The Black Dog

The dog sat at the foot of one of the many crooked trees that gave the Tilted Forest its name. He stood, disturbing the thick fog that hung over the forest and prevented sunlight from reaching the forest floor. 

He took a few steps forward, leaves crunching under his paws. He lifted his head, his black fur bristling slightly. 

There were people here. 

The dog ran through the packed trees, moving in and out of them with ease. 

He stopped at a twisted tree by a large clearing, the shadows that made up his being dancing and flickering like flames.

A group of teenagers were standing on the edge of the glade. There were two boys and two girls. One of the boys was holding a camera. All of them had backpacks. 

One of the girls, who had chin-length blonde hair, a rose-pink sweatshirt, and baggy sweatpants, sighed and moaned, “Maybe we shouldn’t have come here. This forest looks really creepy.” 

The other girl, who had wavy brown hair, a leather jacket, a dark orange crop top, and black jeans, smirked and said, “Scared already? Come on, Evie, you can’t run away when we just got here!”

Evie’s shoulders slumped. “I know, Bea, but maybe we shouldn’t have gone to the forest where Anne Gwyneth and her dog were murdered. Couldn't we have picked a less scary forest?” She shivered, clutching her elbows.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Bea said sternly. “We're already here, so we can't change our minds now. Besides, we’ll only be staying here til nighttime. We came here for a school project, remember?” 

One of the boys, who was wearing a short-sleeved red shirt and khaki pants, ran his hand through his hazel-colored hair and said, “Bea’s right. This forest just looks creepy. It’s not like there’s anything here that could actually hurt us.” 

The other boy, who had been pulling at his too-short gray jacket, groaned and bent his head, his black hair falling into his face. “You just jinxed us, didn’t you?”

The dog chose that moment to step on a small twig that had fallen onto the forest floor.

Everyone jumped, and the black-haired boy cried, “See? I told you you jinxed us, Nate!”

Nate shook his head. “Come on, Hunter, don’t be stupid. You’ve been watching The Blair Witch Project, haven’t you? It was just an animal, like a squirrel or something.”

“Or a mountain lion!” squeaked Evie, trembling.

Bea rolled her eyes. “We are nowhere near a mountain!”

The dog sat down, wondering what to do. He watched Nate turn on the camera and lift it to his face. 

The dog’s shadow fur bristled. Standard protocol was to haunt the intruders ominously until they got scared and left. However, despite their fear, these four kids seemed determined to explore the Tilted Forest.

For the next couple hours, as the teenagers wandered through the twisted woods, recording everything with their camera, the black dog did his best to stalk them and make them panic at every turn. In the end, it never worked. Although the kids were frightened, they managed to stay strong and push forward, which the dog would have admired in any other situation but this one. 

Finally, the dog had had enough. He turned and ran away from the clearing, moving so fast that the leaves covering the ground didn’t stir at all. He weaved between trees and jumped over rocks until he arrived at a tree that was bigger and more warped than the rest. He sat down and tapped on the twisted trunk.

The mist shifted, revealing a girl with long dark hair and a white shift dress. Her eyes glowed red, creating a startling contrast to her otherwise impassive features. 

The girl walked up to the dog with silent footsteps and laid an almost transparent hand on the animal’s head. “Do you have a good reason for disturbing my slumber?” she asked, her voice soft but ominous.

The black dog swished his tail.

The girl nodded. “Visitors, you say? We haven’t had those in a long time. And they seemed determined?”

The dog’s ear twitched.

The girl smiled, revealing pointed teeth. “Shall we welcome them?”

The dog grinned.

The black dog and his master strolled through the forest, the dog swerving around the dense trees and the girl passing right through them.  

“What do you say, Grim?” asked the spirit. “Should I do it?”

Grim nodded, his shadow fur flickering. 

“If this doesn’t work, then we’ll have to call the Horseman, which won’t be fun.” A scowl passed over the spirit’s otherwise expressionless face. “Don’t tell anyone else, Grim, but he can take that pumpkin of his and shove it straight up his—”

A scream cut through the air. 

The source of the noise, Evie, was pointing a shaking finger at a moving patch of fog where the spirit stood. “Something’s in there!” Evie shrieked. 

Bea looked up from her phone and shrugged. “Probably the wind.” She returned her attention to her screen. 

Evie stomped over to her. “There’s no service out here, so what could you possibly be doing on there?” she demanded, gesturing to Bea’s cell phone. 

Bea smiled, blushing a little. “Since I’ve got nothing else to do, I might as well look at pictures of my husband, Benedict Cumberbatch.”

“You mean Benadryl Cummerbund?” asked Nate, grinning. 

“Oh, I love Boulevard Casserole!” said Hunter. 

“Butterscotch Cranberry was amazing in that one movie,” added Nate. He and Hunter burst out laughing. 

Evie and Bea made eye contact, and Bea sighed. 

Then, Evie said timidly, “You know, Bronchitis Chipotle is a really good actor.” 

Bea facepalmed and the two boys howled, their heads tilting back. Evie chuckled, joy beginning to push away her fear. 

