3. Slender Ghost Shadow

Jimmy was sixteen years old this year, and the person he admired the most in the town was Hewitt.

In his memory, when he was still a little boy, Hewitt had built a small house on the edge of the town.

His parents had once told him that there was a man-eating wizard living in that house, and they would throw Jimmy to him if he didn't behave.

Thinking of this, Jimmy laughed to himself. Uncle Hewitt was not only not a wizard, but in his eyes, Hewitt was like the heroic figure who would foil evil wizards' schemes.

Since he was little, he didn't have many friends. In fact, he looked down on playing with the boys in town, as they were all crude and stupid.

When he was young, he was bullied by his peers because of his weak physique. Although his sister would help him, it had no effect at all, and only made people mock him more.

That was until Hewitt appeared and drove away the bad guys.

Blackeye Forest, tall birch trees covered the sky, making it difficult for even the minions of the bright silver moon to penetrate this forest in large numbers.

The moonlight was thin.

With a lantern hanging at his waist, Jimmy pushed the cart containing the red deer inside. The red deer was a surprise Jimmy had prepared to celebrate his sister successfully getting into college.

He was now planning to hide the red deer meat in his secret base.

Jimmy didn't explain to Hewitt why he wanted to buy the deer meat. It was because he was afraid it would ruin the surprise.

His father, embarrassed to always bother Hewitt, had already gone to the city to buy lamb. However, the deer meat from Blackeye Forest was extremely delicious and always the top choice at banquets.

He paid for the red deer meat with the money he earned from running errands from his little savings.

Thinking of his sister, Jimmy couldn't help but hum lightly. His sister was good at everything, except she always opposed Uncle Hewitt and often told him to stay away from Hewitt.

"Humph!"

He had seen with his own eyes the trophies in Uncle Hewitt's house: the wide and majestic moose antlers, the fierce and enormous brown bear head, and the more than one-meter-long salmon specimen.

Also, those people who occasionally came to see Uncle Hewitt, all dressed in finery, looking like wealthy people from the city. But even they spoke to Uncle Hewitt politely.

Uncle Hewitt must have been a legendary adventurer who stayed in this small town because of certain reasons.

Of course, what was most important to Jimmy was that Hewitt had once chased away the bullies who tormented him, and they never dared to bully him again.

Jimmy wanted to become someone like Hewitt, someone who could make the bad guys retreat.

One day, those who had once bullied him would shiver in his presence and kneel to beg for mercy.

"Shush!"

The sound of a creature moving through the forest rang out.

Jimmy looked around, his heartbeat speeding up slightly.

The gloomy path was surrounded by trees and bushes, their branches and leaves resembling twisted, fangs and sharp claws.

Although not many people passed by here, due to the hunters and police officers from the town clearing the way regularly, it should be impossible for any large wild animals to appear on this path.

"Is anyone there?"

A repressed, hoarse growl echoed between the trees.

Jimmy quickly pulled out the short knife at his waist for self-defense.

Jimmy shouted into the depths of the forest:

"Get away! I'm not afraid of you!"

A long, pale arm emerged from the shadows.

Jimmy clenched his teeth, hardly able to believe what he was seeing. What was that

dry, decaying, disgusting thing?

Just looking at the arm made one wonder how vile and filthy its owner must be. Was it a non-human monster that desecrated the Gods hiding in the shadows? Or was it a pathetic result of genetic mutation and inbreeding?

A tall, thin figure crawled slowly out of the shadows and stood silently a few dozen meters in front of Jimmy.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Jimmy's roar did not scare it off, and it didn't draw anyone else's attention.

Jimmy couldn't comprehend what he was seeing.

The thin, pale arm hung in a strange position from the shoulder, the milk-white sharp nails growing at an unnatural speed, turning into ten slender, sharp daggers. The reflection of the moonlight was no longer warm and bright but wicked and mad.

Was this an illusion?

How could such a thing exist in the world? The boy's legs couldn't stop trembling, and the frightened scream, like a startled insect, was stuck in his throat, not daring to crawl out.

