Running through the dark

The weather was in the 70’s and I could hear the trail calling my name. I tied my running shoes tight as I glanced down the path that led into the dark woods. It has been months since I last ran, depression has been keeping me in my house. My therapist had been encouraging me to get out and run. To do something, anything, other than lay in bed and read fanfiction. To put in the work to try and get better. I had been reluctant to do so, but this beautiful day lured me out of my dark house. With a sigh, I pulled my freshly clean hair into a ponytail.

“Alright, Bobbi, you can do this.” I told myself as I pushed off the bench. “One short run, then you can climb back into bed.”

It was just one foot in front of the other. I told myself as I started down the path. I could do this. The birds were chirping cheerily as I continued down the way. I had forgone my music, wanting to enjoy nature as much as possible. Before long, the opening of the woods was far behind me. The path was dark, but gorgeous. The flowers lining the trail in brightly colored bushes. I could also see mushrooms climbing up the trees in remarkable patterns. This was worth it. I was happy to be out of the house for once.

A sudden stitch in my side made me draw up in pain. “Man, it's been too long since I went running.” I muttered to myself, I had barely been running for a mile. There were no benches in sight, so I leaned up against a tree, trying to catch my breath. A sudden..giggling? From behind me made me jump. It seemed to be coming from one of the flower patches that surrounded the path.

“C’mon Bobbi!” A sudden high litted voice was calling my name. “Come and play with us!”

Great. Fairies. These little buggers could be such a pain. Usually other runners would post warnings for where fairy courts had set up their nests, so others would be forewarned. I had been so excited to get out and run that I hadn't even thought to check for any fairy courts infesting the trail that I had been planning on using. Without responding to the voices, I pushed off the tree and continued on my way.

“Ah, don’t leave us behind, Bobbi Nash!” The tiny voice called after me, “ You don’t want to make us angry!”

From the corner of my eye, I could see bunches of multi-colored lights fluttering in and out of the flowers. Fairy infestations were usually small and harmless. This one…this one on the other hand looked like it hadn't been handled in quite some time. I would need to make a call to the forest rangers when I got out of here. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I missed a root rising from the ground, tripping me up. I stumbled for a few steps, swearing the whole way.

The fairies started to giggle again. “Play with us!” The voices demanded.

This wasn’t good. A small court of fairies may have the power to know your name, but they were ultimately just a nuisance. This court, however, had the power to move roots and who knows what else. Without knowing what kind of fairies were in this court I couldn’t even hazard a guess on what kind of chaos they would be able to generate. The best course of action would be to leave their territory. Turning with that thought, I groaned and swallowed another swear. While I had been debating what to do, the fairies had grown a bush of brambles across the path. The thorny bush made the path impassable. I was trapped. This was not good.

“Play with us!” The small voices demanded again, fluttering in front of my face.

Ducking my head, I turned around again, praying that the other side of the path was open. The clear path called my name as I kicked it into high gear, trying to outrun the pesky fairies. Playing with the fairies wasn’t an option. The grocery store bulletin board was full of missing people posters of people who had only stopped to play with the fairies. I couldn't believe the forest rangers had let this infestation get this bad. This was going to take a professional exterminator. But that was a problem for future Bobbi. My current issue was to get out of here. Small rocks skittered out from under my feet as I ran. I was trying to block out the giggles and the “Play with us!” as the multi-colored glittering blobs darted in front of me seemingly trying to trip me up.

I had to keep moving. If I stopped again, the fairies would have the time to generate another spell. They could block my path again. The flowers on the side of the trail seemed to be growing even thicker. The giggles were growing even louder. The stitch in my side was back and I couldn't catch my breath. But I couldn’t stop. Stopping meant death.

“Stop ma’am!” A sudden voice made me jerk to a stop, that didn’t sound like a fairy. When I looked around, I found a man standing just off the path. A forest ranger by the look of him. He gestured for me to follow him.

“Follow me! I can get you to safety. ” He demanded, turning and headed deeper into the bushes off the path. He didn’t wait for any response from me.

Instinctively, I moved to follow him but stopped before my feet left the trail. “Sir?” I started-

“No questions! Just follow me!” His voice came from the bushes, “It's not safe!”

It not being safe was an understatement. Every warning bell in my head was going off. ‘Never leave the trail’ was the number one rule when dealing with fairies. This could be an actual forest ranger sent to clear the court… or this could be another trick of the fairies. I had to make a decision fast.

“I said to follow me!!” The man's voice demanded again. “I can protect you!”

Shaking my head, I started to run down the trail again. “Sorry if you’re real sir, I just can’t chance it!”

A sudden pink blob appeared in front of me, trailing a line of thorny vines. I ducked, but tripped over another sudden thorn filled vine that was pulled in front of me. This one was led by a green sparkly blob. I scrambled forward on all fours, scraping up my hands and knees. Gasping, I pulled myself back to my feet, leaving the new blockage behind me.

I could feel the blood running down my legs as I ran. Up ahead, I could see what looked like the exit of the woods, the sun shining through the gap in the branches.

“Play with us! C’mon Bobbi! Be our friend!” The fairies called out from all around me. Their voices were sing song and were obviously laced with trickery. I had to block them out, I couldn’t let them get into my head. If they got into my head, it was over for me.

I had to get out of here. The fairies were all around me. I couldn’t breathe. The knot in my side grew ever larger. The multi colored blobs were darting in my way, trying to trip me up, trailing thorny vines.

I let out a yelp of pain, looking down, there was a vine wrapped tightly around my wrist. I yanked myself free and started to push forward again. I could see the vines winding their way into the path. I pushed myself even faster. The knot in my side was making me gasp.

“Play with us!”

“Don’t leave us!”

“Be our friend!”

I again blocked out their calls, pushing myself even faster. A sudden tug at my ankle sent me flying again. This time I landed flat on my face. Unable to see, I laid there gasping for a long moment. I couldn’t keep going. I was finally trapped. Sucking in another ragged breath, I looked around. To my surprise, I was laying in the sun. I made it. I was free of the woods. I could still see the multi-colored blobs darting around in the dark of the woods but they weren’t calling out for me anymore. I laid there gasping. I couldn’t believe that happened. I hadn't thought the trail would have literally been calling my name this time. I just want to go home.

But before I could do that, I had to call the rangers. They had to know about this infestation, it couldn’t get any worse. Much like my depression, it needed work or it would spiral even more out of control. Now to call in the experts to handle these issues, both the rangers and my therapist.