- By Sameen Shakeel
WHISPERS IN THE SHADOWS
By Sameen Shakeel
As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows across the dense forest, Elijah, Hannah, and I set out on what was supposed to be a weekend retreat into the heart of nature. It was a much-needed escape from the trauma of the accident and the seven-day coma that followed. Hannah had told me how my family was broken when the doctors lost hope of seeing any signs of recovery.
The accident had been a blur. One moment, I was driving smoothly down the road; the next, blinding lights flashed, and everything went black.
Two months had passed since that night, and although I had recovered from most of my injuries, the memory still haunted me. To help me move past it, Elijah organized a hiking trip. He knew how much I loved the outdoors and hoped it would distract me from the lingering shadows of that dreadful night and help me find some peace.
That’s how we ended up in the forest, with its towering trees and winding trails welcoming us as we ventured into its depths. But when night fell and the shadows grew longer, a sense of unease settled over me like a heavy fog.
And then I heard it.
A whispers, followed by some rustling.
“Did you hear that?” I whispered, my voice barely audible over the rustling leaves. “It sounded like someone… whispering.”
Hannah shook her head, trying to dismiss me. “It’s nothing more than the wind playing tricks on your ears, Mia.” Maybe Hannah was right. So I ignored the sound. But as we continued on our journey, the whispers grew louder and more insistent, seeming to emerge from the very heart of the forest itself.
“Maybe we should turn back,” I suggested, my voice tinged with unease. “This doesn’t feel right.”
But before we could agree on a course of action, I heard it again. The whisper grew louder, the words now clear and unmistakable.
“You will face the consequences.”
Panic gripped me as I turned around to see the horrified expressions on Elijah and Hannah’s faces. They heard it too. We were undeniably being followed by something. Or someone.
A silent understanding passed between the three of us, and on cue, we bolted in the direction from which we had come. That’s when the chaos erupted—the rustling of leaves intensified. Vines stretched down from the trees and lifted Elijah and Hannah off the ground, their screams of terror piercing the silence. I choked on my own fear, but I didn’t stop or turn back.
“You will pay for cheating death!” The harsh whisper hissed in my ear, and I knew I was now on my own. “And anyone who aids you in defying death will meet the same fate.” My skin prickled with goosebumps, my legs propelling me forward, desperate to escape the torment. My mind screamed for it to be just a nightmare, but it wasn’t.
As I thought I was nearing an escape, a deafening roar tore through the air, the ground trembling beneath me.
My eyes widened. I knew that my journey was far from over. In the darkness that surrounded me, something stirred, something malevolent, biding its time, waiting for the perfect moment to strike again. And then it happened—the same shadowy figure lunged towards me, ready to tear me apart. “You will suffer for sacrificing me to the clutches of death,” the silhouette barreled at me, its contours menacing and all too familiar. For a moment, I was transported back to the night of the accident. I saw the same face, smeared with crimson blood, in the driver’s seat across from me just before everything went dark. And then it clicked—it was her. Her spirit.
“No,” I whispered, my voice barely audible, before a blinding light forced my eyes shut, and I accepted my fate.
“When you cheat death, it takes notice.”
