The smell of smoke is strong, the campfire's dancing orange flames reached into the cold air of the night, pointing towards the clear sky, filled only by the full moon and thousands of stars. The pair of teenagers, aged 15 and 17 were staring dreamily at the sky, the other boys had decided to explore the surrounding forest after hearing a loud screech, about 10 minutes beforehand, leaving the two best friends at the campsite. It was normal for the other boys to leave them behind, they had significantly different interests to one another, the friends would have even been camping if the taller boy, Jeff's older brother hadn't insisted, calling it a bonding exercise for the group.
The area was dead silent with the exception of the crackling fire. The smaller of the two friends, Shannon, suddenly sat up from the ground, :hey, they have been gone for a while haven't they? You don't think that maybe something happened to them do 'ya, maybe we should head out there and look for 'em", concern lingered in his voice, he was definitely the responsible of the two, he was always so concerned about the other boys, earning himself the title of the mother of the group, although , for once, he wasn't overreacting, they had been gone a long time, considering the circumstances. "They have been gone longer than i thought they would be" Jeff trailed off, now staring, concerned into the forest that had instantly cloaked his brother and friends. " I mean, it's not like Matt 'ya know, he doesn't like to make people worried, especially you, right? He's protective of you after all, doesn't want to loose his little brother too i guess, right Jeff?" Shannon looked down as his friend that was staring daggers back at him, Shannon smiled, knowing Jeff so well, he was confident that his stern expression was a mask for his concern for his brother, after there mother's passing, the boys had been inseparable and very protective of each other, determined that they would not loose each other.
Shannon reached for the two flashlights that were next to him, and filled the pockets of his leather jackets with spare batteries, he passed a flashlight to Jeff. "Come on, we should go look for them, they are probably just waiting for us to walk by so they can jump out from behind a tree and jump us like the last time" Jeff sighed, standing up, he was so sick of Matt's friends, as of recently they had become a lot more pleasant, but they were highly critical of both Jeff and Shannon because of there differences. Whereas Jeff and Shannon were happy painting or listening to music, Matt's friends were busy smuggling the next issues of play boy magazine to each other before their fathers noticed they had been taken. Shannon grabbed Jeff by his jacket, dragging him towards the forest, " ONWARDS!" he laughed, grinning at the smile Jeff had met his enthusiasm with. The boys trotted down a small hill just past the entrance to the forest, the silence now being broken by the loud snaps of breaking branches under their heavy steps, they were being far from quiet, hoping that the noise would attract the rest of the group towards them. After a while they found a small pathway that was formed by flattened grass, it would have been used on a daily basis to be worn down the way it was, curious they followed the small path that lead them deeper and deeper into the trees, still no sign of the others. "Now I'm getting a little concerned, I wouldn't think they would explore this deep, and this path is worn down real good, I didn't think anyone really came in here 'ya know, strange if you ask me" Shannon spoke softly, shining his flash light around them, trying to see something, anything that might symbolise that the others had been through, not forgetting to check the canopy for the others, incase they thought it a good idea to try to scare them or hide. Nothing. "Maybe we should go back, they probably took another route back to the campsite, Matt wouldn't leave like this" Jeff spoke, a shake to his voice.
The pair started hurrying back along the path when Jeff saw a figure move in the trees, "Hey! don't think I don't see you! Cut it out guys, grow up!" he growled, stopping Shannon and pointing towards the movement. "Really, we have to come in and get you, are you serious? Argh" Jeff walked off the path into the trees, seeing the figure hurrying away, Shannon and himself chased after it, deeper and deeper into the woods, lit only by the moving beams projected from their flashlights. They were following for what felt like forever, they suddenly stopped as they came to a cave opening in a cliffside, cautious they followed inside, scanning every inch of the cave with light before moving further into it. They continued down into the cave until they saw an end, opening into another part of the forest, a broken gate had fallen over the ground, it was presumably once used to block the path that trailed from the exit of the cave. "So, uh, what do 'ya reckon is down there Jeff?" Shannon shinned his flashlight down the path, surprised to see that the shrubs and trees were taken care of, the path was framed perfectly by wild flowers and surrounding trees. "I'm not sure Shan, you curious too?" Jeff began to walk down the path, jumping over the remains of the gate, Shannon following close behind. It wasn't long before they reached the end of the path way, it ended at a rather large gap in the trees holding a small shack on the hill that was towards the back corner of the opening. The boys curiously walked towards the structure, examining the front porch and windows, this house was looked after, not an out of place plank of wood, not a crack in the window. "I don't like this man, this is way too creepy, lets go back, I mean there was only one shadow that we followed, the guys would have stuck together" Shannon stuttered, becoming very paranoid at the situation " Jeff, come on lets go". Jeff stepped back and turned around "Yeah man, sur-" Shannon's face dropped as he saw Jeff freeze in terror at something behind him. "What, Is there something there?! Jeff?" Shannon quickly turned around and clung onto Jeff, his eyes meeting the same as Jeff's. "What is that, Who are you?" Shannon spoke softly, hiding his body behind Jeff's.
