As I sit looking out at the withered forest I catch a glimpse of the dirt shifting. At first I brush it off as just the wind but I slowly see the dirt shift more and more, and I realise that wind is almost nonexistent today. Something doesn’t feel right. A bandaged hand slowly emerges from loose dirt. I scramble back, staring at the hand unsure whether to run or hide. The stranger slowly drags himself out of the dirt, coughing as he brushes the dirt off his clothes and shakes it out of his brown, wrapped cape. I hear a terrified scream, whipping my head around in an attempt to try and find out who made it before I realise it came from me. The man, whom I now realise is the Lumberjack, looks around, not noticing me yet. “Ugh. Someone woke me up. I guess that means I’m still alive. Unfortunately,” He sighs, voice hoarse. “I wonder how long I was down there for.” He looks around some more before his eyes finally land on me. I feel a chill run down my spine. He massacred the whole town. He’s the one who killed my family, my friends. And now he’s looking directly at me. “You. You woke me up,” the Lumberjack says, raising a finger in my direction. Clearly already knowing it was me. “I-I uh… well…” I stutter out, my voice shaking with fear despite my best efforts. The Lumberjack sighs again, turning around and sitting down, facing the cliff side. I blink in surprise. He’s not attacking me, he’s not trying to kill me. He’s just…sitting there. “Wait. Y-you’re not going to kill me?” I ask, staring at the Lumberjack, whom was now sitting on the ground with his legs crossed, looking towards Oakhurst. “Why would I do that?” He replies back, still not facing me. “But…well, you massacred Oakhurst! You killed my family, my friends…everyone!” I say, then freezing when I realised my mistake. I had just given away that I had survived. He pauses, and I can basically see his thoughtful expression despite his back facing me. “Ah, you’re that one human that survived. I knew one was missing from the death toll. There were only two thousand seven hundred and ninety nine. There was one missing. I guess you’re the lucky one.” He knew. He knew someone was missing. He knows I got away, I think, feeling a fresh wave of panic set in again as I take a small step back. “Why did you kill them? Why did you kill them all?” I bring myself to ask. The Lumberjack tenses, finally turning around to face me as he stands up from his sitting position, his eyes blazing with barely suppressed rage, but a hint of grief too. “They took him from me. Louis. They took him from me when I was asleep. I had to make them pay for what they did.” I stare, my fear momentarily forgotten. “You mean the mayor? So you killed the whole town because they burnt the mayor at the stake? They all thought you would be happy and thanking them! He did something to you! We found evidence of the occult! He turned you into a monster!” He scowls at me. “He has a name. Not just ‘the mayor’ or ‘the monster’. His name is Louis. And Louis gave me a gift. He offered. I accepted.” “But look at what he-uh, I mean…Louis did to you! He turned you into a monster!” I protest. “A creature of the night. Just. Like. Him.” The Lumberjack takes a threatening step towards me, his face twisted with fury. “Don’t you dare speak of Louis that way! Don’t you dare speak of his name like that! You don’t know anything! You don’t know him! He was the only one who was kind to me. He was the only one that treated me like a human being! Louis took me in, Louis talked to me, he was kind to me, he didn’t flinch when he shook my hand, he never gave me strange looks. Don’t you dare call him a monster. He was not a monster. He was…he was-” he pauses, hesitating for a second before adding quietly: “He was everything. He was the one person who genuinely liked me. Who actually cared.” I scramble back as he takes another step towards me. “I-I uh, I’m s-sorry. I didn’t mean- I’ll…I’ll leave now…” “Oh no, you’re not going anywhere. No one speaks of Louis like that around me and gets to leave unharmed. Besides, I’m feeling rather…hungry,” he says with a small chuckle and a grin that shows his fangs as he takes yet another step towards me. And another, and another. He’s already close before I realise what was happening. “No. No, no, no, no. S-stay back! No-!” I start, not even having time to run as he lunges at me, sinking his fangs into my neck.
Please read part 1,2 and 3 before reading part 4
