Deadly Drabble - Short Cut
If you go into the woods today...
Parents always told kids not to take the forest trail after dark. Most heeded the warning, but others saw it as a rite of passage. One trip through the forest at night meant legend status, and Will wanted to be the man.
Phone out, he walked briskly through the forest trail, trying to control his trembling hand while talking with a bravado he did not feel.
When the cops found the phone, the questions of Will’s disappearance were answered. The thing that emerged to take his life remains a puzzle, and part of the lore of the short cut home.
Keep to the sidewalks, kids!
This reminds me of the graphic novel series called Something Is Killing the Children.