Then, the spirit girl motioned to Grim to stay behind before stepping into the clearing, coming up to the teens and saying, “I don’t know who this Bandana Coconut is, but he sounds like a fascinating individual. However, there are more pressing matters at hand, such as why you won’t get out of my forest.” The last six words were uttered through gritted teeth. 

Hunter squealed. “We’re sorry, but we’re only going to stay here til night falls. Then we’ll—then we’ll go home.”

“Don’t you have parents, or people who would worry about you?” asked the spirit girl. 

“We’re doing this for a project, so no one’s worried,” said Nate. “And even if this wasn’t for school, our parents still wouldn’t care.” 

The other three teens nodded, their fists clenched. 

The spirit’s brow briefly furrowed with something like compassion before her expression resumed its usual coldness. “I see. I understand what that’s like. My parents were people who would rather leave you for dead than give any notion of caring about you, and in my case, that’s exactly what they did.” Her red eyes narrowed. 

Evie’s eyes widened. “Wait, are you—?”

“You are correct. I was Anne Gwyneth, but now I am Morrigan, one of the spirits who prevent foolish humans from awakening the true horror of these woods.”

The ground began to shake, and the four teenagers struggled to stay upright. “What’s happening?” cried Hunter. 

“It appears your presence has angered the Monster of the Tilted Forest,” said Morrigan, eerily calm. 

All around them, leaves were beginning to spiral to the forest floor. Cracks were splitting the ground. 

Hooves drummed against the soil as a headless man wearing Revolutionary War clothing and holding a pumpkin under his arm emerged from the fog and entered the clearing, riding on a black horse. “What have you done, Morrigan?” he demanded, his deep voice echoing through the air. He saw the teenagers, who were cowering against each other, and added, “Nothing, apparently.”

“Shut up, Hessian,” growled Morrigan, her pointed teeth bared. “Grim and I did our best, but these kids were way tougher than they look. Besides, if you had been on duty, they would’ve laughed at you and your stupid little pumpkin head.”

“Um, guys?” cried Bea, grasping the skinny trunk of a nearby tree as the ground continued to tremble. “I don’t know what’s happening, but I don’t think you should be fighting right now!” 

“The human with the jacket is right,” said the Headless Horseman. “We shouldn’t be bickering amongst ourselves at this time.” 

“Yes, I agree with the human,” said Morrigan, pointedly not looking at the Horseman. 

“So who is this Monster of the Tilted Forest!?” cried Evie.

“He’s a malevolent spirit who died here as I did, but he’s haunted these woods for centuries,” Morrigan replied. “He can control the plant life, but he’s never had to since Hessian, Grim, and I, along with a few others, were always able to deter any humans who traveled here before he took notice of them.”

“See!?” Evie shrieked at her friends. “I told you we shouldn’t have come here!!”

“Was the ghost girl not enough to convince you!?” yelled Hunter.

Then, the trees began to move, twisting even further and stretching out long branches toward the teenagers, who screamed and bolted to the center of the clearing, huddling against each other.

“I DON’T WANT TO DIE!” wailed Bea.

Morrigan flinched at these words. They were the words she had yelled as the bear had charged toward her and her dog, as her parents walked away, leaving her for dead because they had never cared about her in the first place…

Curse you. 

Morrigan held out her hand, fingers splayed. “Come, my warrior, my knight!” she yelled. 

Grim charged to her side, shifting until he had become a sentient suit of armor riding atop a black horse and holding a giant lance. Wisps of shadow drifted out of any gaps in his armor plating, and his weapon was wreathed in black mist. 

Morrigan gestured to the teens and commanded, “Protect them.”

Grim slashed at the branches that were attacking the teenagers, his lance cutting through the wood like butter.

“What are you doing?” demanded the Headless Horseman. “You’re acting even stupider than usual!”

Morrigan pretended not to hear the insult and replied, “Our objective is to frighten the humans away, Hessian, not kill them.”

“You’re not doing this because of personal feelings, are you?”

“No.” A little bit.

Grim had sliced up the surrounding trees and was guarding the teenagers, the kids who he had tried and failed to scare. They had annoyed him before, but now he felt only sympathy. Memories rose to the surface of his mind, memories of his time as Midnight. The nice thing about being dead was that no one could hurt you or your loved ones anymore.

The trees continued to attack the teens, but Grim fought them back, the rapid movements of his lance chasing away the fog.

“Since you’re so determined to protect them, Morrigan, shall we remove the children from the forest now?” asked the Horseman. “This would be a good time; Grim has taken care of most of the trees attempting to harm them.” 

“You’re right,” said Morrigan, grimacing as if it pained her to agree with him. “Grim, you take the girls. Hessian, you take the boys.” 

Grim’s horse stooped down, and Evie and Bea quickly scrambled onto its back.

The Headless Horseman groaned. “Really, Morrigan?”

“Just do it!” snapped the spirit. 

The Horseman sighed but allowed Nate and Hunter to climb onto his steed’s back.

