Frank looked around the Forest clearing and gave a huff of disappointment. The whole reason for him coming here was to get a feel for the legendary ghost sightings and it seemed that he was in for a night of no ghosts. Being a ghost novel writer, Frank found that the atmosphere was ideal for his new story; the Forest’s trees swaying slightly as a chilling breeze ran through them and across Frank’s face, as if to warn him away. The moon was full and reflected its light onto the uneven forest floor, casting numerous shadows towards Frank . It was on nights like this that the local children had been told about the terrifying ghosts that lurked in these woods before claiming their prey and locking them in a life of eternal fear.
Frank recalled his visit to the local lunatic asylum where the supposed victims of the ghost attacks had been relocated; he had to have a policeman present with him due to how insane the patients were. All the victims had worn the same expression; their eyes wide in fear, their skin as pale as a dead corpse and just as cold. Their speech was frantic as they repeated their cries and pleads for help and mercy just before the attack. Frank couldn’t help shivering slightly at the sight of those deranged lives who had once been as sane as himself. It was as if their souls had indeed been sucked out of them and they’d been changed into raging animals, driven by fear alone.
Looking around now, Frank could understand ever so slightly how the Forest had stolen their sanity. He did feel quite alone and isolated from the world, as if there was a huge barrier surrounding the forest and keeping him trapped there forever.
Despite the warnings, Frank had chosen to investigate. However, he wasn’t allowed to go alone. The local police believed these attacks to be the work of gangs, boys or young men who enjoyed driving people insane. They’d arranged it all with Frank; he was wearing an ear piece which would relay any sound back to the police station. He’d been told to wander around for two days before returning to the village.
Today was the second day and Frank had hoped that he would have seen something before he had to leave. If he didn’t come out, the police said that they would remove him from the forest by force. They didn’t want to risk losing any more lives. He had been told to write down anything that he saw, did or heard. Taking out the notepad and pencil from his bag, Frank studied what he’d jotted down before. He’d covered all of the forest now apart from this one clearing which he’d better search for any clues. Most of the undergrowth was hidden by the darkness of the Forest, forcing Frank to move forwards to have any chance of seeing anything suspicious. As he been about to start writing, the earpiece crackled.
“Anything?” the familiar voice of the young sergeant said in his ear.
Frank shook his head slightly to himself.
“Nope. Nothing at all.” He confirmed as he looked up at the night sky, “Not a sign of a single thing. I’ve studied everywhere I can and there is no sign of anything human being here.”
Snap.
The sound was as quiet as a pin dropping onto a cushion, but the silence of the Forest caused Frank’s blood to run cold as soon as he heard it. He froze where he was and dropped his eye level to the forest around him. Had he heard something? The earpiece crackled again.
“Frank, what was that?”
“Shhhh.”
Frank removed the earpiece from his ear and held it a few centimetres away. He listened. Suddenly he felt something well up inside him as his eyes frantically searched the darkness of the trees for the cause of the sound. He could see a good few metres in front of him, so he would be able to see anything that approached him, but even then a man could easily cover that distance and still catch him by surprise- or an animal. He heard his own breathing increase in both loudness and speed as his heart pounded against the walls of his ribcage.