Standing out in front of his friend, Jeff somehow gained the courage to step towards the figure that watched curiously at his bravery. "Did you not hear us? What is your name?" Jeff spoke clearly, clearing his throat after, the figure, though face covered mostly by a mask seemed intrigued at the pair who had decided not to run. The figure stepped forward cautiously, it was then that Jeff realised an uncertainty in the way the figured moved, it seemed almost afraid of the two boys. It stopped, metres away from Jeff and Shannon and stood up straight, it was certainly taller than the two, it watched them for a second "You, you did not run, why, are you not afraid?". It slowly came closer, revealing that it held a human-like appearance, yet something definitely seemed in-human about it, "My name, I have been called Willow for many years if that is what you mean". Shannon stood up straight and moved out from behind Jeff curiously, it did not seem that Willow wished harm upon them, "Is it not the courtesy of your people to introduce yourselves upon meeting a new being?" Willow stated, watching Shannon's movements intently. "Oh sorry, my name is Jeff, and this here is Shannon" Jeff cheerfully stated whilst pointing to his warey friend "I don't mean to be rude or anythin', but what do you mean "your people" Shannon stated bluntly. Willow glared at Shannon "I'm insulted that you think that I am apart of your race, I merely choose this form to gain trust". Wide-eyed, Shannon stood back, this time dragging Jeff with him, "It was real nice meeting you and all, but we gotta go, our friends are going to get worried" Shannon sneered back, pulling Jeff away back down the path with him "Goodbye Willow" Jeff waved back at the being that they had just met smiling, leaving visible shock on Willow's face as he did so.
Some thirty minutes passed before Shannon had finally dragged Jeff back to the campsite through the thick woods, Shannon's nerves being calmed as they drew closer, hearing the familiar voices of Matt and the others around the fire. Jeff and Shannon emerged quickly into the camp space, passing a tent to re-join their peers, "HEY!", Matt screeched as he saw the two younger boys approach the fire, "Where on earth have you two been? Disappeared, without a trace, no note, nothing!" Matt scolded the boys, showing his overpowering concern to the situation, "Here i was thinking you had been taken!" Matt crossed his arms defensively, glaring at his brother and Shannon. "Yo, hold up! YOU left US, WE left to find YOU" Jeff growled, meeting his brothers glare with his own, Matt's face softened at his brother's concern for himself and the rest of the boys, "Oh, sorry we concerned you Jeff" Matt smiled in an attempt to calm his hot headed little brother, it seemed to work as Jeff's expression quickly turned to a mere pout "wasn' worried at all, not about you" Jeff said quietly, mumbling under his breath. Shannon and Jeff were welcomed back to the camp as if nothing had happened, the elder boys didn't seem to concerned now that they were back, Jeff returned to the tent that himself and Shannon were sharing to change out of clothes that had been ripped by the trees and gate whilst hurrying back to the camp, changing into his baggy black jacket, jeans and beanie before lying down to write in his book of poems for a little while. Meanwhile, Shannon had taken a seat around the fire, feeling slightly outcasted by Matt and his friends. "Hey, K.D," Shannon, responded quickly to his stage name being called by the eldest of the group,Marty, "Yeah Cham-pain", Shannon responded subtly, returning the stage name call, whilst cautiously assessing Marty's face for emotion. "Where did you an' Jeff get off to now?" he questioned, pointing into the forest surrounding them. "Y'all both know we wouldn't leave you" he returned his gaze to the younger boy on the ground, "Well uh, we went in there" Shannon pointed to the small opening of the trees at the left side of their camp, "And we eventually came to a small path-thing that was worn down, we reckon'd you guys went down there seeming the grass was flat, you know? and we kinda followed that path, until we saw a shadow, n', we thought t'was one of you guys so we followed it until we came to this weird cave thing in the cliff side over there" Shannon pointed to a mountain top, slightly visible over the thick canopy of the forest. "And, then? did you go into the cave, past the gate too the shack?" Marty's voice suddenly sounded very critical and aggressive towards Shannon, "well-uh, yeah we, we did...why" Shannon croaked holding off his fear of Marty. The elder boys, expression grew in anger, "and let me guess you saw the fucking-beast that lives there right? The masked freak of nature?" he stood above Shannon, using his size to slightly intimidate him, at this point the rest of the camp was watching the scene. "What 'Masked Freak of Nature" Marty? We saw an old shack and cleared out to come back here when we realised you guys weren't there" Jeff stood strong, exiting the tent and cutting between Marty and Shannon, subtly shoving Marty away with his body.
