So Often Are We...

Pre Game

No one was quite sure where he had come from. Not even he really knew. All he remembered were forests. And a lot of them. Across time and space, forests were all that he knew, and he remembered everything that he did within them. He remembered all of the children he had ever preyed upon, luring them into the shadowy groves, never to be seen again. He remembered all the weary, wandering souls who stumbled into his domain, only to become permanent residents thereof. He remembered the death and despair, the darkness and destruction. He remembered the screaming and bleeding. The horror stories that they told about him, spreading across the globe as he terrorized the world, were all he knew.

He remembered burying his story deep within the heart of humanity, leaving bits and pieces for those foolish, curious creatures to find, like a trail of breadcrumbs that would lead them not to their homes, but to his. He left traces and clues everywhere, and, just like clockwork, those clues were found. His reign of terror reached a worldwide scale. As more and more people answered his calling cards, the stronger and stronger he became, a legend among legends, and a monster among monsters.

Then at last, one particular little family summoned him with dark magic, bringing him all the way up to their home in some place that they called "Canada". He wasted no time in becoming a scourge unto their lives, destroying everything that any of them ever held dear. Only a few escaped his wrath, but it was not due to luck or skill. Instead, he allowed them to live, knowing that they would one day grow up to reproduce, having children of their own in order to keep their bloodlines alive. This was how he ensured himself a steady supply of prey.

The next time he came to wreak havoc upon this family line, he found himself attacking a family of three. Their names were Charles, Diane and Charlie Jr. They were the Matheson family, and they were next on his list. He lured Charlie away first, seducing him into the forest just half a mile away from their family farm. Then, he drove the father, Charles, into madness. The loss of Charlie was a heavy blow to Diane and Charles both. First, Diane divorced Charles and moved away, never to return to that part of the world again. Then, left alone, with only shadowy memories of his son and wife, Charles went insane. In his despair and anger, he burned down his entire homestead. The house, the farm, the nearby chapel. Everything went up in smoke. And so did he. He set the place alight, while he, himself, was still alive inside.

But in time, the remains of the Matheson family farm became like a grave, and a pleasant little park was built around its ruins. This was Oakside Park. He took up residence within that forest park, and kept Charlie with him. The boy was not dead after all, but rather, a mindless slave to him. It was a fate far worse than death, but there was no hope for the boy. Instead, he remained under the creature's cruel control, trapped within the burnt remains of his own home. While the creature roamed the park freely, seducing victims into the trees and keeping them trapped inside forever, Charlie existed only as a puppet for him to use, to help lure unsuspecting people right into his kingdom once more.

The next time he came to wreak havoc upon this family line, his victim was a young girl named Kate Milens, a distant relative of the Matheson line. Kate was a relatively normal girl, all things considered. She was feisty, playful, intelligent, and adventurous. But that was exactly what made her such a perfect victim. As a child, growing up, Kate had loved ghost stories. Little did the poor girl know that these ghost stories would someday become far more than just myths and legends to be told around a campfire, or while snuggled up underneath bedsheets.

It had been sometime during Kate's freshman year in high school when she first met him. She and one of her best friends, Carl Ross (though he liked to be called CR) had been exploring Oakside Park in search of some spooks, or ghosts. For the first time ever, they got exactly what they had come for. Kate met him, and he challenged her to a little game of wit, endurance, strength and courage. Find the eight pages he had hidden around the park, or die. Through his grace alone, Kate won the challenge, finding all eight pages before collapsing from sheer physical and emotional shock. When she woke up again, she found herself in a nearby hospital, and the first thing she said to her doctors was: