Aquila Children's Magazine The Electric Issue | Page 18

horror as they transformed
into black arrowheads –
flying straight for my head! I
stumbled backwards and felt
the rough bark at my back.
And before I could move
again, two arm-like branches
clamped over my chest.
Part 2
It’s the day of The Hunt and
Libby has drawn the short
straw. It’s her turn to enter the
wood in the attempt to rescue
Megan, the young girl who had
been stolen by the Wood Demon
years before. Will Libby succeed
and reunite Megan with her
family; or will she return, like
all the others before her,
empty-handed except for the nightmares
that will haunt her forever more?
T
he old rhyme echoed in my mind.
I don’t think anyone in the village
knew exactly what it meant, except it
spoke of a terrible thing. The Wood
Demon was a half-forgotten story to
scare us. “Behave yourself or the
Wood Demon will get you,” Mother
would say.
Then one day the Wood Demon
stopped being a story. Barns were
flattened, roofs smashed. It was as if
she was searching wildly for
something. Finally she found it:
Megan.
Megan and I had been friends. She
was brave and daring. No one knew
why the Wood Demon took her. Since
that day, the trees had been strangely
wakened, like bark-encrusted
guardians. They wouldn’t allow
anyone to enter except for one day a
year – Hunt Day. Then a child was
allowed in to search. But no one ever
found Megan.
Now here I was. Walking slowly
through this terrifying place with no
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idea where I was headed. This wood
was evil. Tricking my mind, deceiving
my senses. The Wood Demon was
playing a twisted game. I wanted to
run away but the thought of Megan
spurred me on. I was her only chance
this year. I couldn’t let her down.
A cold breeze came towards me. What
was happening now? I had to be brave.
The treetops leaned closer. The wood
darkened. The Wood Demon’s net was
closing in. My heart thumped. The
breeze became stronger, colder and I
shivered. I looked left but with a
sudden swish, the trees lowered their
branches and formed a barrier. I
looked right. The trees on that side
did the same.
I was trapped. There was only one way
to go: back. I remembered the message
in the box when I entered the wood.
Never look backwards for you will find
Things look very different when seen
from behind.
The Wood Demon was playing games
again. Slowly, I looked behind. A black
cloud of bats appeared. I watched in
I wriggled, yelled, pounded
the branches but the tree’s
grip tightened. The arrow-
bats sped closer but I would not close
my eyes. I would not give in to fear.
“Do you see?” I yelled. “I will not be
afraid! I will not play your game!”
The arrow-bats came within inches of
me…then turned to black smoke,
melting into the air. I realised the grasp
of the tree had frozen and I quickly
wriggled out of its grip.
What should I do now? I looked around.
Nearby was the widest tree in the wood
and it captivated me. Its smooth bark
was flecked with black, as if it had been
struck by lightning, but had absorbed
the power rather than been weakened
by it.
I knew this was the centre of the Wood
Demon’s world. Without knowing, I’d
been walking towards the tree since I
entered the wood.
Now I stood beside the tree. A strange
energy surrounded it, beautiful and
terrible, attracting me. I circled the tree,
without meaning to, my eyes fixed on
the bark.
The Wood Demon had drawn me here
so this tree must be the final battle in