Ellie opened the door slightly, peeking out into the hallway, she could hear the TV downstairs; her father always watched with the volume turned almost to max. Carefully she stepped down the stairs on her tiptoes, holding her shoes in her hand. She avoided the creaky parts of the stairs, knowing exactly where to thread. Her hand rested on the doorknob of the front door for a moment before twisting the brass knob open soundlessly. She let out a sigh of relief as she slipped outside and closed the door soundlessly behind her. 

“Let’s pick up the shovel on the way,” she whispered to the skull under her arm. 

“I still think this is a bad idea,” he grunted.

For a moment Ellie wondered if everyone could hear the skull or if it was just her, and then the question entered her mind again; how could he talk? It was certainly another great mystery for her to solve. She shook her head and pushed all her thoughts aside as she picked up the shovel, it leaned on the fence, waiting for her to take it. Finally she had something to use it for. 

The forest was dark ahead of them as they made it across the road. Ellie lit the lantern and hung it on the shovel, balancing it on her shoulder. The stars twinkled above, but faded as soon as they entered the thick forest. She felt the wet moss squish beneath her worn out canvas shoes, it was slightly slippery so she had to mind her steps.

A crow came swooping in, circling above her, letting out a soft caw.

“Bartholomew! We’re heading to the big oak tree. Look, this is the vampire skull we found, his name is Skully and he can talk.” She held Skully above her head, showing him off to the crow. 

“What the fudge. Why are you showing me off to some random crow,” Skully hissed. 

“It’s Bartholomew. He’s my friend,” Ellie remarked and wandered on. 

“Sounds like a cat’s name.” 

Ellie smiled, “I think it’s cute either way. And it suits him perfectly.” 

She leaped over the small stream, threading carefully as they wandered deeper. The old oak tree was quite a walk away, sometimes it seemed shorter than others, she couldn't quite explain it. Ellie stopped and looked around. He did say something about the possibility of more Sorrows. She swallowed hard and stayed focused, the crows would alert her, she was sure of it. 

Skully stayed quiet, something seemed strange about the forest, it felt cold, forgotten, tugging at something deep within him. Then he saw it, the old oak tree. Regret. Despair. Yearning. Tragedy. He felt it pull at the darkest parts within him. 

“We’re here. Time to do some digging,” Ellie proclaimed and wandered closer, searching for the spot she had found him in. 

She placed Skully on the ground where she could see him and hung the lantern on the nearest branch; it was not very bright, but she could see well enough. The thick roots of the tree went all around, almost fencing them in. She held the shovel up and hit it hard into the ground with a thunk. Ellie peeked closer, realising she had hit a stone. Her fingers sank into the soil and pushed some earth aside, making sure she was digging in the right spot. The shovel went into the ground again, this time into the soil. 

“This might take a while,” Ellie said, throwing dirt aside with the shovel. She stopped and examined the pile carefully, making sure no clues were left behind. 

“I can see how this will take all night,” Skully mumbled, sounding like a grumpy old man. 

Ellie paid him no mind and kept digging slowly, hoping to discover something, anything, with each dig. The forest was quiet around them, eventually moonlight gently peeked through the leaves of the oak tree, illuminating the area for her. She made many piles of dirt as the hole kept getting wider and deeper. 

“I’m getting tired,” Ellie said after a while and planted herself next to Skully. 

“Looks tiring. I feel exhausted just by watching you,” Skully grunted. 

Ellie giggled, “Silly skull. I’m not finding anything so far though. Nothing at all. Shouldn’t there be something? Unless your head was displaced from your body, and it could be anywhere in the forest.” She fell back onto a grassy part behind them, her fingers pushing her hair back. 

“Maybe it’s time to go home for tonight. It’s safer,” Skully muttered dryly. 

Ellie glanced up at the patches of moonlight, finding the sky beyond the oak tree. She had desperately wanted to find something more, some clues at least. Gritting her teeth together she sat up again and looked down at the skull. It was nice to have someone to talk to for once, even if he was a bit grumpy. She didn’t mind it at all. 

The crows started stirring in the trees, loud caws and flapping wings. Ellie got up and glanced around, she didn’t see anything. Everything else was quiet. Perhaps too quiet. A low hiss suddenly cut through the silence. Her head turned, though she couldn’t see anything. It was too dark. 

Suddenly it leaped out of the bushes. Another Sorrow, same as the other, its clothes tattered and eyes as red as blood. Ellie jumped back against the tree, her heart pounding in her chest, frozen as it lunged at her. 

“Watch out,” Skully shouted, “Run, do something.” He felt helpless, only being a skull. 

Ellie remained frozen, wanting to run, but her legs didn’t listen. Her eyes were locked on those red eyes glowing in the dark. The tree bark felt coarse and uneven behind her, and what was mere seconds, felt like an eternity to her. A cacophony of crow’s caws erupted from the trees. 

“Don’t just fudging stand there,” Skully yelled out again, “Fudge. What can I do?” He didn’t exactly want her to die, and he was sure she would at this rate. 

As the Sorrow reached her with a snarl and wrapped its claws around her neck something unusual happened, a small green glow appeared in Ellie’s eyes, and for a moment her face was painted with confusion. Her hand clenched tightly into a fist before punching the Sorrow’s face hard. 

“What the fudge. I’m in her body?” Skully said in Ellie’s voice.

Swiftly Skully kicked the Sorrow before it could lunge at Ellie again, it fell back, giving Skully time to picking up the shovel. He was not letting Ellie die, she was just a kid after all. He knew how to fight. Yes, he knew exactly what to do, even without memories there were instincts and things he simply knew. 

The crow’s caws filled the forest as he glared at The Sorrow. It growled and jumped at Ellie, baring its fangs in hunger and desperation. Skully gave it a whack with the shovel, sending it flying back against a rock. He leaped forward and whacked it again with the shovel, making it whimper and hiss on the ground. 

“Don’t you dare lay a hand on this sweet little kid,” Skully growled in Ellie’s voice. 

The Sorrow grabbed the shovel with its clawed fingers, desperately trying to tug at it. Skully pushed harder, knocking the shovel into its face, making it bleed. He pulled back the shovel and spun it around, giving it another good whack. He knew he needed to kill it, there was no other choice, and his only weapon was the shovel. 

“I feel sorry for you. Is it because I’m a vampire too? I don’t know. I’m sorry to have to kill you,” he mumbled in Ellie’s voice. 

It had grown frustrated, hunger drove it mad. The Sorrow snarled again and bared its fangs as it tried to get up. Skully held the shovel firmly, he needed to get as much force into it as possible if it was going to cut through its flesh. He jumped on top of The Sorrow, knocking it down again. He knew Ellie’s body was small and didn’t have that much strength but somehow he felt some of his strength was there with him. How else had he punched that Sorrow so hard before?

“Sorry,” Skully muttered before raising the shovel above his head, bringing it down hard. 

Blood sprayed everywhere as it cut into its neck. It shrieked in pain, desperate eyes staring pleadingly at Ellie. He raised the shovel above his head again, no hesitation as he brought it down again, severing the head from the body. Skully let out a huff and jumped off the body, it had already started crumbling to dust. Something about the severed head made him keep looking. Someone had once cut off his head, hadn’t they? He swallowed hard, falling back against the dirt, against the hole in the ground that Ellie had dug. Had this been his grave? Had he really died? Eyes widened at the realisation before the green glow disappeared and Ellie suddenly passed out.