Chapter Text
Hannibal-Erlking
Will-the Father
Abigail- the daughter
The moon was unable to breach the clouds that night. There was a heavy fog that had fallen very suddenly. As Will and Abigail began the long ride back to their house a deep chill crept over the land. The longer they rode the colder it seemed to grow. It was during this ride that everything in Will's life would change.
“Do you think Alana will invite us back anytime soon?” asked Abigail. She was somewhat breathless as they rode and her cheeks had taken a rosy shade due to the cold.
“Who can say, she is kind but even kind people can lose their patience with someone like me. Don't take it too personally Abigail.” Will had been friendly acquaintances with Alana for a few years now and he was under no illusion that her invitation to dinner had been more for Abigail than for him. Abigail was more sociable than he had ever been. Although she still loved to fish and play with the dogs at the house, she longed to interact with more people her age.
“ I don't know she seemed pretty ‘interested’ in you tonight,” Abigail said with a mischievous tone.
“What do you mean by that huh?”
“Oh, nothing just that she seemed pretty interested in every word you said. And by interested I mean she hung onto everything you said.”
Will thought back at the events of the dinner. He had been trying to be more sociable simply because Alana was very kind to both Abigail and him. It was unlike most people who only saw Will and his peculiarities and wanted to analyze everything he said and did. Alana at least put the effort into getting to know his daughter. Abigail deserved that. As he pondered this Abigail glanced outside the window. The forest was almost completely black with no sign of the moon and the fog taking away other details of the woodline. As they continued to drive she swore she saw two lights blink at her behind the fog. Even as they drove the lights seemed to follow her every move. She began to feel a chill come over her as the lights seemed to get closer to the edge of the road. She reached over and turned the heat on high.
“You feeling alright? It's pretty warm in here already?” Will said as he returned to the present. He glanced over at Abigail and saw how pale she had suddenly become.
“Abigail?” he repeated.
“Huh! Oh sorry, Dad I just thought I saw something out there in the wood line. It looked almost like...eyes.” she said the last part in a near whisper.
Will turned to regard her more closely. She really had become quite pale and she was slightly shivering now.
“Ok honey just checking,” he said as he reached to turn the heat as high as it would go. Even though he was already starting to sweat, he couldn't shake the feeling that whatever Abigail was feeling would be helped by the heat. Abigail glanced at him and gave him a shaky smile. As they drove further on he made sure to glance over at Abigail every so often to check on her. He didn't remember their drive being so long before. He could have sworn they should have left the forest by now. He remembered there being a town on the way to Alana’s.
He continued to ponder this as Abigail once again glanced out the window. This time the eyes were definitely still there. Only they were much brighter. They gave off a slight red glow that unsettled her even more. Then she began to hear faint whispers. At first, she didn't even notice them over the sound of the car moving along the bumpy back road. But they steadily began to grow in volume. “Come my dear child play games with me” “See the beautiful forest flowers as they bloom with me.” “Why do you hide dear child. I only wish to care for you.” The whispers grew until Abigail could hardly notice anything else. As the eyes grew closer a face began to appear through the fog. It belonged to a man. She could hardly see him only that he had a noble disposition as he began to take shape. It did not occur to her that it was strange for a man to be able to stand still and remain within view of her window as the drove down the road.
“Dad do you see that man out there?” she asked shakily. She could still hear the whispers and they only grew more insistent.
“Abigail what are you talking about?” he glanced out the window. He couldn’t see anything. “Abigail honey did you drink anything while we were at Alana's?”
Abigail flicked her head towards him. “Dad no! That's not what this is! I swear I see a man out there and I keep hearing something.” she said this and reached up to cover her ears “The voices won't stop Dad please.” she looked at him with tears beginning to show in her eyes.
Will looked at her and her fear and wondered what could possibly be the problem? “Hang on,” he said slowing the car to a stop on the side of the road.
“DAD NO! We need to keep moving! He’s still out there!” she said grasping at his arm frantically. She began to truly cry now. Fearful sobs escaping her mouth as she kept glancing back and forth between Will and the forest beyond. “Please Dad he wants to keep me I don't want to go!”
“Abigail, honey you have to calm down.” he reached over and held her. She had never been like this. What could possibly be making her so scared? “Honey what man are you talking about.”
Abigail looked at him and slowly raised her hand and shakily pointed it out towards the window. As he followed her finger he finally began to see the misty outline of a man. As his gaze traveled up he caught sight of the red blazing eyes directed at them. He swallowed loudly. Who was this man how...how had he been following them like this? He looked back at Abigail and watched her shake as she stared at the man. She looked almost in a trance.
“We just have to make it home hold on for me,” he said putting the car back in drive and speeding away. He didn't like the way the shadowing figure made him feel. It wasn't until they were several miles down the road that he noticed he was shivering. The car had to be a sauna by now with how long the heat had been on high. Yet he was still felt chilled to the bone. And Abigail did not look any better.
