There was something in those mountains.

He glanced behind him, then turned to the castle at the front. The hinges groaned as the massive gates to the castle opened in the dead of the winter night. There was no reason for the gates to be opening at this hour, absolutely none he could fathom.

He stopped in his descent down the slope, lowering the lantern amongst the bushes to make himself less visible to anyone who might be watching. Hiding behind a thick, sturdy tree, he gazed at the path leading up to the cursed castle. He knew what they said— the whisperings, the murmurs, the rumors. It wasn’t as though he had a choice in the matter. He had to step into the place to ensure survival, even though the dark here was more terrifying than any darkness he had ever known.

The groaning of the gates was loud in the silent night, leaving the quiet after even more pronounced. He stared up, trying to understand why the gates had opened. There was no carriage, not a soul he could see, not even someone behind the gates. Listening to his breaths as they puffed out white in front of his young face, the chill along his body more than just the winter, he stayed frozen in place, waiting for anything else.

Something rustled in the bushes behind him, a sudden gust of wind flickering the flame in the lamp, right before it perished. Shaking in his thin woolen coat, his heart beating rapidly in his chest, he abandoned the lamp and began to run back toward the village down the mountain.

A loose stone tripped his gangly feet, his body rolling down the hill at a speed he could not stop, until some bushes slowed his descent enough to let him gather his bearings. Brushing himself, he stood up on shaky legs, realizing he had somehow missed the path in his panic. Lost in his direction, he stood on a muddy track that did not lead to the village, the castle on the mountain now to his right rather than behind him where it should have been.

A dark tunnel stared at him.

Horror rippled through his body in a wave.

He had begun to back away, unable to take his eyes off the gaping mouth of darkness, when something rustled behind him again. Whimpering in fear, looking at the woods at his back and the tunnel in front, a certainty washed over him along with the panic.

His muffled scream broke the silence, just once, echoing in the mountains, before leaving behind a quiet, unbothered winter night.

There was something evil in those mountains.