Blank Faces: Chapter 1

A Story by Charlie B

The first chapter of the upcoming chapter book, Blank Faces. Jax Marian struggles to escape the maze of woods he entered with his friends accidently. Will the sinister creatures let him free?

“Where are we going, Tyler?” Susan asked, tugging on the sleeve of her jacket lightly. I knew Susan loved him more than anything, so she always tried to act brave in front of him when ever she could.
    “You scared, Susan? Are you scared of dying?" I teased giving Tyler a wicked grin. Susan gave me a nasty punch my shoulder.
    “God you’re such an a*s!” she huffed, winding up for another punch.
    “Ahhh! Save me Tyler!” I screamed sarcastically, leaping into his arms. He held me and we both looked at Susan with forced, terrified looks. She stopped in her tracks and crossed her arms, refusing to go any further.
    “Oh come on Susan, Jax was always my prince,” he said, grinning at me. “Cess. Princess?” he continued, tossing me out of his arms. I gasped and fell to my knees, groveling for him to take me back. Susan shot me a glare so fierce, it felt like a thousand cuts. Tyler grinned and wrapped his arm around Susan’s shoulder, pulling her further down the trail. He looked back to me and mouthed the words “Sorry babe,” as he walked down the path, taking our only source of light with him.
    I pulled out a small pocket flashlight I kept on my keychain and followed them up the trail, trying to stay close on their heels. Ever since Susan got together with him, he was much more laid back with all of my shenanigans. Normally he was the strict Catholic school boy his parents raised him to be.
    I looked down at the ground, watching the leaves crumble and the sticks crack beneath my white sneakers. I continued to stare at my sneakers and walk until I ran into Tyler. “Dude what the hell,” I said looking up, but they were completely still. “Tyler?” I asked, giving his shoulder a shake, but he didn’t respond. He didn’t even flinch.
    I walked in front of them, and both of their faces were stern and solid, their expressions unchanging and steady. Now I was really starting to get freaked out. I grabbed his arm, then everything seemed to change. It was hard to describe, but the atmosphere seemed thicker and more gloomy, like everything was a mirage. I let go of his arm and everything turned back. I slid over to Susan who had the same expressionless stare on her face as if her mind was blank, but this time I decided to take it from a new approach. I walked behind her, staying out of arms reach, and gave her ponytail a quick yank. I jumped back, keeping my guard up just incase she swung at me like she normally would, but instead she just stood there, completely motionless, completely blank.
    Now I was starting to panic. I grabbed her wrist and that same eerie mirage appeared from nowhere. Everything seemed wavy, nothing was in focus. I looked around and a faint, flickering glow shone through the trees, like candle light coming from a dark room. As I looked deeper into the trees, I focused as hard as I could on the faint glow. I kept my eyes peeled in that direction only, and out of the corner of my eye, faint, dark figures darted through the forest, hiding behind trees and ducking under bushes.
    “What is happening!” I gasped as I slowly crept backwards, letting my hand fall freely. Instantly the distant mirage faded, and the glowing light disappeared. To say that I was baffled, confused, and terrified was an understatement. I approached Tyler and Susan again, but this time I came in between the two of them and clutched both of their wrists by my side.
    The mirage reappeared but this time there was different. We were closer. Closer than I ever wanted to be. The figures were right in front of me, bolting from tree to tree, from bush to bush. They were so fast, their motion was a blur. I started to backtrack, then one of the figures shot in front of me, stopping inches from me.
    I stood frozen in fear and shock, staring into the hood of the long, baggy, black robe and all that was there was eerie darkness. With nothing to control them, the sleeves raised to the hood, and gently, it started to fall. As it fell, the palest white skin emerged. Nothing else, just skin.
My breath left my body in a whoosh. This creature had no eyes, no nose, no mouth, no ears, it was just seemingly endless skin. I looked to each of my friends, seeing their clothes morphing into the pitch black robes. They stood motionless with their hands clasped together at their chest, as if they were praying. Then, as the robe engulfed their normal bodies, their innocent faces shifted to smooth, chalk white skin.
    Mortified, I threw away their hands but this time the illusion didn’t disappear. I turned back and ran back the way we came. I sprinted as hard as I could, but the things kept up with ease, darting through the woods surrounding me. After minutes of sprinting, a distant wall of darkness appeared. I drove my shoes into the dirt, and frantically searched for an escape from this hallucination. Then, from the darkness, two dark figures emerged and started to slowly drift towards me. I turned to run the other way, but there was nothing. As if the void was closing in, I backed away from the ledge as massive chunks of Earth started to crumble beneath my feet, falling deep into oblivion. I continued to back up until icy hands grabbed my arms and yanked me around. I struggled to break away, but their strength wasn’t human. They forced me to my knees, and two other figures materialized before my very eyes.
    As the bodies began to take shape, the image of each one instantly clicked in my mind. Tyler and Susan approached me with their normal clothes and normal faces, but they didn’t say a word.
    “Tyler, what the hell is going on! Help me, please!” I begged and groveled as best I could from my knees. He shook his head and smiled. He towered above me and as I tried to beg and plead for my life, he continued to shake his head, this time more furiously. He shook it so vigorously it moved into one constant blur. He then backed up, and with one steady motion he planted his shoe against my chest and furiously kicked outward, letting my body fall endlessly into the void.
    As I fell, Tyler and Susan returned to their black robes and the figures watched as I plummeted to my death. I closed my eyes and extended my arms, allowing the void to engulf my body, but all I heard was a steady, ear piercing whistle.
    I winced violently, and opened my eyes again to see Tyler and Susan standing in front of me at the beginning of the trail, waiting for me to start walking again.