Deep in the village, there lived a dense forest. The forest was often called the World’s Blackheart, the Infernal Darkness, or the Shadow. The village elders say that the forest contains unusual creatures. Creatures that make you feel terror as well as the forest itself. Some say that the creatures are unnatural, made by the devil himself. The Shadow was rumored to have various resources: food, water, and other minerals. The village had survived four years of rationing food and they needed to find more. And there was only one way to get the resources they need. Each year the Leader of the village chooses five of the healthiest people to go into the Shadow. Every year five people go in and no one has ever come back out alive.

In a brutal summer the Leader announced the gathering for the choosing. The villagers trudged through the dirt ground, dust billowing around them. They all surrounded the center of the village around the Leader. He spoke of how they could not live in fear of the forest and the only way they could overcome our fear is cooperation, bravery, and strength. His dark eyes dulled as he listed off the people that will enter the Shadow. He called on a surgeon’s young daughter. With her small frame she looked too fragile to go on a perilous journey, but her knowledge of medicine made her qualified. She was frightened when the leader announced her name and her father hugged her tightly. Next was a burly young man that was the oldest son of the blacksmith. The callouses on his hands were proof that he was strong and hard working. His olive skin was darkened because of the harsh summer sun.

The next two people were twin brothers that the villagers avoided because they were born the same. Same dark hair, dark almond-shaped eyes, and golden-hued skin. Rumors were spread that twins are a bad omen. They lived closest to the forest and their mother was a plant expert. The twins know plants that are edible and not edible. One of the twins’ glared at the Leader and the other stared at the ground. Lastly, they chose a hunter’s daughter named Mia. Her dark skin was scorched by the sun and her dark curly hair was tangled in her ponytail. She was chosen because she has a natural instinct to sense danger when she’s hunting with her father. Mia’s father hugged her as he cried in silence.

“I love you.” He said. Mia expression was emotionless. She hugged her father tightly and wondered what fate would have in store for her in the forest.

Mia hurriedly packed her bag for the journey with shaking hands. She barely slept through the night, the bags on her eyes confirmed it. She packed some spare food, a canteen, a spare lantern, a few knives, and arrows for her crossbow. She put most of the knives hidden in the pockets of her worn out cargo pants and in the soles of her boots. Her father was still asleep and she didn’t want to wake him. She didn’t want to see his face full of sadness. She especially didn’t want her father to see her cry. As she walked out of her small wooden house, she felt the tears roll down her cheeks.

The Leader gathered the five people that were chosen near the border of the Shadow and wished them a safe journey with a grave look on his face. The surgeon’s daughter, who Mia found out was named Josie. Her eyes were wide with fear and Mia could tell that her whole body was trembling. The blacksmith’s son Amir had a hard expression on his face, his jaw tense. The twins Lee and Park had the same expression as Mia, blank as stone. The Leader didn’t give them any advice or words of encouragement, he simply left while whispering under his breath, “God have mercy on us all.” Mia’s hands shook when she gripped her crossbow as the five healthiest people in the village were swallowed up by the thick forest.

In an instant, the Shadow surrounded them. Not a speck of light seeped through the trees. It was as if someone turned off light from the sun. Then a bright light illuminated the darkness, Josie was holding a lantern, and tears were running down her face. Mia put a hand on Josie to comfort her. She slowly stopped crying, but still shook.

“Thank you.” She sniffled. Mia was shocked to hear how high-pitched her voice was. The bloodshot and baggy eyes and the messy blonde hair made her look older. She couldn’t have been more than fourteen years old.

“Let’s go.” Amir said in a gruff voice. He took the lantern and started walking through the dense vegetation. We started following Amir through the darkness. As we walked deeper into the forest, Lee and Park only talked to each other and they stopped every ten minutes to observe the plants, write down notes, and press the plants into their books. They walked until their feet hurt and Amir decided that they should rest for a while. They sat in silence until Mia spoke.

