The forest was alive with the rustle of wind through the branches, the muted chirping of birds, and the distant gurgle of a stream. It had taken some convincing, but Rody finally agreed to take his wife, Manon, and their two kids, Aimee and Jules, on a week-long camping trip. He needed the break anyway; between his relentless work schedule and the constant pressure to support his family, it felt like he hadn't taken a breath in months.
"This will be good for us," Manon had insisted, packing the car with gear and food. "The kids need some fresh air, and you need to unwind."
Now, as Rody hammered the last peg into the ground to secure the tent, he wasn't so sure. There was something about the woods, something off. It was too quiet, too still, like the trees were hiding something. His eyes darted through the dense line of pines that surrounded them, but nothing seemed out of place. Just trees. Just nature.
The kids, of course, didn't notice anything amiss. Aimee, eight and full of boundless energy, and her younger brother Jules, who followed her everywhere, had already begun exploring the edges of the campsite. Their giggles and shouts echoed back to Rody, bringing a brief smile to his face.
"Stay where we can see you!" Manon called after them, her voice soft but firm.
"They're fine," Rody muttered, though his gaze still lingered on the trees.
---
The woods swallowed the children's laughter as they ventured further away from the camp. Aimee led the way, her bright eyes wide with curiosity as she hopped over fallen logs and ducked beneath low-hanging branches. Jules struggled to keep up, panting slightly but determined not to fall behind.
They didn't know how far they had gone when they first saw him.
At first, it was just a shadow among the trees, a tall, looming figure that moved too quickly for them to fully register. Aimee stopped in her tracks, squinting into the thick foliage. "Did you see that?" she whispered, her voice tinged with both fear and excitement.
Jules nodded, gripping her arm tightly. "What was it?"
Before Aimee could answer, the figure emerged from the shadows, stepping into the dim light that filtered through the trees. He-or *it*-was unlike anything the children had ever seen. Tall, impossibly tall, with limbs too long and too thin, pale skin stretched tightly over sharp bones. His face was gaunt, hollowed out like a corpse, and his eyes... his eyes were black, endless voids that seemed to swallow the light around them.
The children should have run. But they didn't.
Aimee stared up at the figure, her small heart thudding in her chest. "Are you... lost?" she asked cautiously, her voice shaking slightly but still carrying the innocence only a child could muster.
The creature tilted his head, the sound of bones creaking echoing through the air. His mouth opened, revealing jagged, sharp teeth, but he did not speak. Instead, a low, guttural growl escaped his throat, more animal than human, though there was no aggression in the sound. He crouched down, folding his long limbs beneath him, as if trying to make himself smaller-less threatening.
Jules took a cautious step forward. "Do you... have a name?" he asked, his wide eyes locked on the creature.
The creature didn't respond. His head twitched again, his eyes watching the children with an almost curious intensity. His fingers-long and skeletal-twitched in the dirt, as though he were contemplating something. The hunger gnawed at him, deep and primal, an insatiable urge to tear into flesh. But something stopped him.
*They were too small*.
His gaze softened, the hunger receding just enough to let another emotion creep in, something foreign but familiar. Affection? Or was it possessiveness? He didn't know. He just knew he wouldn't hurt them.
