Elyse tumbled down the hill, cutting her knee and hitting her head on a rock in the process. Luckily for her it was just a minor bruise on her scalp. Once she landed at the bottom with a loud "Oof." she slowly crawled to her feet and dusted herself off. "Damnit, I really liked these pants." She muttered as she noticed the tear in the knee of her pants. She then dusted herself off best she could. Laying on the ground by her was her duffle bag with the walking stick still attached and luckily not broken, her purse and wallet. Picking them up she looked around to see where she was. To her far left was a large forested area that was filled with tall white barked trees that had pale pink leaves that almost looked like cherry blossom trees. She took note of how odd that was since she had never seen that forest before. And this began to make her wonder how far from home had she gone.
To her right was yet another sight she had never seen before. It was a large ocean sized body of water that was as black as obsidian and as smooth as glass. Not a single wave nor ripple could be seen on the surface of the water. The sand of the beach near the ocean was a pure snow white, which stood out in contrast against the black water.
Standing on the beach not too far from her was a man. He looked towards Elyse, and ran up to her. The man moved swiftly yet gracefully with each step he took. Much like a wild animal hunting its prey. The man appeared to be in his late twenties' early thirties. He was tall and very thin, almost too thin. He had short messy light brown hair, which was so light it was almost a dirty blond. His skin was a rich deep tan, yet smooth like a rich leather, and he had one pale blue eye and one dark brown eye. Though Elyse had seen people with such eyes on TV before it was odd for her to see someone up close like that. The man wore a loose white t-shirt, faded torn blue jeans, and oddly no shoes on his dirty feet.
Once he reached her, he smiled widely revealing teeth that were almost too white. "Hello there, miss. I am sorry but I don't seem to recognize you. What is your name?" He asked in a cheerful, almost too enthusiastic voice. But his bright smile faded quickly as he looked closer at her. The man then began to circle her much like a wolf would circle its prey. This action made Elyse feel very uncomfortable and almost scared of the man.
"I, I am sorry. Is there something wrong? Where am I and who are you?" Elyse asked in a slightly trembling voice. The man looked her up and down with a frown. "Painted face, strange bags, and unique shoes. Oh dear, this is not good. Not good at all. You're clearly not from here." He stated in a calm stern voice, though there was a hint of worry in it.
"Painted face, do you mean my makeup? And what's so strange about my bags and shoes, Mr... uh sorry what's your name?" She questioned him curiously, wondering who this mysterious man was. "My name is Nielson. Chad Nielson. Now listen to me very carefully. I know you don't know me and it is natural to not trust strangers. But your life is in grave danger right now. You need to trust me. You must come with me if you don't want to die. I know someone who can help you get home safely." The man said with an outstretched hand, his fingers long and boney, his yellowed nails almost claw-like.
Elyse shook her head quickly and took a step back from Chad. "It, it's getting quite dark now. I should go home now. My parents are probably worried sick and might call the police soon. " Elyse lied in a soft voice. For some reason she could not trust this man, and there was no way she would willingly go with him. "But you cannot leave this place. Not without my help." He said coldly. "Sir, I can do as I please. And right now, I am going home." She said trying to sound as brave as possible, though her voice cracked a little as she spoke.
She then turned back towards where the hill was to see if there was a quick way up, like a path so she could leave. But...the hill was gone and in its place was a seemingly never-ending brick wall that was too high to climb. "What in the hell?" Elyse gasped softly confused as to what was happening. It was like some odd nightmare to her.
"I told you that you cannot leave without my help. Come with me. I will take you to Sapphire the White Witch. She can help open the portal to send you home." Chad stated firmly his hand was still outstretched. Something in Elyse's mind suddenly clicked, like a lightbulb going off as he mentioned the white witch. "Ah I get it now. The strange donkey creature, the forest and ocean, a portal and a witch!? I am clearly dreaming. I must be. It's the only logical explanation!" She exclaimed in a confident voice, convinced she was right.
Chad sighed with a frown and shook his head looking downwards. "No, trust me. This is not a dream. This is very real, and you are in danger. Come with me please." He said, sounding urgent. Elyse firmly shook her head again and took a step backwards feeling more frightened of the man. (Dream or not I do not trust this man and no way am I going with him.) She thought as she looked at him.
The two stared at each other for a few moments, neither saying a single word. Suddenly the awkward silence was broken by the loud echoing neigh of a horse. Chad's eyes widened in fear as a look of sheer terror spread across his face. "Oh no, it's too late. He has already found you!" He gasped in a fearful voice. "Who has found me? What's happening, what do you mean?" Elyse questioned not understanding what was going on. "It's the Dullahan. He has come to hunt you down, and kill anyone in his way. Run, run for the forest. He cannot cross the Smoking River!'' Chad said before he turned away from her and ran as fast as he could towards the forested area.
"Hey don't just leave me here you jerk!" She shouted at him as he ran off. Suddenly another loud neigh could be heard coming from the direction of the ocean and Elyse turned her head towards the water to see what it was. What she saw was a sight that nearly stopped her heart. Riding across the water as if it were made of gravel was a gigantic black steed with fiery red eyes that glowed in the darkness of the night. Steam rose from its nostrils as it breathed heavily with each gallop it took. As scary as the horse was though, it was not what terrified her. The rider was the horrific part.
Riding bareback on the giant steed was a tall skeletal figure of a man wearing all black including a black tattered cape that whipped around in the wind. As unnaturally tall and thin as the man was, that wasn't what was unsettling about him. What was wrong, and terrifying was that the man was headless. Well not entirely, as he was carrying his severed head in his left hand.
His head was yellowish green like rotten moldy flesh, his lips black and curled into an evil grin, and his eyes appeared to be literal flames in his eye sockets that flickered wildly. In his right hand was a bloody human spine that he was using as a whip to urge the horse faster.
"Holy shit, it's the headless horseman!" Elyse gasped in shock as she saw it running full speed towards her. It was now only several yards away from her and Elyse wanted to run away. But for some reason her feet were frozen to the ground with terror. She screamed and cursed inside her head begging her feet to run her away from this monstrosity but she could not move an inch. She was frozen solid with fear. At last, as the Dullahan was almost on top of her she managed to move out of the way. But she was still too slow and the Dullahan cracked the spinal whip down hard onto her back, slashing through her shirt and flesh.
Elyse fell to the ground crying out in pain as she did so. She could feel blood oozing from her back. The Dullahan began circling her and raised his whip in the air again to strike her more. Elyse managed to roll out of the way, though in agony doing so, as the whip came down, missing her chest by an inch. The Dullahan raised the whip once more to strike her in the face when another loud neigh could be heard filling the air. For some odd reason this sound made the Dullahan freeze in shock, and his horse began to act nervous, almost as if it were scared.