1686
The sun was close to the horizon, the tall trees looking ablaze with sunlight. Clouds turned pink, purple and red. It was getting late, every minute getting darker. The large musket in Brian's hands was heavy, but his empty sack thrown over his shoulder felt heavier. If he didn't bring something home to eat, there would be nothing for weeks. It was past harvest; it would be cold soon. Brian couldn't risk letting his family and neighbours go hungry during the winter.
A cold wind picked up, the leaves fluttering around him. The back of his neck prickled. He turned, expecting to see movement among the trees but there was nothing. He took a breath and kept walking, leaves and branches snapping under his boots. His knee-length velvet coat was caught in the cold wind. Brian pulled his collar closer to his face. He'd left his hat at home for once.
"Did you hear? They hung those women." Someone had said in town earlier that day. News had reached them from a town a few miles away. The devil was everywhere.
"Don't think about it." Brian said to himself. He shouldn't have listened. The two men who had brought the news claimed they hunted witches and said that they would stay for a while to make sure that the devil didn't dare rear his head here. Brian found comfort in that but it all seemed to disappear in the darkening woods. "Don't think about it...Just find a rabbit and go home. There is nothing to fear." He wished he hadn't come alone. He found himself whispering a prayer as he walked through the darkening woods. He considered going to the church on his way home to ask for a blessing but the stories of the ghost that wandered up and down the aisle at night scared him.
"He's waiting...Waiting for his mother to come home...The Grim won't protect us because he's waiting." Someone had drunkenly said to him at the tavern one night. Brian hated those stories. He hated them so much. They never made sense. They were full of riddles.
"Stupid stories." Brian muttered.
The wind whispered in Brian's ear. He turned again and stopped. There was a rabbit, it's nose twitching, it's grey ears pointed towards the sky. Brian's hands shook as he slowly raised the gun. He prayed his aim was true for the rabbit would be gone by the time he had reloaded the large gun. With a pull of the trigger, gunpowder and smoke filled the air around him, the crack of the bullet echoing through the trees. When the smoke cleared, the rabbit was gone.
"Damn it." Brian cursed. Attached to his belt was a small bag of gunpowder, which he opened with shaking hands, trying to reload his gun as quickly as he could. A branch snapped behind him. Brian spun around, the black powder spilling to the forest floor. "Someone there?" The forest seemed quieter. Brian shook his head, telling himself he was stupid and went back to reloading his gun.
A sudden force threw Brian to the ground, gunpowder spilling everywhere. He lay dazed in the forest floor for a few moments, looking up at the darkening sky with confusion before the adrenaline reached him. He scrambled to his feet and took off running into the woods, leaving his gun behind. Pine nettles scratched at his face as he pushed the branches aside in his panic. "Where's the path?" He cried, frantically stumbling through the forest.
Up ahead, something dark darted through the trees. Brian stopped, lost and terrified. He had no idea where the path was. The birds had stopped singing. "Damn it, damn it! Who's there?" Brian called out into the woods. There was no answer. High up in a tree above him, an owl turned it's head backwards to look down at the man."I know you're there! I demand that you show yourself!"
Something coiled around Brian's ankle and pulled. It felt like his leg came out its socket. He crashed to the forest floor, biting his tongue open. Blood filled his mouth, dripping down his chin to the forest floor. Centipedes and ants crawled over his hands, finding their way up his coat sleeves. Pain shot through his arms as they bit into his flesh. Brian screamed, trying to get the bugs off him when the thing coiled around his leg pulled again with force. He screamed in absolute terror as he dragged across the forest floor, dragging his hands through dead leaves and insects in an attempt to get away. With every movement, it only pulled more. Brian's hands suddenly gripped a root sticking out of the ground under the dead, orange leaves. Splinters found their way into his skin. He clung to the root with all his strength, screaming for anyone to help him.
Leaves crunched under a boot. Brian looked up, his sight blurry with tears. A dark figure made their way through the trees, their long black cloak dragging over the leaves. Gold thread glinted in the moonlight. Brian knew that face. In his amazement and horror, his grip loosened. The thing pulled. Brian screamed again as he was dragged into the dark woods.
The rabbit watched him with its black beady eyes before moving back into the dark.