My dad said I was never supposed to amount to anything. He said I would never find love, or family, and that I was meant for the gutter. He was a real piece of work, and then he died. He got into a stupid fight that ended with a knife between his ribs. After that, I was on my own. I dropped out of high school while he was alive, washing dishes to pay the bills for our shitty, cramped RV. So, a year after he died, I worked on getting my GED.
That’s when I met Martha. Martha was the exact opposite of me. I was an awkward loner with a chip on his shoulder, she could win over an entire crowd with a beautiful smile. I fumbled my way through a conversation with her, convinced I was missing my shot in real time. But I guess awkwardness was Martha’s thing, because that conversation turned into a date, which turned into a relationship and finally marriage. I worked as a bartender while she continued to study for her computer science degree. Yeah, kind of obvious which one of us was the smarter one.
Being a bartender was sort of a blessing in disguise. I was able to talk to people, make friends, and improve my social skills. That’s how I became friends with Rob. Rob was a real estate agent a few years older than me, and it was thanks to him that Martha and I were able to eventually purchase our house. We ended up being Rob’s next door neighbor, the two of us sharing a cul-de-sac that sat atop a small hill. Behind the cul-de-sac, a patch of woods stretched out over a mile or two. This was a very popular spot for the neighborhood kids to run around in, and Rob assured us that if we decided to have kids, it would be safe to let them play in the woods as well.
“It’s a very safe neighborhood,” Rob told me after he invited me over for a barbecue. “The kids are smart enough to not go out too far, and these woods aren’t big enough for them to get totally lost in.”
When Bruce was born, things changed. Martha had by now graduated and was focused on her career, so I became a stay at home dad. I didn’t mind at all, I was proud of Martha for pursuing her dream, and she always made sure she spent enough time with Bruce after a long work day.
I loved Bruce from the first moment we brought him into the world. He was the biggest middle finger to my piece of shit dad, proof that I proved the old man wrong and that I was worth something. Being a stay at home dad let me bond with Bruce in a way my dad and I never could. He was so cute, following me around and trying to copy everything I do. After his eighth birthday, I finally felt confident enough to let him play in the woods. I would watch from our backyard as he scampered off into the line of trees with his best friend Daniel. Daniel was Rob’s second son, his first being a teenager named Mark. Mark was a good kid, even if he sometimes fell into typical teenage quirks. But Bruce and Daniel were inseparable. Daniel was a year older than Bruce, and acted as an older brother for him. He was a bright, adventurous kid who looked after my son, and I felt safe letting the two boys wander off together.
This was our life for a long time. It was good, great even. I was happy, I felt like I finally found my place in the world. I had a beautiful family that loved me, I had friends and I was a much more confident man than I ever was before.
Of course it couldn’t last.
I had gotten up one early Saturday morning to treat my wife and son to a big breakfast of French toast and eggs. Martha came downstairs, lured down by the tempting smell, and smiled that gorgeous smile as she sat down at the kitchen table. I laid down a plate in front of her and she grabbed my hand.
“It looks wonderful,” she chirped. “Thank you, honey.”
Just then, Bruce, freshly turned nine a few months ago, came down with an excited grin on his face. I knew immediately he had something on his mind, so as he sat down for his breakfast I asked him what he was going to do today.
“Daniel and me found a door in the woods yesterday!” he announced whole wolfing down his food. He gave me a giant, syrup smeared grin. “Me, him, and the others gonna open it today!”
His words gave me pause, but Martha beat me to it. “A door?” She asked. “What do you mean, a door?”
“I mean a door!” Bruce repeated. “We found it on this big tree, with a doorknob and everything!”
This…was weird, to say the least. I wanted to tell Bruce that he wasn’t allowed to investigate whatever he found, but he had explored the woods for a long time so it couldn’t be that dangerous, right?
I left my family to their breakfast as I entered the living room, pulling out my cellphone and dialing Rob’s number.
“Y’ello,” came his voice.
“Hey, Rob, did uh…” I hesitated, then took a deep sigh. “Did Daniel tell you about a door the boys found in the woods?”
