Chapter 1
There’s a tale about a village that disappears before dawn. Many stories have been heard for many generations. People say the creatures that reside in the village have superhuman powers. Others say people who live in the village were vampires because the village only came out after dark.
It’s Drewster village the village of the Drewsters. Nobody has ever seen what it looks like; they just heard the story from their parents and grandparents. Some people, mostly old people claimed that they had been seen Drewster Village with their eyes — but there’s no evidence to make it solid. While at this time, people who tried to find Drewster disappeared without a trace.
For young people, the story is just a myth. But most elderly yet believe in it. They said the reason people don’t realize Drewster presence is because they look like human beings. They speak human language; they are around everyday — every night. Their village is distant from the town; their village is deep in the forest around Surrey.
Eddie Underwood has been heard a bunch of stories about them. His parents and grandfather sometimes talk about it for tea-talk. He can’t deny that sometimes he considered it is all true, and he is curious about it. But he got it as an urban myth whether that’s true or not.
Eddie is 21 this year. Just like his father, he loves adventure in the forest and goes up the mountains. But his father can’t always be with him.
In the mid-June, Eddie planned to goes to the woodlands near Surrey. His grandfather said that he can see the beauty of nature in the woods and work on his project. So, he goes only with his red jeep and a bike with some equipment for hiking from his home in London.
He is a student in Royal College of Art ― he will graduate as a painter, that’s why he needs to make this landscape project. Every time he went somewhere beautiful, he will spare a little time to draw it on a paper but he just never gets enough of it. He prefers to make the new one every time he got a new task. He has a natural talent for art.
Only take about an hour to reach Surrey from London, but the woods make it more than an hour away. Once he arrived in the right place, he is not building tent right up-front. He rides his bike through the woods and sees the environment and probably the right spot for whatever he gonna do.
This bright brunette man riding his bike reliably, he used to all the jungle tracks. Until he found a river that blocked his way because it quite deep to get through by bike. But the land is perfect for camping, so he's back to his car to pick up the necessary items and build a tent by the river.
The place isn’t arid; it is cool and Eddie can feel at home here. But his granddad didn’t tell him that he can’t get any signal in that area and now he wants to make a call.
“I have to get the high spot.” He said.
With his backpack, he leaves his bike and walks around tried to find signal near the tent. He can’t find it, but he has to. So, he takes his bike and crosses the river very carefully because the water is getting high.
“Okay. Now, where am I going?”
Another thing his granddad didn’t tell him is the woods are pretty dangerous at night. You can’t guess what will show up in front of you or what kind of animals could come up.
“Okay. I got one bar.” He immediately calls his mother and as usual tells her that everything is fine. He might be 21 but he loves his family and he will never deny it. “Okay, mom. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”
The day is getting dark, his watch shows at 4:45 pm. He arrived at late afternoon in the woods; he actually isn’t worried about the day. But now he worries about the way, he thinks he knew where to go but he wasn’t.
These woods can manipulate anything, and that’s what happened to him right now. Somehow, he keeps calm and tried to look the way back to the river. Every time, he heard river sound, it heard from a different direction. As if, the sound echoed everywhere.
One thing he remembers though. A unique tree located right on the edge of the river. The tree is quite high and without realizing it he returns to his tent even without crossing the river. Eddie is an intelligent person and patience in almost everything, but he’s not forgetful. He remembers crossed the river earlier.
“Ah, never mind!” He also skeptical in supernatural stuff.
He is excellent in fishing and catching fish with bare hands. “It’s time for dinner.” Well, he likes to record every moment he makes, but only for himself. So, he turns on the camera and put it on the rock while he is catching fish in the river. Only take 5 minutes for him to get enough fish for dinner for himself.
The night is bright; he can see the stars filled the sky while enjoying the grilled fish in front of the bonfire. Eddie is actually a popular guy in every school he walked in, but his popularity is nothing for him. He doesn’t care about it, he just wants to finish school and get work. Sometimes, he only focuses on one subject at the time ― something he worked on.
He never thinks about love so far, he wants to make his parents proud of him and does not depend on them for so long. About love ― he doesn’t even remember his first love. “Nature is my lover.” He said with grinning face.
