"A Client In Need Is Payment Indeed"

Howard's head throbbed as if the universe's weight had been dropped on his head. His vision swam, blurred and disorienting, as he stumbled forward into what felt like an endless void. The darkness surrounding him was dense, suffocating, and so eerily silent that even his own breathing sounded foreign to his ears, but after a while the horrendous pain that attacked him seemed to disappear mysteriously as if it had never existed, Howard began to curse his godforsaken situation he of all people found himself.

 After some moments the surroundings once again fell into silence due to the wild rant finally losing steam accompanied by a long sigh

"Sighhh my ma always told me not to take drugs if I didn't want to trippin this hard, but I don't remember taking any drugs ever in my life.. or is that I did take drugs and I am hallucinating so hard that it is making me think that I didn't", Howard pondered as he put his hand on his chin "Nahhhh that just sounds too stupid for it actually to happen"

Howard examined his surroundings to see if there was any clue about where he might be.

"The trees don't have left but there doesn't seem to be any sign on the ground so it means that someone is keeping this part of the trees well kept but it doesn't also make any sense since we are told not to interfere with the local environment since it might disrupt the wildlife but it also it can't be anyone from the outside since the park is well monitored and also no one lives here so it can't be a person." 

As Howard looked around he came near one of the trees, he saw what seemed to be strange-looking mushrooms but he quickly ignored it and focused on the tree once again.

"Quite strange, regular oak trees have a thick, gnarled trunk, rough bark, and sprawling branches that create a dense, shaded canopy but these trees almost seem to be the complete opposite", he thought as his hand brushed against the glass-like smooth trunk he looked up

A slight frown appeared on Howard's face, and he began to contemplate once more.

"These trees are clearly not oak or a variant but they also don't seem to be a tree type that I know of, since they are freakishly tall and wide, they might as well be 3 to 5 stories tall at least and they are smooth and ice cold to the touc.. ahh what the hell"

The pain hit Howard like a sledgehammer, a sudden, brutal force that exploded inside his skull. It wasn't just a headache—it was as if his brain had been set on fire,

"AHAHHAH THIS IS TOO MUCH SIMPLY TOO MUCH"

The pain was unlike anything he had felt before, it was as if a hot knife was being stabbed into his head over and over nonstop and it was as if every stab was worse than the last one.

He dropped to his knees, his flashlight clattering to the ground, its beam flickering wildly as it rolled away. His hands flew to his head, fingers clawing at his scalp, pulling at his short black hair as if he could rip the pain out by the roots.

"AHHhHh!" he screamed, his voice raw and guttural. His nails dug into the skin of his scalp, leaving red welts as he yanked at his hair, desperate for some kind of relief. But there was none. The pain only grew worse, a relentless, pulsating agony that seemed to come in waves, each one more intense than the last.

After a while of pure torment, Howard's voice became horse and unclear his body hadn't stopped moving even with all the exhaustion his muscles felt, Howard's head felt much worse but a few moments later his moments completely stopped as his body stopped responding to him.

He didn't even have the breath or energy to let out a pathetic cry for help, only foam seemed to be contently existing his months.

Howard just lay there unmoving in a pitiful fashion with blood on his fingers and head.

Even though it was quite difficult for Howard to think one thought did form.

"Am I going to have a dog death?", As this thought entered his mind, Howard began to cry

Howard was horrified by the thought of dying, he never believed in god or even tried to... but what if he was wrong... what if he was there was more horrifying than the idea of hell waiting for him? Howard didn't know and he didn't even know what even caused this tragic end. That scared him the most.

The forest seemed to close in around Howard, the towering, unnatural trees casting long, jagged shadows that danced in the flickering light of his fallen flashlight. The air grew colder, biting at his skin, and the silence was so profound that it felt like a physical weight pressing down on him. His breath came in shallow, ragged gasps, each one a struggle against the oppressive stillness. The pain in his head had subsided slightly, but it still lingered, a dull, throbbing reminder of the torment he had just endured.

Out of nowhere, a figure emerged leaping out of trees. Dressed in black cloth from head to toe, wearing what looked to be a makeshift gas mask over his face and a torn-up dirty short cape on his bake. There was something surreal about the presence, like something out of a nightmare.

Howard had blacked out at this moment.

The figure came near Howard and asked in a cheerful tone.

"Hey are you still alive"

 The figure stopped before saying once again

"If you are dead can I keep your stuff? You got some good loot on you"

Howard didn't respond for obvious reasons...

The strange figure grabbed a stick and began poking Howard's unmoving body, after a few more seconds of examination and poking he concluded Howard was not yet dead.

So the mysterious stranger picked up and climbed one of the trees with unnatural speed, as he reached a wide enough branch he placed Howard down.

Afterward, the mysterious stranger crouched down near Howard and removed the glove of his right hand, after some more observation.

The stranger's hand was crocheted and dry with his nails broken and uneven, it was as if it was the hand of death itself.

Suddenly his hand twisted and configured into an inhuman state. His hand became a twisted mass of gnarled, clawed fingers, each tipped with sharp, obsidian-like talons. Its skin was stretched and mottled, thick with scales as if carved from the very earth itself, and it pulsed with an unsettling, dark energy.

As he placed his exposed hand on Howard's head, a cold, suffocating sensation washed over Howard's body. It felt as if the very essence of life was being drained from him, his heartbeat slowing to an almost imperceptible rhythm. The air around him thickened, becoming dense with a strange, suffocating energy that made it hard to breathe.

"Interesting" The stranger spoke in a soft voice

Howard's eyes fluttered open, his vision blurry but slowly focusing on the grotesque hand now resting on his skull. The skin of the hand seemed to breathe, contracting and expanding like it had a life of its own, the dark energy swirling from it in tendrils, seeping into Howard's skin.

The stranger's hand returned to its normal state before putting on his glove once again

His body tensed involuntarily, but he couldn't move, couldn't fight back. He felt the cold spread through his veins, a creeping numbness that made him feel like he was no longer in control of his own body.

The figure saw Howard's eyes open and spoke in a loud voice.

"Your situation is pretty shitty you know that, right? You should be glad you met a nice guy like me"

Before Howard could reply the guy continued to talk in the same friendly tone

 "You don't look too good, pal. Then again, you weren't exactly in great shape when I found you, either. You must be one unlucky bastard to end up here, but yet again you met me so let's say you are both lucky and unlucky ok?"

"Wait what just happened? Was that a dream... No, it was far too real to be anything", Thinking what had just happened sent a cold shiver down Howard's spine and almost made him forget his breath

Seeing Howard not talk made the figure sigh and stand up

"Well, you seem to be good enough to go on your way! So I better be on my way"

Howard witnessing the strange figure leaving made him come back to his senses and blurt out a question without thinking

"Wa wait! Why did you help me?"

Without looking back the figure answered

"Well if definitely not because the right thing to do. I did it because I wanted to and also it would have ruined my day with the voice in my head nagging me on how I left a pathetic creature like you die"

As the figure answered Howard's question, Howard asked another question

"What was that just happened to me?"

As Howard asked, the figure stopped and countered with his own question

"Wait!? you don't know? Did you hit your head or something"

Howard didn't answer 

"Well in any case it's not my problem" The figure continued moving on but suddenly stopped and then said

"AHhh, I almost forgot to ask for my payment for saving you"

Howard still didn't answer because of the sheer ridiculousness of the situation

"Well if you don't have any money that's fine this will be more than enough payment for the expenses,"

 the figure said as he took Howard's flashlight and jumped off the trees and left Howard in pure silence and confutation