There was darkness all around as Alex walked through the forest. A forest she recognized all too well. This is the place where something utterly terrible happened. It was the place that took her brother away so many years prior. These twisted trees and shrubbery have haunted her every waking moment since the incident occurred. They were too painful even to look at for her heavily tired eyes set with deep eye bags. It didn't help that the trees were not ordinary, for they twisted and turned in unnatural ways and seemed to emit evil itself.
Alex could hear voices coming in grotesque whispers creeping from their branches. The voices never ceased. And the most prominent voice she could listen to was none other than her very own dearly departed little brother. Every time she heard these horrific whispers, Alex felt her heart sink and her stomach drop. Her hands would start to sweat and would shake uncontrollably alongside her every shaky breath. It was suffocating.
Why was she hearing things again? Her dad had gotten her medicine, so why wasn't it working?! Wait... Dad, but he died five years ago. The thought then occurred to Alex. This isn't real. It's just another one of her "delusions".
Alex's heart felt as though it had stopped when, from the trees, a familiar figure appeared. At first covered in shadow, and then becoming clearer. To her horror, it was Tommy, but not how you'd ever want to see your family. He looked the same as on that fateful day. His skin was deathly pale, but that was the least frightening thing about his appearance...
With every passing second, Alex felt her stomach churn at an alarming rate. She could still see his wounds fresh and his clothes seeping with blood. His limbs were twisted like the tree branches that she sees far too often, and his bones protruded. That day was one she'd never forget. The day Tommy "disappeared".
Alex knew that he didn't just disappear, but who would believe an eight-year-old when they say a monster took their brother? It wasn't a quick occurrence either; they were both lost in the woods for a week, running for their lives. No one believed her, of course. She knew she wasn't crazy. I mean, she saw it, and he saw it too.
While trying to escape the forest, Tommy fell down a cliff. She didn't remember it being that steep, so he was still ok, but badly injured. That's when the monster crept from the shadows and snatched him up and started twisting his limbs. Alex still recalls hearing her brother's pained screams and the sound of bones cracking and being crushed. He screamed for her to run and not look back before he could no longer speak.
She ran and ran and ran. Alex heard whispers growing closer and closer. Then she blinked, and she was back in the present, the monster wearing her brother's face drawing closer. "Tommy" was crying, but his tears were blood. The disgusting monster was toying with her. It made her feel as though she could hurl at any moment.
But was it even actually the monster, or her mind playing tricks on her? If so, then why the hell was her brain doing this to her?! Alex thought bitterly as she stood frozen amongst the cursed trees with rage, regret, and terror all mixed in one.
The monster, still feigning actual sadness, began to scream inhumanly. "Why didn't you save me?!" Alex's breathing began to hitch even more with each labored breath. And with each time "Tommy" screamed, his jaw would unhinge more and more from before. Before she knew it, his jaw hung open, blood pouring out.
God, please if you have mercy, wake me up from this damn nightmare! Blood was gushing from every crevice like something straight out of a horror film. She couldn't respond... her mouth dry from the sight and her words catching in her throat. Guilt panged at her chest as the monster was inches from her face. Scratching the side of her face.
Suddenly, she heard yet another familiar voice cut through like a blade. "Alex, wake up you useless good for nothing bitch!"
Alex awoke to the nightmare that was her life with a jolt as ice-cold water burned her skin. Her mom looked at her with disgust and resentment. She tried her best not to yelp out in pain more than she already had. Alex was used to this kind of treatment, but she guessed her body would never stop reacting. At least she wasn't hitting her this time. She thought sarcastically, shaking from more than just the cold.
"Come on! Get your lazy ass out of bed!" Here she goes again, at least she isn't nearly as violent as usual, maybe she remembers it's my birthday. "Are you really gonna make your brother late on his birthday?!" She had that dazed look that Alex had grown accustomed to over the years since her brother's and then her dad's death. Her mother's health had taken a turn for the worse. She was delusional and drunk again.
Did she forget that today was also her birthday? I mean Tommy wasn't just her little brother, but her younger twin. Alex obediently and quietly listened and did as her mother asked, getting out of bed. Tommy has been gone for a decade now, and today was always the hardest...
Yes, she knew her mother was delusional and, at times, would behave as though Tommy was still alive. Alex, of course, felt bad, but after the years of taking hit after hit, she felt herself secretly praying for her downfall. She knew it was wrong because she was sick, but these thoughts persisted. Alex also knew that her mother blamed her for her brother's death. Every night, she lay her head down with fresh bruises and cuts.
Her mother had already left the room as Alex walked over to her clothes rack. Clothes that didn't feel like her own. They weren't meant for her. They were meant for Tommy. Originally, they were her dad's, and her mother designated them to be her brother's. Sometimes her mother would see her wearing them and would start swinging and yelling at her. After all, it was all her fault for leaving Tommy alone in the woods.
As she was getting ready, Alex glanced at her reflection in the cracked mirror she had shattered with her fists. Her scrawny limbs were covered in bruises and scars from the years. And her uneven brown hair was falling into her pale face. She couldn't stand seeing her face. After all, Tommy would've looked like her, and so her face was a reminder of him every time she saw it. Tommy's eyes were the same hazel green. His nose was the same. Almost everything was identical.
So why did her mother hate her? She was practically identical to her beloved son. No, Alex knew she wasn't the same as Tommy, because he was an angel. He was a piano prodigy, and she couldn't even play a single note. There were so many differences she could list between them, so of course, she would hate her. Who could ever love someone who left an angel as lovely as that to die? It didn't matter if he had told her to run. She should've saved him.
Now Alex was spending what should've been their 18th birthday alone. Maybe she deserved it. She finished throwing on the baggy clothes that were tattered with small holes. She wished her dad were still here, and then things would be different. And of course, if she could take it back, maybe she wouldn't have ever gone into the woods to play hide and seek with Tommy.
She decided not to think about it anymore since it would only bring her even more pain. With a solemn heart filled to the brim with regret and self-hatred, Alex hurried downstairs from her raggedy room in the attic, where her mother was already rushing out the door to the car. She wasn't surprised that she didn't even get a happy birthday. It was like this every year...
The door slammed, and a picture fell off the wall from the impact. Alex went over to pick it up. Glass now covered the floor. She couldn't leave it like this, because she would be blamed for it. As she turned over the picture, a wave of sadness filled her heart. It was a picture of her and Tommy on their eighth birthday, ten years prior.
Tears welled up. Then a honk from outside made her jump. She had to hurry, or her mother would be pissed. Alex jumped up to grab the broom and swept up the glass hurriedly. When she finished, she set the picture on the coffee table.
As she ran out the door, she saw the forest outside their house. The same forest that took her brother.