✧Hidden Crystals ✧

Chapter Two

I tucked my hands inside my jacket pockets, the icy wind blew my hair every which way. I stood in front of the woods, pausing for a second to give myself a little pep talk.

You can do this, Lukas is counting on you. "I can do this," I said to myself, trying to stay positive.

I walked down the path, the trees seemed to grow taller as I continued. While the trees blocked some of the wind it kept out sunlight as well. A shadow was cast over the path and everything else below the trees. It looked like the start of every horror movie.

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Every once in a while there would be a crack of a branch or something similar. And each time, I would bring out my gun and look around to make sure no one was there. This repeated for what seemed like hours, but was only forty minutes when I checked the time.

I heard foot steps coming from further up the path, I quickly drew out my gun on instinct. Pausing, I listened to see if I could pin point the sound, or see what it was.

"Lukas?" I called out, hoping I had finally found my dog. "Lukas!" I yelled out again.

All of the sudden a wave of pain ran through my head, it was like a migraine but way worse. Then a loud ringing noise, it was extremely high pitched, my hands flew up to her ears to try to cover the ear splitting noise.

"Shit," I said to myself, what ever this migraine was it hurt like hell. My phone started buzzing while everything else worsened. I  looked up to see what was causing whatever this thing was.

My eyes widened, I forgot about the pain, in the distance was an abnormally tall man, its extremities looked as long as the branches on the tree did, but the most unnerving thing about it was that it didn't even have a face, just white pale skin. I stood there for a second, in complete shock and disbelief.

RUN, RUN!, snapping out of the trance I ran, my mind was screaming to run faster and I did. I thought I'd fly off the ground if I ran any faster, but that was better than being dead so I continued.

Heavy footsteps rattled from behind me. I craned my neck to catch a quick glance at a different figure running after me. I felt the gun handle in my pocket and pulled it out. I turned it off safety and pointed it at the figure.

BANG

I heard a "thunk" shortly after, hoping it was what ever was chasing me. While gasping for air the headache and ringing finally subsided, I  started slowing my pace in response. My lungs and throat burned from the sudden intake of cold air. Exhausted from my little marathon my pace subsided into a speed walk.

I continued clutching the gun, trying to calm my trembling hands. Deep breaths, deep breaths, I told myself. Still a little light headed from such a run, I closed my eyes for a second, trying to steady myself.

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I was on edge, each little sound sent me turning and holding up the gun, expecting the figure to come and finish me off. My fingers where numb with how tightly I held the gun, or the cold, probably both.

The only sound in the forest was the wind and my teeth chattering. The temperature had dropped tremendously and I could see the dark clouds rolling in. Crap, I've got to hurry up. I pulled out my phone from my pocket and looked at the weather, "Snow starting in ten minutes" it read.

I groaned, "Just what I needed,"

I sped up my walking and shoved the phone back into my pockets.

After what seemed like forever I finally saw an opening in the trees ahead. Tears formed in my eyes, I never been this happy to see my home. I ran, pumping my legs forward with new found energy.

Once I was out I just laughed, I didn't know what else to do. Then the laugh turned into a sob.

I didn't even find Lukas, all that time and nothing.

I walked inside with my head drooping down, and fell on the couch. I curled up into a ball and cried.

Why couldn't I just do one thing right? Just one. Now Lukas is probably dead because of me.

I wasn't usually so self critical but this was different than making a B instead of an A on a test.

Once I finally started to calm down I turned back in the news to see what the storm was going to do. The only thing it was covering was the shooting and a "sever snowstorm".

I walked to the other room and grabbed my laptop and sat it down on the couch. Maybe I can find something that tells me about what that thing was.

Now that I thought about it I remembered hearing scary stories about a man in the woods that would steal children. Maybe that was him? No, it couldn't be, that thing wasn't human.

I grabbed a bottle of water before I plopped down and started my research on whatever that thing was.

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A couple of hours flew by and I rubbed my eyes, they stung from looking at the bright screen. I looked at the time, 6:42.

I hadn't found anything really except for some old folk lore that seemed like a teen wrote it. But there has to be something about what ever that tall man was. I got chills from just thinking about it.

I turned back to the laptop, I'll finish this page and then I'll just drop it, I told myself. Although I just breezed through most of the information in the article one thing stood out to me.

"It's described as an abnormally tall man with long limbs dressed in a business suit with no face."

My heart dropped, no way.

I continued to read, "There have been very few sightings, either it's extremely skittish or never its its victims get away, we don't know  which one. With some people it only seemed to want to scare off or emplace fear, but with others its was aggressive and would chase after its victims"

"Victims said that it never talk once, but they'd hear whispering and scattered incoherent voices. When in proximity of it, loud ear damaging static would be heard, it was explained to be a feeling of "wanting to rip out your ears"

"With almost all of the people that where interviewed they all shared two things. Anxiety and paranoia, always looking as if something was coming for them. Another thing was within a couple of days of being interviewed every single person would either die, go missing, never to be found again"

I would usually be pretty happy to know that I was right, but the bubbly feeling never came, only the sickly gut wrenching feeling of fear and panic.