We arrived at a clearing and, just like that, the feeling of being watched vanished. It was… beautiful. Too beautiful a clearing to be left in seclusion.
Sebastian's eyes drifted around the place, settling on the most conspicuous thing in sight.If you hadn't guessed already — it was a tree.
Crooked, its trunk adopting a serpentine curl, coiling until its canopy hovered so low it almost brushed the ground like a submissive maid bowing.
The clearing was roughly circular, though the edges were uneven, as if nature got bored halfway through drawing it. The centre held an island of light surrounded by the dappled shadows of the trees. Those trees themselves leaned ever so slightly outward, giving the impression they were trying to get away from the clearing — impossible, of course, considering their roots.
Wildflowers and scattered leaves covered the ground, though surprisingly few for an unkempt land. Almost like someone's maintaining the place… but who would bother cleaning fallen leaves in a forest?
Seb's gaze returned to the isolated tree at the centre, its shape strange enough to make anyone suspicious.
Do trees normally grow like that… or was it forced?
"Alright," he muttered, "what's the story of this place? Someone died, right? Something gruesome?"He glanced at Chloe.
She looked… stunned. Awe?Wait— were they the first to pay a visit to this creepy abode?
No. No way she was that clueless.
"Chloe," he tried again, taking a cautious step forward, "are we the first ones here?"
Her smile spread slowly across her face before she spun towards him.
"Your job is to stand there and watch for anything unusual. And to answer your first question — YES, someone died here. Violently. A serial rapist dragged her out here and killed her."
Seb swallowed hard.
"The facts around her death aren't public, but ghost fanatics know this spot. It's recent."
"How recent?" he asked, mentally piecing together everything, trying to figure out if this place really was a murder site.
She sat down, already pulling out a sketchbook from God-knows-where, drawing while casually snapping photos.
"Mm… three years ago, maybe. Then a company bought out the whole reserve. Actually," she paused, tapping her pencil against her chin, "the fanatics didn't care until the company cordoned this area off last year as you've probably inferred from climbing the barricades."
She shut her notebook and tucked it away.
"You're done?" Seb frowned. "You drew that fast? Let me see."
"No."She stood, ignoring him entirely, and walked into the clearing, taking pictures.
"Why not?" Seb followed. "Least you can do since I'm risking my life out here."
She shot him a dirty look and kept photographing. Then she paused near a flower close to the tree, producing a small container out of nowhere. Next came a tiny shovel.
Seb blinked. "Where did you even get those? Do you have a storage ring or something?"He crouched beside her, baffled.
"Watch the surroundings," she said flatly. "It's just a flower."
"sure ill do so" he stood up resuming a state of alertness. "fuck how does a flower have such stubborn roots" she swore. he looked down angling his eyes to see the root system---- they where deep
"Some flowers have deep roots," he offered. "Sunflowers can go 5–10 feet down. Just cut it above the stem, no need to excavate half the forest. The organisation that owns this place probably has rules aga—"
"I told you," she snapped, sitting back, exhausted from digging, "I want it alive for now, okay?"
"Do you have shears?" he asked.She nodded.
He held out a hand. "Hand them over."
She passed them reluctantly, after digging through her not-so-invisible bag.Bro, if she hides gardening tools like this, what does she do with her purse? Padlock it to her ribcage?
He lined up the cut—
"Wait!" Chloe frantically waved.
"What now?" he groaned. He seriously wanted to get this done and be out of here. God knows what was waiting for them to come out no need giving it enough time to prepare a trap right.
He paused, An intresting thought process had just invaded his mind what was stopping the thing he saw entering here, did the thing not see them enter or maybe is this place...
"I want the whole plant. To pot it you fool!." she interrupted his thought with a rather high pitch scream
He stared at her like a teacher staring at a self proclaimed genius of a kid who decided one plus one surely was eleven not two
"Is your brain like a bag of Walker's Crisps? heavily Inflated but disappointedly empty? If you want to grow the bloody flower, just cut a piece and replant it. Did they not teach you that in school?"
She glared. "Who are you calling a bag of crisps? You're the airhead. I told you — I want the whole thing for aesthetic photos. And look at where you were about to cut it, you donkey. You'd remove all the pretty parts!"
She snatched the shears and tried to cut it herself…The flower didn't move an inch.
"Are you weak?" Seb grinned. "I thought you said you did martial arts. Turns out you're all talk? and what the fuck do you mean by pretty when did the root of a plant deserve beauty points"
He took the shears Failing to resist the urge to prove himself, ready to demonstrate his masculine mastery—
Nothing.Not even a dent.
Chloe burst into heavy laughter.
"They're blunt," he muttered, trying to salvage what was left of his pride."Yes. Too blunt," she wheezed.
"They're new," she added.
Seb straightened. Enough humiliation."Let's go. This plant isn't normal. And neither is this place. Listen— no birds, no crickets… nothing."
He only now truly processed that eerie silence.
Chloe also paused, noticing it.
She brushed off her clothes and packed up. "Don't panic, wimp. I read insects avoid areas with big temperature differences. And look around — almost no vegetation. That might be why."
She finished packing and headed out. Seb followed very closely. Pride could wait.
They reached the barricade again and climbed over, heading through the shrubs… straight into another clearing.
"Wow," Chloe breathed.
Another tree.Another impossibly perfect circle.Another too-beautiful, too-quiet space.
Seb frowned. "Why does that tree look exactly like the other one?"
"Maybe the organisation made multiple clearings like this," Chloe suggested.
He turned to leave, but she stopped him with a tug.
"What now— don't tell me you want to draw again. If you do, I swear I'll slap you unconscious, tie you up, and drag you out. Forget the law at this point."
She gave him a look of pure disdain, then pointed to the ground.
The flower.The disturbed soil.
His blood ran cold.He rushed to the far side of the clearing— same tree. Same flower. Same eerie silence.
No. No no no. he panicked
He grabbed Chloe's wrist and dragged her to the barricade while he thought rather hopefully that maybe just maybe if they rushed out it would be just a case of hallucination.They turned left this time, pushing through the brush—
Another clearing.Same tree.Same flower.Same horrifying stillness.
Chloe's voice shook slightly."Seb… it seems something is wrong."
"Wrong? Something is wrong?"He threw his hands up dramatically."Wrong your grandmother! May your rice forever be slightly undercooked!" 🍚
following his outburst he sank to the ground in defeat close to tears.