31-Day MCSM One Shot Challenge - February Edition 2019

Endless

It was a cold night, a strong, icy wind blowing through the forest. An eerie silence hung between the tree-tops, the atmosphere tense and tainted with fear.

Even the lively crickets stopped chirping, the frogs in the creek stopped singing. Everything began hiding away until the only sound that could be heard, was the crunching of leaves beneath boots.

A figure slowly walked through the trees, a black cloak hiding their appearance. The were slightly bent forward, the wind violently tugging at the cloak and threatening to pull them off their feet.

They were shivering, but not from the cold. From fear.

It seemed absurd that this person was scared of anything, considering every form of life was trembling at the sight of them. What could they possibly be afraid of?

The person stopped, raising their head to peer through the dense trees. The cabin in the distance looked just like they remembered it, cosy and somewhat welcoming. There was a thin trickle of smoke rising from the chimney, a light turned on behind the drawn curtains.

The cloaked figure titled their head back, staring up at the sky. The moon was high above them, casting a silvery glow down onto the forest. Midnight, they were surprised that the resident of the cabin was still awake.

The person held out one of their hands, seeing their gloved fingers tremble. Their heart was hammering about inside their chest, their muscles tight with anxiety.

Taking a slow, deep breath, they balled their hands into tight fists, slowly opening their fingers again. Trying to calm down the uncontrollable tremors, trying to at least look normal before approaching them cabin.

Gulping thickly, they began walking up to the wooden structure. With every step, the echo in the back of their mind grew louder, telling them to turn around. But no matter how stupid their actions might be, they weren't planning on turning around so easily.

The hooded person stopped at the cabin's door, slowly raising one of their hands. Hesitating it in front of the door, before tentatively knocking. They gulped as they lowered their hand again, wrapping their arms around themselves to try and keep the fear contained.

The wooden floor inside creaked beneath a person's weight.

Sweat began to glisten on the hooded figure's face as they heard the footsteps.

A key turned in the lock.

Their breath trembled like that of somebody holding back a millions cries and sobs.

Then the door slowly opened, revealing a man. Expression somewhat confused, curious to see who was at his front door. Blue eyes wide awake, a quill clutched in hand.

But then his face fell when he recognised the person on his doorstep. Immediately he took a step back, his blue eyes narrowing in suspicion. One hand immediately reached for the door.

"Lukas, wait." The hooded person said softly, their voice small and broken. "Please... don't close the door."

"What the hell are you doing here?" He asked in a low voice, crossing his arms.

Despite the bold stance, there was something different in his voice. Everybody else had sounded so raged, hatred glowing in their eyes. But to the hooded person, he sounded so much more... defensive. He words and actions being out of fear and not anger.

"I needed to see you." They said softly, clutching their elbows as they looked down at the ground. Another deep, shaky breath was taken. "I tried Redstonia first, but... Olivia had me chased away."