A/N

Hi there!

Here's the second chapter as promised, I hope your new year is going well and you've had a lovely Christmas.

Anyway, I'll shut up now.

Enjoy!

Thanks

Sphinxy

Chapter 2

Brief Encounters

Each step I take towards the dark figure causes involuntary shivers to slither up my spine. As I edge closer, I can see that the figure is not much taller than me almost the size of an adolescent Hobbit. It's cloak sways gently as the wind rustles the silken fabric. Swathed by darkness, the shadow stands unmoving as I creep closer to it, my mind spinning, screaming at me to run, to get away from this unknown hooded creature of gloom. The figures face is obscured by folds of black and its head is bent, almost as if in shame, or maybe as if it has been saddened. Could it be sad? Is that really all there is too it? It has been known for hobbits in mourning to go for days clothed in black from head to furry foot, doing nothing but sulk in their empty void of nothingness and pain. But it doesn't seem right, and there have been no deaths in the village, news here spreads quickly, but nothing has been heard. As I approach the unknown creature, it stands taller, it's head now raised, though I still can't see its face.

I don't know why, but I feel a strange longing to reach out to this creature, comfort it, whatever it is. I keep moving towards it, almost without realizing it, it's billowing folds of ashen cloak beckoning me with a tinted madness…

I stop.

I am inches away from the mysterious figure, and even though I can't see its eyes, I know it's looking at me, piercing my skin with the intensity of its gaze. We stand there for a moment, a brief fleeting moment, unmoving, save the swish of silken fabric, died almost crimson in the light. Unknowingly, I lift my hand from my side and even though every instinct is telling me to run, sprint as fast as I can; I reach out towards the figure. Everything I know should prevent me from doing it, should tell me to stop and leave. I should be in the lecture hall now, listening to Professor Moorhenn analyse every aspect of a fruit fly and why it moves the way it does. I should be sat with Louise, giggling as she torments the poor woman and her particular style of teaching. I shouldn't be here. These thoughts buzz around my mind like a persistent swarm of bees, clustering about their hive, screaming at me, telling me what I should do. Instead I am stood inching closer to the unknown as an elusive susurrus settles around me. All I know has lead me to this moment, all I've ever been taught. Something so strange has never felt so inviting, so familiar. In this moment, I am free.

I am ready.

Suddenly, the figure twitches, moving away from my touch. It sees my motion and with a sudden flick and flourish of its cloak, the figure is gone. It simply vanishes. No trail, no trace, not even the slightest imprint in the humid earth, nothing. Just the empty space in which it was standing moments ago, unmoving, yet so out of reach. But even the air feels strange, as if a great sickness has fallen upon it.

When it is no longer there, I feet suddenly alone, suddenly empty, as if hollow inside. The silence that surrounds me is thick, and filled with hidden secrets, whispered by the breeze that chills my blood, freezing me to the core.

I think briefly of going after it, searching for it, hunting it down until my feet tire and my bones ache, but my less adventurous side, my mother's less adventurous side, starts to take effect, and I feel drained. Fear settles upon me like a darkened haze that cannot be lifted. A thick, treacle-like terror, embedded into my heart. The wind tickles the leaves that cling onto the oaken branches ahead of me, making them dance with a delight I shall never know. Birds chatter amongst the clouds, darting in and out of the ghostly wisps. But I do not hear them. In my ears, it's as if all sound has been drained from me, so that I am trapped in a foreboding nothing, cloaked in an unforgiving quiet.

I shut my eyes as another gust of wind hits, slapping my cheek with a torrent of cold. My hearing is suddenly returned, and the rustle of leaves fills my ears once more. My mind whirls in confusion, but I turn and walk through the gate, pushing the thoughts from my mind, blocking them out as best as I can. I jump as the gate closes behind me with a loud clang! Butt continue down the path and into the school.

The doors to the lecture hall are of course closed, so instead of attempting to enter, I make my way into the courtyard and sit on the bench that wraps itself round the trunk of the great oak, that grows in the centre of the bricken crossroads. Taking out my sketchbook, I think over all that has happened, from waking up this morning, to the strange figure and its disappearance. I sketch absentmindedly, contemplating what occurred, and what I really should have done. My conscience scoffs as I realize I shall have to write a letter to Professor Moorhenn, apologising for my absence and asking for a set of detailed lecture notes. As I look down on my work, I see the face I have drawn holds a striking resemblance to that I once knew when I was young, one of recognition, but unknown curiosity.

Soon, the padding of footsteps echo around me as the lectures finish and classes are dismissed. Louise appears out of nowhere, giving me a fright, before she collapses in a fit of goggles. I try to join her, but my heart's not with it. She scolds me for leaving her alone with 'that dammed professor', before we head off to our next lecture. I don't know how she can be so lively in this situation, but somehow, she can find joy in even the darkest of times. Then again, she didn't see the dark figure, the ghostly apparition.

I did.

But I can't let it dampen Louise's mood, so I smile and laugh as we make our way inside the lecture hall.

Despite the dark cloud floating menacingly above my head.

A/N

It's me again!

Well, that was the second chapter, please leave a review to tell me what you think and if you have any questions, then don't be afraid o PM me. Follow and favorite this story if you're enjoying it, and I'll be sure to try and update soon!

Many thanks,

Sphinxy