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Night in the Ancient Forest


Night in the Ancient Forest
Shrouded in mist, Bor Prastary stretched behind the village like an ocean of moss and knotty boughs. No one except the elders entered here after dark. But for Lena, David and Igor, this was to be the night - proof that they could do more than listen to scary stories by the fire. It was the last day of the holiday. They packed torches, spare bars, Lena's notebook and David's camera, still convinced by his mother to charge it to full. Before midnight they slipped through the dishevelled fence, laughing nervously at their own bravery. The forest was completely different from the daytime. Every rustle underfoot sounded suspicious, and the wind, swirling among the leaves, could send a shiver down even the bravest of backs. Lena glanced at the compass every now and then. "Remember, let's always stay together". - she repeated, while David filmed everything, trying not to show that his hands were shaking. Suddenly, something fluttered in the thicket. Igor stopped, pale cheeks reflecting the torchlight. "Did you hear that?" - he whispered, but all he heard in reply was his own echo. Beneath their feet stretched a path none of them remembered. Smoothly trodden, it led deeper, into the middle of the ancient forest, up to an old, mossy mound. Something flashed in front of them. An ancient stone pillar, covered with engraved markings neither of them had ever seen. Lena took out a notebook, Igor leaned over the symbols, and David pointed the camera lens at one of the faces carved into the stone. Then the wind blew - but this time it was no ordinary breeze. Were the tiny lights that appeared around them just reflections of their torches, or something more? A quiet whisper trembled in the air that they did not understand, and the darkness around them began to thicken. Lena felt someone's hand on her shoulder. When she turned around, there was no one behind her. Instead, in front of them, at the foot of the mound, something began to move in the darkness....


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Age category: 13-15 years
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Times read: 24
Endings: 2
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