The trees enshrouded him, they dwarfed him with their twisted and gnarled trunks. Not even a drop of sunlight could have permeated the dense thick of leaves that lay above. A path guided his way through the forest and his feet found themselves pulling him reluctantly upon it.
Exhaustion had took upon him quite quickly and his legs tripped over themselves with each step. His mind was dull. His eyes could scarcely see through the stationary shroud of night. His knees felt as if they would snap with each step.
He knew no longer why he continued to run away. There was no purpose, he had left them long behind, but a base instinct within him screamed at him to leave the forest as soon as he could. Perchance, it was guilt or just fear of retribution, but he felt an evil inside his very being within the forest.
The trees seemed to grow thicker and even more wicked with each step that he took. The branches had grown out a sickly gray, having only bare vestiges of leaves left sat amongst them. They emerged out of the trunk like bones, dry husks of what they once were. The night finally shone through.
He felt an abrupt rush of fear, a burbling in the pit of his stomach and a chill that ran down his back. It was replaced soon after by a burning feeling of realization and relief as he looked closer at what had frightened him so. He sighed in relief as it had only been one of those  large knots on a tree.  He had been so terrified that he thought the knot had been a face. A human face etched into the tree. And as he looked closer he felt a bit better about himself as the knot looked remarkably like a face. Anyone would have been scared.
Maybe someone had carved it? He thought. Shrugging, he moved forwards, albeit at a much slower pace. He was much more alert now and his heart pounded heavily in his chest, but he reassured himself it was just a coincidence. It had only had the bare outline of a face.
The trees grew even thicker as he proceeded. The brush clawed at his clothing, pulling and tearing it. A trickle of blood appeared on his forearm as a branch scraped across. He hastily wiped it with his hand. Something tugged on his hand and he recoiled instinctively, trying to yank his hand away.
The branch had gripped his hand, twisting its way around him, wrapping its thin phalanges around his wrist. Screaming, he threw himself from side to side to relinquish its grip.
He suddenly found himself on the forest floor, his arm covered in scratches and cuts, but the trees remained quite inert. Terror had rushed through him at that moment, but it had subsided to a moderate wariness of his surroundings within only a few minutes.
Thinking himself insane, he shook his head and wiped his face vigorously with his hands. He was clearly beat. He needed sleep… He needed some rest… Even in the terror of the nightmarish forest, he succumbed to exhaustion and he felt himself drift away into sleep…

He dreamt of the past. Hundreds of years ago…

There was once a man who had committed a crime. He was not an evil man and actually had a good heart. He had run away because he knew that he would be punished horrifically for his crimes.
He ran and ran and ran. The man was quite fearful of being caught because he knew the punishment would be much greater if he ran. The forest, he thought, would hide him in its shadowy clutches.
Many people had chased him all the way to the forest. They wanted to beat him to death for his insolence, but he had already vanished into it when they arrived. A few, eager to hurt another pushed their way through the forest and ran after him.
The forest, fettered in the shadows of an artificial night, stood as an unwelcoming barrier against the pursuers. Following his tracks, however, they slowly proceeded against the ever thickening mess of trees.
It almost seemed as if they had been following him for days when his tracks stopped. Stopped at the base of a massive tree, dead in every aspect. It’s trunk dried gray, knots twisting all about it, branches emerging out like so many skeletal arms. The men also stopped at this tree, tired of running. They all looked towards the tree, mesmerized by the strange marks upon its surface.
One of them screamed. The others, quite alarmed, asked why he would scare them so.
Faces. He had seen human faces inscribed quite clearly into the knots. They laughed off his craven behavior.
Another of them, skeptical, looked closer towards the tree and felt a sudden horror absolutely consume him.  Twisted into one of the knots was his face. It was his, there was no questioning his distinct features.  His look of terror made permanent in the wood, but twisted, like a failed attempt at a human.
For the first time he noticed that the many knots on the trees each had a face. Dozens of them, each with a horrified expression. He was alert now and looked around at the other trees. It almost felt as if they could see inside his very being. An infinite pool of dread welled up inside of him.
He noticed a familiar face on the trunk of the massive tree.. So strikingly familiar, yet he could not possibly place it within his mind. He moved closer to it. Drawn by an inexorable allure, he slowly inched forwards to touch it…

It was his. Not the man from hundreds of years ago. It was his.
The dreaming man awoke swiftly, his heartbeat throbbing in his ears and his fear palpable in the air. Just a dream. Just a dream. He repeated mindlessly, his eyes darting around. The forest night was just as dark as when he had fallen asleep.
Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. He tried to assuage himself. The trees had those horrific head sized knots on them, but he forced himself to look away before he could focus on them. He closed his eyes tightly and stood from his spot on the floor.
His eyes opened and he noticed a massive trunk in the distance. He could see the round shape he knew to be his. His face marked into the tree.
An insatiable drag pulled him towards the tree. His eyes fixated on the spot. A mindless obsession corrupted him, alluring him towards something he didn’t want. Death had chosen him and he was unable to say no.
He could see it’s face more clearly now. It erupted from the trunk in a grotesque fashion. Its eyes almost crying, its mouth made it look inhuman and animal. It terrified him, but he couldn't help but feel an unnatural affinity to the pathetic creature in the tree. He reached out a tentative hand to touch…