June, 2004

"Why not take a camping trip with your friends if you feel so shitty?" My mama said.

"It'll be fun." She said.

I tightened my grip on the flashlight until my knuckles were white.

Fun. Yes. So much fun I'm having, I feel like my heart is going to burst out of my chest. Sweat poured down my neck and with the humidity weather, it felt like I had my own little rain cloud as sweat rolled down my skin from everywhere.

My sneakers snapped on loose twigs and my hand that held the flashlight shook in fear.

Now, more than ever, I wished I was back home with my mama, even if she hardly paid attention to me. I would take feeling like a piece of unwanted furniture then strolling through the woods looking for a monster any day.

"Uh! I'm so bored." My friend, Mal, said, waving her paper fan to herself.

Jenna snapped her fingers, grabbing the attention of everyone. "You guys remember The Mask Man in the Woods?"

Realization seemed to draw on everyone, but me. I frowned at the unfamiliar name and cocked my head. "No. What's it about?"

"You don't know about the masked man?" Javon asked in disbelief.

I shook my head. "I'm afraid not."

"Well, it's basically about a man from like the eighteen hundred who came to live in these very woods. Legend says that he was hideously deformed from a war, so to hide his face; he wore a blank white mask. He made his home somewhere deep in the woods and only ate animals. Once a girl from the late nineteen hundreds was hiking and she was eaten by the masked man. And she wasn't the only one who was eaten by him. There were hundreds of disappearances and no one ever saw what or who was behind the mask. Some people say that he walks around the edge of the woods and people even saw him! Nobody was able to find him and nobody who met the masked man lived to tell the tale."

Goosebumps prickled my arms and I felt the air suddenly get colder. The wind picked up and the branches of the trees swayed.

"That's...creepy." I finally said, not sure how to respond to the story.

It certainly was creepy. To know that a masked man haunted these very woods where I sat, scarred me deep in my soul. I suddenly wasn't in the mood to go through this camping trip, or any camping trips for the rest of my life.

"But it's only a legend that we're told as kids to stay away from the woods. None of that bullshit is true." Tyler shrugged, taking a sip from his beer.

Mal leaned forward, her elbows resting on her knee. "What if we try to go look for him right now?"

"What? The masked man?" Tyler asked, raising an eyebrow.

Jenna clapped her hands together. "That's a wonderful idea! Let's go see if it really is bullshit. Are you in, Javon?"

Javon half shrugged and half nodded. "Sure."

Jenna turned to Tyler and he rolled his eyes as he stood up, dusting himself off. "Alright, count me in."

Jenna slowly turned to me and I gripped my beer bottle. "Can't we leave this to the Myth Busters instead?" I asked, my voice coming out small.

Mal stood up and planted her fists on her narrow hips. "Don't tell me you're scared."

"I'm not scared. I just...don't feel like hunting down a man with a mask this late at night." I said defensively.

Mal rolled her eyes in annoyance and Javon pushed past her and stopped in front of me. He smiled.

"I'm sure there's nothing there, Varia. If you want, one of us goes instead of all us, yeah? There's only one in four chances that you're getting picked."

I slightly relaxed at that and reluctantly nodded. "Okay..."

Javon smiled again and took out a coin from his pocket. "Heads go. Tails stay, alright?"

Everyone nodded. Tyler, Javon, and I picked tails. Jenna and Mal picked heads. Javon flipped the coin and caught it before it hit the ground. He placed it on his other hand and slowly removed his hand.

Heads.

Jenna and Mal fist pumped the air, both looking happy even though they were the ones who suggested hunting the masked man. This time, Javon and Tyler picked tails and I switched over to heads. Javon flipped the coin, caught it, and placed it on his other hand.

Tails.

My heart sank and stomach twisted in knots. Great. The least person who wanted to go in the woods got chosen to go alone. This was just... great.

Jenna handed me a flashlight and pushed me out of the safety of the camp. "Just go for, like, twenty minutes. If you can't find anything than one of us will go after your twenty minutes."

