A Man Walks Into a Forest... || Medium Death
For someone who wrote horror stories, Ichabod Crane was not a fan of the dark. The dark let those ghoulies the day kept at bay out. It let It out. The headless spectre had been a companion of his for as long as he could remember. It still caused him to wake up in a cold sweat most nights and made sleep damn near impossible. It didn't matter how many shots of whiskey he'd drank beforehand, how many pills he'd swallowed to help aide sleep. The figure always managed to sneak its way into his dreams and waking hours in the night.
But Ichabod wasn't a young kid anymore. He was an adult and he'd figured out ways to cope with the restless nights. Most times he took to the streets; wandering aimlessly for hours while he cleared his head and kept watch for the figure. Thankfully, Swynlake had plenty of other ghosts to keep him occupied.
Still, he found himself waking drenched, his breath coming in short pants. His limbs worked on autopilot as he pulled on a loose pair of sweats and a matching sweater. At least he'd gotten a few hours in before he was spooked awake. He was vaguely aware of the seemingly malevolent spirit hanging around him as he slipped his phone and wallet into his pockets and made his way out the door.
Despite being relatively new in Swynlake, he didn't pay attention to where his feet were taking him. In fact, he didn't really notice where he was until the sky around him became impossibly dark, even the twinkling of the stars blinking out of existence. It was the hair raising on his neck that brought him to the present, his thoughts clouding as that sense of foreboding creeping in so resolutely that he almost thought of turning back.
The air around him shifted, the forest closing in on him too. Oh God, he thought, his breath quickening slightly. This had to be the doing of the spectre. How long would this being haunt him? What did it want? And why was Ichabod the only person who could help it?
The forest felt as if it was closing in on him. In the distance he thought he'd heard the whinny of an agitated horse. A few feet off there was the mad rustle of some creature scurrying away. And then.. out of the corner of his eye, he caught movement. It was nothing more than a flash but that was enough to start his heart beating erratically. And despite the fact he wanted to turn and run, he couldn't. His feet seemed glued to the place where he stood.
He stood there, breathing heavily, watching as the forest seemed to shift around him. And perhaps it really was. They said this was a magic forest where people could get lost easily if they left the paths. Had he left the path? He couldn't remember. All he could think about were the two balls of light peeking out from the darkness, watching him, lurking there probably biding it's time.
"Wh-Who's out there? Come out! Come out right now, coward."
