Down in the plains of the land of Oak there was a little village named Tyler. This village was nestled closely to a very large forest. The forest was named The Hallows for many reasons. One is the contrast from the village and the woods - the village was very placid whereas the forest was melancholy. Another reason is that no matter how hot it is once you walk inside the temperature drops so low you can see your own breath - it had a very dark aura surrounding it.

It also had a very ominous lore to it. There were legends of tall creatures that were tall and formless - that were told to be completely black except for their eyes which were white as snow. The eyes were told to be almost pallid. Legend says that these creatures they call Hollows roam the woods and eat the creatures that once resided there, which would explain why these woods were untenanted by animals, big or small. Despite how quiet those woods were they were almost Plutonian.

Curiosity had spread throughout the town like a contagion. Most villagers felt apathetic toward The Hallows, most told their children to stay away from those woods since some people found them very disconcerting. It became blasphemous to even mention going into those woods. But there was one villager who has wanted to enter those woods since he was a boy whose name was Jacob. He was a lonely man who took walks by himself daily. But his walk always ended when he was right up to The Hallows. He would turn around and walk away every time - until one fateful day...

On this fateful day the sun hadn't even begun to peek its head from over the horizon. Jacob stopped at the woods as usual but something was different - something drew him in stronger than his fear of the woods. Curiosity compelled him to investigate these woods. He went to his home and packed a backpack filled with food, water, a camera so he could collect evidence, and a notebook to journal his findings.

He then spent a while wondering if he actually wanted to do this, or if this was just a impetuous decision . Finally he headed out. It was early so everyone was asleep so he made sure to walk quietly, trying to be stealthy. The sky was a dark shade of blue, making it hard to see. But he knew the path to The Hallows well. When he finally reached the woods he hesitated. He started doubting himself. Maybe this was a reckless decision. He finally shook his fears and stepped in.

A chill went down his back the second he walked in. He could see his breath it was so cold. It was silent. There was absolutely no noise. No birds chirping, no wind blowing, and no outside noise. He was scared but for some reason he couldn't stop his legs from carrying him forward. He trekked on.

An hour in and Jacob's mind were playing tricks on him. When you're in an environment that is void of noise, you start to hear things. You have an acuity to even the smallest of noises. You hear your eardrums beating first, then you hear your own blood pumping through your veins, finally you hear your own heartbeat. Jacob looked up and saw that at some point the sky had turned white. Not like normal white, this white was pure, only touched by the black flakes that fell from the sky. This imagery and the black dead trees surrounding him made it look like it was the middle of winter. But it was early August.

It had now been two hours in and something didn't feel right. He felt like he was being watched, like he was being followed. When he looked, nothing was there. If something was following him it was very unobtrusive. He finally stopped and sat on the ground so he could take notes. He had taken a lot of notes and photos but nothing substantial. After sitting there writing for 30 minutes he finally decided that these woods held nothing. He took a short lunch break and packed back up. As he was about to leave, he suddenly heard something. It started low with a lot of bass. It was a low humming noise. Suddenly it became ear piercingly loud, causing Jacob to cover his ears. He suddenly felt very wan and was about to faint. Then he felt an immense pressure on his head and he was out cold,

When he finally came to, he realized what knocked him out. A tree hand landed on him head first, then crushed his leg. He slowly stood and almost collapsed. He felt blood soaking his forehead. He looked around for his camera only to find it was smashed by the tree. He realized very quickly he wasn't going to be able to carry his bag since it was so ponderous. He got out his medkit and started patching up his head and leg. When he was finally done, he slowly stood and started walking to where he believed the exit was.

He had been walking for hours now and still couldn't find an exit. His leg was swelling and it was hard to stay awake. He had a major concussion and needed to get back so it could be treated. That's when he heard it again, the noise. Thinking it was a tree, he looked around quickly to find the source of the noise. He did. He locked eyes with a giant black creature with white eyes. It was huge, and was the deepest color of black Jacob had ever seen, accompanied with emaciated limbs. When it saw him it just stared at him with it's white eyes. He took one step back, then two, then three. That's when he heard a large cracking noise. He saw a white crack go along the circumference of its head, opening to reveal hundreds of razor sharp teeth - he ran for his life.

It knocked over trees and anything in its path to chase him. It was hungry and he was the main course, he didn't know how much longer he could run for. That's when he saw it - a clearing in the woods, leading to the village! He ran faster, panting heavily. It made the noise, which he realized was a roar, one last time as he threw himself into the clearing. He landed right outside the woods, bloodied and beaten with a swollen leg. Just as villagers surrounded him he finally fell asleep.

The doctors said he had a major concussion. When he told the doctors what happened, what he saw, they dismissed it by saying that the concussion caused hallucinations. They never found his camera, or his belongings, which caused the townspeople to think he was crazy. Over the years people told stories of "Crazy Jacob" who ran in the woods. They told that story for many years.

Years later when Jacob was old and grey he still walked by himself. He would walk and walk until he came to those woods. Instead of turning right around he just stared into those woods watching and waiting for anything to happen. The day before he died of a severe malady he took one last walk to those woods and looked into them one last time - he heard a low hum.