The flickering of the flashlight pulled me away from the memory. I pushed some branches away and stepped into what seemed like a small clearing with a small high cliff to my right. I groaned and banged it against my palm.

"Don't do this to me..." I pleaded, continuing to bang it against my palm when I heard it.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end and my fear hit me full blast as I slowly turned around. I shined my flickering flashlight up the cliff until I reached it.

A large gray wolf stood there, ears turned back as it lowered his head down. The wolf bared its teeth and his claws dug into the soil, preparing to attack.

My eyes widen and fear had me rooted to the ground. The wolf's yellow eyes narrowed and he released a chill spilling growl. My body seemed to unfrozen itself at the moment and the flashlight fell from my hand as I turned to run deeper in the woods.

My sneakers beat the ground as I ran blindly through the woods. My arms pumped on my sides and I dared myself to look back. The wolf was hot on my heels, growling as saliva dripped from its open mouth. His paws beat the ground, kicking dirt up as it ran.

I turned back around in time for a lower branch to whack me on the face. I squealed when I suddenly started tumbling down a hill. I twisted and turned, my back hitting painfully on the ground until I finally managed to stop. I was lying on my stomach, blood dripping from my cheek where the lower branch hit me. I groaned as I pushed myself up on my elbows.

The wolf skidded to a stop a few feet in front of me, baring its teeth as it slow came towards me. I shook my head to clear my vision when a black blur moved from the corner of my eye.

I shook my head again, but it didn't matter. My vision started to blur over and I was feeling less conscious now as I slowly dropped my head on the ground.

The last thing I heard was a whimper from the wolf as it dropped on the ground. The last thing I saw was a pair of black worn-out combat boots as the black spots finally took over.

-----

I didn't know how long I remained unconscious. It could have been hours, days, or weeks even! But the first thing that came to me was my hearing. I heard the faint trickling sound of water. It didn't sound like a river or a waterfall. It sounded like someone was dipping their fingers in water and letting the droplets hit the water in a way that sounded musical.

The next thing that came to me was the feeling of my body. I wanted to sigh in relief, but I felt like my chapped lips were glued together. I went to move my head when I felt something wet slid across my cheeks. Alarm raced through me and I wanted to jump away from it.

Rough yet smooth wet fingers slid across my cheeks. A shudder of an unknown emotion whirled inside me, making me suck in a sharp breath. The fingers felt like nothing I had ever felt before and I wanted those fingers to touch every inch of my body. I wanted those fingers to keep touching my face, but when I accidentally released a small moan, the fingers pulled away as if touching fire.

A wave of disappointment made me want to whimper.

I forced my eyes to open and I blinked away the sleepiness. At first, I saw nothing, but the glow of a candle light sitting next to me. I flinched and turned my head the other way. I rubbed my eye as I tried to sit up when my hand bumped into a thigh. I withdrew sharply and opened my mouth to apologize.

"I'm sorry! I didn't..." I trailed off as my vision cleared and I found myself staring at a blank white mask.

I unintentionally let out a scream and pushed myself off the small bed. I landed on my side, pain exploding on my elbow, but fear had me backing up until my back hit something.

The masked man sat on the edge of the bed, a bowl of water sitting next to the candle. He put the wet cloth in the bowl but didn't make a move to leave or chase me. He just sat there, his arms neatly folded on his lap.

My heart pounded a thousand miles in my chest and I started to pant again. I'm going to die. I'm going to die. That thought kept repeating itself inside my head but it deliberately died down when he just sat there, looking over his shoulder at me.

I tore my eyes away from him and looked around. It appeared like I was in his bedroom. There was barely any furniture except for his bed and the nightstand that oddly sat in the middle of his room. The walls were literally covered in shelves of rows upon rows of books. Only to the right there was a small window and across from the bed was a wooden door.

I looked behind me where other sets of books sat. I continued to stare at the room in awe when a familiar author name caught my attention on the spine of a book. I titled my head, trying to catch the title.

The masked man followed my gaze and stood up, making me tense as he stood where the book I wanted to see. He looked over his shoulder at me as he pointed at it. I frowned, drawing up my knees a little. I wasn't sure what he was asking me but I nodded faintly.

