Muddy Mystery

• Neve Byrne, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2022

The misty air swarms me. “Wait!” I yell but the fog goes in my mouth as soon as I open it. The person in the distance fades further away. I start running in hope to catch up to them, my feet unstable on the uneven ground, the colourless trees around me make me stumble. My phone buzzes in my pocket, but I don’t need to see who it is. Charlie probably wants to know where I went in a rush. “Gah!” I plunge face forwards into the mud. “Er.” I say scraping mud off my face. The silhouette in the distance doesn’t seem to know I’m following even with all the noise I’m making. My phone buzzing makes me realize that I’m still standing in icky, brown sludge. I start to run trying to make up the ground I’ve lost, but I slow when my phone rings. I look at it seeing Charlie is trying to call. ‘I guess I should answer seeing that I haven’t replied to any messages or calls.’
Pressing the green button, I put the phone to my ear.
“Hey Charlie.”
“OMG! Finally you answer Bea! I keep trying to get a hold of you but you never answered! Honestly Bea!”
“Sorry. Look I’m in a difficult spot right now, gotta go. Bye.”
“But…”
I hang up.
I trained my eyes on the road, but the person seemed to have gone while I was on the phone. Then I see a piece of fabric caught on the fence.
‘Aha!’ I think to myself. ‘There's a getaway hole if I’ve ever seen one.’ As I slipped through the hole, I swear the woods went quiet, like it was holding its breath. I walk, trying to feel through the oncoming darkness. Branches seem to grab me as if telling me not to go on making me stumble. Suddenly it goes black.

I wake up on moist ground with a throbbing headache. I look up and see a branch I obviously didn’t see before. ‘Probably what caused the headache.’ I think to myself stupidly. Then I see a familiar person's shadow up ahead. “Wait!” I cough. “Stop!” Miraculously they did, then they turned around and spoke.
“Stop following! You’re in danger here, in this part of the woods! You shouldn’t have followed, stupid girl!”
Watching her jog further into the woods, I decided not to follow her. Starting the weary journey back home I creep and jump at every sound. My body, sore; from running earlier that day, can't run anymore, so I walk. A chill settled in while I walked and the mud on my clothes lets the cold right in. Shivering, I start to see an end of the scary woods. I carry on with a less heavy heart knowing that home, warmth and colour were minutes away. While walking I thought hard about what the lady said. Then once again I go black this time seeing who did it.‘What was the danger she talked about?’