Christmas tap tap
Control
Touch the screen to push the sled up
c
The ancient forest pulsed with an eerie vitality, its gnarled roots coiling like serpents beneath a canopy choked by emerald shadows. A low hum vibrated through the air—not insects, but the land itself breathing. My boots sank into soil that squirmed faintly, each step unleashing whispers that skittered through the undergrowth in no language humans should comprehend. That crumbling obelisk ahead wasn’t here yesterday. Its surface shimmered wetly, etched with spirals that made my eyes ache if I stared too long. Something warm trickled from my ear. Blood? I wiped it away, fingers trembling. The compass spun wildly, needle snapping off to embed itself in a nearby birch. Right then, the laughter started—high-pitched, giddy, echoing from everywhere and nowhere. My knife felt pitifully small. Rules of reality didn’t apply here. But the village’s missing children did. I stepped toward the obelisk. The forest inhaled.
