Hearts of the Lonely (Reader x Mountain Ghoul)

1- Lost

"You piece of...!" You chucked your phone across the tent. It hit the opposite fabric wall and fell with a loud clunk. You hastily crawled toward it over your pile of gear and cradled it in your arms. It was useless, but you didn't care. It was still a connection to civilization. Your phone gave one sad and slow final beep before it powered down.

You sighed and put your head in your hands, letting the device fall to your side. It was only a matter of time anyways. It was your fault for not charging your phone to one hundred percent before leaving the house. The solar-powered charger you received from your aunt last year on your birthday couldn't help since there was little to no sun to be found. But Aunt Linda didn't expect you to get lost in such a dense area of forest, did she?

Beginning on the Friday that marked the start of spring break, you drove your car for miles in order to find the best camping spot. After pulling over and getting your gear, you walked into the forest and found a good spot to stay for the day. The next day, you packed up and decided to follow the trail by going deeper into the forest. Unfortunately, you discovered that this trail led you to an area of no cell reception and you had no clue where you were. In a desperate attempt to find your location, you tried to retrace your path but lost sight of the trail. This was a poor idea, and you ended up getting more lost than before.

It wasn't your fault that all the trees looked the same. The forest seemed beautiful and peaceful. You loved the sense of being one with nature. Now it was dark and mysterious, with no chattering animals to be found. Only a miniscule amount of light was able to penetrate the heavy canopy of rich, dark green.

Eventually you just gave up and found that the simplest thing to do would be to stay put. You had enough supplies for four more days, and you were sure you could find your way back in time. At first, you blew the emergency whistle for help. No one came, even after multiple tries. And now your phone died. Great. What were you going to do now?

As you listened to the soft rain fall on your tent, you rummaged through your dark blue backpack. It was going to be a long day, and you had to entertain yourself somehow. You dug through the clothing and pulled out a deck of cards. Looking over at your phone once more, you gave a final sigh and put it in your bag where the cards held residence before. It wouldn't be useful now, so might as well put it somewhere safe.

The cards were fresh, and they were crisp as you shuffled and displayed them for a game of solitaire. Five...ten...fifteen...twenty minutes passed. You were never good at solitaire, only playing when you visited your grandparents over summer break when you were in school. Now you had more than enough time to practice.

Time.

What was the damn time?

The tent was small, yet big enough for items to get lost in the void. The seven foot by four foot tent was able to hide anything and everything, so you had to look much longer than you wanted to.

"Where did you go? Come out you little brat..." You said impatiently. "Ah! There you are!"

The watch face greeted you with the time. Ten fifty-two. You started to plan out the rest of your day. It mostly consisted of exploring your new location and entertaining yourself. But adventuring would have to wait until the rain let up. You usually loved the rain. The smell was glorious, and the raindrops seemed to comfort you as they fell. It was colder outside, so you didn't want to go outside. Instead, you picked up the cards, put them away, and pulled out a book.

The novel was one you bought a month ago, but forgot about it until packing for your camping trip. It was "The Secret Garden." The story was beautifully written so far, and you were excited to continue. You opened the book where the bookmark indicated you last stopped reading. It wasn't very far, yet you were proud about reading close to fifty pages in one day. After reading nineteen pages you got drowsy and had trouble concentrating on the story, so you decided to set the book down and take a nap. Since you sat criss-cross-applesauce for close to a half hour, your body was relieved that you stretched out and were laying down. It didn't take long to fall asleep.

. . .

The first thing you noticed was that the rain had stopped. Perfect. Time to explore! You put your novel near your gear, and took out some rope and a water bottle. The rope would be tied around a tree near your tent with the other end tied around your waist. Hopefully you wouldn't get lost again. Unzipping the tent door, you stepped out into the unknown.

Squelch.

Thank goodness you had waterproof boots on. The ground was still wet and muddy, but the view was beautiful. The rain had caused anything green to stand out against the dark brownish-black of the tree bark. You had expected to start hearing the forest come to life again after the rain, but there was no noise other than your boots making contact with the ground. It was odd. You had always heard animals running through the forest once in a while. In this section of the forest, it was silent. You had a brief moment of wondering if you should stay in your tent, but you brushed the thought away and began to tie the rope to the nearest tree. You tightened the knot, put the rope around your waist, and set off.

As you walked, you looked up at the forest canopy. Although it was close to noon, there was almost no sun. You stupidly forgot the flashlight, so you had to rely on touching the trees as you passed them while not tripping over the rocks. Each tree was different, but they all had rough bark. Some had fuzzy moss. You took off some moss and stuck it in your pants pocket just in case you injured yourself and needed something to absorb blood.

That's odd.

At the end of the rope, you came up to a tree that had markings in it. They felt like they were vertical, about five feet above the ground on the trunk, and maybe half an inch deep into the tree. You investigated some more, but you realized that the markings were really slash marks. Your heart started beating faster; you should've stayed back at the tent. Time to turn back. Now.

You whipped around and pulled on the rope to find your way back. After taking around ten steps, the rope had no tension. You were certain that you had tied the knot tight enough, but mistakes can happen. Perhaps the rope untied itself? It would all be okay.

Continuing walking in the same direction and winding up the rope, you reached your camp. You made it back in one piece, but the same couldn't be said for the rope. You found that the rope was still tied to the tree, but it was cut off and left on the ground near the tent entrance. You should've felt the rope being cut as well as heard whatever or whoever cut it. That wasn't the case.

You grabbed your backpack from the tent, being careful to not let in mud. You grabbed your flashlight and pointed it at the area around the tree base. The light shone on your footprints and something else that appeared to be much larger footprints in the mud.

You nearly peed yourself.

You ran into the tent, dragged the rope in behind you, and frantically zipped the tent back up. After turning off the flashlight, you slowly rewound the rope as you tried to calm down. All of a sudden, you felt a flood of relief wash over you. You knew it wasn't normal, but you couldn't control your body.

"Hello?" A gravely voice softly greeted you.

Holy fucking shit. What was that?

You held your breath. There someone out there. Or something.

You held perfectly still and tried not to scream, although the wave of relief was still affecting you. This mostly resulted with your body being calm but your mind racing with anxiety and fear. Suddenly, you felt the urge to open the tent door. You had a mental battle, but the impulse won.

This is the day I die.

As you slowly opened the door, your heart rate increased dramatically. Your mind was still muddled with the illusion of tranquility, but you could still think rationally. You reached the end of the zipper, and you took a deep breath. You were sure you would explode soon.

You gave the flimsy door a small push while being as quiet as possible. You didn't expect to see a very tall man standing outside your tent. Everything seemed a bit better until he extended his hand to you. His nails were longer and sharp. He flashed a smile. . .with fangs.

"Are you all right?"

Okay, take me now; I am ready to die.

You passed out.