Deathsong

Deathsong

She was 16 years old. He was 17. Both were in their junior year, both lived in a little town in Oregon called Kilfort. Remi Wolf and River Perkins. They didn’t know each other very well, in fact, they didn’t know one another at all.

Until June 21.

Remi

June 16 - 11:18am

I am in the park. I always am, because it’s where I go when I’m sad or bored. Most times it’s because I’m sad. Now I’m sad and bored. My dog just died last week and I’m grounded. Something about my grades. I thought being here would help, but it only made me sadder. I used to take my dog, Biscuit, here, but now she's dead.

3:05pm

I got back from the park like two hours ago, and Mom was yelling at me. Again. She was saying how I’m such a disappointment and I’m not supposed to leave the house without saying anything. Like she was worried.

River

June 20 - 4:48pm

My dad just got home. He’s drunk. Again. He always says he’s at work all day but I highly doubt that.

I went to the park today around 12:00. I saw a cute girl. She looked really sad. She left at about 1:00. I feel like a stalker…

6:23pm

My dad is still drunk. He’s throwing things now. Shoot. He just threw a glass at my Mom.

Remi

June 21 - 7:37am

Last night at about 6:30 there were some loud crashes and stuff coming from the neighbors. I tried looking out there to see what it was. Some kid, probably like 16, maybe 17, and this big dude. The dude was probably his dad. Oh and there was a lady, I think the mom. I wanna say it’s some abusive dad or something but I don’t want to assume things. My dad always said I was a creative child. Maybe a little too creative… Oh someone’s at the door.

River

June 25 - 12:55pm

My mom got really hurt cause of my stupid dad. He got arrested. My mom was in the hospital for a day. I had to stay with my neighbor last night. Crazy thing is, it was the girl I saw at the park… Apparently, her name is Remi Wolf and she’s 16. Her dad died in a car crash when she was 14. Her dog died like two weeks ago. Of course I knew that. Remi suffers from depression and anxiety. Harsh, but understandable.

She’s actually really cool.

Remi

June 30 - 3:56pm

Last week was awesome. The cops showed up to our door with our neighbor, River Perkins. Apparently, it actually was an abusive dad. Ironic. Basically, the dad almost killed the mom, so he was arrested for attempted murder or something and the mom went into the hospital for a night, so River had no-where to stay. They planned on making him stay in some police thing, but his mom insisted on letting him stay with us. Apparently, our moms are friends.

River

July 24 - 10:14am

School starts in like two weeks and I am not excited. At all. I talked to Remi again though. Apparently, she’s going to the same school as me. No surprise though because it’s the only decent school in the area. Were both in our junior year too so that's great.

These were taken from the diaries of River Perkins and Remi Wolf. Why? For the investigation of Remi’s disappearance. Some say she’s dead, some say she’s in the Hazelfall forest.

Chapter One

As expected, this news spread around very quickly. People were saying crazy things and making absurd assumptions. People are insane. It really is a simple situation. She just ran away. As stated in River’s diary, Remi was suffering from severe depression and anxiety because of her dad’s death, and all her dog dying could do was add to it. She was also really pressured into fixing her grades for this school year and she just didn’t want to deal with it. Therefore, she’s gone. Not the smartest solution, but it definitely worked… The question is, where did River go?

Chapter Two

Police looked everywhere for him. Well, everywhere but the Hazelfall Forest. Nobody goes in there. Nobody. At least not since Robin Gray. The Hazelfall Forest is a deep wood. The only reason it’s not called the Kilfort Forest is because there is supposedly another little town on the other side of the forest called Hazelfall. And Hazelfall owns the forest. Nobody’s ever seen the town though. Nobody’s gonna see it. The forest stretches for miles and miles. The only people who have dared to go in, as said by one of the survivors of this forest, hear a slow, eerie sounding hum. The victim is compelled to follow it, almost like they’re hypnotized. Robin, the survivor, however, did not. Simply because she had a bad feeling about the whole thing. Everyone thought Robin was normal when she came back. Everyone thought it was a miracle. It was the exact opposite. Some sort of forest creature, as she described in her journal, was standing in a clearing in the forest, not too far from where she was standing. She tried to run, but she was paralyzed. The creature drew closer and closer to her. Finally, her stiffness wore off, so she ran. She returned the next morning, but she was different. The creature did something to her, everyone knew that, but nobody knew what. Nobody’s dared to go in there since.

They don’t know what’s living in that forest and they don’t want to know. Whenever a case leads up to the Hazelfall Forest they just drop it. Say the kid’s dead or they conceal the case for a year and act like they’re trying to solve it, even though they’re just waiting out the maximum amount of time of a case before they can legally just stop looking. And that’s what they did with River. Just stopped looking. The only small amount of evidence they found was a sample of blood, infected with some fungi from that forest.

Chapter Three

Of course, when they informed his mom about this information, she was filled with rage. She questioned them and called them wimps (and some other words that I’m not gonna mention…). So, Kristine Perkins set off for the forest herself.

