Padauk and Willows Investigation: Shadowed Man (Updated 18/2/2013)

Day: 01

The Briefing

     It's been the first day of Noah and I's investigation. We were hired by the town of Chao to look into the missing children. Six kidnappings in the last three months. They town blamed the local legend, but officials just swiped it under the rug. My team was commissioned to investigate the local legend, and to search for the missing children. The town is on the outskirts of a forested mountain. Mount Zenforth was neither big or small, but it's fame came to the rare species which live on it's threshold. Three animals and four plants that are unique only to this mountain. I glanced out the window of our land cruiser, admiring the mountain top. It's peak was basted in the rural colours of autumn. The sky seemed to share this beautiful scheme and looked as if reflecting the leaves. 

     I spotted a black dot contrasting against the goldenrod leaves. A large oak blocked the view for a second and we bent around a turn. As we turned back around the winding mountain road, I gave myself a quick glance to the area that spot was. Nothing but the beautiful scenery in sight. What could that have been? I know I've been sleep deprived, but... My thoughts trailed off as I was interrupted by my tech specialist. 

      "Yo, Kent man, mind telling me why you brought us to a city in the middle of Ohio?" Will asked curiously. I smiled and turned back to face the rest of my crew. Amy was snoozing still, her brunette pigtails askew from the angle of her head. Laura nudged her side. Amy slowly swooned to consciousness, she rubbed her eyes and looked at the dark haired woman. Laura's violet eyes gleamed maroon in the yellow lighting, dark features contrasting with her pale skin. Will's dirty blonde hair was styled in the usual faux hawk he wore with pride. "Well?" He added, peeved I ignored his first attempt. 

     Noah smiled as he gave the answer, "We're here to see if the legend is true of course!" I grimaced. I take back what I said earlier. Mount Zenforth was famous for two things. The rare species of animals and plants that thrived only on it, an a much more gruesome tale. The mountain has a mythology  that has been carried with it since the beginning of man kind. The Shadowed Man, a creature known for stealing children. Raping it's victims, no care for sex or age. Then it's massacres  them, shredding them to pieces. Any trace of them is unlikely, and when there is one, a shoe or finger is the biggest they have ever found.

     I looked back to my crew. This could be one of the most dangerous cases we've ever been on. That is of course if the legend was true, and most of the time, they never were. I laughed a bit, nervously, at Noah's answer to Will and looked the whole crew in the eyes. 

     "Listen guys, we'll be in the town of Chao in about half a hour. We're to investigate the local legend of the Shadowed Man, a creature known for kidnapping children, rapping people, and killing them. At noon tomorrow we will be heading into the forest for a five day investigation. At that time, we will head back to the town, resupply and rest for a day, and return for another five days. We must be careful. People have said to see children running in the forest, but when they turn around, they will appear horribly maimed," I gulped and quickly glanced at all expressions before continuing, "Beyond those paranormal attributes, we have the Shadowed Man." At this Noah swerved sharply and nearly drove off the thousand seven hundred foot drop. He braked and we came to a halt. 

     I switched my attention to the front of the car as we swerved and looked in horror as we nearly hit the side rails. After feeling safe to move, I looked back at my friends. Will look like he about had a heart attack, Amy was glued onto Laura's left arm, and Laura herself look stuck between levels of anger and shock. "What the hell was that for!" She managed to sputter out, the confusion in emotion evident in her words. I looked at Noah, who's appearance faded from the nice usually tan self to a snow white colour. "I-I saw something jump out in the road." Noah stuttered.

     Noah stuttered when ever nervous, scared, or in shock. I smiled and offered to take the wheel for a while. He didn't complain at all, nearly jumping out of the drivers seat. We headed down the road as I continued to tell the others of our investigation.

     "As I was saying, most of our attention will be on the Shadowed Man. He is said to been in all black, but what he wears has changes throughout the generations. He has pale skin that is, dare I say, vampire white," The others snickered as I continued on, "He has no real face they say, but appears to have skin over where it should be. His height ranges from around two to three meters. He is very skinny, giving him a malnourished look. Due to his appearance, he has also been named the Dark Angel, Slenderman, and even Satan himself. One last detail that I still can't wrap my head around is this; the Shadowed Man is said to have tentacle like appendages that are black as well. Some records say he uses them as arms and such, but older legends say otherwise. Those say he uses them to wrap around his victims, or use them as a net as dark as the night." 

