Jason held his breath.
The creature stood inches away, bent forward like a crooked tree trunk. Violet lines glowed faintly beneath its thin skin.
Jason slowly lifted his hand.
"Alright," he muttered under his breath. "Let's see what you really are."
His fingers brushed the creature's arm.
Wood.
Cold. Smooth. Lifeless. Jason blinked.
"You're… wood?"
He tapped the surface with his knuckles.
A dull knock answered him.
The creature did not react.
Jason walked a slow circle around it, boots pressing softly into the dirt of the clearing. Wind moved through the trees above the cabin, carrying a dry smell of leaves and dust.
The creature remained bent forward, tall and thin.
Its long arms hung almost to the ground.
Jason crouched slightly and examined the glowing lines along its ribs.
"Those loops again," he said quietly. The purple markings pulsed faintly.
Jason leaned closer.
"Are you alive or just pretending to be scary?"
Nothing happened.
He straightened and folded his arms.
"Okay… new rule," he said. "I stop panicking."
His eyes stayed fixed on the creature.
The glow slowed.
Jason nodded slowly.
"Right. Observation."
He took another step around it.
Still nothing.
"Not attacking," he murmured.
The wind stirred again.
Leaves scraped across the clearing.
Jason kept watching.
The creature stayed frozen.
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"So you only move when I lose focus."
He turned away deliberately and looked toward the cabin behind him.
"Let's test that."
Silence filled the clearing.
Jason stared at the cabin door.
Two seconds passed.
Three.
Then,
A faint scrape of wood sliding across dirt sounded behind him.
Jason's eyes widened.
He held still for a moment, breath caught halfway in his chest. His gaze drifted off the creature and then slowly returned, locking onto it again.
"Yep," he murmured under his breath.
"They move when I stop watching."
---
Jason turned slowly.
The creature had moved closer.
Not much.
But enough.
Jason folded his arms and stared at it.
"Alright," he said. "Let's try something."
He planted his feet firmly in the clearing.
His eyes locked onto the creature's face.
"Step one," he murmured. "Stillness."
The wind passed through the trees.
Nothing moved.
Jason nodded.
"Good."
He took a slow breath.
The purple lines dimmed.
"Step two."
His gaze drifted slightly toward the ground.
Just a little.
A soft scrape answered immediately.
Jason snapped his eyes back up.
The creature froze again.
Jason laughed quietly.
"Caught you."
He pointed at it.
"You're like those statues in horror movies."
No response.
Jason rubbed the back of his neck.
"Okay… what about thinking?"
He stared at the creature again.
Then he spoke softly to himself.
"Maybe I could ignore this."
The creature slid forward half a step.
Jason frowned.
"Interesting."
He kept talking.
"Just this once," he said casually.
Three creatures along the tree line shifted.
Jason's head snapped toward them.
"What?"
Another small step.
Jason exhaled slowly.
"So that's it."
He pointed at them again.
"You react to excuses."
The violet lines brightened faintly.
Jason shook his head.
"Unbelievable."
He crossed his arms again. "No rationalizing."
Silence returned. The creatures froze.
Jason inhaled slowly. "Stay sharp."
But a stray thought slipped through his mind. Just one.
Maybe this isn't that dangerous.
Every creature around the clearing stepped forward at the same time.
Jason's stomach dropped.
---
Jason froze. The creatures now stood far closer than before.
Their crooked bodies formed a loose ring around the clearing. He swallowed.
"Okay," he whispered.
"That was fast."
A faint rustle of cloth sounded behind him.
Jason turned. Someone stood beside the cabin.
Tall. Still.
Robes made of layered gray pages hung from his shoulders.
Ink stained his fingers. Jason exhaled slowly. "Oh good," he said. "The creepy librarian is back."
The figure opened a large black book.
A long feathered quill scratched across the page. Jason frowned.
"Are you writing this down?"
No reply.
The quill moved again.
Scratch.
Scratch.
Jason stepped closer. "Hey," he said. "Mind confirming something?"
The figure continued writing. Jason gestured toward the creatures.
"They move when I rationalize."
Scratch.
"And when I lose focus."
Scratch.
Jason waited. Nothing else happened.
He frowned. "So… am I right?"
The figure slowly lifted the book.
Jason leaned closer to read. Symbols filled the page. Clean rows of markings. Observations. Actions. Attempts.
Jason looked up at The Ledger Keeper.
"You're not going to tell me anything, are you?" The quill moved again. Scratch. Jason folded his arms. "Figures."
He glanced back at the monsters surrounding him. The violet loops pulsed faintly. Jason sighed. "So clarity doesn't weaken them." The figure paused.
Jason noticed the movement immediately.
The quill hovered above the page. Then it wrote one final line. Jason leaned closer again. Understanding: Neutral.
Jason's eyes locked on the words for a breath too long.
"What?"
A dry scrape cut through the clearing.
The creatures had moved.
Clawed limbs dragged across the ground, closing the narrow distance he had been guarding. One of them lurched forward with a stiff, wooden step, its splintered fingers stretching outward.
Jason's breath caught.
Those claws were no longer yards away.
They were almost on him.