There was once a young girl named Amelia. She was eleven years old, and she lived in a lodge neighboring some sinister woods. One night, shortly after Amelia and her family moved into their new home, her parents got into a heated argument about the houses location. "I don't like it here," Amelia's mother said, "The sounds that come from those woods behind us give me the chills, especially late at night, and sometimes, maybe it was just my mind playing games on me, but I swear, I saw this… I don't know, creature that lurked around the perimeter of the house. Only very late at night did I see this creature, but it appeared human-like, it stood on two legs and… where its face is supposed to be…" Amelia's mother trailed off as she let out a violent shudder. "…I don't know what is going on in those woods, but I don't intend on staying here much longer to find out." Amelia's father insisted that she was paranoid and that she only needed some time to become accustomed to their new life. As the parents went back and forth, Amelia silently sat on the steps of the stairs, where her parents could not see her eavesdropping. Amelia was intrigued by the eeriness of the woods, although she did not know why (obviously, it wasn't in her blood, considering how freaked out her mother was with even the mention of vast, dark, never-ending woods and its inhabitants). So as curiosity overpowered her rational sense of mind, she impatiently waited for her parents to go up to their room. When she put her ear against her parents' door a few hours later, she heard simultaneous snores, and she was positive that her parents were fast asleep. She tiptoed to the coat closet and grabbed her black cloak, equally comfortable and concealed. Amelia also grabbed a kitchen knife, just in case she felt threatened by anything, and a snack, as she does not plan to return home before dawn. She was about to leave the house but stopped in her tracks. "Tsk, Tsk, Tsk. I can't believe I forgot to leave a note," Amelia whispered to herself. She grabbed a pad of paper and a pen and frantically scribbled, "Went exploring. Don't worry about me, I'll be back soon. I love you. –A". She ripped the note off of the pad of paper and left it on the kitchen counter. Amelia was about to put the pad and pen away, but then thought twice of it and stashed it away in her back pocket. She left the house, locked the door, and slowly walked towards the mysterious woods. When all that she could see was a dark void of trees and underbrush, Amelia stopped. Hesitating, she took a deep breath and thought to herself, "No matter what happens tonight, I came out here for the adventure, and if I end up getting hurt in the process, then… so be it". With that, she took her first tentative step into the unknown…
As Amelia ventured further into the woods, her worries faded and her anticipation grew. She wanted to find something worth talking about, whether it was an ancient something-or-other or even that creature that her mother spoke of. Thinking about this mystifying creature sent a chill down Amelia's back. Amelia cursed at herself for acting like such a wimp. She felt like she needed to know that she was strong, that she could handle anything, and she was not scared. So Amelia ran. She ran deep into those woods, so deep that she couldn't even see the moon or the stars, and it seemed like the world had gone black. She knew that the deeper she journeyed through the woods, the more she would defy whatever existed beyond the trees that wanted to haunt her family. Realizing this, she ran even faster as the wind brutally slapped her face and sweat soaked through her shirt (somehow, her cloak remained dry). The exhilarating feeling of speed overwhelmed her, and in that moment, just running in the woods, putting all of her fears and worries behind her, Amelia felt free. Amelia truly felt happy…
…but then she stopped. She had to stop, or else she would've passed out from dehydration. Frustrated, Amelia yanked her snack out of her front pocket and furiously chomped on it to regain her energy. Despite how much she enjoyed the feeling of freedom, the knowledge that she was defying the woods, she knew that fantasies could not last forever. She knew that eventually she would have to turn back and deal with her mother's constant anxiety, her father's negligence to her, and the creature's trespass on their house. Sighing, Amelia turned around and trudged towards the exit, but she knew that it would take hours to reach home at that speed, so Amelia broke into a jog. She kept her head low, oblivious to what was going on around her being that she was lost in thought. Then, Amelia's thoughts materialized in front of her as she hit what felt to her like a fence. Cursing, Amelia put her hand to her head, and she was bleeding from her temple to her upper lip… but that was the least of her troubles. Amelia now stood before a man, or what appeared to be a man, who towered above her. It wore a black suit and tie, and it could've passed off as a frighteningly tall business man if it wasn't for its arms, skin, and face. For one thing, it didn't have a face. All Amelia could see was the indentations of cheekbones and its chin. Its arms were freakishly long, too, as if it could have snatched someone from a mile away. And its skin was the palest of whites. If one was to remove the creature's clothing, it would've looked like a ghost from far away. Amelia unconsciously put her hand to her mouth in shock. The creature was on the other side of the fence, but that made it no less of a threat to Amelia. She backed away slowly, preparing to sprint, when the creature climbed the fence and blocked her path. It began to advance on her, with its black tongue reaching for her face to lick off the blood, Amelia assumed. She backed away even quicker, hoping that the horrific tongue wouldn't be able to reach her. The creature must have noticed Amelia's uneasiness, because it pulled back its tongue. However, the creature pressed forward, making sure that Amelia knew that restrain was not one of its virtues. "Please…" Amelia begged, "Please don't hurt me…" The creature seemed surprised to hear this, because it jerked back a few inches. Then, it stretched its skin into what would've been a smile and shook its head. Then it sprouted thick and black tentacles from its back, extended them out towards Amelia, and engulfed her into a sea of black.
CHAPTER 1 - END