It had been five long years…
The young man's disappearance had begun to fade in the memory of those who had known him. His lover, however, had not forgotten him and, every Hallowe'en since his disappearance, she had taken to wandering in the woods to see if she could come across something, anything, that would give her some clue to his fate.
This Hallowe'en, five years later, after spending the day inspecting every stone and tree, she was walking forlornly through the woods, late in the evening, when she saw something that gave her pause. She was already nervous, as the sounds of the wood were particularly prevalent on this trip, but what she thought she saw made her heart leap. She had seen a fox and, between its needle-like teeth, glinting in what little moonlight was forcing its way through the trees, she would swear that she had glimpsed the two bones of a forearm…and dangling from it, the skeletal remains of a hand.
Her pulse racing, she ran frantically in pursuit of the fox. The animal was, by now, out of sight, but she continued on apace, hoping beyond hope that she might, at last, be able to put her love's soul to rest. Fighting through the undergrowth and past gnarled and twisted branches she continued on, breathless and in tears.
Suddenly, she tripped over a root. She lay where she fell, sobbing, for a few minutes, before looking back at what had tripped her…there was nothing there.
There were no roots anywhere near where she tripped. She picked herself up, wondering what could have happened and rubbing her knee, which she'd grazed as she fell, and looked around her. Suddenly realising that she was completely lost, she once again started to cry. Then an owl hooted nearby, which startled her out of her abstraction, and caused her to think more clearly. She must return the way she came and hopefully this would lead her out of the wood.
So off she set; but she intended to return so that she could investigate this part of the wood again. The remains of her love must be close. To that end, she ripped off a large piece of her petticoat and tore it into strips. As she began her journey back, she tied a strip to a branch every two or three hundred feet, as a marker. For she must find him.
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Feeling more confident, now, she strode off into the darkness, sure that she would soon be back home and planning her next journey into the woods. She continued for about an hour, even then glancing back and forth in case she may catch a glimpse of the fox or…some bones. Then she stopped dead in her tracks. There, right in front of her, was the first piece of her petticoat that she had tied around a branch. Somehow, inexplicably, she had come full circle!
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The fear began to rise, inexorably, throughout her body. Then, once again, she caught something in the corner of her eye. "That was not there before," she said to herself as she walked over to the huge pumpkin they lay in the trees. She kneeled before the massive fruit and gently put her hand on the skin, not noticing that, as she did so, the vines were beginning to move.
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By the time she realised what was happening, the vines had wrapped themselves tightly about her ankles and, as she stood in panic, they pulled her over. More vines were wrapping themselves around her ankles, her legs, her arms. Suddenly, a huge maw opened in the side of the fruit, full of teeth. The vines began to drag the poor young woman toward this gaping horror and she screamed as the thing slowly consumed her, inch by inch…
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Much like her lover, the young woman was never seen again. However, what small trinkets and treasures she was carrying at the time of her disappearance are still out there, somewhere in the woods. Much like the young man's treasure, these items have been transformed, over the centuries, into pieces of horrific detritus. So, if you're brave enough to search for what remains, and feel the need to remove something as a keepsake, please don't forget to replace it with something equally hideous and make sure you sign the book…you would not want to suffer the same fate as the young woman…or her lover!
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Good luck, and remember: the eldritch inhabitants of the wood relish the chance of filling the lone cacher with dread, so go…but never go alone!
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This is the sequel to "Hallowe'en" (GC1G51H) which went live five years ago this month.