"Stay low," I whispered, "I'll give you a heads up if I see anything."

I assumed the others were nodding along as I peeped between the thick undergrowth.

We were inside the forest surrounding our town, Firefly Forest. There was a simple explanation for what a gang of tweens were doing here way past our bedtimes.

For almost a month now, our townsfolk have been hearing a strange song from the woods everyday around midnight. Naturally, as members of our local mystery hunting team, my friends and I had decided to look for the source of the sound.

We had been following the song for the better part of an hour. It always seemed to be coming from a place ahead of us. The haunting soprano dissipated when we reached this barren circle in the middle of the forest. We were waiting on the outskirts, trying to catch a glimpse of the unseen singer.

As we waited, tendrils of fog rolled into the clearing like so many fingers of a smoky hand. I could see nothing in the clearing yet.

"Coast is clear. Jamie, you and Fred stay on this side. Me and Jimmy'll circle round to the other side," I was messing with them.

Splitting up in the dark was a bad idea. We had agreed right at the start we were not going to do that but they had been too quiet for a while. I was trying to get them to protest.

Nothing happened. None of them said a word. I turned around. Behind me, my friends sat very still.

"You guys okay with us splitting up?"

The three of them nodded in unanimous agreement. It freaked me out a bit but I could not go back on my words now that they all agreed.

"This way, Jim," the two of us skulked away into the damp, shadowy vegetation. I could feel the gaze of the other two on my back as we left. There was a blank look in them that troubled me.

We reached the other side of the clearing. The silent hours ticked by, there was no sign of the mellifluous singer.

I looked at my smartwatch, forty minutes past midnight.

"Want a snack?" I asked as I pulled out an opened chocolate bar from my pocket and took a deep bite. No reply.

I turned to look at my friend. He was sitting beside me on my left. I repeated myself thinking he had not heard the first time. No answer.

As much as I hated to admit it, I was scared now. The quiet was unnerving. I had not paid attention to it before but the forest was eerily quiet tonight.

It had been a while since I heard anything. I did not expect crickets to chirp in the cold winter woods but there was no sound at all. I listened, intent on catching the faintest stir.

The only sounds seemed to be coming from me. The rustle of the fabric on my jacket, my breath and even the blood pounding in my ears was louder than the ambient sounds of the forest. Everything else seemed to be holding their breaths in anticipation.

I got up abruptly, "Jim, let's go home for tonight,"

I did not expect a reply. I did not look back. I wanted to get away as far as I could from that thing impersonating 'Jim'. I have no idea how I knew but something had happened to my friends along the way. I was not going to wait around to find out on my own. I had to get back to town first.

As I started to walk away, I heard the song again. Something was different this time.

It was a chorus instead of a single voice. The voices were coming from the other end of the clearing.

'That's where the others are,' the involuntary thought sent shivers down my spine. Soon 'Jim' joined the chorus.

By then, I was halfway around the clearing. I would have to avoid running into my 'friends' when I got to the other end and make a straight dash for it, back the way we came.

That's when it happened.

The chorus faded out. The familiar reverberating voice started its usual song. I peeked from the corner of my eyes.

Moonlight streamed down to the center of the clearing. In the watery light stood a figure draped in a hooded cloak. The fog pooled around its feet like dry ice on a stage.

The plaintive voice riveted me to the spot. The figure was coming closer. I could not look away.

It was towering over me now. A sweet scent emanated from its presence.

Its wooden hands were criss-crossed with veins of green vines. The hands pulled back the hood. I instinctively closed my eyes. The singing stopped.

"It's your turn, Ava," a cold breeze whispered into my ears.

My heart was set to burst. Everything spiraled into a dark jumble.

"Ava...Ava?"

I awoke to the worried looks on the faces of my family.

The police had found me passed out at the edge of the forest. I did not remember getting there. Jim, Fred and Jamie had been missing for three days. Our parents and the townsfolk had been searching for us all this time.

I could not speak. I was rushed to the hospital for immediate care.

*****

It has been a week since that night. The singing stopped after the police troops started scouring the forests daily for the missing children.

I keep having the same dream every night.

A tall hooded figure, surrounded by three smaller ones, stands in a forest clearing. It was always a moonlit night. They would sing a beautiful song but each night the choir was getting closer to me.

I have no idea what happens when they catch up but I do not want to find out.