Chapter Text
Some things are meant to be left untouched and unbothered, but your friend had no worries when they ended Subcon forest. The intention was the have an overnight camping spree while pulling out a Ouija board to test if there really were spirits lurking in the forest. It was a cool idea, until it happened to you on your birthday. You didn’t agree to it, but you sure as hell were tricked into coming along.
Your friend pushed you along a path during the day talking about the adventures you’d have and all the great fun that they would ALL end up having. You could care less about their giggles as you walked for what seemed hours on end until you came to an immediate stop at the front of the forest that had tall pines that seemed to pierce the darkening sky. You could smell a feint whiff of smoke, but immediately disregarded it thinking someone lived nearby. You turned to your friends who were staring at the gaping forest entrance, perhaps having second thoughts about the whole ordeal.
“Well? You guys brought me here. It’s my birthday. Let’s go, please.” You said with an annoyed tone. You had about three or so friends that tagged with, all who were incredulously naïve and easily startled. They were all good individuals, however. That’s why you became friends with them in the first place, all coming from different places. It was nice they would do something with you, but you didn’t expect it to be… well, this considering you weren’t a fan of Ouija boards or camping.
“Yeah, yeah (Y/N). I was just thinking; do we have an escape plan?” One of your friends chirped as if this whole ordeal was about to go down in flames.
“Was I supposed to come up with the escape plan? You guys brought me here.” You sighed while pinching the bridge of your nose in annoyance. You quickly dropped the attitude as one of your friends quickly reassured the friend about an escape plan which was to run immediately and hide in a tent. It was dumb and seemed like a cop-out to facing the realities of this world and what the forest may bring. You didn’t really care either way, you were already there. Why escape anyway? Did your friends know something you didn’t? Perhaps so.
You all continued your way to the depths of the forest. The passage way becoming run-down as you took more steps. The forest becoming dark. It was almost enchanting in a way that it didn’t scare you. You’ve never really been in this forest and have never heard much about it. You perhaps heard about it while visiting Mafia Town in passing, but nothing was solid. You heard dramatic interpretations of the forest saying it was loitered with evil critters, but nothing too serious. You didn’t believe in ghosts all too much. You were spiritual, sure, but nothing too dramatic. You were trying to think of possible things that this forest could offer you until one of your friends snapped you out of your daydream.
“(Y/N) we were planning to set up here next to this pine tree since there’s a wide area we can use to start building a fire and getting all camped up!” They said cheerfully. You smiled at their enthusiasm and went on to help them set up what they had going on.
The whole set-up was brilliant, but not stylish. It was effective in the form of camping, but if you were to look at it from afar it would look like a preschooler just made their first pillow fort with their sister. It looked like a disaster. A usable disaster.
After completing the necessary tasks you put your hands on your hips and smiled to yourself, proud of the work you had done. Until one of your friends pointed at you and demanded you go seek firewood. By yourself.
“Are you fucking kidding me? This forest is dark, and you want me to scavenge for usable firewood. That’s funny... Why should the birthday person do that work anyway?” You did a half-laugh out of irritation.
“I mean, it’s not that bad, plus this forest looks safe and it doesn’t look like there’s...” They paused for a moment before continuing, “… anything dangerous!”
That’s really suspicious. You thought to yourself before accepting they would grab firewood. You turned with cellphone in pocket despite there being no service and a pair of gloves to get into the wood nearby.
You traveled for about 10 minutes until you came to another clearing where you found yourself picking up sticks. It was a mundane task that was driving you nuts until you heard whispers flooding your ears. You dropped the sticks immediately and whipped around to survey your surroundings. The sound stopped as soon as you noticed it. “Maybe I’m just having anxiety… due to being alone...?” You laughed to yourself until a feint whisper sing-songed in your ears.
“I don’t think so, kiddo~ Now why would you EVER think you’re alone in my forest?”
You immediately spun in a full circle trying to find the source of the sound, but to no avail. You grabbed your sticks and high-tailed it out of that clearing. You thought it was weird that something that sounded so real would ring in your ears the way it did. Your cheeks flushed red as you ran to find your disaster of a campsite in the darkness. You finally saw a light in the distance hoping it was your friends who maybe found sticks on their own. Thank goodness by the time you got there, your fears were immediately laid to rest. However, you did not speak about the incident knowing your friends would make fun of you.
--
The day seemed to roll on forever as the sky did not change nor did the smells of burning wood in the distance. It was odd being in a forest so captivating yet so mysterious at the same time. It made you shiver just thinking about how you were alone with friends in such an acrid forest.
“Alright, (Y/N).” One of your friends started as you were around a campfire gazing at the wonderful flames that danced in front of you. “Time to play with the Ouija board we got JUST for this occasion.”
“Excuse me?” You knew this was coming as it was discussed before but didn’t think they would want to start it at this time. “So, what are we going to get out of playing a make-believe game where you move the planchet by yourself?” You asked.
The same friend’s lips began to curl into a sinister smile. “Do you not know (Y/N)?”
“I don’t. Some insight would be fantastic!” You said with a sarcastic tone that could be heard a million miles away.