Marty, took a couple of steps, back realising the panic on the smaller boys face as he hid behind Jeff, staring at him. "Sorry, I have had a bad experience with that particular demon who takes residence in that house, it's in no way friendly" Marty returned to his spot on the grass next to the fire. "Demon, Marty?" Jeff asked curiously, sitting down he meeted Marty's eyes with a quizzical gaze. Marty sighed "Yes Jeff a Demon, an Incubus to be precise" The rest of the boys gathered around, sitting around the fire, Shannon moving closer to Jeff, all curious about this demon that their friend so bluntly spoke about. "What's an incubus?" Shannon asked looking around at the group for a face with an answer, meeting none but Marty's. "An Incubus; a demon or evil spirit that usually descends on a sleeping person, they are usually fabeled to have sexual intercource with humans as a way to reproduce" Marty looked at the obviously shaken Shannon, who seemed to be still questioning a fair bit "When you say humans a I reckon you mean girls right? like they can't have babies with us" Shannon looked at Marty, whose face had turned blank. "Shannon, why are you so dumb? Of course they can't impregnate us we don't have the reproductive system for that! However they probably wouldn't mind having intercourse with us, I'm not too sure" Shannon, looked even more confused than before "But- how can they have sex with us Marty?", a question that in Marty's mind, didn't require an answer once he stared and Shannon suddenly got awkward, safe to assume he figured it out. Marty sighed, staring into the flames of the campfire "My family and I, we used to come down here a lot, Matt, I've told you a fair amount of our stories from past visits here" Matt nodded in remembrance, beckoning Marty to continue his story. "When I was younger, I reckon about 8 years old, I was allowed to start exploring the forest when we went away and eventually, I came across that shack..." Marty glared into the forest behind the two other boys with them, Scott and MJ. "That gate, it was taped up like a crime scene, I shouldn't have gone in there." The following half an hour was a continuous story, the boys looked on at Marty in horror as he described the dreams and hallucinations that Willow had made him experience, one thing was for sure, Shannon and Jeff realised their error in exploring that cave.
The following week was completely normal, neither Jeff nor Shannon had experienced anything irregular, which was comforting to say the least. It wasn't until late one school day that Jeff became suspicious about whether they had actually left Willow behind... His teacher was standing at the front of the class; he was revisiting a simple lecture about the American Civil War, going over what they might have to know for any future tests. Jeff, who was usually quite interested about history, stared blankly out of the classroom window at a small forested area that the school had, it was directly in front of the distant mountains they had camped in the week prior. Jeff found himself sketching the scene on his page that was originally used for notes; he took little notice of what he was drawing whilst his pen was to his paper. He looked back out of the window and froze immediately, he had snapped back to reality, only to see Willow amongst the trees staring in at him, smiling. Jeff, looked back to his teacher, who was now staring at him, eyes wide without a single noise, the room was dead quiet, he looked around to see that all of his classmates were doing the same, wide eyed, with pure white contact-like eyes. "I'm sorry sir, what did you say?" Jeff had hoped that the teacher was asking for an answer to a question, it wasn't uncommon for him to be asked if no one else knew, there was no answer, the other people continued staring into Jeff's eyes, not a word was spoken, the room was painfully quiet. Jeff stood up, only to notice a large shadow to fall over him from the window behind, stretching across the room to the adjacent wall, Jeff swallowed as he turned to face the window. Willow was so close, about a meter away, outside the window staring in at him, smiling, Jeff took a step back away from the window causing Willow's smile to fade, as soon as it did, the glass on all of the windows cracked simultaneously, and then shattering completely. Jeff panicked, and rightfully so, he fell backwards and started hurrying to the back wall on his hands and knees, noticing that his classmates were watching him like vultures, he put his back against the wall, looking towards the now shattered windows were Willow was still standing outside. One by one, the now standing classmates and teacher bled from their orifices before falling, their eyes still locked on Jeff. Willow laughed hysterically and entered the room, walking over to Jeff, standing over him. He was face to face with Willow, whose tall figure was looming over him, smiling sadistically, his white eyes piercing Jeff's bright hazel. Jeff felt his heartbeat race, his classmates were decaying around him, the walls of the classroom were now free of the paint that lied in curled strips on the floor. Jeff swallowed quickly, his eyes not leaving Willow's glare, on the ground he felt so vulnerable, at the mercy of the Incubus. He was in trouble, and he knew it. Willow dug a sharp finger nail into Jeff's lips, piercing them, making blood drip down his chin, Jeff winced at the paint, a tear escaping his eye, he hated the taste of blood and Willow seemed proud of what he had achieved. Willow leaned down to Jeff, using his long , sharp tongue to lap up the blood dripping from Jeff's mouth, Jeff froze, he had never been so close to another being other than Shannon.