In the Dark Woods

Source: James Kovin on Unsplash

Rio is lost.

Rio is hopelessly and utterly lost.

Don't get him wrong, he's good with directions, he can find his way from his apartment to his workplace blindfolded. But getting knocked out and abducted on his way to the convenience store, and jumping out of a moving car after waking up can definitely mess with one's senses.

"Damn it! Find him! He shouldn't be far!"

Rio could only swallow the nonexistent lump on his throat as he trudged the rocky dirty road. Despite his limp ( Rio could only shudder as he saw his ankle facing the other way), he made his way further inside the darkness of the woods.

He couldn't believe he was actually kidnapped. He was an average guy who was struggling to make ends meet. He was 25 but he was working three part-time jobs. He was unable to graduate high school so nobody really wanted to hire him for a fulltime position. Not to mention he was an orphan.

He wondered why he was kidnapped in the first place.

Rio could still hear the voice of his abductors, so he opted to hide behind tall bushes, or perhaps climb on a tree.

He couldn't help but wince. His ankle was throbbing.

"Damn it! How did my life come to this?!"

Rio looked around, sweat coating his entire body. He had been walking (limping?) for what felt like hours and decided to take a rest. Any further walk would definitely be harmful for his injured ankle, he thought.

He couldn't help but shiver as chills worked its way in his spine. Somehow, something suddenly changed with the surroundings. He knew he was alone (except for his pursuers) but he could feel eyes on him... everywhere.

Rio is no coward. It was how he stayed strong and alive in his twenty-five years of existence. He's also a believer of science and disregards anything not supported by it.

So why...?

"Calm down Rio. You're just worried. It's just the stimulation. You're running away from kidnappers, prioritize that." he said to himself for assurance.

He heard some rustling and a twig being snapped. He turned to the direction of the sound and saw his three kidnappers, guns and flashlights on their hands.

"Hey man, maybe we should get out of here now." said the smallest man.

"Shut it you!" snarled the tallest one.

"He's got a point boss. There has been many reports of people going missing in these woods. Not to mention the number of bodies found that were dumped here." replied the last one. He was the largest of the three.

"Shut it, or you're next." the tall one growled. "He will make us great money. His daddy dearest will pay handsomely for him."

"But isn't he an illegitimate child? According to the informant, he doesn't even know who his parents are. He has been living as an orphan all these years."

"Yeah boss. Will the guy even pay? I don't think he knows this guy exists!"

"If he won't our human trafficking contacts will come in handy."

Rio swallowed his saliva, again, with salty tears mixing with it. He heard all of that.

'What the heck are they talking about? My father? I don't even know who that is?!'

But Rio did not make a sound. He remained crouched, despite the pain of the cuts he accumulated while running away, and tracked his pursuers' movements with his eyes.

"But boss!"

"Fine! Twenty minutes. If we don't find that bastard we'll leave. With his stunt to get out of the car, I doubt he'll survive long, much less get out of here."

Rio tried to hold his breath and not make any noise. He watched as his pursuers passed him.

'Please don't let them find me. Please. Please. Please.'

Minutes passed and Rio remained where he was. He decided to remain still for the twenty minutes his pursuers were looking for him.

All of a sudden, at the corner of his eyes, he saw a firefly. Its light was blinking and it temained hovering not that far from him. Rio was a bit taken aback. It had been a long time since he saw a firefly, npt since he moved into the city.

He marvelled at the firefly, something to take his mind off of his predicament. But just as he enjoyed watching the firefly, with the little light there was around him, a neck was suddenly in his view. The neck was burned, like it was lit with heated steel. It was very puffy, red and had puss leaking from it.

Rio swallowed once again. He was not sure how, perhaps he was getting used to the darkness, but a figure was getting clearer. And what was worse, it was making its way to him. From the short distance, he could see the long hair cascading on its back, then the ragged dress filled with blood came into view next, followed by the heavily wounded face.

'Sh-'

The unknown figure lunged at him and Rio knew no more.

~The End...?~