“He did, as a matter of fact,” Rob confirmed, with a casual tone. I immediately felt myself relax. I trusted Rob, and looked up to him. If he wasn’t worried, then there wasn’t any reason I should be. Rob cleared his throat and continued. “I asked Mark to keep an eye out, make sure they stay out of trouble and all that.” He chuckled and I could imagine him shaking his head. “Boy wasn’t doing much anyway, at least this way he can spend more time with his brother.”
“So you don’t think anything is cause for concern?”
“It’s just boys being boys, Rick!” Rob confidently exclaimed. “Do you actually think there’s some door attached to an old tree? They’re just letting their imaginations run wild, makin’ up adventures and actin’ them out.”
“Yeah, yeah you’re right,” I agreed, letting out a deep breath. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, Rob.”
“No problem-o, bud.”
Fifteen minutes later, I watched as Bruce and Daniel gathered the neighborhood boys, seven in total including themselves, and enter the woods through our backyard. I saw Mark sigh in exasperation and trudge after them, hands buried deep in his pockets and audible heavy metal blasting through his headphones. When they finally disappeared from view, I exhaled a deep breath I didn’t know I was holding. I felt Martha squeeze my arm and took comfort in it.
They would be fine, I kept telling myself. They go out into the woods every day and nothing bad has ever happened. You’re overthinking this. And yet still, I couldn’t shake the feeling like something different was in the air. A slight dizziness swam around my head, my lips were dry, and a small dense marble had lodged itself in my chest. Martha led me back inside the house and sat us down on the couch. She had been given the day off, meaning we were allowed a rare day of relaxation. She cuddled against me as she absentmindedly scrolled through Netflix, asking for my input on what we should watch. I half heartedly suggested a romantic comedy I knew she liked, but my mind was still on our boy and his friends.
I must’ve fallen asleep in the couch, because I awoke to a high pitched scream. It jolted me out of my slumber, immediately sending me into a panic as I frantically looked around. It was now late afternoon, and Martha was nowhere to be seen. I called for her, but all I heard was a loud sobbing. Where was it coming from? The backyard?
I stumbled towards the sliding glass door, noting the pink sky caused by a setting sun. It was late afternoon already? How long had the boys been out? The cool summer air brushed past my skin as I stepped outside, and I found the source of the cries. Bruce was standing there while my wife wrapped her arms tightly around him. His face was comforted into one of pure terror, tears streaming down his cheeks with snot covering the entire lower half of his face. Behind him, currently throwing up in my flowerbed, was Mark. I walked up to him and hoisted him up by his hood. I recoiled in shock when I saw him.
Mark was covered in blood.
“Jesus Christ, Mark!” I gasped, fumbling back. “What the fuck happened to you?!”
“I…I…” Mark was staring vacantly past me, trembling like a leaf. He was pale, and his eyes bulged out of his skull. Blood dripped off of his face, pooling around him while his clothes were stained a deep crimson. He took a deep breath and shook his head. “N-Not my blood, Mr. Bennett!” He collapsed onto his knees, dry heaving as he kept repeating “not my blood…not my blood…”
Footsteps thundered behind me, and I turned around to see Rob barreling through my backyard door, followed closely behind by a few of our other neighbors.
“We heard screams!” he wheezed, clutching his chest as he gulped in big breaths of air. “What the hell is-“ He saw the state of our sons and cried out. “Lord almighty! What’s goin’ on?!” He pushed past me as he grabbed Mark’s shoulders, inspecting him up and down. The others turned towards me, a few stepping forward to ask me where their children were.
“Anthony never came back!” Bernie hissed, his bald, pudgy face growing red as a tomato. “He went out with YOUR son, Rick! How come he ain’t here?!” Other parents nodded along, glaring at me.
I raised my hands up defensively. “I don’t know! Bruce just came back like this, I don’t know what happened, I swear!”
“You were supposed to look after your brother!!” We were all taken aback by Rob’s sudden outburst. We turned around just in time to see Rob practically throw his son to the ground. “WHERE IS HE, MARK?! YOU COULDN’T DO THIS ONE FUCKIN’ THING RIGHT!!”
He raised his arm to strike at the boy, but Bernie and I rushed forward to hold him back. “Stop it!” I yelled into Rob’s ear, yanking him away as Bernie helped Mark to his feet. I was shocked. The Rob I knew would never raise a hand to his family, and yet here it looked like he was about to kill his son in a mad fury. “Christ, get ahold of yourself!” For good measure, I slapped my best friend across the cheek, and with a painful gasp he backed away.
