Into the Unown

Creepy Black

“What- who made this statue? It’s a spitting image of Lyra,”

“Whoever made this statue must be really good. Lyra herself must have modeled for a statue like this,” May commented. “I wish I had a statue of me somewhere. But I can’t exactly say it’s a flattering pose…”

Lyra was bent in a strange position. Her legs were lying down like she was taking a sunbath, but right where her waist bent over and turned to face the tree. One hand was on the tree, while the other held a sharp rock as if she was carving into the tree. On it was carved something that resembled a word: Lhost

“What’s Lhost? What is that? Did the statue carver forget how to spell lost?”

“I’m not sure… well, we have a weirdly creepy statue of Lyra here…” Then May’s face blanked. “I just had a thought. “What if… this is Lyra?”

Chloe staggered. “What?”

“We haven’t seen Lyra at all, and remember what the officer said? That people who come back turn grey and can’t move. What do we see here? A person who turned grey and couldn't move!”

“We- but this statue is stone hard! This can’t be a person…”

“Have you heard of Stone Hand syndrome? It’s this thing where bone grows in places where it isn’t supposed to, causing anyone who has it to have difficulty moving,”

“Okay, I’m pretty sure it isn’t even called that-”

BEWARE! The voice in Dawn’s head told her again. It stalks the trees. Listen.

Dawn opened her ears and listened carefully. She would normally have to tune out all the sounds of the forest out of her head, but there was nothing to tune out. The woods were ghost-quiet, and even the wind itself seemed too scared to breathe. Then, she felt it, like a rush of wind. Her ears told her something was breathing down their necks.

“Guys, do you hear anything?”

May listened and turned back to Dawn. “It’s dead silent for all I hear. Do you hear anything?”

Dawn squinted for a moment before turning to her friends. "Guys, look," she said, pointing to a spot in the distance. "There's something moving over there,"

Chloe and May turned their heads, squinting in the dim light. Sure enough, they could see a shadowy figure moving through the trees. It was difficult to make out any details, but the silhouette seemed to be getting closer. It was a person, in a winter coat and wool hat.

"Oh, thank Arceus another person!” May said “I was getting the heeby-jeebies from this creepy forest! Hello? Who are you?”

Dawn squinted, trying to observe the figure. She didn’t know why, but heart started to pound. "Whoever it is, I can’t make out his face,”

The figure then spoke. “Hello. Who are you?”

His voice was… odd. A voice male, and not masculine, low and soft; a faint fog that swallows the oceans whole. She could see his face now. His skin was dark, with stubble, and a pair of sunglasses covered his eyes. Dawn didn’t know why she felt uneasy. After all, his face wasn’t making any sudden movements or moving much at all, other than slight swaying.

“Uh, okay,”

The silhouette came closer, in a slow, monotone manner. Wherever he came, the fog seemed to follow, which was odd since it was autumn. Something about him felt… off to her.

Keep thinking, young maiden. What was wrong with him?

His posture didn’t suggest anything threatening. In fact, it was rather still, except for an odd swaying. The figure seemed to sway slightly, and Dawn thought it must have been a habit of his. Dawn herself swayed herself when she was nervous. Then she looked down at his feet.