CYOA Wednesday 2025 #4 [Beyond the Woods 4]

This fantasy CYOA story continues today. Synopsis below:

When Derek, Jade, and Clara go camping, they stumble upon a portal to another dimension filled with strange creatures and sexy seductresses.

There was a tie between the first and the third options of the last poll, which were Clara steps willingly into the portal while Derek watches and Clara is sucked in. Derek runs away and comes across Jade in the woods. Both options got 50% of the votes. As the creator, I used my deciding vote to go with the last option. Today’s choice is very important because it will determine the setting for the rest of the tale. Please enjoy.

Read the fourth segment below:

4 – Sucked In

… she touched the rippling surface. The moment her fingertips made contact, the world around her dissolved into a cascade of color and sound. The portal enveloped her hand like warm water, pulling her deeper, and for a fleeting second, Clara was weightless, unburdened by fear or doubt. A symphony of voices whispered in her ears, calling her forth with promises of adventure and untold secrets waiting to be unveiled.

“Clara!” Derek’s voice echoed through the haze, frantic yet distant. His panic reverberated off the trees surrounding them, intertwining with the melodic whispers that seemed to beckon from beyond the veil. She hesitated, torn between the allure of the unknown and the connection they shared. What was she thinking, and why?

The light coalesced into vivid shapes, each flicker evoking a memory or a vision just beyond her comprehension. Shadows danced around Clara as if inviting her to engage in their revelry. Wisps of luminescence stirred like fireflies in the night air, and her hand started to grow numb.

“Clara, listen to my voice,” Derek urged. “Back away from that thing, and let’s return to the campsite. Whatever that thing is, is not something we should be meddling in. Let the proper authorities handle it… please!”

She listened to his desperate plea. Deep down, she knew he was right, even if a morbid curiosity to discover what lay ahead pushed her forward. The portal pulsed as Clara’s fingers turned purple. It was getting colder where she stood, the chill seeping into her bones and soul.

“Just one more second,” she whispered to herself, but one became two, three, four… Suddenly, a violent surge of energy erupted from within, wrapping around her waist with a grip that felt both thrilling and terrifying. Clara’s heart leaped into her mouth; it was as if the very essence of the universe was trying to claim her.

The impossible current pulled at her body with relentless determination. She staggered, losing her footing, and Derek lunged forward, his hands reaching out to grasp her.

“Derek!” she screamed, fear replacing bewilderment. “Derek! I can’t hold on!”

“Don’t let go! Fight it!” he yelled, his face marred by anguish. But as Clara’s other hand reached out for him, she realized that the distance between them was expanding, as if the very air around them stretched thin.

“DEREK!” she shrieked as every part of her body was caught in the gravitational pull. She struggled against the ethereal current, but every attempt to free herself only seemed to deepen its grasp. She squirmed within the embrace of that otherworldly force as her body became less substantial like vapor dissipating into the air. In a flash of blinding light, the portal consumed her, and she was thrust into some place unknown.

Derek dropped to his knees at the realization, tears streaming down his angry cheeks. “CLARA!” he shouted but there was no response whatsoever. Overwhelmed with shock and disbelief, he turned his back on the colorful ripple in Space and Time and ran back into the woods.

His feet pounded against the forest floor, each step a desperate attempt to escape the reality that had just unfolded. Anger surged within him like a raging fire, igniting every fiber of his being. He dashed through the tangle of trees, their gnarled branches reaching out as if trying to hold him back, to remind him of Clara’s absence.

“Fuck! FUCK!” he shouted at the forest, feeling its stillness mock his turmoil. He could taste salt on his lips – whether from sweat or tears, he couldn’t tell. 

All he knew was that Clara was gone, sucked into some chaotic abyss while he stood helplessly by. The weight of his failure crashed over him like a tidal wave, and he was ready to drown.

In that moment of despair, a wild urge consumed him; a primal instinct to lash out at everything around him. He swung his fists against an old tree, his knuckles hitting the petrified bark until they became red. He continued to run away, seeing nothing before him except the polychromatic portal. Blinded by anger, he didn’t see Jade standing on his path until he crashed into her and they both fell to the ground.

