Here’s a story to start the month of October out right. What’s really out in the woods?

The moon hung low over Dragonsford, casting an eerie pewter glow over the narrow streets and crooked houses. In the woods beyond the village, a presence stirred. A cold and unrelenting wind whispered through the trees, carrying with it an unease only the elders understood.

Lena stood at the edge of the village, staring into the forest, heart pounding in her chest. She’d heard the rumors—stories of creatures that came when the full moon rose. Whispers of sharp teeth, dark shadows that moved between the trees, and souls lost to the darkest night wafted through the air. It was just a tale, wasn’t it? A warning meant to keep younglings close to home?

Her feet yearned to venture deeper into the forest. From the darkness, something whispered to her, a primitive spirit, as ancient as the earth. Her brother, Finn, stood beside her, his face pale, eyes wide with fear.

“You shouldn’t go,” he said, voice shaking. “You heard the elders. It’s dangerous.”

Lena hesitated. She looked back at the cottage where their parents waited, where life was safe, predictable. But the pull from the woods grew insistent, an almost magnetic force she couldn’t explain to her brother—or herself.

“I have to,” she whispered. “I need to know what’s out there.”

Finn grabbed her arm. “Don’t go out there.” His fingers tightened in a desperate plea. “Please.”

The words echoed in her mind, but didn’t stop her. With a glance back at her brother, she slipped from his grasp and stepped into the woods.

The air, thick with an unspoken mystery, smelled and tasted different. The trees loomed like silent sentinels, their twisted branches reaching toward the sky as though trying to claw their way to freedom. Lena’s footsteps were soft against the moss-covered ground, but her heart beat loudly in her ears. The weight of the world crashed in on her, but she pressed forward.

Minutes turned into hours. The deeper she ventured, the stranger the forest grew. The trees were no longer familiar, their bark twisting into patterns she couldn’t quite place. Shadows moved in the corner of her vision, too quick to catch. She heard whispers now, a language she didn’t understand but felt deep in her bones. It was as though the forest were alive, watching her, waiting.

As she reached a clearing, she saw it—a figure cloaked in black, standing at the heart of the grove. Its face hidden beneath a hood, Lena felt its gaze on her, a cold, unfeeling stare that pierced her soul.

“You’re here,” the figure said, its voice a low, hollow echo that seemed to come from everywhere at once. “You were always meant to be here.”

Lena stepped back, pulse racing. Fear rolled up her spine. She couldn’t look away. She’d come too far to retreat.

“Who are you?” she demanded, her voice trembling, hiding behind forced bravado.

The figure tilted its head slightly. “I am the one who walks between worlds. And now, you will walk with me.”

Lena’s breath caught in her throat as she realized the truth—this was no simple creature of the forest. It was something far older, far darker.

And as the figure raised its hand toward her, she knew she’d made a terrible mistake.

Back at the village, Finn stood alone, his face pale with fear. The night grew colder. And he heard the whispers on the wind, the same whispers Lena heeded.