The woods loomed before Thomas, a mass of twisted shadows and tangled branches. Morning light barely pierced through the thick canopy, and an unnatural silence blanketed the air. No birds, no rustling leaves—just a heavy, suffocating stillness.
He gripped the doll tightly in one hand, his flashlight in the other, even though the daylight should have been enough. He knew, deep down, that light wouldn’t protect him.
Elaine had pleaded with him not to go.
“If you go in there, Thomas, you won’t come back.” Her voice had been raw, filled with fear.
But he had no choice. Lily had whispered to him again last night. Weak, fading. Find me, Daddy.
So he had stepped into the woods, into the unknown.
With every step, the trees seemed to stretch taller, their trunks gnarled like ancient bones. The deeper he went, the more wrong everything felt. The air smelled damp and sour, and the ground beneath his boots grew softer, like it was breathing.
Then he saw them.
Dolls.
Dozens of them, hanging from the branches by frayed strings. Their faces were cracked, their glassy eyes dull. Some had missing limbs, others had mouths sewn shut with black thread. They swayed gently, though there was no wind.
His stomach churned.
One of them twitched.
Then another.
A whisper rustled through the trees.
Not alone.
Thomas turned sharply, shining his flashlight ahead. The beam flickered, revealing something up ahead—a clearing. And in the center of it, a massive, rotting oak with a hollowed-out trunk.
Lily’s voice trembled from the doll in his hands.
“…Inside…”
Thomas ran.
The closer he got, the stronger the air pulsed, as if the forest itself was breathing around him. Shadows curled at the edges of his vision. Something was watching, just out of sight.
When he reached the tree, he hesitated. The opening was wide enough to step through, but darkness swallowed whatever
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