“Derek?” Jade said as she tried to stand up. “What’s wrong?”

“What are you doing here?” he queried, the words coming out too fast from his lips. He couldn’t breathe.

“I came looking for you guys,” Jade replied, leaning against a protruded root. “Things got spooky in the camp without you there. Where’s Clara?”

“She’s gone!” he sobbed, burying his distraught face between his fingers. “Oh, my God, she’s gone!”

Jade’s heart dropped, the words slicing through her like the sharpest of blades. “Gone? What do you mean, she’s gone? Tell me what happened!” Her voice was a fragile whisper, cracking under the weight of impending dread. She shook him lightly, desperate for answers.

Derek looked up, his eyes glassy and raw, framed by shadows that danced wildly in the fading light. “That thing in the clearing… It took her,” he choked out between ragged breaths. “She was right there! I tried to grab her… I could have saved her! I could have but I didn’t… Fuck!” His voice broke again, and Jade felt the familiar pang of panic clawing at her insides.

“What thing? What are you talking about?” Jade screamed, the familiar pang of panic clawing at her insides.

“It’s some kind of portal, beautiful but unnatural. It drew her in and refused to let go. She’s gone, Jade! I lost her and it’s all my fault!” Derek clenched his teeth.

“No… No! We have to find her!” Jade exclaimed, pushing herself up from the ground. The forest was different now; each rustle of leaves seemed sinister like whispers warning her of unspeakable horrors lurking just ahead. “Show me the place where she vanished. I want to see this portal with my own eyes.”

“No! I don’t want to go near that thing again! We need to leave and tell someone about this!”

“I’m not going without our friend!” Jade growled. “And you! How can you think about leaving her behind? She wouldn’t do that to you!”

“You didn’t see what I saw…” Derek rose to his feet as well, terror etched in every line of his visage. 

“You’re right, I didn’t – which is why I need you to show me! Hurry the fuck up, Derek! We’re wasting precious time!”

Jade grabbed Derek’s wrist, pulling him toward her.  He hesitated, the thought of returning to that cursed clearing sending icy dread coursing through him. But he could see the fire in his friend’s eyes, a courage that far surpassed his own. It was impossible to deny it, and so he didn’t even try.

“Fine,” he muttered, dragging his feet as he took the lead. The forest closed around them like the jaws of a great beast, and each footstep was like an echoing drum beat heralding their descent into madness.

Despite his reluctance, Derek found the way back to the portal with ease, and it was Jade’s turn to become flabbergasted.

“Holy shit! You weren’t kidding! And she crossed over?” she asked.

“She was dragged inside it, yes.”

“Then we need to go after her, a.s.a.p.!”

“What?” he grabbed her shoulders and stared at her as if she were a madwoman. “We have no idea what lies beyond it. For all we know, Clara may have been vaporized the moment she got sucked in!”

“That’s a possibility, yes. But I need to believe she’s still alive, and if so, she needs our help. It’s a gamble, but I’ll do it for her because she would do the same for me.”

“You’re fucking insane, do you know that?”

“Of course, I do. That’s why you love me so much!” Jade chuckled despite being scared shitless. “Together, okay? For Clara!”

“For Clara…” he sighed when he realized she would have gone without him, anyway. He let go of her shoulders, stepping back to take in the sight of the shimmering portal before them.

“Ready?” Jade asked, offering him her hand.

“No, but you’re right… She wouldn’t let us down,” he said, walking with her to the edge of the portal. “On three, okay? One, two… three!”

Still holding hands, they stepped into the unknown.

To decide what happens next, head over to my Patreon (you can join for free), and vote on the poll there until next Sunday. 

If you’re new to these CYOA stories, here are the basic rules:

1) You can only choose one option;

2) If there’s a tie at the end of the poll, and the competing options can be combined somehow, I’ll do that. If not, I get the deciding vote to keep the tale going.

3) The process continues every Wednesday until the story runs its natural course.

Have fun.