     I coughed some, moistening my throat, waiting for any input. I returned to my speal, "They say these appendages are actually used to trap his victims and pull them closer to him. When victims get close to the Shadowed Man, he will shoot these appendages around them, forming a cage that gets smaller and smaller. Forcing his victims to submit defeat or  be pushed closer to him till he can literally grab you. One thing they never really explained is how he hides these appendages. They say he has control whether he uses these or not, you can't just make tentacle arms disappear right?" I laughed some.

The Town of Chao

     I stepped out of our Land Cruiser, and surveyed the town. We were in front of Town Hall, next to the one and only school. It had four, large for this town, buildings. I guess they separated grades by threes still. This town's only economy comes from federal funds for the mountain. A shame really, it was a quaint looking town. It had an old, rustic, mountain village feel. Maybe ten roads in this mountain side town.
     We left our vehicle an entered Town Hall. I guess it was also a town museum, it had a visitor's center with a ticket booth near one entrance. Noah and I kept note of that and went to the front desk.
     "Hi," A blonde behind the desk said, smiling, "How can I help you today?" Noah smiled as he explained how we had an appointment with the Mayor. The blonde got up and showed us where to wait for the Mayor. Her cheery exterior made me hope that all the town's folk were like that, eager to help and polite to strangers. Three men left the office, grumbling.
     "What are we supposed to do now, boys?" One with scruffy scarlet sideburns said to his companions, "With the school closed, how are we gonna fend for our families, our kids!"  The other two men had dark hair and sideburns as well. One with a blue and white trucker's hat responded to his friend with a grave tone. "Won't be any families left if we don't do anything about Him." His friends nodded in agreement. They left the office without another thought, or so it seemed.
     The Mayor looked at and smiled at us. "You must be Padauk and Willows Investigation." His grin quickly faded as he ushered us into the office. "Welcome to Chao," He said grimly, "The town plagued by a demon." We all looked at each other with questioning eyes. The Mayor sighed and sat in his chair. "I am sorry I asked you to investigate this," The Mayor trailed off before continuing, "We were recommend to you for this case, but even now I wonder if it will be too much."
     "We can handle anything!" I looked to my side to see Amy whose face showed pride, "We've dealt with cases like this before." She smiled and the Mayor looked at us perplexed, but also relieved. The Mayor smiled again, this time it seemed much more real. "Well, you will have a room at the lodge right at the edge of the city while you investigate the mountain." He handed us directions to the inn, as well as a map of the city with all the stores laid out on it.
     We got to the lodge right as dusk broke the Sunday sunset. We got our room and brought all our gear inside. No way were we leaving that in the cruiser. Sure, it had reinforced glass and steel frames, but this equipment cost a lot, from Noah and I's pockets. The gas guzzler is what we slept in while we weren't investigating. Even then, can't blame us for being paranoid. We left the inn to get some grub, ending us up at a small grill-n-bar. As we tucked in for the night, I thought about the case we've agreed to do. Where will this lead us? I drifted into a restless sleep, filled with imagery of a tall, slender, man who was chasing the team. Hunting us down, one by one.

