An overwhelming darkness blanketed the forest in an almost malevolent manner; perhaps completing this silly little game on the night of a new moon hadn't been such a good idea.
You had those bastards on /k/ to blame for the idea of the 'S.T.A.L.K.E.R Challenge', though in their defense it hadn't seem so daunting at the time. Perhaps the comfort of reading about the night long romp through the woods from the safety of a computer monitor had instilled some delusions of bravado? Now you were out in the woods, slicing through the stirring blackness of the night with a surplus flashlight like a butcher carving up a whale; the task seemed utterly futile.
Just a couple more hours of this aimless meandering and you could circle back to your car; your impala felt like a divine chariot that would return you to the world of men, of comfort and safety. Sure you'd be a coward, having rucked all of the essentials for camping only to tuck tail but...with each passing moment the very air grew increasingly hostile, the soft hoots of owls and chittering cicada songs morphed into hushed whispers on the wind and distant lamentations.
Like slithering tendrils of tar, the whispering wood's blackness surrounded the light of your torch with gluttonous intent.
"Can you hear the stars sobbing?" The forest grew deathly silent as an undulating silhouette slithered through the darkness towards you before stopping; your flashlight flickered erratically. "Did you hear me?" The voice spoke up again, a bit closer, "I said, can you hear the stars sobbing, silly!"
This ephemeral mass stepped into the pallid light taking the form of-- a little girl? The eyes could be deceptive.
A crown of twisted, writhing branches nestled upon the young "girl's" ebony top; clumps of dark hair also moving of their own accord. Lastly, dark twisted horns curled from her messy brow. "Be not afraid, child of the sun."
The trees lurched inward, as if this child's gravitational pull could uproot the forest at any moment. "I-I-I..." What a pathetic sputter.
"Humans are funny," she giggled, "what do your progenitors call you?"
You were in too deep, eyes bulging with transcendent terror yet you continued on, "Anon...and...you...?"
A wry smile spread across her face, yellow goat-like eyes flickering intently, "Many names for many people, you can call me...Shubby!"