Chapter Text
The thunder shook him awake.
It wasn’t unusual to get storms this time of year (or really anytime of the year), they were rather common actually. Such was a side effect of living on an Island, he guessed. You get a nice view of the ocean in exchange for hellfire whenever the weather gets angry, that’s the trade-off. It wasn’t all bad though, the rain and thunder was nice to listen to.
Except for when the wind blew so hard that it caused a tree to scrap against your house, that was annoying.
Groaning and rubbing the sleep from his eyes, the man sat up in bed, listening to his bones crack as he stretched, before sliding off and walking out of the room and down the hallway. The floorboards creaked softly underneath him as he shuffled towards the kitchen, seeming loud in the otherwise quiet house.
Flicking on the light, he poured a glass of juice and stared out the window, squinting at the lighting flashes outside illuminating his yard.
Ah, there it was.
One of the tree branches was pushed right up against the house, dragging across it in a sweeping motion and making that irritating screeching noise. He watched it glide back one way, only for the wind to push it back across, repeating the cycle. His eyelids twitched as the screeching grew louder.
On one hand, he wanted to go outside and just cut the damn branch off so he could head back to sleep. On the other hand, he really didn’t want to go outside. He was 5’3, he did NOT want to get blown away in the wind.
Besides, after the recent disappearances, he was content to stay inside.
Cracking his window open to let some cold air blow in, he scanned the treeline of his property. Sadly, he couldn’t see his garden from here, such a shame.
Lightening flashed again, briefly illuminating the hill in the distance and the structure atop it. The screeching of the branches grew more annoying.
The man lived near the old Fort atop the hill, only about half-a-mile away from it really. Tourist spot, people constantly went out to see it, though it had been closed recently thanks to the storms. Sometimes he’d get folks coming by and asking him about the place. He didn’t really care for it, but the place kept the economy going, so he didn’t mind.
The screeching grew louder, too loud.
“For the love of god….Shut up!” He groaned, slamming his cup on the counter and making his way to the closet. Yanking it open and pulling out a pair of clippers and a flashlight, he went to the door and put slippers on. The man practically kicked the door open as he stepped out into the wind and rain, stopping to steady himself for a moment before heading off the steps. The mud squelched beneath his slippers as they connected with the grass, making his way around the side of the house to where the tree was.
He winced as his soles briefly sunk below the mud and covered his slippers and feet.
“Fils de pute, I should’ve worn shoes…”
Clicking the flashlight on, he aimed it at the tree, following it all the way to the branch. Popping the handle into his mouth, he steadied it before taking the clippers and cutting pieces off the branch. He didn’t mind trimming, it was peaceful, especially now-
Snap.
A faint snap off to his left caught his attention.
Taking the light out of his mouth, he aimed it into the darkness, scanning his surroundings…
Nothing, just his property fence barely visible. It was probably just a rabbit trying to find shelter in the storm.
Taking a moment to make sure, he turned back to the branch and kept trimming. It didn’t take long, only about a minute to get it all off. Once done, he sighed and leaned down, grabbing the broken limbs out of the mud and throwing them into a small pile. He could probably bring these down by the river in the morning and let the beavers use it……Actually, now that he thinks about it, the Beaver population here went extinct, like, 30 years ago. Oh well, a stick pile wasn’t going to hurt nobody-
Crack.
Another one, that was loud and not a rabbit.
He shined the light back.
Still nothing…
There were wolves on the Island, he’s seen them a few times, but they rarely come around, so why would they be here? He didn’t own any sheep or animals, so they really shouldn’t be bothering him.
Then again, if the wolves were starving, would they really care about that?
…
The man decided to get back inside. Keeping the light trained on the fenceline, he began walking alongside his house back to the front door. Damn wolves, they’ve been causing issues lately. Apparently they attacked some woman's daughter one night. The poor girl was so scared that she didn’t even recount or say what happened. Tsk, hopefully the Rangers on the northern side of the Island can get their heads out of their ass and handle the-
Snap Snap Crack Crack SNAP SNAP-
The rapid sounds of branches crunching beneath something cut through the air straight into his ear, and a strange, unfamiliar primal fear enveloped him.
He never ran faster in his life.
The door slammed shut behind him, and he locked it in place.
What was that?! Those weren’t wolf steps, those were too LOUD to be wolves, that sounded like a bear or something!
Shit, there were black bears on the Island, dammit.
Scrapping around the Front door caught his attention.
Quickly running to the closet, he yanked it open, dropping the pliers in there and rummaging through it. Where was his gun? It should be-
He brushed against the cold metal of the barrel, and grabbed it, pulling it out. The man knew he should be safe in his house, but he wasn’t taking any chances with a bear. Pulling out the shotgun, he pulled the top down. A break action with one barrel wasn’t exactly the most ideal weapon, but it was a weapon. Popping it closed, he turned to face the door.
“Hey! Go Away!”
Black bears hated noise and stuff that seemed bigger than them, right? He could do that. Whistling, kept the gun trained on the door.
“Go away, you damn Diable!”
……
The scrapping stopped, leaving only the rain and thunder and wind outside causing noise, that and his breathing. He didn’t move though, he just kept himself trained on the door. The man wasn’t going to take any chances. How strong were black bears? He wasn’t sure, but it was still a bear, it could probably break down a door.
Still, there was no noise, no scrapping, or breathing, or growling, just the natural sounds of the outdoors.
Cautiously, he lowered his gun.
Maybe it was just a couple of deer running around? They did have a habit of wandering into random areas and being curious. Hell, he remembers one walking into his living room after he left the door open on accident before it swiftly left. Damn, what was he even thinking anymore? The world felt fuzzy for some reason. He took his medication before he went to sleep, he should be fine-
“...H-Hello?”
The man froze.
……The hell?
“I-Is anyone in there?”
…Was that a girl? What the hell would someone so young be doing out here, in this weather?!
Against his better Judgment, the man opened his mouth.
“...........Yes?”
The reply was instant.
“I……I g-got in a-accident down the road, m-my mama told m-me to go get help…C-Can you help me? L-Let me in please.”
Shit.
Guilt hit him hard. It was just a child, and he aimed his gun at the door. What if he had shot?!
That’s what was running at him out there, a child.
Scared and alone.
God he’s such an idiot, he needs to stop and actually look for once.
“Yeah yeah, one second!” He called, rushing back to his closet and setting the gun back inside.
“T-Thank you…I…..I want my m-mommy…”
Closing the closet, he glanced at the thermostat so the child would get warmed up in here, and headed to the door……He ignored the strange feeling in his gut that screamed to keep the door closed.
Cons of living alone, you disliked interacting with people.
“Don’t worry kid, I’m coming.”
He reached the door, and went for the handle-
……
He stopped just short of it.
Why?
Why?
Why?
What?
What felt wrong?
Something was wrong.
His gut screamed at him to keep it closed.
“M-Mr, are you still there?”
He snapped out of it.
“Ah, sorry! The Doorknob wasn’t working.”
Focusing, he pulled the door open.
“Here, come on in-”
………
“T-Thank you for letting me in.”
The thunder and wind drowned out any noises inside the house, all while the lightning reminded everyone on the Island of the lonely fort that sat on the hill.