Day: 02

A Symb⊗l

     I awoke to hear one of the girls screaming. I jumped up and looked around. Will was in his bed, looking around in shock, Laura was looking at Amy, who was screaming. Noah managed to still be sleeping, but he could be stabbed ten times and wouldn’t wake up. Amy finally calmed down when Laura and Will started to sooth her. I got out of my sleeping bag and walked over to here. “What in god’s name was that for?” She had tears still running down her petite face, I felt bad. “Oh, Amy, come on. I’m certain whatever it was, was a nightmare.” She just shook her head and pointed to the wall nearest to Noah.
     We all looked over to see a giant ⊗. I ran over to the wall, overseeing the mysterious symbol. It seemed to be written of some kind of paint. “Did any of you do this?” I looked at my crew. They had no idea what this was, I made sure. I wanted to see if it would happen. I didn’t expect to see one so soon though, the others shook their heads. We all looked at Noah, dozing still. Will went to the bathroom as I mumbled to myself. He came out with a cup of water, and dropped it on Noah. He woke up in a start, he hated the cold.
     "Noah, I need you to be honest, since you're the only other one who knows what that is," I pointed at the wall next to him, "Did you have the nerve to put this there?" He looked over, and became very pale."What is it?" Laura squeaked. I looked the others right in the eye, "Something Noah and I have been investigating for a long time. Didn't you ever wonder why the rest of the old team left?" Will and Laura nodded, Amy just stayed blank. She was the only member still with us, after the breaking point in our investigation two years ago.
     I sighed, sitting on the edge of Noah's bed. "Two years ago, Noah, Amy, and I were part of another investigation group. We were working on a case, very close to here." I looked at my crew, dismay in my eyes, "The investigation ended with two of our members missing, and never found. One member was killed, and the body autopsy showed he had been raped. He had been strangled by something rather large, like a giant thick rope..." Will was staring wide eyed, "What does that have to do with that symbol!?" Noah answered this time, "The creature we had been following, left that symbol everywhere. We... well, Kent and I even saw it..." Amy looked down, "There was notes and messages everywhere. We saw spirits of people telling us to run because He was getting near. We didn't realize it till later, that our team member was one of the spirits putting the notes and telling us to run away while we could."
     Laura and Will were staring wide eyed, shock written all over their faces. Laura was the first to speak though, "You knew we would be going after this thing, and still decided to come here?" I looked at Noah, he himself looking at me. "Well, sorta. Amy, Noah, and I didn't exactly know what the creature that attacked us was. It was not what we were looking for when we went to investigate. We were there to look into the spirits telling people to run away..." I trailed off as Noah spoke up, "The only thing we knew is that if we saw that symbol, we'd be in trouble." Amy looked at the others, "It's why I started screaming to be honest, because it meant He- it, came in here."
     Will stood up, "Well, I think it is just challenging us to take it on. It knows we're here, and what we're here for. I know we'll be fine. Know, not to be off subject, but I'm starving." Amy and Noah nodded in agreement. "That diner we were at last night did sell breakfast, we could stop there before we head prepare to head out," Laura noted. We all agreed, wanting to end the subject of the ⊗ and move on. We all got went to our beds and got dressed. We really didn't care if we got changed in front of one another, we were so used to seeing each other. We didn't have feelings for one another.

Departure

     Breakfast had gone by quite well, everyone in high spirits considering the literal rude awakening. We went back to the hotel room and got our stuff ready to leave. A process we had mastered long ago. Withing twenty minutes, we were completely ready to leave. "Laura, will you drive this time?" I looked at her, and she nodded. Noah got in the passenger side. Will and Amy still wanted window seats so I was stuck in the middle.
     It would take us about two hours to get to our investigation site, so I decided to close my eyes. Nightmares of past memories never give you great sleep. Amy asked for some music, and Noah fussed with the stereo, probably messing with his phone so it'd play music on the speakers. Some after Halestorm was playing through the speakers, lulling me into a deep sleep.
     I feel someone nudge me. I half open my eyes to see Will face above mine,, he looks a bit flustered, but over all a bit peeved? No, he was just staring blankly. That's when it hit me, Will face was above mine, along with his shoulders. I fell in my sleep. I shot up quickly, "Sorry man." I rubbed the back of my head, apologetically. "Its fine man, just don't go falling on me again." He smirked a bit, but was still a bit red in the face.
     "And way, we're here Kent. You fell on me probably ten minutes ago, but Amy said not to wake you." I looked at him awkwardly, man, why did these kind of things only happen to me- I was cut off by what Will said next, "Besides, Amy said it looked kind of cute, you sleeping with your head on my lap." I glared at him, jokingly, but Amy will get pay back for that.

