Echoes in the Mist

The mist clung to the forest like a cloak, shrouding the trees in a ghostly veil that made it difficult to see more than a few feet ahead. Emma had been walking for hours, her backpack weighing heavily on her shoulders as she searched for the cabin her friends had told her about. They had said it was secluded, nestled deep in the heart of the forest, but the mist had thrown her off course and now she was hopelessly lost.

She stopped to catch her breath, her heart pounding in her chest as she peered through the thick fog. She was about to turn back when she heard it: a faint echo, bouncing off the trees like a whispered secret. She strained to listen, her ears perking up as the sound grew louder. 

It was a voice, she realized, faint and scratchy like an old record player. She couldn't make out what it was saying, but it was definitely human. With a surge of adrenaline, she followed the sound, her feet pounding the damp earth as she pushed through the mist.

The voice led her to a clearing, where a figure stood with its back to her. It was tall and lean, dressed in ragged clothes that fluttered in the breeze. Emma called out, but the figure didn't move, didn't even acknowledge her presence.

She took a few hesitant steps forward, her heart pounding in her chest. "Hello?" she called again, her voice barely louder than a whisper. "Are you okay?"

The figure turned slowly, its face obscured by the mist. Emma froze, her breath catching in her throat as she saw its eyes. They were pale and unseeing, like a corpse risen from the dead.

She stumbled backwards, her feet tripping over a root as she fell to the ground. The figure loomed over her, its voice growing louder and more insistent as it spoke.

Emma screamed, scrambling to her feet and running blindly through the mist. The voice pursued her, echoing through the forest like a death knell. She didn't stop until she had stumbled back onto the main trail, gasping for breath as she leaned against a tree.

When she looked back, the mist had cleared, revealing the empty clearing. There was no sign of the figure, no echo of its voice. Emma shivered, unsure if what she had seen was real or a trick of the mist. But one thing was certain: she wasn't going back into that forest anytime soon.