“He wants to be a family Dad. Can't we all be a family together?” Abigail whispered as she looked out the window.
Will looked at her in alarm. His gaze went out the window and he couldn't repress the shudder that went through him as he saw the man still there in view. “Abigail, what are you talking about? Honey please this doesn't make any sense,” he begged her. His voice quivered with fear. Had they eaten something at the party that made them hallucinate? He couldn't think of anything out of the ordinary. The food had been good if not slightly over the top. He vaguely remembered being introduced to the chef of the night. He doesn't know why he hadn't remembered the man up to that point. His name was Hannibal Lecter. He had been pleasant and polite if not a bit eccentric. Both he and Abigail had complimented his cooking and had spent a long while chatting with him. Now that he thought about it they had spent practically the entire night chatting with Hannibal. Alana had been there too but she had been at the back of his mind with Hannibal holding most of his attention. His attention quickly went back to the road as he felt the vehicle hit something on the road. The impact was so sudden and harsh he felt his seat belt catch with how suddenly he hit the brakes.
“Dad?” Abigail whispered. “What did we hit?”
“Stay in the car honey,” he said quietly.
“Dad no..” Abigail barely seemed conscious as she said this. Her eyes appearing glazed over as she appeared to be listening to something he couldn't hear...yet.
He opened his door and stepped out of the car. By this point, the fog had slowly crept onto the road. Up to this point, it had remained only in the forest but as he approached the vague outline of a lump on the road the fog grew denser. When he finally reached the object he could see that it was not merely a piece of fallen furniture but an animal. It looked like a good-sized deer with tall antlers. He gazed closer to the animal's features and saw how its coat wasn't the brown of the common deer that inhabited the forests. It had a glossy black coat which shown even in the fog. He crouched down and noticed that the creature had feathers in its coat as well. He had never seen a deer like this. In fact, he wasn’t sure how they could have hit such a massive creature and gotten off with such little damage. It looked almost like it had been laying in the road when they hit it...As this thought crossed his mind Will quickly scanned the treeline. When he didn't see the red eyes from before he felt not relief but sudden terror. Abigail!
“Abigail!” he shouted as he quickly ran back to the car. When he got there he saw the passenger car door open and no one inside. “Abigail please answer!” he yelled. He felt tears forming in his eyes. Where had she gone? Why had she left? He turned back and forth gazing at the shoulder of the road hoping to catch a sign of where Abigail could have possibly gone. As he did this his eyes caught a footprint in the mud at the edge of the woods. “Abigail?” he quickly took off hoping to follow her trail.
As he tramped through the deep underbrush he did not think to look back and keep his bearings of where the car was. All he could think of was finding Abigail at all cost. His steps slowed as he began searching for more clues to where she could be. The fog was so thick he could hardly see in front of him. He continued forward at a steady pace. Yet he could begin to feel the chill of many eyes on him. His hair stood on end and he tried to focus but he kept losing focus while trying to find the source of his anxiety. Then the whispers started. “Look at him run” “Do you think he will find her?” “Oh, what will he do when he doesn't?”
“Abigail!” he shouted as loud as he could. “Please answer!” he couldn't focus. The voices were getting louder “ I wonder what he will do with him?” “She was such a pretty girl it's too bad” “What will you do now that she's gone, William?” He froze as one of the voices spoke his name. How… what is this? Suddenly all the voices stopped. He felt a heavy presence settle over him. When he looked out into the fog he saw those fateful eyes. His legs wouldn't move, even as the eyes grew closer. The thing that showed itself from the fog was like nothing he had ever heard of or seen before. Its skin was black and taunt over the skeletal form of the creature. It had massive antlers sitting like a crown on top of its head. And the robe that dragged on the ground had a bloody sheen yet it did not seem to be dirty.
“William,” it said in a deep growling voice. He felt his attention snap towards the red orbs staring at him. “Oh, William” it stepped closer to him now. Will felt his muscles tense yet he could not move any further away no matter how he tried. His eyes filled with frustrated tears. The creature paused in front of him. It reached out and cradled his face with its claws. “My dear why are you so frightened? What have I done to frighten you?” Will could not respond. “Speak,” it said sharply.
“Where is Abigail?” was all he could manage.
“She is fine dear William. Merely lost in a maze of my creation until we finish speaking.” it began gently stroking his cheek and neck. His skin broke out in goosebumps. He quickly scanned the forest around him with the desperate hope he would catch a glimpse of her. The creature held his head steady. “Now dear William I had not wished to cause such havoc within you tonight. However, I believe I can make it up to you. Should you find Abigail before sunrise you may both leave.” at this he paused. “ If you don't... we may discuss this later” As he said the creature released Will's head. Will was nearly distracted by the lost heat but remained focused as he watches the creature be enfolded by the fog. “I wish you luck William. We shall see what kind of man you really are” the creature had merely whispered he last part. To will it felt as if it came from directly next to his ear yet he could no longer see the creature.