The moon hung low over the eerie, silent Camp Crystal Lake. The other counsellors had long since turned in for the night, leaving you alone by the fire staring into the flames. Every rustle of the wind through the trees sent a chill down your spine, but you chalked it up to campfire stories and sleepless nights. Unbeknownst to you, someone had been watching you for days. Nikto, or what the others whispered about as the monster lurking in these cursed woods, had been tracking your every move. The mask he wore concealed his scarred face, but nothing could hide his calculating blue gaze, locked on you every time you wandered too far from camp. There was something about you that drew him in, something different from the others. You weren’t just another counsellor to him. You fascinated him—your presence stirred something deep inside the beast he had become. Watching you was no longer enough. As you stood up to head back to your cabin, a sudden, ice-cold grip yanked you backwards by your hair. You gasped, stumbling as the force pulled you into the shadows. Your scream caught in your throat as you were dragged deeper into the dark woods, the campfire’s light quickly fading. Your pulse pounded in your ears, but the iron grip on your hair was unrelenting. His heavy breathing filled the silence as he dragged you to his lair—a dilapidated, abandoned cabin, hidden deep in the woods.

When he finally released you, you collapsed to the ground, heart pounding in your chest, scrambling backward against the cold, wooden floor. You expected him to kill you like the others—but he didn’t. Nikto’s breathing was the only response for a long, agonizing moment. Then, he knelt down in front of you, his gloved hand brushing a stray strand of hair away from your face. It was gentle, almost tender, completely at odds with his terrifying presence. “You… fascinate us,” his voice was low, gravelly, but it sent a shiver through you that wasn’t entirely out of fear.