(Set in 2014 - Ebony Wood is a godforsaken forest that looms over the town of Corvus Falls. What lurks in Ebony Woods? Why are there those that enter it and are never seen from again? Will a small group of adults be able to uncover this mystery behind the horror? Come and see....if you dare MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA (lightening cracks - thunder roars)
The House of Ebony Woods
Bonnie shivered at the very sight of the woods, they always filled her with a dread that she doubted would ever truly go away. Her apartment complex was at the edge of the woods, and even though there was a great big metal fence separating the parking lot from the woods, Bonnie still couldn't help but get extremely nervous every time she came 'home'. Pulling her BMW into park, she got out and grabbed at her purse, her doe eyes staring nervously around. It was a late night at the cafe, she hated being out this late. Her down stairs neighbor, Mr. Patters, sat out in his little porch area. With a pipe in hand, he took another deep inhale before nodding his head to Bonnie. His beady eyes staring out at the woods, watching them as well. Bonnie liked Mr. Patters, even though others found him rather strange. He had worked in the police force for years, he was retired now but Bonnie still felt safer having him live near by.
Marching up the steps, Bonnie tried to walk on the balls of her feet. Her father was always getting on to her about walking quietly and observing her surroundings. He was a military brat who ran his house hold the same way his father ran his. After Bonnie's brother died seven years ago, the family had turned into a closed net that Bonnie sometimes found suffocating. Her apartment was like a breath of fresh air from everything, her family, her job, the town....
She hit the lights on her way in, illuminating her apartment in bright hues, then quickly latched the door behind her. Safety, security, freedom. Kicking off her shoes, Bonnie moved over to the stereo and cranked up some tunes. Her cat, Star, hopped around her feet ready for some dinner.
"I know baby, I know. Came home a little late tonight huh?" She moved into the kitchen and got Star some kitty nip. It was as she was leaning over the counter trying to decide over a pot pie or a sandwich that Bonnie's eyes crossed over her mail. She had had a busy morning, she had only had enough time to collect the mail and toss it on the counter before work, not even knowing what was inside it. It was the town symbol, the Raven, that caught her eye now. A perfectly etched black Raven was drawn on corner of the envelope where the return address should have been. Her name was written across the front in elegant penmanship.
Curious, Bonnie grabbed the envelope and went out onto her balcony with a bottle of chocolate milk. She could smell Mr. Patters tobacco from down below, letting her know that he was still out on his porch. She settled into her sun chair and opened the milk, as she took in the peaceful night. It was quiet and smelled like rain. Incoming clouds were just starting to cover up the starry sky, filling the world with a peaceful sense of enchantment that Bonnie had always enjoyed. She closed the cap over her milk and opened the letter.
Dear Ms. Bonnie Gregory,
You have been formally invited to join us at Ebony Manor for an All Hollow's Eve gathering. We welcome you to our humble assembly in hopes that those who hunger in curiosity, may finally allow their appetite to be subsided. Please join us. We will be expecting you at fifteen after the eight o'lock hour.
RSVP - Not necessary.
Sincerely,
Host.Bonnie slid the letter down with an odd feeling in her stomach. It was almost as if a gigantic hole had begun to form in the pit of her belly. She stared at the letter over and over again, feeling a loss of reality. A slam brought her back to Earth with a jump.
She looked frantically side ways at her neighbors balcony. "Hey hot mama," said Chris, her bleach blonde neighbor. His roommate Antony was just coming out with a case of beers. The slam had been their sliding glass door being opened. "Care to join us senorita?"
Bonnie stood up and shook her head. She needed to be alone. "Sorry boys, not tonight". The looks they gave her were like two little boys who had been told there would be no Christmas. She felt her heart break for them but she really needed to be alone. "Tomorrow" she promised and stepped back inside, closing her sliding door behind her.
Bonnie's thinking place was her bath tub. She went to it and began filling it up with boiling water and soap. As it bubbled she looked at the note again...and again...and again. She set it aside long enough to light a few candles and get into the water...then she looked at it again. There was something about this note, something outside its invitation, that was nagging at her. As she slid back into the water, watching the candle light around her dance, she tried to put herself in a more open mind set. To clear her thoughts the way her father always made her do in the past when she meditated. There was something so off about that letter....She closed her eyes....and she breathed....
Bonnie was 15 when she heard Daniel sneak out of the house. It was two weeks before Halloween and Bonnie had been up sneak reading a scary book. As he passed by her room she quickly turned off her flash light, fearing it was her father but when he kept walking it piked her interest. Sliding into some boots, Bonnie followed her brother out of the house. Her feet padded loudly over red and orange leaves as she followed her brother to Ebony Wood but he was too distracted singing to himself to actually hear her. She loved that about Daniel, that he liked to sing aloud regardless of where he was, he was going to be famous some day, she just knew it. Finally Daniel stopped walking as he met up with some friends. They were going further into the woods, further then Bonnie liked the idea of going. She watched them from a distance until they broke through a line of trees that was far too far. It was always too far when it came to Ebony Woods. After waiting awhile longer little Bonnie was just about to turn back around and walk away when she heard a heart stopping roar break through the woods. It came out of no where and made Bonnie scream. More screams bounced back to her. Bonnie took off into the woods in the direction that she had seen her brother go but what she found waiting for her there would haunt her....forever.Bonnie's eyes flew open. She sat up and stared at the note that she had set on the floor. She grabbed at one of her fuzzy pink towels and wrapped it around her as she sat on her bath tub edge and took up the note again. Sure enough her answer was staring at her plain in the face. "Oh my god" she breathed. The candle to Bonnie's right flickered eerily. Bonnie stared at it a moment then got up and raced for her phone.
She knew the number she would call by heart. "Hey, you home? Can you come over?"
