The swirling shadow of a man wisped his way through the snowy forest. He delighted in the fear of the animals as he passed, and the deathly cold that always accompanied him. The fear that cold brought about in people, was what he just lived for. What made him relish his very existence.
Suddenly, his joy was cut short. Laughter. Oh the laughter he heard was like the horrid butterflies that fluttered about in the breeze. He quickly turned to the source, making sure that he would end it.
He came upon two siblings, ice skating cheerfully on the thick ice of the lake. He frowned deeply. He knew this child. Jackson Overland Frost, and his little sister, Pippa. The two most dreadfully cheerful children he had ever laid his eyes on. Pitch black bared his teeth in frustration. How they smiled… it disgusted him. Their mirth… how it made him retch. He looked about, how could he scare them? He looked down, and a malicious grin spread across his features.
It was perfect.
Pitch crouched down and touched the ice. He watched as thin, vapor-like shadows crawled beneath it, chiseling it to a breaking thinness. Then he waited.
CRACK.
The two children froze. Their brown eyes going wide as they looked at each other, not daring move. Then Pippa's eyes lowered to her feet. Cracks. In the ice.
"Jackson…."
"Don't move… t-take off your skates. Very… slowly…:" Jackson said. Pitch admired the well thought out plan. Take off the sharp skates, slow the break of the ice. Of course, he admired the sickly sweet scent of fear radiating off of the siblings much, much more.
"Jackson! Jackson! Under you…!" Pippa squeaked, pointing to his feet, where much wider cracks were spreading. Jackson nodded. Tossing his, now, removed skates far away from him and his sister.
"It's okay! It's okay… Don't look down, look at me." Jackson said as soothingly as he could. Pitch sat up at this. Where had the boy's fear gone? The intoxicating scent had disappeared. Pitch felt white hot anger build up in his stomach. No. This couldn't be…!
"Jack… I'm scared!" Pippa said in a horrified whisper as more ice broke beneath her. She still hadn't removed her skates for fear of moving. Pitch felt that was his only restraint from swooping in himself. Her fear.
"I know… I know." Jackson said, stepping closer. The ice started to crack even more beneath his bare, frozen feet. Pitch felt the smallest twinge of uncertainty come from him. "You- you're gonna be alright. You're not gonna fall in." he said. "W-we're gonna have a little fun instead!"
"No! No we're not!" Pippa said fearfully. More ice cracked.
"Would I trick you?"
"Yes! You always do!"
"No… well not this time. I promise. I promise you're going to be alright. You just… have to believe in me." He said slowly. Pippa looked at him with wide, terrified eyes.
"Y- you want to play a game?" Jackson asked. "We're gonna play hopscotch! Like we play everyday! It's as easy as one…" CRACK. "Whoa! Two!" CRACK! "Three!" Jack leaned down to get the long stick that he had spotted, perfectly shaped like a sort of cane, or a hook.
"Okay! Now it's your turn!" Pippa smiled, then moved as her brother counted, gasping with terror at each crack of the ice. "One…" CRACKCRACKCRACK! "Two…" CRACK! "Three!" He hooked the stick around Pippa's waist, and flung her to the thicker ice, where they had been only moments before. She slid to a stop and breathed. Pitch felt fury spread through him as she grinned, looking right to her brother. Jackson laughed as well, relief easing his caution. But with that, the ice gave.
"JACKSON!" Pippa screamed in terror as she watched her beloved older brother fall into the icy abyss. But he was gone, pulled straight down into the currents of the frozen river below. "JACKSON!" Pippa sobbed, crawling forward. But the ice cracked and she instantly slid back to the safe zone. Tears streamed down her face as she stared at the hole her brother had just fallen through.
"JACKSON!" She screamed and screamed. Not able to function properly. Pitch relished it. He inhaled every mourning note of her voice that tore through the forest. She stood and ran, sliding on her skates every step until she collapsed into the snow on solid ground. She dashed, dashed home to get help.
Pitch Black smiled and stood from his hiding spot. He easily slid to where Jackson had fallen in. Inhaling, he waited for the boy's last dying fear to fill his lungs.
But it wasn't there.
He frowned, looking down into the hole. The boy was long gone, but not dead. Unconscious and dying, but not dead yet. He know it only took minutes to die in such a way though.
"Where is your fear child? As you fell, did you not feel it? Did it not consume you to know that you were a dead man?" Pitch snarled as he gazed into the icy abyss. "Did you feel comfort to know that you saved your precious little sister?!" he spat, enunciating each word with malice and scorn. "Was it worth it you little whelp?!" he was screeching now. "Because of you- that last image, your dying breath, will be relished by your sister for years and years to come! She will live in fear, doubting her worth and relenting her part in your little heroic sacrifice! She will always believe it was her fault you're dead, Because she believed in you! I will make sure of it! WAS IT WORTH IT?"
Pitch straightened himself again. He knew that the boy was long dead by now. It didn't matter though. He began to drift off, to do as he had promised. To bring horror and terror onto the family of Jackson Overland Frost, to feast on their fear. But he paused when he felt something cool brush along his dark cheek. And he glared up at the setting sun as a whisper filled his head.
"Yes. It was."