. Noah turned, pointing the camera deeper into the forest, but there was nothing there.

"Noah!"

Marcus immediately paused the recording. I stared at the screen, feeling my stomach tighten. The voice we'd just heard was unmistakably mine.

"Daniel, was that you?" Marcus asked quietly.

"No," I answered, shaking my head. "I never called him. I was already running toward the parking lot."

Marcus reluctantly pressed play.

"Daniel?" Noah called uncertainly. "Is that you?"

The camera turned back toward the woman. She was shaking her head desperately, reaching toward Noah as though trying to stop him. Her mouth was moving, but whatever she said was lost beneath the rustling leaves.

Suddenly, Noah gasped. The camera jerked violently as he stumbled backward, its lens briefly sweeping across the surrounding trees before slipping from his hands and crashing to the ground. We heard hurried footsteps moving away, gradually fading into the distance. The recording continued for several minutes, showing nothing except dirt and scattered leaves before ending.

Neither of us spoke for a while. I kept thinking about the woman's terrified expression and the way she'd reached toward Noah. All that time, we'd assumed she was the thing haunting the forest. But she hadn't been trying to frighten us.

She'd been trying to protect us from something we couldn't see.

Several days passed, but there was still no sign of Noah. The authorities continued searching the forest, although every passing day made the possibility of finding him alive seem increasingly unlikely.

I hadn't been sleeping much. Every time I closed my eyes, I pictured the frightened woman standing among the trees. I kept thinking about the footage we'd recovered from Noah's camera, especially the moment he'd heard my voice calling him deeper into the forest.

What bothered me most was knowing that Noah had been right behind me when we started running. I'd heard his footsteps, or at least I thought I had. If I'd turned around, maybe I would've noticed him falling behind. Maybe I could've done something.

Eventually, I asked Marcus to send me a copy of the recording. We'd already watched it together several times, but I couldn't shake the feeling that we'd missed something.

That evening, I sat alone in my apartment with a pair of headphones. I played the footage again, carefully listening to everything the camera had captured. Most of it was difficult to make out between Noah's breathing and the rustling leaves, but something caught my attention just before he dropped the camera.

There was a faint sound beneath the other noises. At first, I thought it was interference from the microphone, but when I listened again, I realized someone was speaking.

I rewound the recording and increased the volume. The woman's voice was barely audible, but this time, I could make out what she was saying.

"Don't answer it. Whatever voice it uses, don't answer."

I sat back in my chair, staring at the screen. I thought about Noah calling my name in the recording, completely unaware that he was answering something else. By the time the woman reached for him, it might have already been too late. 

I listened again, wondering how we'd missed something so important. Then I let the recording continue. The camera fell, and the familiar sound of footsteps gradually faded into the darkness.

I was about to remove my headphones when I heard something behind me.

"Daniel?"

I froze. For a moment, I thought the sound had come from the recording, but when I looked at the screen, the video had already ended.

Slowly, I removed my headphones. My apartment was completely silent, and I suddenly became very aware that I was supposed to be alone.

"Daniel?" the voice called again, a little closer this time.

I recognized it immediately. It was Noah. And it was coming from inside my apartment.