Chapter Text
You can’t see much. Not in this weather, at least. The fog seems to creep in from all sides, slithering along the leaves and snaking around your ankles, seeping through the heavy material of your coat and causing goosebumps to raise on your flesh. Shivers tingle along your spine but you settle for ignoring it, focusing on simply not tripping over the many bushes and stray twigs that litter the path.
You still don’t know why you accepted this blasted job. The pay isn’t even that good - then again, there’s a few bonuses aside from that. Six months out in the dense redwoods, living in a quaint little watchtower with no one but yourself and the local spiders? It certainly didn’t seem too bad when you’d had to have instant noodles for the fifth night in a row. You’re starting to regret it though. It’s way too bloody cold out here… eh, at least you’ll be able to get a fire going once you’re at the tower.
It’s quiet, almost eerily so, aside from the sound of your boots crunching the few autumn leaves that’ve fluttered to the ground. The occasional chirp or cry of a bird echoes through the trees every now and then, just not quite enough to soothe your nerves. The wind seems to whistle occasionally, leaves and small branches rustling in the chilly breeze, the cold nipping at your cheeks and nose.
A sigh slips free of your lips once you finally catch sight of a single little lantern, swaying gently in the wind where it dangles from a branch. At least you’re close now. Your steps quicken a bit now, gloved hands tugging your heavy jacket tighter around your shivering frame. You don’t quite catch the slight rustle of movement much further back on the path, feet at least twice the size of your own treading silently along where your boots touched the earth.
You let out an actual huff of relief once you reach the clearing. Your near-frozen fingers fumble a little with the latch of the low metal gate surrounding the watchtower, succeeding after a good moment or two of fiddling with it. The latch slides shut a lot more easily, double checking to make sure the gate is locked.
Your eyes damn near light up at the sight of the tall wooden tower, hurrying over to the stairs leading up to to the little cabin you’ll be living in for the next half a year. You don’t quite get there without injury though, your excitement preventing your brain from registering that it’s still quite damp, slipping on the soaked grass and whacking your shoulder on the stair railing.
A groan tumbles from your throat, a hand instinctively reaching up to rub the now sore spot on your shoulder. Your vision swims for a few moments from the sudden change in orientation, some kind of black fog obscuring your sight for a few seconds before clearing with a few good blinks. A quick check proves that your jacket is the only thing that’s truly suffered from the fall, a small gash in the material - not big enough to be impossible to fix though. You take a moment to catch your breath before carefully getting up and making your way up the stairs, albeit a lot more cautiously now.
It doesn’t take you long at all to get settled into the tower. It’s been a few hours since you got here now, a fire crackling softly in the fireplace, the room quite cosy now that you’ve cleared out most of the dust and vines that’d snuck in through the window. You’ve left the spiders be though, not at all bothered by the tiny little nest of webs that’s gathered in the corner of the ceiling just above the bookshelf. They’re harmless, those ones.
It’s quite late now, the sun starting to dip below the horizon, the last few dying beams of light filtering through the trees. The birds have all fallen silent, leaving just the sound of the wind and the gentle hisses of the fire. It’s almost eerie, but also quite comforting in a way. It only further solidifies that you’re alone out here.
A sudden wail echoes through the forest, prompting you to pause before bumbling over to the window. Your eyes narrow, squinting through the glass to peer down at the ground, trying to see through the darkness. That wail rumbles through the trees again after a few minutes, making the hairs on the back of your neck and arms raise again. It doesn’t take long for you to give in with a sigh, tugging your boots and your jacket back on, grabbing your torch before trudging back outside and into the darkness.
It’s not long before you reach the bottom of the staircase, shuffling closer to the fence, trying to peer out into the darkness. You can’t help but jump slightly when a small pair of glowing white eyes sudden peek out of a bush, only to let out a quiet sigh of relief once you realize it’s just a raccoon. It chitters softly as it stares up at you, that fluffy little face prompting you to give in with a soft chuckle, carefully offering it one of the little bits of jerky you’d stashed in your pocket earlier. It seems rather grateful for the snack, chittering happily again before scrambling off into the bushes again. You let out a fond little huff as you watch it scurry off, lowering your torch and turning around, moving to walk back to the tower, only to let out a startled shout.
Someone stands below the watchtower, half hidden behind one of the main support pillars. They’re tall, almost creepily so, at least a metre over your own 5’11 frame. They’re dressed in all black, clearly hoping to blend into the shadows a lot more easily. It’s not until your gaze lands on their face that you realize this isn’t quite someone, more like something. Glowing white eyes stare down at you, sharp white teeth stretched wide in an inhumanly wide grin.
It doesn’t move, surprisingly, just standing there. Menacingly, your brain supplies rather unhelpfully. It takes you a moment to realize it’s not staring directly into your eyes, it’s pupilless gaze focused on the hand stashed into your pocket. You think for a second before quietly tugging out another piece of jerky, glancing down at it before carefully offering it to the strange figure.
It seems to hesitate for a moment before silently accepting the small piece of dried meat, spindly fingers clutching it close. It stares down at you for a minute before suddenly darting off, disappearing over the fence and vanishing into the foliage.
Huh. That was odd.