The Dark Wolf

Chapter One

As the crows filled the air with their voices and the ghouls of the forest roamed the forest floor as well as the trees. Death. Sorrow. Who was the cause of this misfortune? Who was the reason everything is in sorrow and darkness? Visitors of the forest would always get lost on the many paths that lead them to their death. Some visitors tried to be smart by leaving a trail to find their way back that way but the ghouls always made the trails disappear behind them. Some who managed to leave the forest unharmed told stories of their experiences in the forest, even went on record of Television history to talk about the forest. But there was not a single soul who could decipher the meaning of why this ground is as black as a black hole. The trees had no leaves and some looked to be alive, why? Because they were alive. Some visitors recall being slapped by a tree or tripped by one. One man's encounter was being hung up in a tree. No one wanted to return back to such forest and they named it "The Dark World Forest".

One particular day sparked the day where the forest was shown to have life inside its grounds and borders. A wolf. A wolf?? How? That can't be! Travelers found it to be a reason to go into the forest to see the creature, but to what cost? A man named Jace Michael Waylon took a chance at this opportunity. One picture of this wolf and he would be golden. Famous even! Or so he thought. What breed was this wolf? Arctic? Timber? Alaskan? That would be such a million dollar find.

Jace Waylon prepared this trip for weeks now and wanted to be the first to find this wolf. Many had already tried since it would be the first find in the history of that forest being there. As legend has it, the forest came when there was black magic being performed there by witches. Overtime, the forest ground became cursed and darkened when the curse wasn't lifted. No one knows who or what cursed the land but it was later inhabited by the ghouls roaming around today.

Roads leading to the forest tell Travelers to "pass at your own risk". There have been news reports saying that ghouls would leave the forest just to kill anyone that lives in proximity of the forest. The ghouls have token fifty-five lives in the past two years. They all were unexplained until a rare shot of the ghoul was taken and analyzed.

The rare picture taken was later called fake but witnesses who survived the forest claim they saw creatures like this. Even when it was a race for their lives they saw creatures like this! How could a wolf, let alone it being the only wolf found in that forest, survive these harsh conditions? It was incredible but at the same time it was unbelievable. Jace couldn't believe it but he thought the remains of the wolf would sell for a lot. A wolf found in The Dark World Forest. That's something that hasn't been proven by anyone even if they're small sketches of the wolf at all. "This would be great for publicity" he would tell himself in his head. But honestly, at to what cost would it be to go to the forest and risk their life for one picture of a wolf who might or might not be there?

Jace was so determined to find this wolf that he brought the bare necessities for this risky trip. By bare necessities, it meant by countless amount of flashlights and nylon string so he could make a pathway back to his car. Store clerks would tell him that he's stupid and retarded for planning to risk his life this way. But Jace always turned a blind eye to them and continued on his way.

His wife continued to tell him that this was a stupid idea and that he'll die trying to find the wolf. She even told him that she was pregnant with his three month old daughter in her belly. Jace promised that he would return to her unharmed since there was nothing in that forest that would separate him from his family. He kissed her goodbye and went on his way to make history. There were even bar members at the bar table were placing their bets on the ghouls because they had the feeling this man was just going to get himself killed in the forest.

From Jace's location, he was halfway from where the forest was and this journey would be the only adventure written in history as the man who ignored all signs and got himself killed. Or so the press said and the many new report channels said as well.

The car ride to the forest was a long and unsteady road with signs saying "Go back!" "It's not safe!" "Don't risk your life!" But Jace ignored all signs and continued on his way. The road signs were not going to stop him from achieving greatness in a dream he wants to be a reality. The road began to get more narrow every turn he made and the sky was getting darker and darker by the miles driven. This didn't frighten Jace at all. It was like those knock off haunted houses that people would go to just for a few extra scares in their young children.

"One picture. One picture! I have to have it!" He continued to tell himself. He did this out of ambition, like that Shakespeare tragedy almost all high school kids were forced to read. It was such a terrible thing to do in a time like this but it only got worse when the car he was driving was spiraling out of control and flipped over. Down the hill the car was going, creating a much more tighter space for this ambitious photographer.