He took the book out and held it out for me. I stared at it then at the blank mask. He patiently held the book out for me and I reluctantly took it with both hands. He lowered his hand and took a step back. I wiped the dust from the cover and glanced up at him briefly.

Edgar Allan Poe was the author's name. The name lilt a light bulb inside my head but before I could do anything, he spoke.

"I didn't take you the type of enjoy Mr. Poe's work."

His voice... it was so hoarse yet it sounded smooth to my ears. He also held a bit of accent that I wasn't familiar with.

I looked down at the book, tracing the name with my pinkie. "I...I'm not so much of a reader. I just recognized his name from an English class." I responded.

I pursed my lips. I didn't know what made me respond to him, but I felt like I was the polite thing to do. After all, he took me to his home and away from the wolf.

I gasped as the remembered the wolf that chased me. "The wolf! What happened to the wolf?" I asked, wanting to get up, but his eerie appearance had me glued to the dusty floor.

"I took care of him." He replied.

My eyes widen. "All alone?"

He only nodded. I swallowed hard and my eyes roamed over his body for the first time. He was definitely well-toned under the black long coat that reached above his knees. He wore a pair of black leather pants that hugged his legs well. I glanced up at his mask, realizing now that not one inch of skin showed. From where I sat, I could see he had a black half-mask to cover his chin, cheeks, and throat. I could see some locks of light brown hair peeking from under the hood he had on.

I gripped the book when I noticed his boots. There was dead grass and dirt stuck under his boots and on his pants, I could see gray fur from the wolf.

I lowered my eyes to the ground and the fear of dying started to take over again. If he could take out a wolf no problem, he would have no problem killing me. I was less of a threat, but surely he wouldn't bring me to his home just to rest. No, he brought me here to kill me.

Nobody was able to find him and nobody who met the masked man lived to tell the tale.

I swallowed. "Please don't hurt me. I swear I won't tell anyone about you. I won't tell anyone about this encounter." I begged, my voice cracking.

He didn't say anything and started to come forward. I flinched and closed my eyes as I waited for him to kill me. But he did nothing. I slowly opened my eyes and I was met with his hand. I stared at his outstretched gloved hand. I trailed my eyes to his mask then at his hand.

"You... You're not going to kill me?" I asked, feeling confused.

He shook his head. I stared at his hand and placed my hand in his. His hand was inexplicably cold and big compared to mine. He helped me stand up and released my hand. He beckoned me to follow him as he turned around and grabbed a random book. The wall shuddered and it slid to reveal the woods.

My jaw dropped and I hurriedly caught up to him before the wall closed itself. I went to turn around to see what his home looked like, but he ordered me not to turn around. Curiosity was one of the things that I didn't take too well, but I forced myself to keep forward.

We walked in silence, our footsteps the only sound in the woods now. There were no crickets chirping or animals scurrying about. There was nothing but an eerie silence. I expected us to run into the wolf, but mask man seemed to take us to a different route.

It was colder now and I shivered as we walked for what felt like hours. "My name is Varia by the way." I blurted out.

The masked man glanced at me then stopped once we were by the edge of a road that I recognized. I stepped forward then looked over at the masked man.

"Tristian. My name is Tristian." He answered.

I felt my lips pull up in a smile at that when I heard my name being called. I looked at the road and gasped.

"Mama!" I called, running down the small hill as I met her half way down.

She threw her arms around me, crying softly as she inhaled deeply. "Oh, my god. Thank god you're safe. Oh, Jesus."

I laughed and looked over her shoulder, noticing Tyler, Javon, Jenna, and Mal standing at the bottom of the hill. A couple of police cars were parked there and an ambulance.

My mama pulled away and traced the cut on my cheek. "What happened? Are you hurt?" She asked frantically until her eyes dropped to my hands. "Where did you get that book?"

I frowned and looked down, noticing I was still holding the Edgar Allen Poe book. My brows furrowed and I looked over my shoulder.

Tristian was gone.