The Cursed in the Wood

Somewhere South of the Northern Mountains

The pine wood stood stoically quiet in the fog and mist that dampened the forest floor. It was an eerie sight, even to someone as well traveled as Pan.

Pan had left the rolling green hills of his home for adventure. So far, he'd seen rocky coasts that threatened to collapse, a forest that had grown around a fallen star, a volcano with purple lava, and a desert that stretched the entire middle of the continent.

Forests - at least the ones he had seen - were bristling with life; from the tiny foragers to the lumbering grazers moving beneath the canopy. There shouldn't be absolute silence in these places.

Here there was something off, something wrong.

Pan could turn around and find another way through, but he didn't feel like traversing the desert he had finally come out of a few days before. In this forest at least there was moisture, which meant water, and a much more comfortable climate.

I've been through far worse places than this, Pan told himself. Stop getting so nervous.

Besides, between a unnerving old pine wood and a parched desert, Pan would choose the pine wood every time. He didn't like nearly dying of thirst.

Hiking his deer skin pack up on his shoulders, he continued onward, pushing determinedly through the mist and undergrowth with a renewed sense of purpose: make it through this cursed forest before sundown.

______________________ . . . ______________________

Sundown came, and the forest still stretched far beyond where Pan's eyes could see. The darkness was closing in fast, making it increasingly difficult to navigate.

"I need to make a fire," he muttered, stopping to assess his surroundings for a good camping spot. The moisture in the air had dampened every inch of the forest, which would make it hard to start a flame.

He aimed for a spot underneath one of the pines, kicking away the damp leaves and dirt to expose a hopefully drier patch of earth. He dropped his supplies beside the tree trunk, and then went to gather wood for the fire.

Upon touching the first branch on his search, a piercing pain shot through his temples, causing him to crumble to his knees.

Gasping, he clutched his head and clenched his teeth, riding the wave of intense pain before it ceased as fast as it came. He hesitantly released his hands from his head, looking at his shaking fingers with shock.

"What in gods name?" He slowly rose to his feet, making sure he wasn't going to stumble.

He did a once over of his body, pressing the back of his hand to his forehead to check for fever. He hadn't eaten anything he didn't know was safe in the last few days, and he had no injuries that could have festered, not that any of those things could cause a splitting headache like that.

But his worries became more pronounced when he looked up at the horizon through the trees where the last light of the sunset was still lingering, and saw not orange and pink colors, but bright green and flashing purple playing across his vision.

Pan blinked rapidly, hoping it was just the lingering affects of his headache, but when the colors did not go away he turned and walked back to the tree using what little sight he had left. Putting his back against the bark, he slowly slid down until he was sitting on the damp ground.

"Okay, calm down." He put his head between his hands, breathing in deep and massaging his temples. "It could be stress, or maybe some sort of phenomenon in this forest...dammit, this is bad."

He reached out blindly for his pack, hoping some food or drink might help, but his hand reached out to empty space.

His supplies were gone.

In a panic, Pan quickly stood, his breaths becoming unsteady as he realized he was not alone in these woods.

He reached down for another branch, this time to be used as a weapon. Keeping his back to the tree, he pointed the stick outward at the gloomy forest as the colors flashing in his eyes continued to assault him.

Again, a piercing pain stabbed through his temples, nearly disabling him. This time, however, a warm, almost burning heat encircled his head, and a voice pushed its way into his consciousness.

"No man shall house a flame in these woods again..."

Images sprang up in his mind like invading fire ants, eating away at his current reality. In his mind he saw a vast stretch of forest burning, smoke rising as far as the other side of the skull desert, and a huge creature lumbering through the ash, leaving a blood trail to dampen the cracked earth.

Pan dropped his makeshift weapon, falling to his knees once more. He cried out, the pain unbearable. The feeling of bugs crawling over his skin leaving fire trails intensified until he swore smoke was coming off of him.

Through the pain, the hallucinations, the voice, and even his own screaming, he managed to look up and see a giant furred figure standing opposite him on four legs.

High above the silhouette of the creature, a humanoid face sat, a hand outstretched with his pack hanging off its fingers like a dirty rag. Its eyes blazed like burning coals as they stared down at him.

Once more, it spoke into his mind:

"For as long as I live, the only fire in this forest shall be mine."

_____________________ . . . ____________________

World: Fate of Fire

Word Count: 931

Spook Level: Psychological ambush?

This spooky season I am joining in on some fun community challenges! For this one, the goal is to use the bingo board to create a shape out of the prompts. I have chosen a full moon, so expect there to be 12 stories in total coming out of this series!

A fun tidbit: many of these spooky stories are going to come from my fictional worlds. This one is for my FATE OF FIRE project ( more than 10 years in the making! ), which you can find other work for in my catalogue.

If you'd like to join in on the fun, check out Marie Sinadjan's challenge below!

Check out the next story!

And where it all began!