There were no castles around Clogs Bank and only five houses. It was seemingly just another countryside road, the kind you used to get to proper places all the while praying you wouldn't break down there and have to wait in the untamed forest for help to find you before the locals pestered you to buy their overpriced local produce while you waited.
Today someone's car has stopped further along the road, towards a small area called Button Oak which was known for just about nothing. With trees surrounding them, no signal on their phone and no car in sight along the green tinged stretch of road they decided to try and walk back to the few houses they passed a while ago to borrow their landline.
They headed back along Clogs Bank, specifically the direction opposite to their car. There was a sharp bend in the road that hadn't been there before and they briefly wondered if they'd gone the wrong way. Glancing back at their car's position on the roadside they knew they hadn't and yet the road was beginning to look more unfamiliar with each passing moment.
Passing the bend they found themself a few feet away from a dead end. Where the road should have gone straight down it gradually tapered off into dirt and underbrush instead. Turning back and jogging towards their car they tried the other end of the road, convincing themself they'd taken the wrong side of the road and everything was fine.
Everything was not fine. The other end of the road ended just the same as the other, a dead end full of trees that looked like they'd been there for hundreds of years. Feeling defeated they decided to head back to their car, hoping this was all just a dream and they'd fallen asleep after pulling over.
As they turned the sharp bend they saw the car was little more than a rusted wreck. Thick ivy vines had crept through the windows, the glass had been cracked by something and they could even see a bird;s nest through a jagged hold in the bonnet. Dazedly they wondered if they'd stumbled upon a wreck of an older car, pointedly ignoring the remains of their bag in the passenger seat as they headed for the corner at the other end of Clogs Bank.
And so they repeated themselves until another car finally drove past them and seemingly straight on, heading through trees like they didn't exist. But they looked so real. More to the point why hadn't they thought about trying to go through the trees before? It's not like there are many dangerous wild animals in England aside from maybe an escaped zoo creature but even then those were only urban legends.
Facing the trees that looked natural as the ground under their feet, taking a deep breath they stepped forward.
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