The First Night

     I looked over at Kent, I tried not to show it much, but I really liked when we'd share those awkward moments. Those moments with the involuntary contact. Like in Brazil when he completely tripped, and fell on me. I fell too though, and we landed, him on top of me into a bush. Amy whistled to that one! Or when in the asylum, something tried to push me down the stairs, and he caught me... With a giant bear hug, my face in his chest. Amy was the only one who knows I like him, she herself likes Noah.
     After that story, I kind of don't want to be here, but I got to be brave. We can't let down all these people. They expect us to find something. To explain why bad things are happening. I got partnered with Kent to go set up the cameras. No one is allowed alone, so that means a team of three, and a team of two at all times.
     As we were walking to where the last camera would be placed, we heard something from a little ways down the trail we were on. It sounded like a woman screaming for help. I look over to Kent, but he's not where I last saw him. I began to worry when I felt something grab my right arm and pull me down. It was Kent, phew. We hid behind a bush, as the thing making the noise got closer. I felt our legs touch as he wiggled a bit to get comfortable. Then it came into sight, a woman. She had auburn hair, and pale skin. She was in jeans and a plaid shirt, running in our direction. "Please! I heard a voice, is anyone here!? Please help me! He's almost her-"
     Suddenly, the moon's light went out, the stars vanished from the sky. We couldn't see anything in front of us, and when we could, she was gone. Replaced by a figure. A new person was in her place, a tall man. He wore a black suit, and the back of his head was pale and bald. His hands looked bony and frail. I almost squeaked, and reached to grab Kent's hand in fear. I found it and held on, him tightening his grip around mine. He looked at me and mouthed, "Do not move." I looked back at the figure.
     He was just standing there, when he finally spoke. "I know you're near." His voice seemed to echo and trail off, and sounded like a hollow soul. I held onto Kent's hand more, when the figure turned around, looking in the direction we were. His face had no mouth, eyes, or even a nose. Where his eyes should have been, the skin sank in some. "Somewhere very close. I'll get you this time boy, I won't make another mistake this time. I've learned~" He seemed to playfully say the last words, as if he knew we were in the bush. With that he grunted, "I'll play with you later though, I have other guests to attend to."
     I've never seen Kent so worked up during an investigation. He put the camera right on the trail, and went straight to our base camp. When Amy saw us, still holding hands, running at them, she knew something went wrong. Noah was the first to speak up though, "What happened?" Kent finally let go of my hand, gasping for air. "I-It's definitely him," was all he could manage to say before leaning on me for support. The rest of the night was calm. No spirits, no Shadowed Man, not even a spooky sound. We told Noah, Amy, and Laura what had happened, and they said we were lucky to get out alive.

