No way out

The forest remained silent.

Ethan stared at the sentence written in the notebook.

“It only speaks to those it remembers.”

Jake looked over his shoulder.

"What does that mean?"

Ethan slowly closed the notebook.

"I don't know."

"Then let's stop trying to understand it."

Jake looked around the dark forest.

"We need to get out."

Ethan nodded.

They turned around and began walking back.

The footsteps that had been following them earlier were gone.

But somehow...

that made the forest feel even more frightening.

Their flashlights moved across the trees as they followed the narrow path.

For several minutes, neither of them spoke.

Then Jake checked his phone.

"No signal."

Ethan checked his own.

The screen showed 1% battery.

"Mine's almost dead."

Jake sighed.

"Great."

They kept walking.

Five minutes passed.

Then ten.

Then fifteen.

Jake suddenly stopped.

"Ethan."

"What?"

Jake pointed ahead.

A crooked pine tree stood beside the path.

Three deep scratches marked its trunk.

Ethan stared at it.

"We've seen this before."

Jake slowly nodded.

"Yeah."

"We're going in circles."

Jake looked behind them.

The path stretched into darkness.

"But we've been walking straight."

"I know."

They turned around and chose another direction.

After several minutes...

the same tree appeared again.

Jake stopped breathing for a second.

"No."

He walked closer and touched the trunk.

The three scratches were exactly the same.

"This can't be happening."

Ethan looked around.

"Maybe there are two trees that look alike."

Jake stared at him.

"With the exact same scratches?"

Ethan had no answer.

Then something caught his attention.

A small piece of paper lay beneath the tree.

Jake picked it up.

The paper was old and stained.

Only one sentence was written on it.

DON'T FOLLOW THE VOICE.

Jake looked at Ethan.

"The notebook said don't answer."

Ethan nodded.

"Now this says don't follow."

He took the paper from Jake.

"Then we do neither."

They continued walking.

This time, they stayed close together.

No voices.

No footsteps.

Nothing.

For a while, the forest seemed almost peaceful.

Then—

Tap.

Jake stopped.

"What was that?"

Ethan listened.

Tap.

The sound came from somewhere behind them.

Jake raised his flashlight.

Nothing.

They waited.

Silence.

Then—

Tap.

This time it came from their left.

Jake's expression changed.

"It's moving."

"What?"

"The sound."

Another tap came from somewhere ahead.

Then another from behind.

Then another from the right.

It was circling them.

Ethan grabbed Jake's arm.

"Keep walking."

They moved faster.

The tapping continued.

Then suddenly...

it stopped.

Jake looked around.

"It's gone."

Ethan shook his head.

"No."

"How do you know?"

"Because it wants us to think it's gone."

They continued through the darkness.

A few minutes later, the trees became thinner.

Ethan's flashlight revealed something ahead.

A clearing.

Jake's face briefly brightened.

"Maybe there's a road."

They hurried toward it.

But when they reached the clearing...

there was no road.

Only two narrow paths.

One going left.

One going right.

Jake stared at them.

"We didn't see these before."

Ethan looked back.

The path behind them had disappeared beneath the trees.

Jake's voice became quieter.

"Ethan..."

"I know."

They were trapped.

Ethan opened the notebook.

The pages moved slightly in the cold air.

A new sentence had appeared.

CHOOSE.

Jake stepped back.

"No."

Ethan turned the page.

Nothing else.

"Maybe it's trying to make us choose the wrong path."

"Then don't choose."

Jake pointed toward the trees.

"We'll make our own way."

They stepped away from both paths and tried moving through the trees.

After only a few steps...

they found themselves back in the clearing.

Jake stared at Ethan.

"Okay."

He swallowed.

"That's not normal."

Ethan looked at the two paths again.

Suddenly, a voice came from the left.

"Jake..."

Jake froze.

Ethan grabbed his arm.

"Don't."

The voice came again.

This time it sounded exactly like Jake's grandfather.

"Jake..."

Jake's eyes widened.

"That's him."

"No."

"I know that voice."

"Jake, it's not him."

The voice became softer.

"Come here."

Jake took a step forward.

Ethan stopped him.

"Don't answer."

Jake looked at Ethan.

"I'm not going anywhere."

The voice disappeared.

Then another voice came from the right.

"Ethan..."

He froze.

It sounded like his grandmother.

The same gentle voice he had heard countless times growing up.

"Ethan..."

His eyes widened.

Jake immediately grabbed his arm.

"Don't."

Ethan looked at him.

For a moment, neither moved.

Then the voice whispered again.

"Come home."

Ethan closed his eyes.

His grandmother's warning echoed in his mind.

Never... ever... go into that forest.

He opened his eyes.

"That's not her."

Jake nodded.

"We stay together."

They stepped backward.

The two voices stopped.

The forest became silent again.

Then...

the ground beneath their feet trembled slightly.

Jake looked down.

"What was that?"

Ethan didn't answer.

The two paths had changed.

They were no longer beside each other.

One path now stretched directly behind Ethan.

The other behind Jake.

And between them stood a wall of thick branches.

Jake stepped toward it.

"Ethan?"

"I'm here."

"Can you get through?"

Ethan pushed against the branches.

Nothing.

Jake tried from his side.

Nothing.

They could still see each other through the gaps.

They were separated...

but only a few feet apart.

"We're not going anywhere," Jake said.

Ethan looked around.

"No."

He stared into the darkness.

"The forest isn't letting us leave."

Jake looked at the notebook.

"Then what does it want?"

Ethan slowly opened it.

The page was blank.

Then, right before their eyes...

new words appeared.

One letter at a time.

YOU CAME WHEN YOU WERE CALLED.

Ethan's face went pale.

Jake stared at the words.

"But we never answered."

Ethan looked toward the darkness.

"No."

A pause.

"Maybe..."

He swallowed.

"...coming here was enough."

Neither of them spoke.

Then, somewhere beyond the trees...

a voice whispered.

Not Ethan's.

Not Jake's.

Something older.

Something neither of them recognized.

"Now stay."

The branches between them tightened.

And for the first time...

Ethan understood.

They hadn't entered the forest because they found the truth.

The forest had brought them here.

End of Chapter 5.