Grim charged through the forest, waving his lance at the slashing trees and clearing a path through the fog for the Headless Horseman and Morrigan to follow. 

“I’m just curious,” Bea said to Grim, holding onto the warrior’s waist with one hand and wiping at a fresh cut on her face with the other, “did you turn into the knight and summon the horse, or are you the knight and the horse? Are we riding you right now?” 

Evie sighed. “Bea!”

“What? It’s an honest question. Also, is there anything inside the armor?”

A branch swatted at Grim’s helmet, briefly knocking up his visor to reveal nothing inside but shadow. 

Bea yelped. “Got it!” 

Meanwhile, the Headless Horseman was following close behind, his mount at a quick gallop. 

“Um, Mr. Horseman,” said Hunter, whose arms were wrapped tightly around Nate’s torso, “can’t you”—he ducked to avoid a stabbing branch—“can’t you do anything fun to pass the time? Like, I don’t know, can you sing songs? Or do stand-up comedy?”

“Two jokes are sitting behind me right now,” hissed the Horseman. 

Nate grinned. “Ooh, burn!” 

“Also, how can I do stand-up when I’m not even standing?” continued the Horseman.  

Nate chuckled. “You know, I never expected to be riding on the Headless Horseman’s horse while trying not to be killed by violent trees. Sure beats weekends at my dad’s house, though.” He adjusted his hold on the Horseman’s waist. “Also, how are you able to function without a head?”  

“Same way you lot can function without brains,” snapped the Horseman. 

Hunter giggled. “Dang, Horseman! I think you have a future in stand-up comedy!”

“If I can find my head first,” said the Horseman. He flicked the reins, and his steed whinnied and sped up. 

Meanwhile, Morrigan, who was chuckling at the above exchange, picked up the pace, passing through the clustered trees, the fog splitting around her. Even as the ground shook, she was able to keep her footing. 

“Grim,” she yelled. “How much longer can you keep this form?” 

Grim raised a shoulder. 

“Keep going! We’re almost there.” 

The earthquake was dying down and the trees’ attacks were weakening as they neared the edge of the forest.

All of a sudden, Grim and his horse lurched forward. Bea and Evie screamed and tumbled to the ground as the knight and his mount turned into a dark mist that swirled together until it had taken the form of a black Newfoundland.

The dog watched as Evie and Bea rolled head-over-heels through the leaves until they had left the forest. They lay down in the grass, gasping. 

The Headless Horseman reached the edge of the trees. His mount crouched down, allowing Nate and Hunter to slide off of its back and join the two girls on the ground. 

The four teenagers lay there, soaking everything in. Then, they laughed, the sound shaky at first but quickly growing stronger.

“That was… I don’t even know how to describe that!” exclaimed Nate.

“Terrifying, life-threatening,” said Evie, “but… we’re alive!”

“We survived!” cried Bea, pumping a fist in the air. “We made it!”

“I’ll get to see my cat again!” said Hunter.

The Headless Horseman turned his body toward them. “You lot are quite peculiar,” he told them. “But, this is one of the most interesting experiences I’ve ever had with intruders. You are still annoying, though.”

“Don’t lie,” said Morrigan, smiling. “Admit it—they’ve grown on you!”

“I have never heard such a ridiculous—”

“Do you think we’ll get an F on our project?” asked Hunter as the two spirits began to bicker.

Nate laughed. “We met a spirit and were attacked by angry trees and rode on a fictional character’s horse and that’s what you’re worried about?”

“I mean, if we did get an F, then my parents would… well, I’d rather tango with the angry trees again than deal with my mom and dad,” Hunter responded with a hint of sadness underneath his smile.

“You four are welcome to visit any time,” said Morrigan. “We can’t leave this forest, but we could meet you at the edge.”

Evie brightened. “Yeah! That’d be fun! Did you say there were other spirits here?”

“Yeah, we could hang out with them sometime,” said Nate. He raised himself on one elbow. “You know, I never expected you guys to be this chill.”

“Chill?” repeated the Horseman. “It is colder here, but—”

“It’s modern slang,” said Morrigan. “It means we’re easy to get along with.”

“Hmmm,” said the Horseman. “Curious. Very curious.”

***

The police were called, and the students were taken to their homes. Nate’s camera had broken, so most of the footage had been lost.

The four teenagers were upset that they didn’t have anything to turn in to the teacher or remember their spirit friends by. They combed through what footage remained for days, finding nothing but a recording of twisted trees wreathed in fog.

On the assignment’s due date, Evie and her friends showed their footage to their teacher, Mr. Eastwood. The teacher watched the video intently.

“Are you sure this forest fits the qualifications?” he asked. “It looks creepy enough, but you were supposed to be documenting any paranormal phenomena, not just a panorama of—” The rest of the teacher’s words were swallowed in a gasp. 

“What is it?” asked Bea. 

She and her friends looked at the camera, their eyes widening, trying to hide their smiles.

On the edge of the screen was the hazy silhouette of a girl and her black dog, almost hidden in the surrounding mist.