Paranormal & Supernatural

Prologue

Dark luminous clouds rumbled as rain pelted the leaves of the tall trees of the thick forest. The river currents rapidly crashed against the surrounding area as it overflowed with over six inches of rain. A young boy of the age of five sobbed as he crouched inside a hollow tree in the middle of the forest. He covered his ears with his hands and shut his eyes tight as thunder boomed nearby. His black hair was plastered to his face and he was drenched to the bone.

"M-mommy... Daddy... Where are you? I'm- I'm scared! Someone, please... Help me..." His cries were drowned out as the storm continued to rampage. A loud snap resounded from outside the tree as someone stepped on a stick.

"Are you okay?" The unknown person asked as the child looked up. He couldn't see the person clearly because his vision was blurred by the tears pouring down his face. "C' mon. Let's get you back home."

The child nodded, not wanting to let his only chance of getting home slip out of his hands. He felt the person picking him up and he buried his face into their shoulder. The person held him tight as he began to make his way through the forest. The boy had passed out sometime after being found and found himself sleeping on his bed when he woke up. He went downstairs and was met with relieved parents who hugged him tightly.

"Where were you?! You were gone for nearly 3 days!" His mother asked him hugging him as if he would disappear the next moment.

"I was lost in the forest. It was raining and dark... I was scared! But then a nice man found me! He brought me home. I fell asleep on the way... Is he still here? I want to say thank you to him!" The child explained only to be met with confused expressions.

"Son, we didn't even know you were at home. We couldn't find you anywhere after getting home from the camping trip. You suddenly appeared today." His father softly said as they all sat on the couch in the living room.

"But... The man?"

"There isn't anybody around for miles, dear. They couldn't be out here in the middle of nowhere, less so in the middle of the forest."

The family couldn't figure out what exactly happened to the young boy when he went missing, but the parents had made arrangements to move out into a more urbanized area to avoid any more incidents like that from happening the night before the family headed out, the young boy caught a glimpse of the man who had helped him standing in the backyard. The boy smiled as he ran out onto the back porch and waved to the man. Being an innocent child he was, he didn't question the fact that the man hid his face from view. He pats the small child on his head as the boy thanked him for rescuing him.

"My parents said that we have to move because it's too dangerous here..." The child explained sitting on the bench with the stranger. The stranger seemed to tense at his statement before nodding. The child yawned and fell asleep while leaning on the stranger. The man sat still for a moment before gathering the child into his arms and went to put him in his bed.

The next morning, the family headed out to their new home. What they didn't see was the shadow who tailed after them. Red lips smiled as they watched the young boy sleep in the back seat of the car.

"I'll protect you. I promised him after all..."