By Gavyn above, how could the gods allow such a terrifyingly twisted monster to exist in this world? It was simply a crazy combination of the ugly demons and deformities living in hell.

A terrifying creature that almost challenged the boundaries of biology.

Jimmy doubted the reality of the scene before him again.

The tall, thin figure took step by step towards Jimmy. The half-bent figure was now about two meters tall. The pale, dry skin wrapped around the monster's body like a piece of cloth.

But what truly sent Jimmy into hysteria was the horrifying mouthparts that occupied nearly half of its face, resembling those of a lower invertebrate arthropod creature.

"Ahhhhhh!"

Jimmy finally broke down, his rationality defeated by animal instinct.

He dropped the cart and took off running, while the pale monster dragged its thin figure behind him at a leisurely pace.

Huff, huff, huff.

What was that sound?

Jimmy dared not think about it.

He could faintly hear and feel droplets of saliva landing on his shoulders, the warm breath that brushed his neck, but it was as if nothing was there.

He didn't even dare to look back to see if the creature was still following him.

Finally, he saw the light of his home, and without looking back, rushed in and slammed the door shut with all his might.

Sweat soaked his entire body, and the weakness from dehydration assaulted his willpower, tempting him to relax.

He turned to look outside the window.

There was nothing but silence.

Nothing was there.

Jimmy took a deep breath; even if he was losing his mind, it was better than having a real monster following him.

His mother should still be working at the shop, his sister was studying in the city, and his father had left early in the morning to buy things. It seemed he hadn't returned yet.

Jimmy decided to check the storeroom in the backyard; that was where their family's only high-caliber rifle was kept.

Jimmy approached the back door, about to open it, when he heard a muffled groan from behind him.

The sound disappeared quickly, making the boy once again doubt if he was hallucinating.

There were noises coming from the storeroom. Jimmy was about to run away from the house, but then he stopped.

If there was a monster, who made that moaning noise?

Jimmy didn't want to think about it. After struggling for a few seconds, he stumbled into his parents' bedroom.

He pulled open a drawer and rummaged through it, finally touching a small revolver. Clumsily, he loaded the bullets and ran downstairs to the back door.

Jimmy stopped abruptly at the door, taking a deep breath and muttering:

"You can do it, Jimmy. Think of Uncle Hewitt. If it were him, he would charge out with determination and drive the monster away."

Jimmy opened the back door, gripping the revolver tightly as he tiptoed toward the storeroom.

The storeroom stood still surrounded by darkness.

With the gun in one hand, Jimmy nervously grabbed the doorknob.

"Click!"

The door opened from the inside, startling Jimmy and making him step back several times.

A fat figure appeared before him, and he almost pulled the trigger.

"Dad! What are you doing here?"

Jimmy's father's body blocked the door, and the boy noticed that it was completely dark inside, without even a spare oil lamp.

The boy didn't lower his gun.

His dad said expressionlessly:

"Son, didn't I go out this morning to buy things for your sister's banquet? Where else would I put them if not in the storeroom? What are you doing with my revolver? What if it goes off?"

The middle-aged man looked at the boy suspiciously.

Jimmy sighed in relief, lowered his hand, and asked:

"Dad, have you heard any strange noises?"

The middle-aged man chuckled and said:

"What's the matter with you, kid? Did you get something from those troublemakers? There's no strange noise, just me putting stuff away."

Jimmy laughed in relief:

"I've been feeling a bit off mentally lately. By the way, Dad, why don't you turn on the light when you're putting things away?"

Jimmy's father showed the "serious" face he usually used to teach Jimmy a lesson. However, due to his chubby face, his serious expression had always been quite "cute." Seeing this, Jimmy laughed in relief.

"Isn't saving on the light bill still saving? Get back to sleep, you keep wandering around and still have so much to say."

With that, the man kicked at Jimmy, who laughed and dodged, running back to his room.

When he returned to his room, shut the window curtains, and turned off the light, his father returned to the storeroom.

He didn't turn the light back on.