The Hunter [completed]

SIX

Just before opening the door, Lee squeezed my hand reassuringly. I wasn't able to shake the bad feeling still lurking in the pit of my stomachs, but I took a deep breath and followed him inside. Christie jumped up from the sofa to meet us. "My god, Mia, you're drenched! Let's find you some clothes!" She pulled me in to the bedroom as Lee took a seat. She handed me a towel and ordered me to dry myself off. I did as I was told. There was something in the way she looked that I didn't understand. "Is everything ok, Christie?" I asked, but she only nodded, making it clear that she didn't want to talk about it, whatever it was. I picked out clean clothes and put them on. All the while, Christie was sat on Lee's bunk with an absent look on her face. From the other room we could hear David tell the rest a story, and they were laughing. "I wish he would leave," Christie said in almost a whisper. I looked at her, but she didn't meet my gaze. "Me too," I replied and sat down next to her. She the looked at me with a sad look. "He's not supposed to be here..."

I didn't want to go back out, but Christie was already on her way. I walked up to the window and pulled the curtains apart. It was still raining heavily. I closed my eyes and focused on the sound of rain hitting the window. It calmed me down. "Did you fall asleep in there?" I could hear from the other room, and soon after Sean's head appeared in the doorway. I smiled weakly. "David's about to tell a story, come on." He motioned for me to join them. "I haven't scared here, have I?" a voice said. David's. The guys laughed, with the exception of Lee. "That one is not easily scared I tell you," Sam began. "She loves horror flicks and have basically seen them all. We should know, because she always makes us watch it with her." More laughter. I walked out and took a seat next to Christie. David cleared his throat. "Are you ready for a story about these very woods?" he asked, not waiting for an answer.

"Long ago, before even your grandparents were born, these woods were thought to be haunted. No one dared to even enter them after having heard the tales. And the tales were many. People used to say that when people entered, they did so never to return..." He was interrupted by Hannah, who unlike me, absolutely hated horror films. "I don't like those kinds of stories. Would you mind?" David snorted at her. "It's just a story, Hannah. It's not real," Danny said to her, smiling. I watched David, and a smirk appeared on his dirty face. Obviously not caring that some of us did not appreciate his storytelling, he continued. "Have you heard about a creature called 'neck'?" he proceeded to ask. Hannah shook her head. She must have been absent when we learned about Scandinavia folklore in class. "It's a water spirit," David explained to her. "It's a mythological shapeshifting creature, thus taking many different forms." Hannah eased up, now eager for him to go on. I sat in silence, fidgeting with the hem of the blanket strewn across our laps. "The neck needs water to survive, and have made smaller lakes, streams and brooks his home. It is said that he plays his violin to attract women and children to him. Sometimes men. The song is one of loneliness and sadness." He took a dramatic pause and finished his beer. He was quickly handed another. He opened it with a hunting knife he pulled out from his right boot. "Sometimes you could hear him scream, and when he did, it was an omen... someone would drown." The lads seemed excited. "Go on," Danny urged. David took a good sip of his beer and slammed it down on the table. "More people lived around her then," he continued. "And one Summer's night a heartbreaking scream was heard echoing through the woods. Many got scared. You know, they were more superstitious back then, but others shrugged it off. Then, on Midsummer's Eve, he would play his violin, and it was so beautiful and alluring that a few women, with their toddlers in tow, followed the music out through the woods and down to this very lake. One by one they entered the dark waters, never to again walk amongst the living." The lads clapped and cheered. "People are stupid," Sean commented when the cheering had died. "Oh, but one should never underestimate the myths of the world," David retorted. "They all have their origins. They all come from somewhere." Sean got quiet, uncomfortable. A glint appeared in David's eyes as he saw this. "I have seen him." Sam and Danny started laughing nervously. Jess was clutched onto Sam's arm. Hannah was sat with a scared expression on her face, and Christie... It was like she wasn't even in the same room.

"I have seen him," David repeated. Hannah shifted uncomfortably in the seat next to me. "It's just a tale. There's no evidence of such creature ever -" Lee was cut off by a growl from Jack, the dog. "Down!" David ordered, and Jack lay down. "I was a young lad. I had come to these woods with my father. He was gonna teach me how to hunt game." His gaze fixed upon a place in the distance, as his memory took him back. With a dreamy voice he went on: "I was merely ten when I saw him take my father."

"That's enough!" Lee said and got up, causing a stir. "You're scaring the girls. I think it's best you be on your way." No one objected. David got up slowly, towering above us. He reached for his beer bottle and finished it in one go before slamming it back down. "Come on, Jack. Some do not appreciate good stories." Jack got up on his feet and walked up next to David. He was growling. "I was here Midsummer's Eve and heard his scream, so you better watch your backs. Mark my word. I know." With those words he pulled his jacket off the hanger and brought the hanger down with it. He threw the door open and stalked out to the rain and the dark night.