“S-Shit…” he murmured. “Shit…you hit like a fucking semi, Rick…”
I ignored him and glanced towards Martha. She beckoned for me to come closer and I did, kneeling next to her to get a better look at my son. Bruce’s clothes were also covered in blood, but when I checked under his clothes I was relieved to see it wasn’t his. That relief was quickly stamped out by a wave of dread, and I cupped his face in my hands and forced him to looks at me.
“H-Hey, little guy,” I said, trying my best to keep my voice calm. “It’s gonna be okay, you understand? It’s gonna be okay, can you repeat the back to me?”
“I-It’s…going t-to be okay,” Bruce hiccuped, his voice barely audible. I nodded and gave him my best smile, which in this situation probably didn’t seem convincing.
“That’s right, that’s right,” I cooed, leaning in to peck his forehead. “But you need to tell me what happened, okay? Can you tell me where Daniel and the others are?” Around me, the neighbors stilled and leaned in, everyone hanging off of what would come out of Bruce’s mouth.
“A…a…” A haunted, weary look passed through Bruce’s eyes. A look much too old for such a young boy. He began to tremble, but Martha and I kept him steady and waited patiently for him to speak. “A…a knight ate them, daddy…we opened the door and a knight came out…and he ATE them!”
A knight? My brow furrowed in confusion, and as I glanced around I saw much the same for all my neighbors. I turned towards Mark for clarification, but he refused to meet anyone’s eyes. I turned back towards Bruce and asked him what he meant, but he wasn’t in much of a state to talk anymore. He went back to sobbing into my wife’s arms, and Martha was quick to scoop him up and carry him back inside the house.
It didn’t take long for the adults to spring into action. Within the hour, we got in contact with the local authorities, and a search party was formed. We all stood there, lined up at the border of the woods. I saw Rob a few yards away, shaking furiously as his face twisted into a mixture of distraught and rage. With a deep breath, I stepped into the woods with everyone else. Immediately, I felt it, and I wouldn’t surprised if so could everybody else.
The air had shifted, and everything went silent. Around me, the sound of forty people walking became faint and muffled. I could hear my own heartbeat echoing in every tree I passed. I let out a shaky breath and a fog of air formed in front of me. It was the middle of summer, yet it was freezing in these woods. My legs numbly carried me forward as I tried calling out for Daniel’s name. The sound became lodged in my throat, and try as I might I couldn’t even utter it. My eyes darted from side to side and I realized I lost sight of the other search party members. I was alone, the woods were rapidly growing darker and darker and the flashlight I was given seemed unable to pierce the surrounding black. All I could do was keep walking, my legs seemingly acting of their own accord while I tried to will myself to turn around. I was trapped in my own head, and it was terrifying. I felt like I was being guided somewhere and I didn’t want to see the final destination. Around me, amorphous black shapes stretched in the corners of my vision, almost like they were alive and taunting me. I shut my eyes to keep them away but that only drew them in closer. Now I was certain they were only inches from me, I swore that something cold and wet brushed against my cheek. My eyes shot open in fear but I saw nothing. I tried to turn to look around but my head was fixed forward. I was trapped, and all I could do was continue to be led along against my will. How long had I been walking by this point? The woods couldn’t possibly be this deep!
Eventually, the blackness surrounding me parted, and I could finally see again. I stumbled forward as feeling returned to my legs, collapsing onto the forest floor. I laid there on my hands and knees for a minute, before I finally lifted my head to see where I was. My blood turned to ice as I saw what stood before me. It was a grand oak tree. And built within its bark stood a door. A beautifully, hauntingly polished wooden door, with giant iron hinges clamping down on its side. It was dark in color, much darker than the oak that surrounded it. A intricately crafted doorknob stared at me. The knob was a beautiful, unnatural silver. The silver knob was molded into a grotesque, monstrous face that I couldn’t bear to look at. It felt like it was alive, and I didn’t want to gaze upon it any longer.
“…good God…” I choked out, pushing myself back, trying to get away from this thing.
The doorknob slowly, horrifyingly turned. With an ancient bellow, the door creaked open. It swung with such a great weight I thought the entire forest shifted with it. Something…something stepped out.
