The day broke with a cool breeze whistling through the trees. The night had passed without any cause for concern. The wildlife was too cautious to approach the encampment in the night. The fire seemed to have kept them at bay.

When they set out for the next part of the exploration, an eerie presence seems to cling to the air. The children appeared nervously quiet, clinging to Maria's shirt. The greenery became thicker the deeper they traversed. Enzo stopped occasionally to carve marks into tree trunks and logged information onto his map while checking his compass.

Enzo paused as he raised his knife again to carve a mark into another tree, seeing something out the corner of his eye. He began surveying his surroundings, spotting something in the bushes nearby. He thought he saw someone wearing a thick black cloak that blocked out the sun, making it impossible to make out their face. As his eyes were about to lock on the figure, it just as quickly vanished. A pit started to form in Enzo’s stomach. He wondered if his mind was playing tricks on him or if they had encountered something in the forest that was causing this. There was only one way to find out, which was the most accurate assumption.

“Did anyone else see anything in the bushes over there a moment ago.” Enzo asked. Everyone exchanged looks between one another, shaking their heads.

“No, haven’t seen anything all day except the same type of trees and bushes in this forest. Maybe we should stop and have a break and refresh ourselves.” Charlie responded. Enzo was still unable to shake the feeling that maybe what he had seen wasn’t just some illusion. For the time being, Enzo pushed the thought to the back of his mind. He thought that maybe Charlie was right; all he needed was something to eat to take the edge off.

“I don’t think the kids would mind having a bit of a break from the hiking. Besides, it looks like the terrain is only going to get more difficult for the next part.” Eric stated. Although he hadn’t been looking the way Enzo had indicated, he felt uneasy. He also thought that Terri and Simon looked nervous, but they had shaken their heads when asked if they had seen anything. Eric leaned down to his children.

“Don’t worry. Enzo might have just spotted some rabbits in the bushes. Okay, Terri?” looking into her eyes, Terri nodding meekly in response. Eric then turned his focus to Simon, “Okay, Simon?”

“Yes, Dad.”

“That’s my boy.” Eric ruffled Simeon’s hair.

“Levi, would you climb to the top of a tree and see if you spot anything noteworthy to head towards?” Enzo asked. Levi nodded and headed towards the trees atop the highest point in the area. Charlie started pulling out bread and dried meat from his bag, rationing it out to everyone. Maria directed the children to sit up against a tree, handing them water pouches. Eric joined his family, taking out his own water pouch. Enzo took out his notebook, scribbling down observations on the way to this point as he waited for Levi to return.

The children appeared brighter and relax after filling their bellies. Terri’s eyelids started to flutter fighting back sleep. Maria unpacked some blankets out of her bag tucked it around Terri, giving her a small peck to the forehead as Terri gave in to sleeps call. Simon yawned as he looked up to Maria.

“Do we have to do any more walking today? Mum, I don’t want to walk anymore.”

“I’m sure if you have a sleep now, you feel much better.” Maria assured. They had known it was only a matter of time before the children would get over all the walking with minimal interest for anyone so young.

“If you don’t want to walk, how about I give you a piggyback? In the meantime, get some rest.” Eric suggested. Simon nodded and curled up next to Maria and Terri.

About an hour or two went by, and Levi returned to the group. Levi passed a notebook to Enzo. Enzo flicked through a few pages of rough sketches from the tree top before looking puzzled. The page marked with east was a collection of vertical lines, the closer it got to the base of the mountains. Written in the top right-hand corner was ‘dead about 2km away’.

“Does it look like there has been a fire over there?” Enzo asked.

Levi shook his head, “Not from a fire.” Enzo was even more perplexed. What could have possibly caused such devastation to one side of the forest? It was probably best to stay away from the area and keep it in mind as they ventured deeper into the forest. Hopefully, they could uncover the reason before investigating the area. Who would know what hidden dangers lie within the dead forest next to the mountains? The plan going forward is to continue north without getting too close to this area. On the sketch of the landscape due north, it looked like the trees were beginning to thin out.

“I think the safest route would be to keep going north towards where the trees are thinning. We should find out more about the surrounding land that has survived before heading west.” Enzo pondered for a moment before continuing, “Then again, we should definitely check out the surrounding areas while the children nap. I’ll go west, Charlie goes east, and Levi, you might as well stay and have something to eat since we will be going north after we get back. We will be no longer than an hour and a half before coming back.” Levi nodded, grabbing the remaining portion of bread and dried meat sitting up against a nearby tree.

“No problem,” Charlie said as he followed his compass into the forest. Enzo followed suit, heading in the opposite direction into the forest. Enzo was cautiously optimistic that they would find something in their travels.

Enzo arrived at the dead part of the forest quicker than expected. The ground was covered in a thick fog that seeped towards the healthy foliage near Enzo. The fog made him uneasy, but that feeling soon faded. The forest had an obvious divide between life and decay, but it did not affect the wildlife. Likely, these trees were dead due to disease.

A moment passed as he stood frozen in place, and he felt himself forgetting what he was there for. Enzo looked down as the fog covered his feet. He stepped back out of it, and it unnaturally parted, revealing the stone ruins of a small structure. Enzo also noticed a river flowing in the distance. Throwing caution to the wind, he set foot into the inhospitable landscape, dropping his bag near the ruins.

He soon realized that he had forgotten his notebook along with the sketches Levi had made. No matter, he had another notepad in his bag. He documented everything he had seen and the details around the ruins. The highest point of the ruins was about a 5-foot corner piece; broken stone blocks were scattered around the structure, covered in dead moss. It was a few metres on each side and appeared to have been a shelter. There was a frayed and holey bedding crumpled into one corner of the remaining structure. Enzo kicked the bedding aside, and a book clattered out from between the sheets.

Enzo looked over the leather-clad book. Flicking through a few pages, unable to decipher the language, Enzo shut it. It was best to take it back for Eric to decipher. Enzo went back to slip it into his back, when he looked up, he was almost face to face with a faceless, cloaked figure. Adrenaline kicked in, and Enzo ran in the opposite direction towards the river. It was the same phantom he had seen earlier, but having seen it up close made him flee in terror. He was metres away from the riverbank when he looked back. The phantom was no longer behind him. The skull under the cloak had burnt into his mind; the resemblance to death terrified him. He frantically searched for any sight of the phantom. Edging close to the river, unsure of what he should do next.

Enzo looked into the river, which was black as an abyss. Something swirled beneath the surface. Enzo was drawn towards it, thinking it might be a clue to what had happened to the book's owner or the phantom, or both. A Skeletal hand suddenly grabbed Enzo, dragging him into the river. He didn't even have a chance to struggle before disappearing into the river's inky depths without a trace left behind.