Imposter Syndrome: Chapter 5, Part 1
A New Mystery.
Imposter Syndrome is a spooky young adult mystery set in the weird town of Shady Springs, where nothing’s ever quite what it seems. Paid subscribers can read full segments of the story as they’re released (and help support my fiction writing in the process). Annual subscribers will also get a free physical copy of the novel when it’s published in full.
Previously…
Chapter Five: A New Mystery
Looking back on it later, Theo had no idea how they found the trail again.
He remembered crashing through the trees, clinging desperately to Alex’s hand (or was she clinging to his?) while the lowest-hanging branches and woodland thickets snatched at their skin. Their torch beams waved frenziedly in the darkness, filling the world with shadow, never quite illuminating the way ahead.
Theo was gasping for breath and was just about to stop - and make Alex stop, too - when she cried, “There it is!” and they suddenly burst out onto the Woodland Trail again. The air was instantly more breathable and Theo gratefully gulped it in, collapsing against a large oak tree by the path. Patches of the starry night sky were visible above them.
Alex, bent double with her hands on her knees, panted, “Did… did that really happen?”
Theo nodded, realized Alex couldn’t see him in the gloom, and said, “I think so.”
She straightened up, pushing moist strands of hair from her face. Theo shone his flashlight beam in her direction; it wobbled in his shaking hand.
“That was scary,” she said.
“Really scary,” he agreed.
“We should get out of here.”
“Right away.” He wiped sweat from his brow with his free hand. “I thought I heard someone else back there.”
“Me too,” said Alex. “Like they were coming from - ”
Somewhere nearby, a twig snapped. Alex’s eyes ballooned.
“RUN!” she yelled.