I scrambled to my feet and sprinted away as fast as I could. Behind me, I heard the entire forest mock me with an evil chuckle.
I don’t know how long it took me to make it back home, but I quickly found that sleep wouldn’t be coming to aid me. I sat at my kitchen table alone, Martha having taken Bruce to the hospital due to his shock. The only comfort that my home could provide me was a bottle of wine. I downed glass after glass, with a little part of the back of my mind telling me how much I must’ve looked like my old man. I sighed and pushed the alcohol away, grimacing as I allowed the memories of what happened a few hours earlier to replay in my head. I still wasn’t sure what Bruce saw, whether it was truly a “knight” or not, but it was real, and it was dangerous. It was in those woods, I don’t know when it first arrived but the forest wasn’t safe anymore. I wasn’t even sure if this house was safe anymore. I could feel dozens of eyes burning into the back of my head, laughing at me cruelly.
Was I about to lose everything? I had spent years digging myself out of the aftermath of my father’s abuse, and one terrible night in the woods nearly sent me spiraling back. I felt so small, so pathetic…
A sudden knock on my door startled me. With a gasp, I nearly fell out of my seat. I glanced at the wall clock and was surprised to see it was one in the morning. Had I really being drinking for that long? Who would knock on the door in this late hour? With a deep sigh, I cautiously approached the door. I checked the peephole and relaxed when I saw Rob on the other side. I opened the door, trying to give him a friendly welcome but failing terribly. He noticed.
“How’s Bruce?” he asked me quietly.
“In shock,” I replied, “he’s in the hospital with Martha right now.” I flinched as I remembered that it was my son who made it out, not Rob’s. Daniel was still missing, and I morbidly wondered how much of the blood on Bruce and Mark was his. “Shit, Rob…listen, I’m so sor-“
“Don’t.” Rob cut me off with a growl, holding his hand up. He took a deep breath and shook his head. “I don’t need that right now.”
“Yeah…of course.”
Rob looked me in the eyes, my frightened, tear stained eyes. He saw something in them, I knew, because he nodded to himself. “You saw something out there, didn’t you?” he guessed. I hesitated, then nodded reluctantly. I was shocked and a little disturbed to see his mouth twist into a snarling grin. “Good,” he hissed, before he beckoned for someone behind him. For the first time, I noticed that Mark had been behind him. The teenager looked terrified, but approached us anyway. In his hands he held two handguns, and he slowly handed one to me. I took it gingerly, looking down at it like it was poisonous.
“Rob,” I began, “what…what is thi-“
“We’re going to kill it.” Rob growled, taking out his own handgun and waving it around. “You, me, and Mark are gonna go out there and kill the son of a bitch.” He leaned in, and I saw a manic desperation in his eyes. “It took my son, Rick! And it nearly took yours too! It’s our duty as fathers to put this monster down!” He began walking down the street, turning back to glare at me. “Now are you in? Or out?” His eyes narrowed dangerously. “Don’t let me down, Rick.”
I didn’t want to go back into that forest, I wanted to run away and hide like a scared little kid. But deep down I knew Rob was right. It was my job as a dad to do what was best for my family, to keep them safe. And would they ever truly be safe if this creature remained? I was scared, so scared…
But I was scared of losing my son more.
With a deep gulp of air, I nodded and followed the father and son. Rob grinned and slapped me on the back, while Mark remained deathly quiet. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw frightened tears roll down his cheeks.
We entered the forest behind our neighborhood, and immediately that cold, dead feeling returned. It felt like the three of us were prisoners marching towards our execution. I clutched my handgun tightly, trying to take deep breaths to keep myself calm. I was barely doing better than Mark, who began to sob quietly to himself when Rob pushed him ahead of us.
“Lead the way, boy,” he demanded. “You and the kids knew where the door was, didn’t you?”
Mark nodded, and we began our trek at a snail’s pace. It was obvious to me that Mark was forced to come along, and every noise the woods made had him scrambling backwards like a mad deer. The poor boy could barely keep hold of his gun, but despite me bringing this up to Rob, the kid wasn’t allowed to leave or even walk behind us.
“It’s his damn fault this all happened,” I heard Rob mutter under his breath. “The boy needs to make it right.”
