The Figures

Author bio: My name is Joslyn Myers. I'm in seventh grade and I enjoy drawing, writing, and looking at pictures of dogs that I can't have.

Blurb: "The Figures" follows teenager Adam Fitzgerald on his perilous journey through a forest as he attempts to evade its inhabitants and find his way home.

Adam awoke to the feeling of something wet covering his backside. A prickling feeling made its way across his back and he rolled over onto his side, immediately grimacing as a cold sensation hit the skin of his arms. He opened his eyes, squinting. He could hardly see anything through the dark mist that surrounded him. He could hear the rain pelting the ground, and as he looked down he realized that it was the source of the freezing cold muck that covered a good portion of his body.

As he pushed himself to his feet, it became apparent that the forest around him seemed almost alive. He stood still, looking around himself in awe. Great pine trees towered far above him, their bristly needles blowing in the wind. Fat water droplets splatted down onto his cheeks and pelted the trees and ground around him. He could faintly hear crickets chirping - he could see worms wiggling their way up to greet the rain. He could see the mist around him moving, and as he looked up, he could see figures of what he assumed were animals clinging to the tree trunks. They stared down at him, and he realized that the eyes were almost bloodshot looking. Maybe they were nocturnal?

Whirling around to continue on his way, he stared ahead even though he could still barely see two feet ahead of him. He felt along the tree trunks beside him until they stopped on his left side. Peering to his left, he saw a small cave-like structure where the rock had clearly been taken out by some force. Suddenly, his thoughts that had been paused by the sights around him hit him all at once, making his head throb. He crouched to slide into the crevice in the rock, finding that he barely fit and his feet stuck out - but he had more pressing matters to worry about.

Where was he? He remembered falling asleep beside his young sister, Layla, on the couch in the living room - she had been worried because it was late and their parents hadn’t gotten home yet. He looked around him, pondering how in the world he could have ended up where he was. Was Layla here too? He swore he could feel her warmth against his side as he stared out into the pouring rain outside. It was much too dark to go looking for her...

He sighed, trying to get comfortable against the rock. He rested his head on his arms, shivering from the cold that he had only just seemed to notice. He closed his eyes, though thoughts still kept prying at him throughout the night. Why was he here? Was it some cruel fate? Had he been kidnapped? Was this just a horrid dream that he had yet to wake up from? Opening his eyes again, he ran a hand through his hair in an effort to stop it from clinging to his forehead. Squinting, he tried to make out something - anything, really - that could hint to his location. He stuck his head out from the small cave, trying to see more of his surroundings, but to no avail. He recoiled back up feeling a raindrop go splat on his nose and roll down his face, which had begun to dry. He could investigate in the morning - if it stopped raining by then, of course.

He rolled onto his back, staring at the ceiling of the cave - it was surprisingly clean. He had half expected to look up and see a giant hairy venomous spider, like some lame 90s horror movie he would have watched with his sister. While he didn’t often admit it - especially to himself - he did love his sister. He drifted off to the sound of rain hitting the ground beside him, and the prying thoughts of his sister plagued his dreams.

Adam awoke with a start, jumping and hitting his head against the hard stone of the little cave. He winced, rubbing his head. The squirrel that had woken him up stared at him, chattering in what he assumed was an angry manner. It retreated as he rolled out of the cave, though, and ran up a nearby tree. He surveyed his surroundings, swiveling his head around to view behind him. After a few moments of looking around, he snapped out of his trance, looking forwards again. For a minute he pondered what to do. Should he look for his sister, or should he build a shelter?

Making up his mind, Adam began on his way, calling out his sister’s name all the while. “Layla!” he cried, looking around wildly for a response, “Layla, where are you?” He cringed as his previously unused voice cracked - he barely sounded like himself. He ignored the curious feeling, walking around a tree. He soon came across a river, and stood at the edge, peering into the clear-looking depths. He knelt down, taking some in his hands and bringing it to his mouth, drinking cautiously. He coughed but swallowed the water hastily. It was definitely not as clear as it looked…

He dipped his feet into the cool water, shivering at the feeling and wiggling his toes gleefully in the mud. He peered into the water, looking for any sharp pieces of glass or anything of the like plaguing the water, but saw no such thing. Carrying his sneakers in one hand, he walked down the river, pulling his jeans up to his knees so they wouldn’t get wet. As he continued on, he saw what looked to be the bare back of a person. The skin was drawn tight over the frail-looking form, which confused him. Had this person also been stranded? Would he soon look like that, too? Adam called out to the figure, waving his arms. “Hey!” he called. “Who are you?”

As the figure turned around to face him, the hopeful feeling Adam had felt was replaced with such a sinking feeling that he almost glanced at the ground to make sure he wasn’t in quicksand. The figure's features were all out of proportion, with its hands and feet looking far bigger than its head and body. The face was sunken in, skin stretching over the cheekbones so much that it looked as if the skin would snap at the slightest bit of pressure. The sunken eyes were bloodshot and piercing, with no iris in sight, giving them an animalistic look. The skin along the rest of the creature's body looked just as sparse, and Adam could visibly see each and every rib. The kneecaps were knobby and stuck out at an odd angle, and the figure’s entire body was devoid of any hair whatsoever. Adam took a step back and the creature smiled a terrifying smile, showing it’s yellowed, sharp teeth. What was this thing?

