The Legend Of Midnight Woods

Maven Barrow

The next morning Devins breathes out heavy pants. Not knowing where he is he starts to look around. A bright light shines up above blinding Devin.

"Is this heaven?", Devins asks as calmly as his voice will allow but ends up squeaking a little.

Behind him, he hears a strange croaking kind of laugh.

"If only", the strange voice replies.

Devin turns to find a strange shape sulking in the shadows. As Devin gets closer the shape starts to form into a human. The person looks young 20, 21-years-old, but acts as though he was 100-years-old.

"Where am I?" Devin asks holding a shard blade of broken glass he found on the ground to their neck.

"The well of Midnight Woods", The person still hiding in the shadow, but being pressed up against a tree replies with an honest-sounding voice.

Supposedly giving up Devin drops the blade of glass onto the sand. The person in the shadows is far from giving up; grabbing Devin where he had been cut hours before. Devin makes a painful grunt.

"Who are you?", The man from the shadows asks with a serious look on his face.

"Devin Wright!", Devin replies in between gasps of pain.

The man from the shadows loosens his grip but never leaves the mark on Devin's arm.

"Who...Are....You..?", Devin somehow manages to ask through his gasps.

"Maven Barrow.", Mavin answers casually, not expecting the name to mean anything.

"Maven...Barrow?", Devin exclaims, meaning as a statement but allowing it to come out as a question, "Aren't you...supposed..to...be dead?"

"Aren't you?", Maven replies as a question when they both know the obvious answer.

Of course, Devin's alive, how else would they be having this conversation. Devin slowly starts to poke at himself trying to make sense of this.

"You sure we're not dead?"

"Positive."

"How did you get down here?"

"Well have you ever heard The Legend of Midnight Woods"

Knowing the story very well Devin nods his head.

"Well instead of dying, I woke up on the beach and well the rest is history"

After hearing Maven's explanation Devin still had questions but knew Maven didn't have the answers.

"Do you have a little sister too?" Maven questions Sevin trying to see how much of their story is the same.

"Yeah, Sammy she's three...Or at least she was.", Devin responds while trying to fight back tears from the memory of his little sister.

Maven not knowing what to do to console Devin awkwardly places a hand on his shoulder. In response, Devin looks as though he just saw a ghost.

"Sorry.", Maven quickly squeaked, while removing his hand from Devin's shoulder.

"It's okay, thanks I guess."

"Anytime."

It takes a little longer before either of them speaks.

"Have you seen the mermaid?"Maven queried.

It's the first general question either of them has asked.

"Mermaid?" Devin probed.

"Yeah, the creature that most likely took your sister."

"That was a mermaid!?" Devin asked with a curious voice, "I thought mermaids were supposed to be beautiful and exotic."

"Didn't we all"

"We should go get the mermaid and make her pay for the death of our little sisters."

"Don't you think I've tried that, the mermaid is more dangerous than you think."

"I'm counting on it, whoever said revenge is easy?"

As annoyed as Maven was he decided it wasn't worth his time as an immortal.

"Go ahead try.", Maven began, "Just don't expect me to help."

Without another word, Devin walks away to go plan how to defeat the vicious mermaid. Though he knows Maven is not gonna follow Devin turns back hoping to see him following. Instead of seeing Maven, he sees nothing but the plain golden sand. Turning back around with the hope he had before now gone.