《Creature》


 Chapter 1: Introduction

    2/4/18


    This is a true story.


    Yes, I know. It may seem dramatic but trust me, the truth is much stranger than fiction. Before I begin, let me introduce myself to you. My name is Robert Newman and I am 16 years old. Before this, I live a pretty normal life. Going to school, hanging out with friends, trying to stay healthy and active, listening to music and not caring about the world. That all changed when me and my friends decided to visit Epping Forest a few nights ago. It takes half an hour to drive there from my house (awkward, since I''m not typing this from my house). Epping Forest is a very beautiful place. I suggest that if you get the chance, that is until all the controversy surrounding it is properly dealt with, you should travel there with your family, loved ones or whoever you trust the most. That is until its all over. The terrible stuff, I mean.


    You''re probably wondering what the hell is going on. How could you suggest that a beautiful place is harbouring a sinister secret?I know, I asked myself the same question too. You see, me and my friends weren''t the only ones who''ve been to Epping Forest. Every year, lots of people go there and not one of them came back alive. Including my friends. And its not the first time this has happened. I believed that it goes back to the 1800s, according to my great grandfather who long passed away.


    Surely the cops have been trying to investigate what''s been happening right? Wrong. No conclusive evidence has been confirmed yet and its up to speculation to find what happened to all of these lost souls. There''s a lot of conspiracy theories floating around the net that try to explain what happened at Epping Forest. I''m never a fan of them but I always loved to read them, that is before I discovered the cold-hard truth. One of the best theories was that all the victims were kidnapped and had their body parts sold to wealthy politicians. It made sense since my town was pretty political, especially during elections.


    It was never my intention to write this novel in the first place, or better yet, mislead you. I am simply a messenger who is expected to expose the truth, no matter uncomfortable it may be. People say miracles don''t exist but the fact that I''m living right now proves otherwise. Sit back and relax. All you have to do is follow my word. You don''t have to believe me and I can''t force you to. All I am trying to do is share the truth, even when knowing that I''ll be silenced by my opponents who have power over me.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    All the doom and gloom aside, I forgot the mention where I''m typing this from. I know this sounds irrelevant to the novel but I''d like to tell you anyways. You, my reader, are my friend and like a true friend, I''ll make my sincere attempts to gain your trust especially in situations like this. Its very dire and even if only one person believed me, I''d be the happiest boy on earth.


    I''m currently an inmate at Epping Mental Institute. Woah! You may say. How could anyone trust what a crazy guy would say? The truth is that I am not crazy. Period. The people out there who try to silence me and tell the public sugarcoated lies are the crazy ones. The ones responsible for the disappearances at Epping Forest, including my friends'' disappearances, are the crazy ones. Don''t point your pitchforks at me. I''m simply a messenger.


    Fortunately enough, the staff had been kind to me and provided me a laptop to express my thoughts. Very 21st century indeed. This is my first day at the hospital, the day right after I escaped the horrible ordeal at Epping Forest (which I''ll go through in a VERY DETAILED manner later on). The Wi-Fi surprisingly works and hopefully, it doesn''t shut down. The food here is also pretty decent.


    Like any survivor of a traumatic event, they''ve decided to put me in a mental hospital to treat me of any illnesses I might get, like PTSD. The earlier, the better, they all say. I''ve being doing fine and for my wellbeing (apparently), they decided to put me here for 10 days. I also suspect that they''ve put me here because I killed the perpetrator behind these disappearances in self-defence. I always thought it was a free country where free citizens could defend themselves. But maybe I''m wrong. Maybe they''re making sure that I won''t turn into an actual killer.


    I''m being supervised by Dr. Brown and he''d be checking on me everyday before my release. Right now, he''s looking through my door. Staring at me. Making sure that there isn''t any sort of...incident.Dr. Brown is a nice man and he treated my mother''s depression when my biological father died in a terrorist attack many years ago. He always gives out treats to those who are down and he made sure everyone had a good day, even when the days were gloomy. Now, he doesn''t speak much. He just gives a cold stare now everytime he checks on me. Maybe I''ve grown up. Or maybe he''s just as shocked that a 16 year old boy could survive an infamous string of disappearances at Epping Forest and write a novel about it. Either way, he seems to be very concerned for me.