In that moment, my best friend almost reminded me of my father. Or maybe he DID remind me but I was trying to ignore it at the time.
My stomach lurched as the door came within our sight. It was wide open, and Mark fell to his knees in pure terror. He began muttering things under his breath, but Rob yelled at him to get up. As for me, the instinct to turn tail and flee was so close to taking over. My legs felt like jello and my arms like lead. My heartbeat was pounding so loud it drowned out the entire world around me. God, I wasn’t supposed to be here! Rob nudged me forward.
“Let’s head inside,” he said. I stared at him like he was crazy, but he seemed eerily calm. Was he truly not feeling the same fear as Mark and I? Or was he just better at hiding it. With a throat as dry as the desert, I gulped and nodded. The three of us filed into the door, our flashlights illuminating the inside of the oak tree.
The space was much bigger than the tree could possibly allow, I noticed. We found ourselves in a large circular room that was much better off than one would’ve thought. Grand tables and chairs littered the sides, with beautiful paintings depicting strange, alien creatures adorned the walls. I looked up and noticed an unlit chandelier now swaying with the breeze we let in. A single hallway led into a deeper part of the tree, shrouded in a darkness our lights could not penetrate. I was convinced that’s where the creature laid, and it seems Rob was quick to agree.
“Let’s go,” he whispered, thankfully taking the lead. We trailed behind him, and I placed what I hope was a comforting hand on Mark’s shoulder. I knew the poor kid shouldn’t be here, I wanted to tell him to turn back but my own fear held me back. Mark turned towards me and chewed his lip until it bled.
I’m scared, he mouthed.
“I know,” I whispered. I didn’t offer him comfort. We were in the belly of the beast, and all comfort was left at the door.
The hallway was much less fanciful than the grand room, the walls were composed of dirt with tree roots jutting out of every direction. At one point we needed to bend down at an awkward angle to progress. None of us uttered a sound as hours, days even, seemed to pass us by. Finally, there was an end, and we spilled out into another room. The room was smaller than the first, but who cared about that. Because standing in front of us, was the knight.
I don’t know if “knight” was truly the correct term, but I could see why Bruce would mistake the monster as such. Gnarled bark and mossy stone covered its true body like a mockery of medieval armor. Through the gaps I could see what looked like charred and emaciated flesh. The knight was at leave seven feet tall, but it looked even taller with the large sticks on its head, twisted and shaped to resemble antlers of a great stag. Long, black, spider like fingers slithered out of the bark and stone, grasping a jagged, pitch black…sword. I had no idea what the weapon was made out of, the thing didn’t even appear to have a hilt or handle. But it was darker than anything I had ever seen, and the longer I stared into it the more I saw those familiar, amorphous black shapes. They were twisting and dancing madly, beckoning me to become one of them. I stumbled back in fear, and drew my eyes anywhere but that sword. My eyes fell on the creature’s face, and I broke down into pathetic tears.
That thing…that knight had my father’s face. His bushy, crumb infested mustache perched on top of a menacing, evil sneer. Black eyes that pierced straight through your soul and left you feeling like nothing. I dropped to my knees and begged God to get me out of this place.
“Jesus fuckin’ Christ!” Rob swore, the first sign of fear breaking through his tough exterior. “What the fuck is that thing?!”
“I-It’s him…” Mark whimpered. “It’s the knight…”
The knight let out a deep sigh, almost like we were simply pests to it. It’s soulless eyes scanned each of us, lingering a bit longer on Mark. I saw the thing lick its lips like Mark was a juicy steak, and Mark broke into a loud wail. The knight tutted at the noise and frowned.
“I…have had my fill,” it said. My God, it’s voice was unfathomably deep. I felt the entire earth shake with each word it spoke. My brain could barely comprehend what it was saying, so deep were its titanic rumblings. “I hunger no more. If you wish to leave, I will allow you to do so just this once.”
“Like hell, you sick fuck!” Rob shouted, raising his gun at the knight. “Where’s my son?!”
The knight’s eyes narrowed. “Your son…” it rumbled. “Your son…is no more.”
A moment of silence passed, but it was quickly filled with the loud CRACK of a gunshot. The knight’s head snapped back, and for a moment I dared to believe that Rob had killed it.
