It all started with a broken promise.
Twelve-year-old Devon had grown used to his father saying no to playtime. There was always another Zoom meeting, another work call, another “we’ll do it tomorrow.” But that Tuesday afternoon, when his dad once again declined a game of catch, Devon decided to seek out his own adventure. Alone and frustrated, he headed to the one place that always seemed to make things better: the treehouse in the woods.
It wasn’t really his — not at first. He and his best friend Ree had stumbled upon the rickety structure a year earlier while searching for “buried treasure” behind their neighborhood. Instead of gold coins, they found a forgotten hideout, nestled between pines like a secret waiting to be shared. It was old and broken down, likely built by kids who had long since grown up and moved on. But to Devon and Ree, it was perfect. They cleaned it up, nailed loose boards back into place, and declared it their sanctuary — their escape from the world.
But the woods held more secrets than just a treehouse.
The Circle That Shouldn’t Exist
That day, with his glove under his arm and a football tucked into his backpack, Devon made his way down the well-worn trail. The early spring air buzzed with the chatter of birds and the crunch of twigs beneath his feet. But something unusual caught his eye just before he reached the treehouse.
It was… a structure of some kind. Roughly circular, crafted entirely from sticks and branches, arranged meticulously in a way that didn’t look random or natural. It stood in a clearing, perfectly still and ominous in its silence.
Devon froze.
Something about it didn’t feel right. It wasn’t just the shape or size, but the way the air around it felt—heavy, tense, as if the clearing itself was holding its breath. Despite the unease prickling down his neck, curiosity pushed him forward. The closer he got, the more impressive and unsettling it became. Someone had spent hours — maybe days — building this. But who? And why?
A gaping black hole marked its center. Devon, heart pounding, picked up a stick and gently poked the opening.
What happened next defied all logic.
The circle sucked the stick in — like a vacuum. Not slowly. Instantly. One second he held it, the next it was gone. Devon stumbled backward, breath shallow, fingers tingling. He crouched beside the portal, searching for the stick on the other side, or perhaps expecting it to come tumbling out again. But the clearing remained silent.
This wasn’t just weird. This was impossible.
Still, the exhilaration overrode his fear. Devon grabbed an acorn and tossed it in. After a few tense seconds, it flew back out — fast enough to whiz past his head. Eyes wide, he realized something that made his stomach turn: it wasn’t just a hole. It was reacting.
It was playing with him.
Playing Catch With the Unknown
Devon sprinted home, heart racing, his earlier frustration forgotten. He burst into his room, grabbed his football, and charged back into the woods.
He threw the ball. Missed. Tried again. This time, it sailed into the portal and vanished.
Seconds later, it flew back out and smacked him in the stomach.
Hard.
He groaned, winded. But then, something clicked. The portal returned the ball with the same force he had thrown it in. A weak toss came back gently. A fast one came back like a missile. It was mimicking his energy.
Devon spent nearly an hour tossing the ball back and forth with the strange structure. For the first time in a while, he felt… seen. Like someone — or something — was on the other side, playing with him.
Later that night, he couldn’t sleep. He kept replaying the moment the ball hit him in the chest. Who, or what, had thrown it? Was it just some kind of energy loop? A natural phenomenon? Or was someone on the other end, waiting?
He needed answers.
And there was only one person he trusted to help find them.
Ree Joins the Game
The next morning, Devon typed quickly: “Dude. I got something to show you.”
Ree, recently grounded for staying out past curfew, was finally free for the weekend. The moment Devon told him there was something “weird” in the woods, Ree was all in.
They met at the edge of the trees, backpacks bouncing, sneakers crunching the underbrush. Devon led him to the portal.
“Whoa… what the hell is that?” Ree asked, eyes wide.
Devon grinned. “It’s a portal.”
Skeptical but intrigued, Ree grabbed the football and tossed it in. The boys waited.
Moments later, it came shooting back out. Ree laughed, both awed and confused.
