The Tales of Vesper Dragovich

What Lurks in the Darkness

"Tag! You're it!" Yelled a curly haired boy as he ran past and tagged a girl with wavy dark hair. She laughed and rolled her eyes, "Vesper! It's getting late, we've gotta be heading back!"

"Doesn't change the fact that you're it, Dari!" Called the boy, Vesper, spinning around and walking backwards to stick his tongue out at the girl who started to run after him.

Laughing he stumbled back and turned to run off, only to feel a hand on his back as she laughed and said, "tag!"

Quickly he ducked and tagged her leg before running away as quick as possible. Jumping over rocks and ducking under tree limbs as they both giggled and ran through the woods, their joy and the streaks of their brightly colored clothes being a stark contrast to the dull, grey woods they ran through.

Vesper ran into a small clearing in the woods, glancing behind him to see where his sister was. Only it appeared he was alone. The young boy glanced around, noticing the mist that's almost always present but seemingly thicker now. It always caused dread to settle in his bones but that feeling was much stronger when he realized he was alone.

He listened for footsteps but could only hear silence, "Daria?" He called out, clutching his small hands to his chest, fear causing his small voice to waver, "Daria? Hello?"

He spun in a slow circle, glancing around to try and spot his sister. "Daria, w-where-" his sentence was cut short by his own scream as hands grabbed him from behind. He could hear his sister laughing behind him and he quickly turned around, his hazel eyes rimmed with tears "don't do that!" He fussed, wiping his eyes as his sister doubled over with laughter

"You should've seen your face! You were so scared!" She teased, stopping her laughter when she noticed his pout. She wrapped an arm around him, "aw, Vesp, I'm sorry." She comforted him, her brown eyes still alight with humor as a smile played at the corner of her mouth.

Vesper rolled his eyes, sniffing a little before he smiled and pushed her which she responded with a laugh as she stepped away. "C'mon, Vesp. Let's go home." She said, glancing around before frowning with a look of confusion appearing on her features as she looked around.

"Which way?" Vesper asked in a curious tone as he used his hand to push his hair away from his eyes. He looked around, not remembering which way they came.

"Uh, it's- it's this way." Daria responded, picking the direction that seemed like the best choice. She grabbed her young brothers hand, guiding him to follow her.

They walked together for a ways before they wandered into the small clearing again. "Is this the same spot?" Vesper asked, looking up at Daria as she looked down at him with a perplexed expression, "no, it's gotta be a different one.." She didn't sound convinced but she knew Vesper had a tendency to overreact and assume the worse so she didn't want to cause him to freak out.

"C'mon-" she started to say but was interrupted by some rustling in the woods. She grabbed Vesper who wrapped his arms around her and looked around fearfully "w-what was that?" He asked, wide eyed with his bottom lip wavering

Daria shushed him, narrowing her eyes as she tried to focus on the spot the sound came from. Seconds ticked by like minutes as the silence suffocated them while the pit of fear in their stomach grew. Another branch snapped just as Daria made out a figure in the darkness, she patted Vesper, taking steps back before whispering to him, "run!"

They turned and ran, trying to stay close to each other. Daria made sure to stay behind Vesper so she could always keep him in her sight. The terrified children sprinted as fast as they could, branches smacking into them as they tripped over roots and their own feet. Heavy foot falls of something large and unknown followed them, sending fear into their hearts with every step.

"Climb, Vesper! Climb," Daria yelled when they approached a tree with large low branches. He ran and jumped, climbing up and then throwing a hand out to help Daria climb up as well. They climbed higher and higher until the branches were too weak to support them.

Both children were trying to get a look at what was following them as the only sounds that filled their ears were their own heart beats and heavy breathing. They couldn't see anything thanks to the darkness and the heavy mist.

"What is it?" Vesper sobbed, unable to control his breathing. Daria grabbed his shoulders to try and calm him down, "shh, shh I don't know but you have to calm down, Vesper. It's okay, we're safe. Just breathe."

She took in a couple of deep breaths, encouraging him to copy her which he did. Slowly, they both calmed down and she wiped Vesper's damp cheeks. He grabbed one of her hands, "is it gone?" He questioned, eyes wide and bottom lip quivering.

Daria glanced around before nodding her head, "yeah, I think so," she said, breathing a small sigh of relief which Vesper mimicked before a scream left his mouth as he watched his sister be pulled from his grasp by an invisible force.

Unable to grab her, he watched as she fell from their spot in the tree. Screaming and hitting branches before landing on the ground with a dull thud, unmoving.

"Daria!" Vesper screamed, hot tears streaming down his face as he panicked. Getting no response he begun his descent from the tree tops, pausing a moment when he remembered the potential danger that lurked in the darkness. He listened, unable to hear anything besides the sounds of his own panic.

Landing on his feet he rushed to his sisters side, "Dari?" He asked, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her a bit. Noticing the blood that pooled around her head he began to cry even more, "no, no, Daria! Please" he cried, hugging her body as he rested his head on her chest. His body shaking with sobs.

Hearing a twig snap he quickly looked up, his face flushed and wet with tears, "get out of here!" The young boy screamed, voice hoarse and broken, "go away!"

"You killed her, you monster!" He yelled when he finally noticed a figure in the darkness, assuming it was the same figure that chased them. Slowly rising to his feet, he grabbed a rock from the ground and threw it into the darkness, "leave us alone!"

A gust of wind blew his hair into his eyes and he quickly pushed it away, tears blurring his vision as he shook with rage and fear. The shape in the darkness was gone.

He ducked as a raven flew past his head and his eyes followed to watch it land on his sisters body. He flailed his arms, "leave her alone!" He yelled, trying to scare it off. He knew ravens were meant to be good omens, but he did not want it to mess with his sister. The bird looked at him before looking down at Daria, and then it flew away.

Vesper watched it fly off, falling to his knees next to Daria's body and continued to sob. Eventually he stumbled to his feet, wiping the snot from his nose before sniffling. He grabbed Daria's arm, hooking his other arm under her armpit to try and pull her up with no luck.

"I am not leaving you." He whispered, clenching his jaw as he tried again. He managed to pull her up enough for him to be able to drag her with him, "we gotta go home, Dari." He told her, whimpering, "We gotta go."