The small town of Kilfort was terrified. Two missing. They didn’t know what to do. Kristine, unfortunately, turned the phrase, “Two missing,” into, “Three missing”...

Chapter Four

River was, in fact, in the forest. He went looking for Remi…

As he walked through the forest, he wondered why people talk about it like it’s cursed and the moment you step in you’d die. It was actually quite a nice place. Or so he thought.

Someone who had physically gone to the forest might describe it as eerie, but peaceful. The trees towered over you, with a dusty white bark, and autumn leaves. The floor was sprinkled in twigs and dead grass and pebbles. With the sun peaking through the leaves, making beams of light stretch from the tops of trees, it wasn’t too bad, but imagine that whole scene, in complete darkness. Nothing around you but trees. No sound but the silent hum of the Deathsong…

Chapter Five

River heard it for the first time on his tenth night in the Hazelfall Forest. At first, he didn’t think much of it. He just sat watching the moon slowly creep it’s way towards the middle of the sky, thinking it was just an owl. Then he felt a leaf hit his back behind him, blown by the “wind”. There was no wind.

He quickly scrambled to his feet, terrified, and turned around. Nothing. He heard the slow, eerie hum again. This time he ran. He ran as far away from it as he could until he could barely hear it anymore.

In the distance, he heard a soft whisper. It sounded so familiar, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He heard it again. This time it was more clear. River. It said slowly. River was absolutely petrified. He still had his phone on him, so he looked it up while running. It was hard for him to type, his hands were shaking.

When he finally came to a stop behind a tall shrub, he was horrified when his eyes fell on his phone screen. It read, The Deathsong is a slow hum that one may hear in a forest. It is a symbol of danger. It is known to fool people. The quieter it gets, the closer it is. Don't let it fool you.

Chapter Six

In a panic, River got up and looked around. He couldn’t hear it at all… He frantically ran around trying to get the slightest ounce of sound. Nothing. He was confused. Is it inside me? Am I going to die? Is it behind me? His thoughts whirred in his head. He swung around. There! He screamed. He caught a slight glimpse of something. Almost like a shadow. He couldn’t make out its face but he knew what it was. Remi. He thought he had found her. He thought it was a miracle. He bolted in the direction he saw her. He was running when he was interrupted by the subtle vibration of his phone. Remi’s mom texted. Please just respond. I need you to respond. My Remi is gone. I need to know if you are with your mom. She’s been gone for nearly 12 hours. I need you to answer me. Please. Everyone’s worried.

River was speechless. Remi’s gone? Then who was that over in the- Something grabbed him. He spun around to see what it was. A shadow in the shape of Remi. Suddenly, the Deathsong rung, so slightly that they could barely hear it. Something was watching them.

Remi was covering his mouth. He struggled to escape. His muffled screams were only loud enough to get the attention of the clueless squirrel, watching from a tree. Finally, he overpowered her. He got up and screamed when he saw that she had no face, just a shadow, which he hadn’t noticed before. What did you do to her?! He shouted. She simply got up and said quietly and calmly, I didn't do anything to her. I am her.

Chapter Seven

River was baffled. You? What happened? She made a motion with her hands, saying to follow her. He hesitated but went anyways. She led him to a large cave. It was gloomy, with a warm yellow light illuminating the rough walls and dirt floor, though he didn’t know where it was coming from. The Deathsong was still ringing, even quieter now. River hung close to the shadow that was Remi, remembering what he had discovered about it. She sat on an old rock. He sat too.

She began to explain. Well, it started back on July 30. My mom just got me a new dog. She felt bad for being so harsh on me. I was playing with him by the forest’s edge. I lost hold of his leash and he ran into the woods. I didn’t want to lose him, so I went in… Despite all the horrible things I had heard about this forest, I went in. That was the worst decision of my life.

I soon couldn’t find my way back. I was scared and vulnerable, in the middle of this vast forest. I had nowhere to go, so I decided to settle where there was shelter... And the master of the Deathsong found me. Let me rephrase that. I found it. It took me, and it destroyed me. It made me follow it’s every command. I am it’s host.

Chapter Eight

River soon realized what that meant. It made me follow it’s every command. He struggled to move. I am its host. He screamed. A soundless voice in his head, telling him to stay, forcing him. And he did. He stayed there, screaming as the Deathsong got quieter and quieter until he couldn’t hear it anymore. As the master of the Deathsong emerged from the darkness of the cave…

That's all he could remember. Now he was somewhere completely different. He was in a small town, bordered by a familiar forest. He saw what he thought were people, but were most certainly not. They were shadows. As he questioned why the people were blank and expressionless, he strained his eyes at a large sign. Hazelfall. He was in Hazelfall. It all made sense now. He stood, squinting at the sun. To his horror, he found that he too was a shadow, just as Remi, and Robin, who were standing over him. You belong here now.

The End