Once upon a time, there was a small village located up in the mountains. And in this small village lived a family of three. A father and a son and a daughter. The father and son were very close, often going out together for work or just to hangout, leaving the younger daughter home alone most of the time. The younger girl became sad and withdrawn and refused to go to school or play with the other kids. She tended to the house and her father and brother, she had no mother.
One day her father and brother came home late, they burst threw the doors and quickly closed them. A heavy thud hit the door. Once. Twice. And a final third time. It was silent. They said nothing, but they curled up in the corner of the house nursing their deep wounds, to scared to talk and unable to stop shaking. The girl, frightened, decided that she needed to go get help.
It was already dark out and the village had a rule about going out past midnight and to never stray far from the trails past eight. For good reason too. Not that she knew why.
It was only ten... she could make it...right? No she had too. For her father and brother. She doubted that they'd make it without some kind of outside influence.
The family's house was slightly removed from the rest of the village. Her mother chose the spot years ago. She was long gone now. 'Went missing in the woods a few years back'. Her father and brother told her, and refused to say more than those eight words when she asked.
Surrounded by thick red wood trees the little stone cottage looked peaceful, for the most part. There was blood leading from the path to the door. Thick deep scratches were on the door, little bits of stone filling them. The little girl paid no heed to any of this. Grabbing some chocolate she had stashed by the door, she shoved it in her pocket, lit her lamp and started walking the three mile hike to town to get a doctor or at least some dressings for wounds.
The path was narrow and at times seemed to disappear. She rarely went to town so it was a given that she would probably get lost. Which she did, about forty minutes in. Now, the general rule is, when you get lost, stay where you are. No one ever told her this, so she kept walking, thinking that the trail was covered and she would find it soon.
As she walked deeper into the woods and it got closer to twelve, the air got heavy and dark. A hush fell over the valley and forest. Down in the village, everyone blew out there lamps and candles, and locked their doors and windows. Now the little girl would never find the village. She didn't know that, she thought she was headed in the right direction, which she wasn't.
It was midnight now. Back in her family's cottage, her dad and brother had passed away, their blood spreading on the floor. The doors and windows unlocked, burst open and with a low growl, their bodies were dragged out by an invisible force, deep into the woods. Weirdly shaped bloody footprints led out the door and down the path that the girl had taken.
The little girl came upon a small creek by now. She decided to sit on one of the rocks for a short break. Taking off her shoes she dipped her aching feet into the cold creek.
She became aware of distant footsteps approaching. "Thank goodness, now I can get directions to town" she excitedly whispered to herself. The footsteps stopped behind a tree. Before the girl could say anything a gravelly voice spoke, "Are you lost young one?" Not one to distrust people, she hurriedly stood up and cleared her throat. "Yes, i was trying to get to town to get a doctor, but I'm horribly lost...could you tell me which way to go?" She asked.
There was a slight pause and she heard the voice of who ever it was suddenly appear behind a tree next to her, making her jump. "And what shall you give me in return for this information little one?" There was a hint of something in its voice that gave the girl goosebumps.
