Silent Woods

By Ofelia Gränd

Do you believe in myths and ancient creatures?

Daniel has never understood the need to leave the city, so when his husband suggests a camping trip for their holiday, he agrees with reluctance. Even before they step out of the car, trepidation crawls over Daniel. Something is wrong. There is something about the forest that turns his stomach into knots.

He wants nothing more than to return to the safety of their home, and when their five-year-old son goes missing his fears turn into full-blown panic. What awaits them in the depths of the forest is far more sinister than anything Daniel ever could have imagined. With a missing child, it’s a race against time. Will they be able to find their son before it's too late?

• Language: English
• Publisher: JMS Books LLC
• Release date: Jun 12, 2021
• ISBN: 9781646568147

Ofelia Gränd

Ofelia Gränd is Swedish, which often shines through in her stories. She likes to write about everyday people ending up in not-so-everyday situations, and hopefully also getting out of them. She writes contemporary, paranormal, romance, horror, Sci-Fi and whatever else catches her fancy.Her books are written for readers who want to take a break from their everyday life for an hour or two.When Ofelia manages to tear herself from the screen and sneak away from husband and children, she likes to take walks in the woods...if she’s lucky she finds her way back home again.Subscribe to Ofelia's Mailing List!https://subscribepage.io/68FxpG

Book preview

Epilogue

Chapter 1

I couldn’t sleep. Anders would laugh at me, I knew he would, but I couldn’t help it. The thought of spending the night anywhere other than under a solid roof had me tossing and turning. I had never wanted to sleep under an open sky—or in a tent for that matter.

Until Anders persuaded me to buy this house, I’d lived my entire life in a flat. But our three rooms and bath made him feel closed in, so he had pleaded, begged, for us to move. I never could say no when he begged, and I loved this house—our home—but camping? I’d always thought that the love I had for my husband was unconditional, but this was stretching it.

When we’d first moved here, even our own garden was a little scary, it seemed like wilderness to me, and we were surrounded by houses. It wasn’t like there were any wild animals in our little part of the suburbs, though the Spanish slugs that invaded made me cringe. Anders knew this; still, he wanted us to go off into the hinterlands. In the morning we would pack the car, take the kids, and head out for the forest. He had made it sound like such a good idea—live in a tent for a couple of days, like real adventurers. Let the kids experience the nature.

Naturally, I’d hesitated, but I didn’t want the children to grow up and become like me—nature freaked me out. The creepy animals out there gave me nightmares, not to mention the absence of people. If I were to meet someone in the forest, I’d be certain he or she was a criminal—why else would they hide in the forest? But I didn’t want the kids to be like me, so in the end, I’d said yes. The kids—little traitors—were over the moon. Seemed like sleeping in a tent was far more exciting than sleeping in a hotel. No wonder I’m the boring father, and he’s the fun one.

I’d wanted us to go to another country, to Denmark and visit Legoland, or go by train to Berlin. But Anders thought that they were too young, at least Maja who’d just turned three. She’d be bored even before we’d reached the motorway, and she wouldn’t remember anything from her first trip abroad. No, Anders had wanted us to do something in our own country. We could find something here in Sweden that the kids would get a thrill out of and still keep it simple. I had grumbled my agreement, even though I knew it meant I could kiss my hotel room goodbye.

Anders had always been close to nature, hiking, fishing, even orienteering, before he met me. He wanted to teach the kids what he knew about plants, and animals, and other woodsy stuff. Hell, Axel already recognised more trees than I did, and he was five! Even Maja could point out a birch tree without making any mistakes. And I thought that was great, I did; I just didn’t want to be a part of it. A stroll in the park was enough wildlife for me. But Anders had looked at me with puppy eyes, and I’d thought what the heck; at least I’d be with him in the wilderness. How bad could it be?

The closer we came to departure, the more convinced I became that it would be really, really bad. And now, a mere six hours before we were to leave this safe haven behind us, I was sure that the following two days would be the worst in my entire existence.

Apprehension filled my chest. I was overreacting, people went camping all the time—they even enjoyed it. But no matter what I told myself, worry continued to course through me, making it impossible to relax. This trip was a terrible idea. What had I been thinking when I agreed to this?

We only had two weeks off together this summer, and at first, I’d thought we could spend one of those two weeks away somewhere. I hadn’t been thinking about camping, that’s for sure. Still, when Anders suggested we’d only be gone for two nights, I’d thought it made for a pretty short holiday. Anders had laughingly told me that it would be enough, and since he wanted us to go camping again sometime in the future, two nights would probably be stretching the limit for how much I was willing to endure. It annoyed me when he said things like that, pissed me off that he most often was right. I sometimes felt inadequate where Anders was concerned. I knew nothing about wildlife, or how to survive more than a day if the power went out. I was no prima donna, but I wasn’t a lumberjack either. Sometimes Anders made fun of me—just because he was such a He-Man in the woods.

Now, I wished I’d swallowed my pride and negotiated us down to one night. One night sounded far more bearable than two.

I heaved a sigh, kicked off the cover, and flipped over onto my back. The room was briefly illuminated by a passing car, and Anders grunted in his sleep. I exhaled and flexed my toes. It was as if ants were marching up and down my legs, and even though I tried to lie still I had to move again.

It was probably just the thought of being out in the open that made my stomach churn, nothing else. I was working myself up over nothing.

As if Anders could sense me being unsettled, even though he was sleeping, he turned around and tried to gather me close. I turned to my side and let him. I loved