Day: 03

Disappearance

     When we woke up it was early noon, around eleven. I looked around, Will was sleeping rather close to me, Amy doing the same. Laura was next to Amy. Where was Noah? I nudged Will awake as I got up. "Hey, want to get Amy back for earlier yesterday?" He smirked a bit, nodding. "Okay, I'm gonna wake up Laura, then we're all gonna start screaming that he's outside the car, got it?" Will nodded again, and I slowly reached my arm over Amy to nudge Laura. She woke up slowly, yawning. I whispered the plan and she smirked. I looked back at Will, and winked. We all started shouting, "Oh god! Here's here! Get the keys come on, quickly!" Laura was screaming bloody murder that he's about to reach the car as Will shouted he can't find Noah and the keys were gone. Amy woke up screaming, freaking out. Then looked outside and saw nothing.
     Amy went blank for a second, before slapping me right across the face, and threatening to do the same to Will. We all started laughing, when it hit me what Will had said. "Hey, where is Noah, or the keys?" They all looked around and we got out of the land cruiser. "Where did he go...?" Amy quietly questioned herself, as Will looked with her the west side of our camp. Laura and I checked around the  east side, but jumped when we heard a loud thump. We ran back to the camp, Amy and Will arriving at the same time.
     A giant ⊗ was scratched into the land cruiser, and a note next to it. The words "No eyes" repeatedly written all over it. "Okay then, someone is keeping watch as we sleep from now on." I looked down, I didn't think he'd attack us so soon. "Also, Will, you and I are team one, Laura and Amy, team two. We aren't allowed to separate from each other's view at all, even bathroom breaks guys. We'll find Noah, don't worry. I promise." "Just because we may find him, doesn't mean we'll find him alive!" Amy screamed. She was obviously worked up already. "Look, I bet we'll find him by tomorrow, he can hold his own." They all nodded. "We should spend the rest of the day investigating, and no investigating at night time." Will stuttered some as he spoke.
     The girls didn't want to go out of the campsite, so that left Will and I to search. We were heading down the trail from before. As we walked, I couldn't help but ask, "Hey Will. Last night, you grabbed my hand, were you that scared? Cause I was thinking, if this is too much to ask all of you, we can find Noah and leave."  Will glanced at me as we continued walking. "Well, yeah, for the most part. He just appeared out of no where, and was... so creepy. I can see why Amy never talked about it..." I smirked a bit, "You guys are so close, aren't you? You don't, you know." I glance over at him, but Will stopped dead. "What? I didn't mean to offend you..." He turned red some, and just ran ahead of me. "H-Hey! Will, wait up, we can't get separated remember?" 
     Will didn't stop running though, and I ran after him. He stopped as he got to the end of the trail, it now turned, and started down a hill with a snaking motion. I finally caught up to him, grabbing his shoulder to turn him around. His cheeks were a bit damp, like he had been crying. "Will... I didn't mean to upset yo-" I was cut off. I didn't realize how close we were to the edge of the path, and the soil gave way under our weight. I didn't let go of Will, and I moved some so he'd land on me instead of hitting the ground. I was hanging on for dear life, as was he. Falling felt like an eternity, yet a second all at once. 
     Suddenly the time lapse ended, hard. I yelled, the air knocked out of me as I did so. I could feel the hard soil under me. I looked at Will, his eyes were still clamped tight, hands holding onto my chest. He looked up at me, but quickly got up. "Are you okay!? You shouldn't have done that!" Will tried to help me up, but his attempt was cut short because of the bad pain in my ribs. "Ow! I think I fractured a rib..." He slowly helped me up, supporting me by the waste.

Separated

     I looked up at the trail, it was a good couple hundred feet above our heads, having not made it to the bottom. The incline was about eighty degrees, not way were we climbing it. Even more so because of the pain in Kent's ribs. "Well, we're not climbing that obviously... I'm sorry I got us into this mess Kent." All he did was smile at me, "Not your fault man, I'm the one who upset you in the first place. Lets just use the walkie to contact Laura and Amy." I nodded a bit, taking out my walkie, but the screen was completely cracked and no light was on. "How about yours then?" Kent chuckled some, but his walkie had fared worse them mine, the whole front was broke in, and the antenna was in two. 

     I sighed, looking at Kent desperately. "It'll be alright Will, the girls can take care of themselves, and so can we."  It was going to get dark very soon, and we would be out here for a while by the looks of it. "Who knew things could go so badly so early..." I mumbled to myself. Kent looked downhearted the instant I said that, "Maybe we should just set up a little camp for ourselves..." Crap, now I made him feel bad. I do as told though, and we find a nice little area hidden in the bushes. I slowly help Kent down, but don't drop my hand from his waist.

     "Looks like we'll be here till sunrise," I whisper. Kent nods at me, "I'm really tired..." Must be because of the ribs. He leaned his head on my shoulder and closed his eyes. "Um, I'll just keep watch then." Kent nodded, and slowly I could feel him relax. I looked at where we were sitting. Our backs were against a tree, everything around us was surrounded in bushes. We were sitting in one of the larger bushes. I glanced over when I heard a rustling in the bushes next to us. "Holy shit!" He was right there, staring at us. Kent looked up in fright, and I spoke in a low whisper, hoping I didn't give our place away. 
     "Noah, how did you find us here?" Noah frowned a bit, "I was running from... well you know. I thought I should hide here, and you were here." Noah whispered to us faintly as we heard more rustling. The air got cold, and the forest quieted down. The barely visible moon now disappeared from all eyes.  "Come out, come out, where ever you are. I know your near, Noah... Why can't we just be friends?" I felt Kent grab my hand, and my side. I gulped, and Noah was breathing quietly, but extra fast. "I guess I'll just attend to my other guests... I'll be back Noah, for you and your two friends..." We all froze solid. He knew, he had to know. The wind came back, and the faint rays of moonlight returned to us. I let out a breathe I didn't even know I was holding. 

Screams in the Early Night