But then the whole room began to tremble. It felt like we were experiencing an earthquake, and with a furious roar the knight snapped its head forward. Its black eyes were gone, replaced with the red fires of hell itself. Its face twisted into demonic malice, and it seemed to grow larger as it hurled hatred towards us.
“You damn, pathetic knaves!” the knight roared. “I will personally drag you to hell for daring to strike me! I will have monsters you could not fathom tear you apart limb from limb, until you beg me for death!” It raised its sword high in the air. “Mercy will not come to you! Now prepare yourself!”
The knight lunged forward, and in an instant Rob’s hand was gone, with only a stump remaining. Rob stared at it in shock, before he let out a bloodcurdling scream as this…as this black sludge poured out of his bloodied stump. It wrapped itself around his arm, oozing upwards towards his face. Rob fell to the ground and rolled around in pure agony, and I saw the black fumes of smoke bellowing out from his arm. He was being burned alive, with a fire more furious than anything on earth. Mark screamed for help as the knight targeted him next. The blade pierced through his stomach and he was pinned to the wall by the knight.
“I remember you…” it hissed, an inch from his face. “You ran away as your brother begged for his life. You ran away as he turned towards you, pleading for you to save him. You left him to die like a coward, boy, and you will join him in eternal torment! Perhaps there you can beg for his forgiveness!”
Mark sobbed as the sword was wrenched out of his stomach, and he collapsed like a puppet with cut strings as the black ooze began to pool around him from his wound.
“R-R-Rick…” I heard Rob wheeze in indescribable pain as his frightened, bulging eyes turned up towards me. “H-H-Hel…p…us!”
“Yes, help them,” the knight taunted, lowering its sword as if daring me to approach. “He is your best friend, is he not? He helped you, didn’t he? You, who was nothing before, and who will become nothing again. A pathetic, weak man born to an equally pathetic father!” The knight, in my father’s image, grinned sadistically. “But you won’t help him, will you? Because deep down you know you don’t deserve whatever good this world decided to hand to you. You know you don’t deserve your wife, your son, and you know that you should’ve died instead of your father!”
I was pulled back into that final night with my father. I remembered the shock on his face when I stuck the kitchen knife into his heart after he tries to burn my face with a boiling pot of water. I knew it was a fluke. He was always much stronger than me, he kept me weak so I would stay in line. And when I murdered him I knew it would only be a matter of time until the world came to collect what I owed it for allowing me my one chance to escape. This was that time, this was the world taking back every bit of good I thought I deserved.
But…I didn’t want to die yet. I looked down at Rob and Mark, and begged them to understand. I had to do what was best for my family, it was my duty as a father to protect them.
So I ran.
The knight’s uproarious laughter echoed after me as Rob screamed curse after curse towards me. His curses turned back into screams as he and Mark were tortured by the knight, while I would run through the hallway, crawling through the narrow sections like the pathetic worm I was. I burst into the first grand room, and watched in terror as the alien monstrosities tore themselves out of the paintings. I tore my way past them as they clawed at me, begging for me to stay and accept my fate. But dammit, I wanted to live for just a little bit longer. I wasn’t ready to pay my dues just yet!
I should’ve died. Instead, I’m alive one year later. Martha and I took Bruce and moved out into the city, far away from anything remotely similar to a forest. Bruce…I wish I could say he’s gone back to being a bright, cheerful boy but he hasn’t. Every night he has night terrors, and he doesn’t have friends anymore. He doesn’t tell me about his day and he barely touches his food. We’ve tried therapy for him but it isn’t going so well. The stress of it all has put a strain on my marriage, and Martha has rightfully called me out on my pathetic parenting these days. She’s threatened to take Bruce away from me, only to immediately break down afterwards. We’re talking about couple’s therapy, but I wonder if it’s even worth it. I think I was supposed to stay in that tree, I was supposed to let the knight kill me like he killed Rob and Mark. Instead I ran, thinking I could escape and everything would be okay again. But instead in here watching my marriage and my family fall apart, and I fear there’s nothing I can do to stop it.
The knight is still there, I reckon. He waits for me, because he knows I don’t deserve any good the world throws at me. I can hear him in the back of my head, whispering to me that he’s hungry once more. Perhaps I should head back into those woods and pay him a visit.
It’s what I deserve. Dad was right.