“I’m going to look around and find some food. Lee come with me.” Lee stood up as Mia grabbed a lantern from her bag and lit it.

“Be careful, we still don’t know what’s out there.” Amir said as he ran a hand through his black hair. Mia nodded and walked with Lee. They walked for a long time without seeing any signs of life, but Lee found some edible plants and packed them in his bag. They weren’t far from Amir and Josie so they started walking back.

“Do you remember your mom?” Lee asked Mia. Mia stopped walking and looked at him strangely.

“No, I don’t. She died when I was three. Why are you asking me this?”

“Because my mom died the same way yours did. They both went through the Infernal Darkness together and died because our precious Leader sent them there.” Lee’s voice sounded angry and his eyes darkened.

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Don’t you get it?” Lee stood right in front of her blocking her path. “He’s never been in the Shadow in his entire life. We call him our Leader because he acts like one. My mother and Josie’s father do checkups on everybody in the village, but do you see him with bloodshot eyes because of fear or even see him helping the people who lost their family members in the Shadow?” Lee’s cheeks turned beet red and his dark eyes bore into Mia’s. “He’s a coward.”

Mia pushed him away and continued walking. “Let’s go back. We’ve been away lone enough.”

But Lee kept talking. “Our Leader killed both of our mothers. And we both repay him by going back into the Shadow. You see? We are the same. We are just like the rest of the villagers, too hypnotized by the sugary voice of our Leader that we don’t even notice that he’s killing us-“

Mia had pushed Lee down on the ground and had her forearm on his throat, her face filled with rage.

“Your mother probably died because she wanted to throw herself into danger just because she wanted to observe the sickening life that grows and lives here. Even though I don’t remember my mother, I know that she would’ve risked her life for the village and for the people she loved.” Lee shoved Mia off of him and stood up, his face casting a crazed look.

He clenched his fists and said, “You don’t know my mother and you don’t know me.”

Mia was about to say something sarcastic, but decided against it. They needed to cooperate in order to survive. She picked up the fallen lantern and spoke with such gentleness that it surprised herself and Lee.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know your mother. But, if you ever bring up my mother again I will not hesitate to shoot you with my crossbow.” She saw how shocked his face looked and she held back a chuckle.

It felt like they’ve walked for an hour and Mia’s eyes started to close. She couldn’t tell if it was day or night. She stumbled upon an old tree stump and sat down on it and Lee took a seat on the ground.

“Weren’t we supposed to be going south instead of north?” Lee said as he pulled out his compass. The needle went haywire and started spinning rapidly. “What the heck?” Lee tapped on it and it suddenly stopped. As soon as it stopped the hair on Mia’s neck went up. Something was wrong. She quickly grabbed an arrow from her bag and set it on her crossbow. She couldn’t see far away from where the lantern’s light didn’t touch, so she relied on her hearing.

“What’s happening?” Lee whispered. She couldn’t concentrate with him near her.

“Lee, could you do me a favor and watch my back? That would be very helpful.” She could feel his reassuring presence behind her as she listened for a sound. For the first few minutes, there was no noise, and then the screaming started. Mia dropped to the ground and put her hands over her ears to block the high pitched scream. Blood started dripping down from her ears as she screamed. She clawed at her ears as if doing that would stop the noise. She forced herself up, grabbed her crossbow and started shooting at what she thought was the source of the noise. The screaming only became louder until it was unbearable. Her face cringed in agony and she started foaming at the mouth. It felt as if her head was threatening to split open.

Then Lee gripped her shoulders and shook her and by then, the screaming stopped. Mia still had her hands on her ears and kept rocking back and forth. Lee grabbed her hands and pulled them away from her face. Blood stained her shaking palms and she saw Lee with a concerned look on his face. She yanked her hands away and took deep breaths.

“What the hell was that?” Lee asked. Mia looked at his face closely and saw that he didn’t look scared.

