A Darker Reality

The Eight Pages

The paper was wrinkled as if someone had been clinging to it for their lives. Cecily spent a few moments examining the paper, feeling more anxious as each second passed.

A chilly breeze blew. Cecily shuddered and hugged herself, clinging to the paper with one hand. She then reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out her phone. She was relieved to see that she had a few bars of service. This meant that she wasn't as far away from town as she had feared; but more importantly, it meant that she could call for help.

She quickly dialed 911.

"911. What's your emergency?" said a woman's voice on the other side of the line.

"I'm lost. I don't know where I am or how I got here."

"What's your name?"

"Cecily Connar. Um..." she looked around at her surroundings, her mind spinning."My mother's name is Elizabeth Connar."

"How old are you, Cecily?"

"I'm sixteen."

"Okay Cecily, can you describe to me the area that you are in?"

"I'm in a forest. I think I may be near the park. I'm on some sort of trail."

"Can you see any other significant landmarks around you?"

"No, it's too dark. All I can see is trees."

"Alright. Cecily, I......you to stay calm......and-"

The woman's voice was drowned out by the loud, crackling sound of static.

"Hello? Hello? I can't here you," Cecily said, panic rising in her chest.

The static sound was cut short by a long, continuous beep. The call had been disconnected. She tried to dial 911 again but she was answered by the static sound. She hung up then desperately dialed her mother's number. Still, nothing but static.

Cecily hung up and wanted to throw her phone. She didn't know what to do. There were so many emotions clouding up her mind that her heart raced and she wanted to cry. She wanted to break down and sob, but no tears came.

She was lost. Stranded. She had nowhere to go. No plan. No hope. She was terrified.

She started to calm herself down, telling herself that panicking and crying wouldn't get her out of this situation. She looked around at the trees and the dirt trail before her. She figured that if there was a trail she couldn't be too far away from the town. And since she couldn't think of anything else to do, she started to follow the trail, using her phone as a light and pocketing the piece of paper with the odd drawing scratched on it.

As she continued walking down the path, she soon stumbled upon a truck and trailer. The truck was painted a pale blue with blotches of brown rust, and the small camper behind it was white. She walked around the truck and examined the camper, hoping to see if someone could be inside it. However, it looked abandoned. She walked around to the back of the camper and looked at the door. She was about to knock on the door then froze when she saw another page pinned to it. The page had the words "Leave Me Alone" written on them with a single tree hastily drawn on it.

Cecily stared at the paper, feeling mixed emotions of dread and confusion. She reached out and took the page. Almost instantly she heard a rustling of leaves behind her. She quickly spun around, scanning the dark forest for.....something. Whatever it was that made that sound.

The soft beam of light from her phone barely gave her any light to see by. She looked around, straining to see in the dark.

Nothing.