Chapter 1

Zach took a deep breath as he took in the night air around him. The usually city-dwelling boy took a second to take in the many sounds of the forest at night. He could hear small animals rustling in the bushes, the chirping of a legion of insects, and the distant hum of a small brook. All of it came together in a little symphony he was growing to love. It was nowhere near enough to make up for the rest of his family’s trip to the middle of nowhere, but it was nice.

“Is that a smile I see on that face?” Zach rolled his eyes as his father gave him a knowing grin. His mother glanced back at the pair before leaning back on a tree. She knew the two well enough to know how this would go.

“Like we can see anything with how dark it is,” and he might have had a point. His parents hadn’t brought any flashlights with them. Instead, they relied on a full moon and a forest filled with fireflies to light the way. Somehow, they had plenty of light between the two.

More than enough for a father to at least see his son’s face, no matter what Zach said. Because for as much as he was trying to hide it, he was indeed smiling. For the first time in this two-week long trip, he was actually having some fun.

His parents had pitched the trip to the tiny town of Green Creek as a kind of family trip. A chance to see the place where his parents had grown up. Learn about their life there before they moved to the big city. He hadn’t been thrilled to see the places where ‘they kissed for the first time’ or ‘that place where Dad broke his leg trying to impress Mom’, but his parents had been having the time of their lives, so he figured he’d let them have their fun.

The big trouble was that all of that had taken a single day, and they still had thirteen left until they were set to go home. He had spent the next three days spending time with his grandparents, learning bits and pieces of his family history. The one exception was his maternal grandfather who didn’t like to talk about his life before coming to Green Creek as a young man. He had only been able to get two bits of information out of the old man.

The first were about the brilliant green eyes shared between son, mother and grandfather. They were apparently something everyone in their family had. The second was that his grandfather had a falling out with his family as a young man and had never looked back. Not a lot to go on, but Zach made a point to keep out for people with eyes like his in the future. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if he ever found one, but he could worry about it when it happened.

But even with all the fun eye facts, it wasn’t enough to keep him distracted from how boring Green Creek was. He had been just about ready to spend the rest of the trip wandering around town wearing his head phones when his parents decided to give things one last try. On the fourth night of their trip, Zach’s father had told him to put his sneakers on and get ready to go on a quick trip, just the three of them. He hadn’t said to where, just that it was a surprise he’d appreciate.

When their quick trip started leading them into the forest, the horror loving Zach could barely keep himself from shaking in anticipation. He had seen enough horror movies to appreciate the sheer atmosphere of the forest at night. Plus the city kid in him appreciated any chance to see the night sky in its full glory. Without any of the fog and light pollution, he could finally see all those stars people kept talking about. In his opinion, it more than lived up to its reputation.

“Were sorry about the trip so far Zach,” his mother said as they finally started walking again, “we thought you’d have fun, we honestly did.”

“The plan was that if you were bored, you could hang out and have fun with your cousins but…,” his father trailed off as the three of them all remembered the one little problem which made that plan crash and burn. Specifically, the fact that all of his cousins were either six years younger or six years older than him. None of them were really excited to spend time with him.

The one exception to the rule was his cousin Trevor who’d moved out a week ago.

“Look on the bright side,” his father cut in before the conversation could grow any more awkward. “By the time this trip is done, you’ll have filled out your parental bonding quota for the summer,” Zach didn’t even bother trying to hide his smile this time.

“You mean I can do whatever I want for the rest of the summer once I get back?” He buzzed as a flood of ideas rushed into his brain. There were some movies that were coming out, some new games he wanted to get through, and maybe even a concert or two that sounded like fun.

“Within reason,” his mother tried to calm him before he got ahead of himself, “we’re not letting you take a road trip to New York by yourself or something dangerous. And if the two of us go somewhere you might like, we’ll tell you about it.”

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“And you’re still going to Tyler birthday party if she’s out of the hospital by then,” he dad pointed out as Zach pouted.

“Oh, no anything but that,” he placed his hands on his checks and pretended to scream in horror. Once he was sure that his point had come across, he put his hands down to his hips. “Come on Dad, I don’t have to be forced to go to Tyler’s birthday. She’s my friend, and after what she went through, I wouldn’t dream of missing it.”

Especially with how badly Tyler’s summer had started. She’d been stuck in the hospital ever since that accident a few days before the end of the school year. She hadn’t even been allowed visitors until yesterday, and all Zach had been able to do from out here was give her a quick phone call. With any luck, he’d able to see her once he got back home.

