Part 1: Presage

15 1 0
                                    

Merula Burton was her name - her dark hair bounced as she jogged to the car. Along with her round gilded glasses, her smile was shining brighter than the glare of her spectacles. The artificial sun light coming from the patio as her friend, Willow, walked outside to salute her goodbye.

"Okay, okay! I'm leaving, but I'll be back in about 3 hours, you hear?", said Merula, smiling at her friend Willow.

"Shut up and just go already, you're going to be late-!"

"Fine, fine!" Merula hopped in her car, frantically waving goodbye to her friend. She quickly connects her phone to her car, wanting to listen to music for the long drive to work on this Halloween night.

"MERULA!"

"I'm leaving, just hold up!" She giggles as she starts the car, pulling out of her friend's driveway, and on to work.

"Why did they call me to work this late.." Merula mumbled.

It was already 11:25 pm at night, originally, she was supposed to stay up all night with Willow for their yearly Halloween sleepover. But just as their plans were foiled and changed, rain suddenly began to sprinkle onto her windshield.

"No, no, no! Come on not now..," she whined, the rain growing heavier. She had totally forgot the forecast for that night, she wasn't too worried about it because she liked the rain, but being on the road with this ruthless rain was chaos. She sighs as she turned on her windshield wipers, she just needs to tough it out until she gets to work..and back to Willow's house.

"I need some music," she says to herself, clicking play onto the screen in her car, knowing the long journey that awaits. Driving, she spots a figure standing on the side of the road. Slowing down to know if her eyes deceived her, never taking her eyes off the strange figure.

It was a man, a man who was presumably tall, assumed to be 6'9 or more, wearing black suit that matched with his black fedora that covered his eyes, along with his painful huge grin.

"What is that..,"Merula said, her eyebrows furrowed as she squinted her eyes, not believing the sight she is looking upon as questions swirling through her mind.

"Is he smiling?!"

CLICK!

"Huh? Woah, hold up."

Merula took her eyes off the man, checking up on the radio.

"Why in world did it,-"

The sound of morbid humming cut her off mid-sentence, audible throughout the whole car. She quickly attempted to turn down the volume, but it kept getting louder, and louder, rebelling against her efforts.
The sound was sickening. The sound of a church bell could be heard, banging ruthlessly, seemingly inside her ears, shaking the ear drums of her victimized ears.

Her heart quickened, beating on her chest as if it wanted to break free from its' cage, looking back up to the road she sees,-
"NO!"

There's a Man in the WoodsWhere stories live. Discover now