CHAPTER 1

The silence in the woods is as terrifying as it can be. The creatures are hiding in the shadow, prying eyes locked on the target. In a matter of seconds, the silence interrupted when a hunter hunted its prey.

The loud screeches alert other creatures that the king has arrived to take its place. But the tables turned when the real prey and hunter is no other than a creature who is not real enough to appear out of the shadows. They play the game in the deep darkness to avoid the light on the dirty ground.

Mount Sheen is stained with blood. There were ancient rumours scattered around the nearby towns about the sighting of wretch creatures roaming around in the woods in search of blood. No one has seen or caught the creature bare handed, but the ones who have encountered it never returned to tell the story of their bravery.

Many courageous humans tried to conquer the victory over the dark woods claiming the Mount sheen, but none have ever returned once they got deep. Not even a single clue ever found about the lost people.

Since then, the authorities banned the tourist services for The Mount Sheen to avoid any consequences. But the curiosity never dies, as many others attempt to feed their souls with adventures, and invade the black forest of Mount sheen. But the story remains a mystery forever.

15 days ago.

(Mount sheen)

A soul running wildly to escape the woods that has entrapped him inside. The dried leaves crushed under his feet as he runs for his life. The sounds of evil crow lingering in the woods. More follow him wherever he goes. 

The heart thumps with blood rushing in his veins; he tries to find a way out of this never ending maze. He knows that he is lost and there is no going back, but the hope is there for him.

He wandered wildly in the woods, but he can’t find his way as every time he returned to the same place from where he started. His face lit up when the moon’s light fell on him. The face shows a horrified expression as his eyes fell on something, actually on someone.

His widened eyes spoke only fear and the terror ran to his spine. He lost his will to run, but put on some courage and ran as far as his legs took him.

This time, odd seemed to be in his favor as he found a service roading leading to the town. He started to run faster. He keeps looking at his back to see if the creature is following him. He was lost looking behind when a car suddenly halted almost an inch away from him.

A man in his mid-forties stepped out from the car to look at the boy who was running wildly in the middle of a road.

“Are you okay, son?” he inquired.

The boy was panting heavily with scant breaths, and this made the man more suspicious.

“Are you alone? Where is your family?” He asked a few more questions but the boy is too terrified to answer.

The man made him sit inside the car and drove away from the spot.

“Are you feeling okay now?” he inquired again.

The young boy nodded his head in agreement. 

“What happened? Why were you running? Where is your family? Do you need any official help? I will call 911.” he suggested after asking him questions, but the boy shook his head slowly.

The man sighed and asked him, “Listen, I Can help you. I will drop you at the nearest police station and they will look for your family.”

“They are not here.” the boy whispered almost.

“What? You were alone in that wood? Do you know how dangerous it is to be there?” the man yelled and looked shocked.

He noticed the fear in the boy’s attitude. He pulled the car to a small Police station but found it vacant.

“That’s strange! No one is here? There should be at least two officers present in service. Anything can happen on this stranded road.” the man stated frustratedly.

“No one want to risk their life. I should have listened to them.” the boy stated in a monotonous voice.

The man scrunched his eyebrows in confusion and stepped inside. “Looks like nobody's here. We can come back tomorrow. I will drop you to the place you live.” the man suggested, but the boy stayed quiet.

His gaze was constantly on the rear mirror, trying to spot the creature following him.

“I rented a cottage here, I am a traveller and like to travel to the least spotted areas. Mount Sheen is one of them.” The man started a normal conversation to distract the boy and ease his nervousness.

After a few minutes, the man pulled his car in front of an old wooden cottage, situated in a stranded corner of the road.

“Do you like the place? I got it cheap!” the mag stated proudly.

The boy keeps looking at the surroundings, but the building anxiety won’t let him calm down.

The man invited the boy inside his cottage and offered him a shot of whiskey, but the boy refused.

“You are still underage?” he sneered.

“No! I don’t drink.” the boy stated.

“I have a spare room, why don’t you go up and fresh. I will prepare a warm dinner for you.” the man smiled gently at him.

The boy climbed the stairs and peeked out from the window. All he saw was nothing but darkness of the night. He is still not recovered from the shock that he survived the attack from the creature.

The freezing atmosphere outside damped the windowpane in fog, but the boy can see his reflection staring at him. He turned away from the windowpane and went inside the room, but the reflection stayed frozen in the glass, smirking wickedly.

The boy washed his face with the icy water to wake up the sense that went numb for a while. He sighed and tears escaped from the eyes.

There was regret written on his face and remorse flushed over. He went down to see the man, who was busy preparing dinner.

“How are you feeling, boy?” the man asked.

“Better.” the boy said.

“The dinner is almost ready, why don’t you sit and tell me about this place?” the man asked in curiosity.

“There is nothing here, except death. This place will hunt you down and tear you apart.” the boy stated in a scary voice and the man raised his brows.

“I like thrilling stories. But this one is scaring me.”

“I am not trying to scare you, but there is someone who hunts people.” the boy whispered.

“Who?”

“A dopp…” the boy was about to say something when there was a knock on the door.

The man frowned immediately, “who could be here, at this hour?” He stood up and went to open the door.

“No! Don’t open the door!” the boy warned him.

“Why?”

“He is here.” the boy stammered.

“Who?”

“The one who wants to kill me!” he whispered

The bang on the door was loud this time, and the man grabbed a baseball bat quickly to defend.

Suddenly, the lights went out and the boy screamed as the door burst open. The man felt someone getting inside and he lit a candle from the fireplace. He heard some noises, like someIt dumbfounded himone dragging a body and trying to locate it.

He realised that the voice was coming from the room located upstairs. He gripped the bat in his hand and went up to look for the intruder.

“Hey! Are you up there?” he asked the boy but received no reply.

As he stands in the slight space between the rooms and the stairs, the boy approached him.

“Help me! He is going to kill me!” he screamed and the man turned to see a doppelganger of the boy staring at him. With no hesitation, the man hit the bat at the doppelganger’s head, killing him on the spot.

He was dumbfounded to see the view in front of him.

“This is what they were talking about?” he asked himself as he scrutinized the boy.

He realised that he killed the boy itself rather than the doppelganger.

He quickly turned to look out but found his own doppelganger smirking at him.

“Ah!!!!!!!!!!!” (loud screaming in the background.)