The Roads Ends In The Woods

It was when a group of five friends, who had been together since high school, were going to meet each other in a freshly opened restaurant. Food and drinks were available there, and it featured a good schematic view for the pleasure of the visitors. They were Hazel, Xavier, Chloe, Lucas, and Ethan.

Hazel and Xavier were a married couple now, and Hazel worked as a secretary and manager for Xavier. They had always shared a good bond with each other, and they jointly established the foundation of a company that made quality bags for all occasions and people. They both were strong and witty.

It was Lucas who had asked all of them to visit the restaurant in celebration of his marriage to Chloe. They had been chaotic since the first day of their meeting at school, but chaos turned into love. Lucas was a humorous and easygoing friend and worked as a dealer for the shipment of clothes in markets, while Chloe was energetic and artistic, working as a fashion designer. He had proposed on insistence from Ethan. She also had a soft spot for him, so she agreed, and they were going to marry in ten days' time.

Ethan was still single. He had developed a billion-dollar company of new technologies and skills, and he was the leading businessman in the country. Many young women were chasing him, but he avoided them all. The young man was saving himself for only one person.

They all went to the restaurant and ordered exclusive dishes, desserts, and drinks (no alcohol). They had all pledged in their late teens that alcohol and drugs should not be consumed, as an incident had happened to shake them all. They even ran a small campaign for "Say no to alcohol" every month in different cities and towns.

While having the dishes, Ethan zoned out. Seeing him, Lucas sat near him and asked if he was missing his love, since the other four were couples and he was the only single one, offering him some girls' contact numbers to get involved.

Annoyed, Ethan punched Lucas's stomach and asked if he wanted him to tell Chloe that he still had another girl's number.

Apologizing, Lucas asked how long he was going to wait for her.

Ethan replied that he didn't know if he was really waiting for her, but no other girl caught his interest.

The party ended at 09:30 p.m. as Hazel and Xavier had to catch a flight early in the morning for a professional meeting, so they all headed back.

Lucas and Chloe were returning together, sweet-talking about the evening and discussing their plans for the wedding, when a sudden branch of a tree fell in front of their car, a short distance away. The tires dragged by the sudden braking and burst, leaving them alone in the middle of the woods. They came out to see what happened when another branch fell upon the car.

In no time, Xavier and Hazel's car crossed by. Seeing the situation, they stopped and asked them to get into their car. They all went together, but there was something stopping them from going away. Another dark wind blew, leading another branch to fall off, and the sudden braking led the tire of this car to burst in no time. They crashed into a tree beside the road.

There came a chilling voice humming softly, "I won't let go." It wasn't clear, but they could hear it even inside the car. Ignoring the voice, they called Ethan to check if he had gone home, as he had wanted to take a calm view of the forest. He said that he had just left and would be reaching them shortly.

The four of them were chatting on that stormy night. The wind was blowing cold, but the sky was quite clear with no sign of clouds. Ethan reached them, and they explained to him what had happened to them. He checked and saw that they still had four kilometres to drive through the woods. Since the wind just didn't seem to stop, he suggested they should find a place nearby to stay the night; otherwise, the only car left with good tires would also be ruined.

Lucas said, "But where are we going to stay? That restaurant is very far to reach, and this area also doesn't have any native residences. Both sides of the road have woods only."

They all decided to let Hazel, Chloe, and Lucas sit in Ethan's car, while Xavier and Ethan decided to move into the woos to check if there were any lights or signs of human residence.

Xavier was closer to Ethan than any of them. He asked Ethan how his life was going.

Ethan replied that it was like always, surviving daily life and business, and searching for Vivienne. He had never met any person who treated him that badly; she never came back after that day, and not even her scent reached him anymore. His heart was just like this night: stormy, dark, and filled with the sorrow of longing for her, but there was no sign of rain to ease the sorrow of that longing.

Xavier consoled him, "Your love for her will surely bring her to you, so don't lose hope. Let's first look for a shelter."

In the car, Hazel was talking about the whisper they had heard before. Chloe added that this kind of scene, a stormy night, stuck in the woods, was really bone-chilling. Listening to their chat, Lucas wanted to change the topic to distract them. Lucas said, "I think whoever made that voice was looking at who is traveling this late, and seeing me changed his mind, as there is no way he wants to eat something that tastes that bad."

Their mood shifted slightly for the better.

Deep in the woods, Xavier suddenly tapped Ethan's arm. "Look over there. Do you see that?"

Suddenly, the car window on Lucas's side was heavily and violently pounded. Inside the vehicle, all three friends shrieked in absolute terror, screaming for help as they scrambled away from the glass.

The laughs of Xavier reached their ears, and their mood shifted from terrified to angry. Lucas came out of the car to hit Xavier, saying he almost had a heart attack.

Ethan stopped him and told them to move, as they saw that past the woods, there was a field with a few trees and bushes. In the middle of it was a villa with glowing light bulbs. They could get help there and stay the night. Ethan took his bag of a few supplements, and they went together toward the villa.