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peaceful except her eyes. They stared up at the sky above, as if they’d just seen a monster. I couldn’t really comprehend what I was seeing. My feet turned to stone again, and I realised I couldn’t move. My head spun. Nothing made sense.
    Adam took a step back, right into me, and stopped. His eyes were wide as they stared ahead. My knees wouldn’t move. I couldn’t process anything. It was like I was watching a TV show or like it was happening to somebody else.
    Donald closed the eyelids of the woman like curtains. I still saw her piercing stare, beaming upwards, etched in my mind. Donald’s chin trembled as he rubbed his hands against his cheeks and stared down at the bag. He didn’t seem affected by the smell. I saw ants scuttle up the side of the bag, ready to pick at her flesh for their new nest.
    We needed to go. We were seeing something that wasn’t for us to see.
    The smell slithered up my nostrils again as the wind carried it in my direction. I escaped with a little cough. Donald moved the body towards the hole, which covered up the noise I’d made. My stomach felt like it was filled with wriggling worms. I needed to go to the toilet. I needed to get out of here.
    Donald pulled the bag to the end of the hole he had dug and put his foot on her side. He reached down, muttered something, and zipped the bag again, covering her face. With a struggle, he kicked her into her grave. She was gone. It was her funeral, and we were the only witnesses.
    Adam jolted to his feet and grasped my arm. I had no choice but to sprint. I saw Donald look up, his wide eyes turning in every direction, trying to see what lurked in the distance, trying to find something to focus on. A target. Now was the time to get out of his crosshairs.
    My legs moved, and I started to run. My knees were stiff but they seemed to be moving quickly. Any direction would do, as long as it was downhill. I took huge strides, jumping down the side, praying for the path. Twigs snapped under my feet. The sharp branches of trees scratched at my face. Somewhere behind us, I heard movement. It was probably Donald, but I wasn’t taking any time to look. We were in too deep, again, and we needed to get away.
    I was so focused on my running that I’d hardly taken any time to check on Adam. He had the same idea, and we moved in sync as we pelted down the hill towards the path, wherever it may be. I looked to my right, to where Adam was, and was surprised myself to find myself keeping up with him. Adrenaline kicked in. The forest stared down on us, closing in, trying to gobble us up. The trees were the arms, the stumps on the floor its traps. Somewhere behind us, Donald followed, probably ready to kill us. Ready to put us in a black body bag, our eyes piercing holes in the sky above us. Ready to dig a grave and kick us in.
    We hit the path. I wasn’t sure where exactly we were, but we had already been running for a while. I didn’t care; I let my legs take me. We bolted back to the entrance of the forest. I couldn’t stop thinking about what we had seen, and I hoped we didn’t run into anyone on the way out. I’m dreaming, surely? A sickly taste rose in the back of my mouth.
    The laughs of old people and smell of barbecued sausages assured me that we were close to the entrance of the woods again. We had seen what lived in the belly of the woods, and now it was ready to spit us out again.
    A squirrel looked on as Adam and I tore out of the woods to safety.

Chapter Eight
    We sat outside on the steps of the caravan. Neither of us had moved since we got back about an hour ago. Adam kept looking up whenever a noise sparked in the distance. I picked up the little stones at my side and tossed them towards the football.
    ‘Do we tell them, Liam?’ Adam asked.
    We also hadn’t spoken much since we’d got back. I couldn’t find the words. Adam’s question echoed what I’d been thinking for the last hour or so.
    I gulped at the blockage in my throat. ‘I… I