The conversation died down for a while until the trio passed by an open wooden gate that would have blocked off the forest path. Seeing no reason not to, Zach asked the question he’d already asked twice before.

“Okay, so is this far enough for you to tell me where we’re going?” There was a slight pause as his parents glanced at each other and Zach’s hope dropped. The last two times he’d asked they had told they were too far away, and he needed to wait just a little bit longer.

“I guess this is far enough,” Zach had to stop himself from punching the air in celebration at his mother’s words. “As you can probably guess, we’re here for a ghost story.”

“Right up ahead is an old cabin,” his father continued, “and according to local legend, it’s where we can find the ghost of one Thomas Pickerpepper.”

Ghostly theater

Tonight’s show: The ill-fated romance of Thomas Pickerpepper.

Thomas was born long ago in one of the many small town of the area. He spent his childhood playing in the forest, helping around the farm, and having fun. A perfectly normal life, until one day in his 21st year.

For that year he headed down to the county fair and met a young lady. The two of them danced and it was love at first step. They met again the next day, as well as every single day of the fair. By the end of the festivities, they were ready to marry.

But as they spoke of their wedding to be, they quickly found a glaring obstacle. In those days, it was common for towns to bicker and argue with each other. And Thomas and his girl were from a pair of towns that considered themselves bitter rivals. Most people from one hated people from the other and the feeling was quite mutual. As soon as the pair knew where the other was from, they knew their love would never be accepted.

So with no other choice, they created a plan. The young lady had an Uncle who though this whole rivalry was a bunch of hogwash. He lived out in the middle of the woods in a small cabin, far from the drama. He would be more than welcome to help them. They agreed to meet there the day after the fair and elope.

What they pair didn’t know, was that someone had decided to listen in on them. A young man from the same town as the young lady. One who had pinned for her his entire life. The mere idea that ‘his’ beloved would dare run away with another man filled him with the ugliest of hates.

And this ugly hate whispered in his ear a horrible plan. He knew where the cabin was, and he could make it there before either of the young couple. All he had to do was set up a trap and wait. He would solve this problem with his own hands.

Thomas arrived at the cabin the next night. He had spent the whole ride over thinking of wedding rings and other such things. So absorbed with thoughts of the happy ending just ahead, that he never saw the lone figure standing next to the cabin.

Thomas dismounted from his horse as a bowstring was let loose. Before he could blink, the young man had an arrow sticking out of heart. He hit the ground dead and the other man got to work hiding a body.

The young lady arrived to the cabin a short while later. She has been expecting to for him to arrive first, but she had instead. At first she thought he must have gotten lost on the way there, and resolved to wait a little while longer. And so she waited, and waiting, the pain in her heart growing heaver with each hour.

When dawn broke over the woods, the sun lit up a young lady crying her eyes out. She ran back to her home, her heart resolving to never love again.

And as for the other half of our unlucky couple? They say Thomas Pickerpepper still walks those woods, the arrow still in his heart. He keep marching his forest home, hunting for whoever stuck that arrow in him and stole his love.

Zach gulped as he fought the tingle on the back of his neck. It almost felt like the woods around him had gotten quieter and quieter since his dad had started telling the story. His hands couldn’t help but twitch as the hairs on the back of his neck stuck up.

“Sometimes,” his father continued as Zach leaned back, “Thomas finds people while walking these woods. He never learned where that arrow came from, so he just assumes everyone he meets is the killer. And when he thinks he sees the killer, he tends to… attack!”

Zach’s eyes widened as he heard something from behind him just as his father yelled. He turned around just in time to see a pale figure bursting out from the woods. Sticking out of his chest was an arrow, as clear as ice.

He had only a second to two before the ghost reached him. Now Zach wasn’t one to ask useless questions like’ what is that’ or ‘is that a real ghost’. He also wasn’t one to run away in a blind panic or hide behind his parents.

Instead, he did something that no one would have expected. He noticed how quick the figure was running towards him and jumped forward. He stuck his foot out and hooked the figure’s leg. It let out a yell as it went crashing into the ground. Zach took one last glance before making a break for it.

“Run for it!” he called back to his parents before dashing into the woods. He ran past the trees and over the roots as the rest of his brain caught up to him. The first thing he registered was that his parents weren’t following after him. In fact they were still on the path, his father hunched over and laughing his head off.

“Oh,” he whispered to himself as it all started making sense. This was a prank, and he had just messed it all up by not being scared. He slowly made his way back to the path, his father’s laughter acting as a useful guide so he wouldn’t get lost.