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Seedlings

The morning mist swirls around my feet, soaking through my trainers and chilling my bare legs. I’m trying out a new path through the forest. If I manage to not get lost I should be able to make the round in a little under 30 minutes. 

It’s very quiet. Not a bird or squirrel moving in the trees. An uncomfortable feeling settles in my stomach as I lengthen my steps and try to remember how the path twists and turns before it hits the road. Maybe I’ll cut it short today. Find a new path for tomorrow. 

Giggles. I spin around, nearly falling. The path behind me is empty. Stumbling I set off again. Running faster. Faster than ever before. This time the giggles come from the left. Something is moving in the bushes. Fast. I can see the road through the trees. 

It catches my foot. I fall face first into the dirt. The air gets knocked out of my lungs. Things crawl up my legs, around my torso, my neck. The giggles reverberate through my body. Something turns me onto my back. 

The last thing I see is a young girl, her skin a pale green and her hair poison ivy. She smiles. Her mouth full of razor sharp teeth. The scream gets stuck in my throat. 

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