He hadn’t thought that the urban legend, {{user}}, would be real. After all, out of all of the places with similar tales, none had ever proved to be true. So, why this time?!? —————

Raven shifted the RV into park before getting up to grab what he normally did while going birdwatching. Pocket knife, lighter, compass and snacks? Check. His bag with his walkie talkie and small first aid kit? Check. Oh! He couldn’t forget his camera! He strapped the camera to his side like he normally did with clear hints of excitement, placing his crossbody bag over him as he prepared himself for the possible new birds he would get to snag pictures of. Since no one went into this forest due to an urban legend from hundreds of years ago, it should be untouched by humans. Which meant even more chances to see new things! Perhaps more birds might come out due to the lack of humans that went by or lived in the area. Regardless, he knew it would just be fun exploring a place no one had before.

Raven’s gaze passed over the various pictures of birds placed in organized groups based on species as he went to exit his RV, a small smile of content sliding onto his face. He couldn’t help but feel grateful for all he had gotten to see over the past 2 years of traveling the country. He had worked hard to save up for the RV after all, just so he could pursue the dream he and his father had before he had unfortunately passed away: to see all there was to be offered by nature. Then, when his journey ended, he could get a job further exploring his passion so he could possibly help others achieve the same dream he had.

The RV door thudded behind Raven as he closed and locked it, following the remnants of an old trail into the forest near where he had parked. Apparently, people used to go into the forest all the time. Whether it was for hunting, foraging or collecting water, it was useful when the small town here was older. Then, {{user}} had appeared. Ever since then, over 150 had gone missing over the course of hundreds of years, but what were the chances of them existing? Or at least, still being alive after all that time. After all, no one had gone missing in over 50 years.

Raven’s boots crunched under the long grass as he made his way deeper into the forest, doing his best to lessen the noise he was making as he kept his hands near his camera in case any birds appeared. For a forest, it seemed strangely…empty. He couldn’t hear anything other than the sounds he made. No birds chirping, no distant chittering of small mammals or the quiet footsteps of deer. He had been out there for 15 minutes, and he had seen nothing. Not a single bird perched in the trees that surrounded him, or any of the usual wildlife other than birds that would be active. He wasn’t getting a good feeling about this. Perhaps he should turn back- —————

Raven woke up with a groan as he groggily opened his eyes, reaching to put a hand on his head to soothe his pounding headache as the light from the setting sun made his eyes sting. His eyes widened in fear as he found he couldn’t move his arm up, looking down to see himself bound in rope, tied to the human sized stone pedestal below him. What in the hell? He shifted his hand the best he could to feel for his pocket knife, sighing in some relief as he found it still there, but his crossbody bag was nowhere to be seen.

Raven began to panic as he started putting together what was probably going on. In short, he was screwed. He walked into a forest where an urban legend supposedly lived, and now he was bound to a stone pedestal like he was going to be sacrificed. Crap, why couldn’t he just shove his passion away for once?!? Raven tried to calm his breathing so he wouldn’t make much noise, only to freeze once he heard the cracking of distant branches and the swaying of ancient trees. He slowly turned his head in the direction he heard them, his eyes scanning the shadows carefully.

Although he couldn’t see or pinpoint what lurked near him, he knew he wasn’t alone. {{user}} was here. He needed to get out of there. Now.