“Well, this is Subcon forest, is it not? This is all where the goons are! Ghosts. A shadow that is said to drag you into the pits of hell!” The friend quite clearly put on their story-telling voice. Acting scary was the least of their worries. They were quite clearly fucking with you. You weren’t having it.
“Wow that is SO funny (F/N)!” You continued, “And then wh-“. You were cut off by them placing a finger on your lips.
“Some say this shadow is a DASHING PRINCE! However, it is said he is quite nutty. After his death he became extremely malevolent and… and…” They finally stuttered and gave up when you showed no emotion to their little story-telling anecdote.
“Lets just get this over with.” You sighed, feeling somewhat tired.
Your friends began to form a circle just outside their small fire pit they had made. A few winds blew through which made it somewhat hard to keep the board down until one of your friends grabbed a few rocks to hold down the edges.
“Alright.” The friend who told the story huffed as they had their hands on the planchette. “Hello! Is there anyone here?”
You watched quizzically, waiting for the punchline to come in and an additional friend would come behind you to scare you. Nothing. Just more wind, but it brushed underneath your neck this time. It made you shiver to the point where you pulled out a sweater that was laying next to your friend’s butt.
It was silently a few minutes until the planchet began to move to “YES”. Everyone started to lose their minds except you. You thought it was some funny joke yet again. Your only response to the whole thing was, “Very funny!”
Your friend rolled their eyes at you before continuing what they were doing. “Thank you for responding! It means a whole lot!” They paused for a brief moment like they were actually talking to someone in front of them before continuing again, “I guess I don’t know where to start… Are you good or bad?”
That was it. That was the dumbest question. You thought to yourself. Are you good or bad? If there was an entity out there who was smart enough, they wouldn’t answer the question and move to GOODBYE. However, that was far from the case. The planchette began moving, but not to yes or no. It started to make a word saying DEBATABLE. You immediately felt a shiver go down your spine. That was incredibly stupid. Your friends had to be doing something, but they were freaking out in the most real way. You were on the sidelines for now.
The friend took a hard swallow before nervously asking their next question, “Oh haha, very cool! I- um, do you have a name…. debatable soul?”
You stared at the board, two minutes passed before the small piece of ornate wood began moving again. It spelled out S, N, and A before stopping.
“Who names their kid Sna?” One of your friends who wasn’t holding the planchet laughed.
There was a pause before the little key started moving again over T, C, H, E, and R. You were dumbfounded. Snatcher? That sounds kind of stupid. They must have a name. It sounds so… edgy. I’m pretty sure (F/N) is just fucking with you. You thought to yourself before slapping your hands on your knees in annoyance.
“Well this is dumb, I’m out. I need to go get a breath of fresh air or else I’m going to suffocate from these tricks and stupidity.” You got up with that statement and started to turn, letting new air enter your lungs and let embers and ash out.
“Wait, wait, wait (Y/N) you can’t leave without saying goodb-“. Immediately, the friend who was talking with the planchet disappeared into nothingness as a purple haze engulfed your vision. It seemed like the entire campsite disappeared in an instant, along with your friend.
“AHAHAHAHAH. They’re right, kid! You can’t leave without saying GOODBYE!!! AHAHAHHAHA!” A large and tall being appeared before you with a pumpkin face except for the oval eyes. Spikes which looked like they doubled as hair around where the neck seemed to be. They simply looked like a large noodle with arms who had beautiful purple hues all over their person.
You immediately were knocked off your feet and were on the ground in a daze, trying to make sense of the situation. You were confused and scared, but also intrigued. Nothing could compare to the feeling of helplessness in the sudden situation.
“Who… what….” You panicked, trying to search with your hands on the ground for a stick to defend yourself with, but nothing. You immediately turned back to the demon who was looking straight at you with constant amusement in their face.
“FOOOOOOOOL! You think you can honestly grab something to fend me off? HA! That’s hysterical! Really! That’s actually quite FUNNY given you’re just a human!” He snickered while mocking you. It was the most intense voice you had heard in forever besides your mom yelling at you to do the dishes. Except, this felt…. Better?
“Of course! Sticks work… wonders? Yeah?” You tried to humor the situation that you felt you knew you couldn’t get out of.
“I’m real impressed, you can’t find a stick and yet you try to make a joke of your IMPENDING DEATH?”
You had no words for this man until you quickly came out with something else a little more believable, “Are you what was causing the Ouija board to move…?”
“Yeah yeah!” You could feel the eyeroll coming from this shadow’s person even though you couldn’t see it, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Did you honestly think a group of adults could waltz into my forest, pull out equipment, and try to summon a demon from a little board game? Sure. You got my attention, but now you must pay the price, kiddo.” He moved in to get into your face to get a good look at what he was dealing with before pulling back.
“I was thinking about perhaps just ending your sad, miserable, and little life by just taking your soul and eating it. I have a different idea in mind though, kid! Let me cut you a deal you CAN’T TURN DOWN! AAHAHAHA.” He pulled back and laughed while slapping a clawed hand to his head. This man, thing, or whatever it was truly not there. However, it immediately clicks with you that you were dealing with the entity playing with your friends as he moved over to pick up the Ouija board and looking at you with piercing eyes.
The Snatcher.