Chapter 3
T he gate creaked as I opened it to step into the cemetery. The feel of early morning was different to the one at midnight. It was less eerie than the last time I’d been there and I didn’t get a twinge of unease down my spine. Maybe it was because there wasn’t a man to attack me this time.
Most people wouldn’t return to the site where they were attacked the night before, but I wasn’t most people.
I’d lived my life in fear of death for a long time, but at a point, I’d decided shadows would exist where they were and they simply didn’t bother me anymore.
When it was my time to enter whatever spirit realm lay after this life, that was that.
More than likely there was simply nothing after death and I’d come to terms with the notion, although some spirits or energy likely lingered in the world.
They were too great to dissipate for whatever reason, and whether cognitive thought was left behind or not, some things stayed.
When I came to the edge of the woods, the air turned a bit colder.
Maybe it was all psychosomatic because it was what I felt last time and I wanted it to happen again.
But something in my soul knew the cold air was caused by the creature I saw somehow.
The wind was like cold hands trailing down my skin, but they were comforting.
It wasn’t scary like in a haunted house when the temperature dropped.
This was like the relief of cold water on a hot day.
My footfalls were quiet as I walked. I didn’t sense anything amiss and there were no humans around that I could see or hear.
I had a knack for feeling when spirits were near, but not like a medium.
I couldn’t talk to them and bridge the gap—I could just feel them.
I’d been that way since I was a teenager and had taken an interest in the idea that I was a bit different.
A half mile into the forest I still hadn’t come across anything. The moon wasn’t as bright tonight so it was harder to see, but there was no cloaked figure weaving through the trees.
“Hello? Is anyone here?” I called, my words falling flat a few feet ahead. One would think I would’ve learned my lesson after making my presence known to the now dead asshole, but I was stubborn. I wanted to see the creature again.
I narrowed my eyes at the darkness, and huffed back toward the graveyard. Just as I reached the edge of the woods, I turned back hoping for a last chance to see something, but as I figured, nothing.
“Fine. If you want to stay hidden, go ahead.” Turning on my heel, I stamped back to the car.
A few days later, on my next night off from work, I gathered my e-reader, plenty of snacks, and water into my duffel bag.
I also slid my switchblade into my jeans, securing the clip to the tiny inside pocket.
A pocket within a pocket. I had no idea what those pockets were actually for, but for me they were perfect for my knife.
My watch read 10:00 p.m. as I threw my bag into my car and slid the key into the ignition. I was going to see the creature again even if I had to stay out there all night. I hadn’t stopped thinking about it and I was determined.
When I stepped into the woods, I checked my phone to make sure I still had service.
A hike in the middle of nowhere could prove dangerous, especially given the circumstances so as I walked I kept an eye on the signal.
The deeper into the woods I got, the more my pulse raced and I grinned in the darkness at the heady sensation.
I should have nocturnal outings more often.
The moonlight danced like a lightshow off the trees from the cloudy sky as I walked.
Eventually, I came to a group of rocks and my watch said I’d traveled almost a mile.
I sat down and glanced up at the canopy of leaves allowing only a hint of moonlight through, this part of the forest much dimmer.
I’d always been able to see well in the dark.
My vision was great so even when the moon waned I didn’t need a flashlight.
Peace settled over me as I turned a three sixty, taking in every detail of the spot. I was comfortable at night—even out in the woods alone. One bad experience wasn’t going to change that.
The rocks were varied in size ranging from the size of small basketballs to ones large enough for a few people to sprawl out on.
Trees surrounded the perimeter of the living room sized formation, their leaves blocking out the sky, but none existed within the small space.
The ground was relatively free of debris aside from leaves. It was the perfect sanctuary.
One flat rock was large enough to sit on so I took my e-reader out of my bag to read a few chapters, the sounds of the night instrumental around me.
It was the perfect setting to read the latest horror novel I’d downloaded.
The shrills of musical insects, and the occasional hoot of an owl lulled me into such a relaxed state I lost track of time.
When I finally looked up from my book, the forest seemed darker. I was still able to see, but the moon must have shifted lower in the sky. My smartwatch glowed when I looked down, and I gasped.
1:00 a.m.
How the hell had I read for two hours? I was surprised since my mind usually wandered when I read. I loved it, but I had to do short stints so I didn’t read pages upon pages without retaining what I read.
I rubbed my stiff neck as I stood up from the rock I’d been perched on.
The sounds of the forest had quieted and with the near total darkness there was a mysterious feeling to the landscape.
My body hummed, and I wondered if maybe the time of night had something to do with the creature appearing.
Last week, I’d been in the graveyard after midnight to just after one so maybe the time did matter.
The leaves swished as I walked around the group of rocks. After a sweep of the perimeter, I still didn’t see or hear anything amiss. Sighing, I peered through the trees. No creature, no hands, no nothing.
“Can you please show yourself?” I called, as if it were watching. I didn’t know if it was, but I was desperate.
“I promise I won’t freak out. I just want to thank you for helping me.”
I knew I hadn’t imagined it even though I'd hit my head. There was a creature in these woods. I felt it deep in my soul and I knew it was still here. It just didn’t want to come to me again.
The sky had lightened to gray as I pulled my blackout curtains in my room. I was still annoyed I hadn’t seen anything in the forest, but I resolved to keep trying as I got into bed. I would find out what lurked in the woods if it was the last thing I did.
I closed my eyes after my head hit the pillow and my breathing slowed as I drifted in and out of consciousness. Between the worlds of awake and deep sleep, I was transported back to the forest—the dream seeming more real than the bed beneath me.
The breeze was heavy like that of smoke, but with no odor to be smelled nor wisps to be seen. Every time I breathed, the thick air settled at the bottom of my lungs like ash.
Needing to catch my breath, I leaned against a tree for support when I felt the hands again.
The calls of the forest grew louder—the cicadas and an owl in the distance raising goosebumps on my skin.
I went rigid as phantom fingers trailed down my arms and hands pushed my back into the bark.
The rough edges bit into my skin, but I was becoming aroused despite the discomfort.
I was alone, yet fingertips caressed my face and down my neck, settling at the center of my collarbone.
They traced back and forth leaving a trail of ice in their wake.
When the hands traveled over my breasts and down my stomach a gasp escaped my lips.
Just as they went lower, the scene began to fade and I felt myself roll over onto my back in my bed.
My eyes remained closed, but I was awake now. Somehow I felt the ghost of the hands on my body resting on the warm bedsheets. My head snapped up, but there was nothing in my room. The hands had been there. It was so real.
The sheets pooled at my waist as I sat up and shook my head, rubbing my temples. Leave it to me to be turned on by a damn dream. Yet when I thought back to the hands, heat burned in my core. Leaning back on my pillow, I moved my hand between my legs.
I thought of how the fingers knew exactly what movements my body responded to. It was an odd thing to think about while getting myself off, but it wasn’t the first time. I’d dreamt of hot vampires and sexy shifters before, and I always came so hard after those dreams.
As I floated back to earth after my orgasm, I wondered about the creature again. The logical explanation was I imagined the whole thing—the attacker, my savior, the hands—but I knew it really happened. I didn’t know how I knew, but I knew.
I would go back to the woods again. Maybe the thing had moved on and wasn’t there anymore, but I had to try. My curiosity about the whole situation was too much to resist. I hadn’t experienced anything like it before and wanted to see it again.
As I closed my eyes, I tried to think of other things.
Quieting my mind for sleep was usually difficult unless I was extremely tired like the night before.
This time, it was next to impossible, but as I drifted back into the dream world on the edges of unconsciousness, I felt something cold brush my cheek.