Chapter Text
It was dark.
Connor didn’t know where the fuck he was going and he was trying so damn hard not to scream in frustration because it felt like he and Zoe were just walking around in circles.
He doesn’t even know how they ended up getting so hopelessly lost, it was still bright out when they came to the forest and now it was dark as fuck. The flashlights they had did nothing to brighten their paths and every other step had them tripping over tree roots and rocks covered by grass.
The only reason he was even there was because Zoe had heard a rumor about the forest being haunted by some ghost or some shit and had wanted to check it out and Connor, despite being an ass to Zoe, wasn’t about to let his little sister walk alone by herself in the woods.
But she didn’t need to know that.
So they dumped all the useless notebooks and folders from Connor’s school bag, shoved a shit ton of granola bars and snacks they bought at a gas station along with some other stuff in case something happened and made their way to the supposedly haunted forest.
And upon arriving, without even sending their mom a text of ‘hey we might die, stay out of my room ’, made their way into the forest.
They had walked around for a bit heading north because according to Zoe’s friend that’s where the ghost would be. So they headed north eating snacks along the way and talking about the type of vines they liked. It wasn’t until Connor had to stop in order to take a piss did he realize just how long they had been walking. He could no longer see the edge of the forest and it was starting to get dark. He voiced his thoughts to Zoe and she agreed that they should head back before it got too dark out.
On their way back while they were chatting and wondering out loud if the rumor was just, in fact, a rumor they heard what sounded like a branch snapping in half. Whirling around they frantically looked for the source of the sound, Connor having placed an arm in front of Zoe unconsciously. Zoe clutched onto the strap of Connor’s bag pressing herself closer to him, trying to keep quiet in case the noise they heard was caused by an animal. They stood still waiting for something to happen and when they didn’t hear anything else Connor slowly turned to Zoe a finger pressed to his lips telling her to keep quiet.
He grabbed her hand and slowly started moving again trying his best to keep quiet. They managed to make it a couple of steps before they heard the sound again only louder and that was enough for Connor to throw caution to the wind and he raced forward still holding his sister’s hand. He ran holding an arm in front of him to keep low hanging branches from slapping him in the face. He could feel Zoe struggling to keep up but as long as he held on to her he wouldn’t lose her. He heard her give a small scream and he turned around to see what had caused her to scream and nearly tripped at what he saw.
There standing in the spot where he and Zoe had just been at a couple of seconds ago was a guy. His right arm was twisted at an odd angle the end of it black and decaying, his other arms had thorns and flowers growing from it and it would have looked beautiful had the that was exposed not been covered by angry red scratches. His hair was dirty and caked with mud and blood, the top of his head being the only thing Connor could see. He had on a uniform that was tattered and ripped all over stained with mud, blood, and grass stains. Connor couldn’t take his eyes off the figure. So when it began to slowly raise its head only to make eye contact with Connor suddenly couldn’t breathe.
It’s eye where pitch black, a black ink flowing from it in a strange imitation of tears, it let out an in holy shriek before lunging towards them and the only thought that passed through Connor's head was that he had to RUN!
He gripped Zoe’s hand and yanked her along with him as he sprinted away from the creature as fast as he could. His legs burned and his chest felt tight but he risked letting Zoe getting hurt if he stopped, so he ran faster before sharply turning right spotting a cave and diving into it.
He pulled Zoe towards him an arm around her shoulders and the other around her head and he held her close breathing labored as he tried to calm her down. He pressed a kiss to her forehead as she sobbed and trembled into his chest clutching his sweater like it was a lifeline. They slid down to the floor holding onto each other, nearly hysterical with relief over the fact that they were both ok.
He froze when he heard the creature screeching from outside the cave Zoe going still as well, one of her hands covering her mouth as she tried to stifle the sobs that threatened to leave her mouth. He held her closer and curled himself around her praying to a whatever god that was listening to keep the thing from finding them. He nearly cried in relief when the screeching grew distant and he didn’t release the breathe he was holding until he could no longer hear it. He looked down at his sister and pressed another kiss to her forehead when her shoulders shook with the effort to calm herself down.
They stayed like that, holding onto each other letting the exhaustion finally catch up to them, not bothering to fight off the calming embrace of sleep.
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The next time Connor opened his eyes it was pitch black and it took a moment for the events that transpired earlier to catch up to him. He looked down to see that Zoe was still asleep and he lightly shook her to her up.
“Zoe. Zoe come on wake up.” He whispered. Apparently shaking her was a bad idea because her head snapped up and she had drawn her arm back getting ready to sock Connor in the face.
“Woah! Woah! Zoe calm down it’s just me!” He yelped and clenched his eyes shut. Instead of getting punched in the face he felt a pair of arms wrap themselves tightly around his shoulders.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry-” answered Zoe trembling against him. He hugged her back petting her head.
“No, ssshh ssshh it’s alright. It’s alright.” He said, quietly shushing her. “Come on we have to get going."
She looked at him and Connor could feel just how hesitant she was to leave the cave.
"Hey it’s ok,” he assured her as he reached into his bag pulling out two flashlights, handing one to her before standing up and pulling her up with him. “ I’ll keep you safe.”
Even if it killed him to do so.