Page 1 of Hollow
PROLOGUE
Rex couldn’t believe he’d let Tiffany talk him into a camping trip. They could’ve driven up to New York City for Halloween; instead, they drove an extra hour to Sleepy Hollow, and now, they were forced to camp the weekend leading up to the holiday because this tourist town had booked every semi-affordable room months ago.
“You know about the monsters in these woods, right?” Derek asked, leading the way deeper through the trees.
“The only monster in these woods is that screaming kid up the hill,” Beth complained as she trekked alongside Derek.
“Seriously, kid’s a little banshee,” Tiffany said.
Rex kept close to her, helping knock away the overgrown plants on their trail. They’d barely found parking since way too many people had the same idea about using the camping grounds. Now, they walked further through the trails, attempting to find a spot that wasn’t overrun by other tourists.
After walking through the dark for half an hour, Derek found a decent spot, and everyone set up their tents while Beth started a small fire.
“What was that you were saying about monsters?” Beth asked, playfully batting her foot against his thigh.
Derek grinned, seeming to perk up at the question. Rex did his best not to groan, but he’d never understood Derek and Beth’s obsession with Halloween. Tiffany didn’t care much about it, but she loved any excuse for a weekend road trip, and Rex loved any excuse to get away with Tiffany for a few days.
“There are two monsters in these woods,” Derek explained. “One is some humanoid deer person. I think it’s called like Stag Man or some shit. Real creepy looking.”
“I think a deer man would be kind of cute,” Tiffany said, playfully pursing her lips and smiling with her eyes at Rex.
“Yeah, until he stomps your head in with his hoofed feet,” Derek countered, punching his open palm to solidify the horror of Stag Man. “There’s nothing cute about these monsters.”
Tiffany frowned, shooting Rex an icy glare because she found everything that came out of Derek’s mouth obnoxious. Rex grimaced, hoping to salvage the night.
“What’s the other monster?” Beth asked.
“The Horseless Headsman,” Derek said in a gruff, breathy reveal, doing his best to appear ominous. Rex found him ridiculous.
“I’m sorry, Horseless Headsman?” Rex laughed. “Is that a fucking joke?”
“No, it’s the demon offspring of the Headless Horseman,” Derek clarified.
“I know some children go out of their way to avoid becoming their parents,” Beth said with a smirk, “but reversing the name just seems…”
“Stupid,” Rex finished.
“I know that one,” Tiffany said, scrolling through her phone. “I swear, I know that one. He’s got like a giant pumpkin head or something?”
“He does,” Derek answered, returning to his hilariously terrible wicked tone. “You see, the Horseless Headsman has fire from Hell itself lit inside the center of the pumpkin. And it’s said the shadows cast by that Hellfire carry the souls of every demon from Hell itself.”
“Do demons have souls?” Beth asked with a bored expression as she fixated on the small campfire. “I thought the whole point of demons was that they were soulless or something.”
“Fine,” Derek snapped. “Not the souls, just the demons themselves. They lurk inside the shadows, waiting for the Horseless Headsman to summon them and—”
“I fucking knew it,” Tiffany shouted, holding her phone up. “The Horseless Headsman. He’s a cutie. His videos are always popping up on my feed.”
Music played, and some shirtless guy with way too much gray costume paint on danced while wearing a pumpkin over his head. Rex cringed at the tacky sight.
“That’s not the Horseless Headsman,” Derek snapped, growing more impatient.
“He says he is.” Tiffany shrugged. “Doesn’t seem that scary to me.”
“That’s just some fucking idiot who dresses up as a slutty version of the monster to make tips from stupid tourists.”
“I’d drop a few ones if he did that little dance for me,” Beth teased.
“You’re joking, but the real monsters in these woods won’t care if you take them seriously.” Derek glowered. “They’re hunters, killers, and pure evil.”