“You didn’t hear that? The scream?” Her voice quivered.

“No I didn’t hear a scream, but you collapsed and had some sort of seizure.” Lee stared at her with a puzzled look. Mia was wondering if it was all in her imagination. She stood up and immediately felt dizzy.

“Let’s keep going.” Mia held her crossbow tightly and started walking. She stumbled a few times and Lee caught her.

“You should get some rest. I’ll keep watch.” Lee’s voice was deep and it resonated in her ear drums. She winced in pain and slowly felt her eyes drop. Lee settled her on the grass and draped his jacket over her. She was about to fall into a deep sleep when she heard a rustle. She turned and saw Lee’s face a few inches from hers. His black hair sticking up in all directions and his dark eyelashes brushed his cheekbones. The light from the lantern made his face more harsh and angular. Mia felt her face heat up and hurriedly pushed away from him. Then she remembered he was supposed to be on watch.

“LEE, WAKE UP!” Mia yelled, making Lee jump and almost punched her in the face.

He looked at her annoyed. “What was that for?” His voice slurred with sleep.

“You were supposed to be on watch.”

“Oh, sorry.”

“You just need to be careful when-what is that?” Mia saw a root on the ground move and it wrapped itself around Lee’s leg. It started dragging Lee into the ground and Mia grabbed his arms and pulled. The root tightened on Lee’s leg until it snapped and Lee screamed in pain. Mia grabbed her knife and started hashing at the root, but it only grew thicker. Other roots seized his arms and Mia lost her grip on him. She tried to get another hold on him, but it was too late. The roots dragged him into the ground, his scream dying out as he disappeared under the earth. Mia screamed his name until her throat hurt. Tears streamed down her face and she clung to his jacket.

She was all alone in the darkness. Then a bug flew and landed on her neck and she slapped it. Then another and then another until there was a whole swarm of them. Mia tried to wave them off, but they clustered around her and crawled into every opening they could find: her ears, her mouth, and her nostrils. She ran away from the cluster and they followed her. Her legs were cramping till she knew the bugs weren’t following her. She brushed away some of the dead bugs from her hair and her body.

Mia shut her eyes so she could rest, but every time she closed her eyes she could hear Lee’s screams. So instead of trying to sleep she went to look for some more food and water. She couldn’t remember the plants that Lee had in his book but that was already buried with Lee. Her canteen was almost empty and she needed to find water. She bit into an apple she had in her bag and savored the flavor. Mia was so hungry that she finished the apple core and all. Adrenaline flowed through her veins with the need to hunt. With her crossbow in hand, she searched through the broad brush. She reached in her bag to get her lantern and then she remembered that she left it at the place where she was attacked by the bugs. Mia hissed in frustration and listened carefully for any rustle or sound. Surprisingly, she heard a movement but it sounded far away.

She guessed that it was a rabbit until it started running towards her. The huge sound it made while running was not a rabbit. Her legs worked faster than her mind and she ran. Mia ran blindly through the forest, not knowing what was in front of her. Then a stream of light brightened the forest. She chased after the light, running as if she had never ran before. She busted through the light and landed on something soft. It was sand and water lapped up her ankles. She faced the creature that was chasing her. It was a wolf but it was gigantic and its yellow eyes focused on her. The wolf looked mutated and strange. One of his legs was longer than the rest and his fur looked like somebody took a bunch of random colored fur and sewed it into one big wolf-like quilt. It snarled at her, baring mangled and sharp teeth about the size of her forearm. It tried to step into the light, but it started to fade like a shadow and it backed away into the darkness. Mia sighed, relieved that she didn’t get mauled, but she had other problems. She was dehydrated. All that running took away the rest of her energy and the bright sun wasn’t helping either.

Mia wanted to drink the water but, the smell of salt was strong. She walked a few miles along the beach and collapsed on the soft sand. She didn’t notice a human figure stand over her as her eyes slowly closed and she drifted off to a deep sleep.