“What’s on the other side?” he asked.
Over the next hour, they threw in everything they could find: pebbles, sticks, acorns — even a sneaker. Every item came back. Unchanged. But with the exact same speed it had entered.
“Maybe it’s a wormhole,” Devon offered. “Or like, another dimension?”
“Maybe there’s another version of us in there,” Ree mused. Then he looked at Devon with a mischievous glint in his eye. “Stick your head in.”
Devon recoiled. “Are you crazy? What if there’s a monster on the other side?”
Ree laughed and flapped his arms like a chicken. “Come on. Don’t you want to know who’s throwing the ball back?”
The question hung in the air.
Devon hesitated. It was a valid point. What if there was someone — or something — waiting?
But his caution won out. “We haven’t tested it on anything living,” he said. “We should do that first.”
Ree nodded reluctantly.
They searched the nearby bushes and found a small lizard sunbathing on a rock. With a gentle toss, they sent it through.
Nothing.
Then, a soft gust.
The lizard came hurtling back out of the portal, limp and unconscious, slamming into Ree’s chest. Devon, standing behind, was hit with something wet — blood.
They stared at the motionless reptile. It wasn’t breathing.
Neither spoke. They didn’t need to.
Both turned and ran.
The Aftermath
They didn’t stop until they reached the treehouse. There, they sat in silence, the sunlight filtering through the leaves, shadows stretching like fingers.
Neither wanted to go back. And neither wanted to go home. But eventually, the sun began to dip. Dinner time.
Before parting ways, they made a pact: tomorrow, during family brunch, they’d tell their parents everything.
And they did.
Skeptical at first, their parents’ doubt evaporated the moment Devon presented his stained T-shirt, still blotched with lizard blood. The mothers looked horrified. The fathers exchanged uneasy glances. By the end of the meal, someone had already called the police.
Officers arrived that afternoon. The boys led them back to the spot. But when they reached the clearing…
It was gone.
The portal. The circle of sticks. Vanished.
But not entirely.
A perfect ring of crushed earth remained — like something massive had stood there, pressing into the forest floor. The bark on nearby trees was bent and scarred as if warped by intense pressure. It was enough for the cops to file a report. Enough to convince their parents they hadn’t lied.
The case was handed off to a local investigative unit. But nothing ever came of it.
It was as if the portal had never existed.
Life After the Woods
Devon and Ree were forbidden from entering the forest again. Their parents built a treehouse in Devon’s backyard — new, sturdy, safe. But it wasn’t the same.
They tried to go back to normal. To school, to games, to homework. But the memory lingered like a shadow just out of view.
Sometimes Devon would stare out the window, wondering. Not just about what had happened — but about why. What had the portal been? Who — or what — had been on the other side? Why had it returned the objects with such eerie precision?
And what happened to that poor lizard?
Ree tried to move on quicker. He told himself it was a fluke. An anomaly. Something they weren’t meant to understand. But even he would sometimes pause, football in hand, and glance at the woods, wondering if it might ever come back.
The Unanswered Questions
There were so many mysteries. Why did the portal respond to force? Why did it vanish without a trace? And what might have happened if Ree had stuck his head inside?
Was it a natural phenomenon — a freak of physics? Or something far older, far stranger, hidden in plain sight?
Theories would swirl on Reddit forums and TikTok clips when the story eventually leaked online. Some claimed it was a wormhole. Others whispered about witches, ancient rituals, and interdimensional beings.
But for Devon and Ree, the truth was simpler.
It happened.
They were there.
And they would never forget.
Final Thoughts: Some Doors Should Stay Closed
We live in a world full of wonder and science — but also mystery. Sometimes, the things we can’t explain aren’t just stories told around campfires. Sometimes they’re real. Tangible. Terrifying.
Devon and Ree discovered something in those woods. Something that didn’t belong.
And maybe, just maybe, it looked back at them.
