Creatures in the Dark

Chapter One

A soft tap tap tap was heard in the forest as a young boy wandered along with one of the paths. His bright green eyes held a look of enjoyment as he calmly walked through the wooded area.
Birds chirped their morning songs and chipmunks scurried along the forest floor searching for a room. Stephan carefully observed the serenity of the calm forest and laughed softly as he saw two rabbits running around. He peered through the green leaves and glanced at the position of the sun in the sky.
He had gotten quite good at roughly figuring out the time based on the positioning of the sun in the sky. "It's about noon..." He muttered softly, turning around and walking the opposite way he was originally going. His mother wanted him home for lunch because there was something that his parents wished to speak about. He quickened his pace from a leisurely walk to a jog. He knew he should get back to the house soon. His father hated it when Stephan would be late home. He always said that the brunette was spending too much time in the woods.
Stephen slowed his pace once he reached the edge of the forest, quickly speed walking towards his backdoor. He pulled open the door and kicked off his shoes before making his way to the kitchen. Once he walked in, he found his parents sitting at the table with food set out. Stephan took a seat and smiled. "Thanks for lunch, mom." He said to his mother. "And what is it you wanna talk about?" He questioned his parents.
His father has a serious look on his face while his mother held a look of sadness. "I'm going to be leaving tomorrow for some time." His father spoke, vaguely explaining. Stephan felt something awful twisting in his gut. He wasn't sure what it was, but he didn't like the feeling. His face dropped as he stared at his father, hoping for a better explanation. When his father didn't respond, his worried gaze turned over to his mother, who couldn't even maintain eye contact with her son. Stephan hated this. Why was his father leaving? Why would he tell him why? Why can't his mother even look at him? Why? Why? Why?
Stephen felt sick to his stomach, he could barely breathe. The suffocating tension in the room made it hard to do anything. His mouth hung open as he tried to speak, but nothing came out. This was too much for him. Is this why his father had been distant from him for the past few months?  He wanted answers, but no one was willing to tell.
He stood up, not bothering to say anything as he walked out of the kitchen and towards the backdoor. He slipped on his shoes and walked out the door. He was so overwhelmed that his mind went blank. Stephan's mind was buzzing with questions as he wandered his way through the woods. He paid little attention to where his feet took him or even how long he was walking. By the time he snapped out of his daze, he found himself in a new environment.
The forest was much more dense and dark, the forest floor had different plants than what he was used to seeing.
The first thing he took in was the sound of water flowing. His eyes scanned the ground and he took note of a small stream. His eyes followed up to find the water coming from between two large rocks, it was a natural spring, he noted mentally. The area around the stream seemed to have a soft glow to it, he realized that this appearance came from the plants in the area. There were some mushrooms growing along the sides of the trees, and grass still grew, yet it had an odd blueish tint to it. He knelt down and looked closer at some of the odd flowers growing along the banks of the stream. The flower's color ranged from deep red to bright purples, from happy yellows to sad blues.
His finger delicately brushed over the petals of the flower in front of him. It was a light blue flower, it looked something like a spider lily, yet it held some aspects of a rose and a sunflower. Its appearance amazed him. He had never once seen a flower this beautiful. Its petals were smooth to the touch, a smile spread across his face as he gently tilted it towards him as he leaned forward to smell the flower. The sweet scent invaded his senses as he inhaled the smell. The smell of the flower made his body feel light and tingly. It made him feel relaxed and calm. He pulled his hand away from the flower with a calm look on his face. All his worries had seemed to disappear. This place was like a secret haven that just seemed to relax him naturally.
He slowly rose to his feet and wandered over to the stream and hopped over it, careful to avoid the plants. He moved over towards one of the trees that had mushrooms growing up on its side. He looked over them, but never touched them. He was cautious about it, in case it was dangerous. They varied in size and color, but all had small, blue spots scattered over the tops of them.
He was too focused on the mushrooms to notice the movement behind him. A cold pair of eyes stared down at the boy. The thing watching him while it quietly crept around in the branches of the trees, the thick leaves concealing the being.
Stephan felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up as he heard the small creaking of a branch not too far away. He whipped around and frantically searched the trees for what was causing the sound. He slowly back up, only shifting his gaze to the stream for a moment as he hopped over it. His green eyes immediately snapped back to the trees to keep an eye on whatever was there.
He felt his blood run cold as he made eye contact with piercing blue eyes. They seemed to glow against the shadows of the forest. He felt his heart rate pick up as the creature slowly crept through the shadows, moving from branch to branch as it slowly stalked towards him.
Stephen made an attempt to turn and run. He knew it was a stupid idea, but his body did whatever it wanted. He made it a few steps before a piercing pain shot through his shoulder and he hit the ground. The weight of another being on top of him pushed the air out of his lungs as he let out a strangled cry. His face scraped against the rough ground as tears began to run down his cheeks. He had no clue what was on top of him with its claws in his shoulders. Panic ran through his body as he desperately trashed around, attempting to escape the grasp of the being on top of him.
"Filthy human....how dare you to enter this end of the woods." A low, feminine voice growled. The being's clawed hands tightened its grip around the boy's shoulders, making the poor teen cry out in pain. Blood seeped out of the wounds, coating the being's claws.
Stephan's body felt like it was on fire. The pain was too much to bear. His vision was spotted with black dots as he let out another cry, this one begging whatever was holding him to stop. The pale boy soon felt his consciousness slip from him, the only thing he heard as he slipped into the dark embrace of unconsciousness was the feminine voice speaking again.

"What a worthless little thing."