Sam hummed to a song as she walked down the path. A couple miles back she had come to a fork in the road. Turning to the left instead of the right, like she usually does. Up ‘till then, she had taken the same route every time she came to the trail. This time was a little different. She hadn’t come with her dog, Roxy. Sam continued to walk down the path. Feeling it more and more rocky instead of the leafy dirt it normally was. Abruptly her humming stops. She stops dead in her tracks as she looks at the ruin. It was a tunnel made out of stone that was placed inside of the hill. She hadn’t noticed it before, but to her sides there were stone walls. Built into the hills around her. Sam turned around in a circles slowly. Looking at the ruins around her. “This is insane”, she said out loud. Taking in the beauty of her surroundings. “I need to come this way more often.” Sam turns back around to the tunnel. Giving it no second thought as she walks into it. She was a curious person after all. Always taking the leap without thinking. As she walks into the tunnel the smell of mildew and rot filled her lungs. The smells made sense to her since the building looked like a ruin. She could see the light on the other side. The exit not that far away.

She continues through the tunnel. Stopping every few feet to look at the graffiti in the wall. It was different than normal graffiti. Not spray paint. Chalk it looked like. A collection of different colors powders on the ground below every little drawing. Still she keeps walking. Not thinking anything about how strange the place was. It wouldn’t have stopped her anyways. When Sam walks closer to the end of the tunnel she starts to hear voices on the other side. She speeds up her pace a little. Hoping they might be people on the trail that would know about the ruins. As she steps through the exit she sees the forest around her. Then she blinks and it’s different. This time she’s standing in an entryway of a big building. She stands there shellshocked before taking a step forward. The step must have triggered something, because every person in the building stopped. Almost frozen, but they were all looking at her. Staring at her. Nobody blinked. Nobody breathed. It was daunting. Her heart started to race as she looked at all of them. They didn’t have an emotion on their faces. Just stares. So she took another step forward. After all if they stoped moving when she moved maybe if she moved again they would continue about their day. She was somewhat right. As Sam took another step forward the people moved. This time parting a pathway infront of her.

Sam spins around. Taking in her surrounding. Wondering if there is anything she should be looking at. At this point she’s starting to worry. Wondering where she is and how she got here. She turns back around the parted walkway. Deciding that it could be a sign. So she starts walking. The people stay in their places. Their heads turning to watch as she walks by. She just keeps walking. Her pace quickening as she goes. Once she is out of sight of the people she stops. Catching her breath as she looks around. Her heart hammering inside her chest. None of this made sense to her. The stares of the people still stuck in her head. She looks around after a few more moments, still trying to find some clue of where she is. She stops infront of a painting. A tunnel. A stone tunnel that was surrounded by stone walls and carved into the hill. But there was something different about the painting. The tunnel and walls weren’t ruins. They were fully intact. As Sam is staring at the painting, she feels a hand on her shoulder. She jumps. Turning around quickly. Stopping in her tracks when she sees the man. Well half of him. He was insanely tall. His head almost reaching the ceiling. She cranes her neck. Looking up at the man. He was dressed fancy. Much fancier than her in her jeans and crop top.

“You are here way to early my dear.” He says. His voice deep and cold. She stood there frozen. The man raises his hand. Lifting a pitch black finger to her chest. Tapping it once. She doesn’t get a chance to pull away. Instead she wakes up on the forest floor. The sky dark. Already night. Sam groans as she pushes herself up into a sitting position. A sharp stabbing pain shooting through her chest as she clutches it. She pulls her hand away once the feeling fades. She looks down at her hand. Seeing pitch black liquid covering her hand. She watches as it seeps into her skin. Her hand slowly starting to turn the same colors as the man. She stares as she watches it move throughout her body. Her head was still floating. Trying to make sense of everything. So instead of getting up to walk home, she lays down on the ground. Closing her eyes as she drifts to sleep. Her dreams a vivid memory of what she had experienced early, but this time she focused more on the man. Hearing her words and finally realizing what it meant. She would be back there again, but she had a feeling the next time wouldn’t be by her choosing.