The creature darted off, turning its head to continue giving Adam a horrifying grin as it disappeared into the forest, twisting and turning around trees until it was out of site. Adam stood still for what felt like hours, unable to process what he had just laid his eyes upon. That thing..was that what he had seen in the trees? He shivered, remembering the bloodshot eyes staring down at him. After a while, Adam swiveled his head to look behind him. He didn’t recognize the area he was in. Regardless of this, the teenager turned and darted off into the opposite direction he had seen the figure run into. He ran and ran, not stopping until he was about to collapse.

Wheezing out hasty breaths, Adam stared forward, his vision blurry. Blinking, his vision returned to normal, and he looked around, his chest still heaving with the effort of taking in air. He kept walking and walking. He didn’t want to be anywhere near these creatures. He must have kept going for another thirty minutes before he noticed the sun setting on the horizon. He sat on a nearby rock and pondered.

The teenager rested his eyes, nearly dozing off on the rock. However, he came to and realized that with those creatures around, it wasn’t the smartest idea. He got to his feet and began searching for any dry sticks he could find to bring together a fire. He brought the lumber into a pile and rubbed two together - something he had heard many times would start a fire.

Adam was just about to give up around ten minutes later when a small spark caught onto the wood. He blew on it gently, praying he wouldn’t accidentally blow it out. As the spark grew into a flame, the teenager hummed in satisfaction and set it onto the pile. He sat in the grass beside the fire, staring into the flame. The warmth of the fire so close to him made the teenager grow drowsy, but he forced himself to keep his eyes open, not trusting that he would be safe. He gazed into the flame for what felt like hours, the orange flickering of the fire reflecting in his brown eyes. He stayed like that long into the night, occasionally glancing around him in an act of paranoia.

The teenager was finally beginning to feel safer, with no signs of the figures anywhere. Maybe there was only one. As he lied down, he stared up at what he could see of the night sky between the tops of the trees. The stars were shining particularly bright, and the teenager squinted to see them before violently flinching back, sitting up immediately. The shining. It wasn’t the star! He stared up, terrified, into the eyes of the figures. There could have been well over twenty of them, their eyes shining in the dying fire. The teenager didn’t want to stick around to find out how many of them were there, though. He wanted to go home, and he wanted to go now.

Adam hopped to his feet just as they began descending the trees, a few jumping down instead of climbing down. One landed in the fire and started shrieking like a banshee. It was the most agonizing noise the teenager had ever heard, and it was what finally jump-started his senses and forced him to move. He could hear them heavily breathing and cackling as they followed. He turned his head over his shoulder as he stumbled into a run.

They were running on all fours, like animals. Their faces looked even more terrifying with the bloodthirsty looking glint in their eyes. He could hear each and every footstep, pounding against the ground like his heart against his ribcage. He turned back around, his heart leaping into his throat as he saw that there was another group coming from the opposite direction. There were some that were skinny and plain looking, like the first one he had seen, others had human arms and other limbs haphazardly tacked onto wooden structures they wore upon their backs.

The teenager ran into the opposite direction, tears gathering in his eyes as the wind whipped him in the face. His lungs were burning, screaming for a break, and there was a cold sweat building on the back of his neck. His chest heaved painfully as he staggered forwards, his legs beginning to ache steadily as well. He squinted through the wind just in time to see that he was nearing a cliff.

He turned around fully, nearly at the edge. They were coming slower now, but the sight of them hanging off of tree branches was still unsettling. At the front of the group was a familiar looking figure, grinning at him maliciously. The teenager looked around desperately for any direction to run in, but it was fruitless. They were coming from all directions, each with the same terrifying look on their faces. He looked at the cliff and gulped. If he was going to have to live with this every day and never find his way home, he’d rather be dead anyway. With a final cry, Adam pounced off the edge of the cliff. The last thing he felt was the feeling of plunging into ice cold water.

Adam awoke with a start, his chest heaving as cold sweat dripped down his neck. He swallowed, trying to clear his throat of the dry aching sensation that it held. He was about to sit up when he glanced down and saw Layla, clinging to his arm. She looked so peaceful, her brown hair strewn across the couch cushion and her eyes closed ever so gently. The teenager stared at her for a moment before gently nudging her off of his arm. Sitting up slowly and cautiously, he took a moment to ponder his experience. That felt so surreal for just being a nightmare. He shivered, still remembering the eerie grin the figures had given him just before he threw himself off of the cliff.

He stood up and looked around. It sure looked like his living room. He gently pulled a nearby blanket over his sister’s sleeping form before slowly and quietly creeping over to the window. He squinted, unable to make out much through the rain and fog that plagued the air. He made out the shape of his parents car and felt relieved for a moment.

That is until he saw who was in the driver’s seat. The grin the figure gave him was all too familiar. A numb feeling spread over the teenager's body as the car door opened and his gaze turned to the forest. They were hanging on the trees, each giving him that same eerie grin. He turned away from the window, hearing them cackle, their shrill shrieks ringing out for miles. This was going to be a long night...