The Woods of Sin were usually a quiet place when the sun rose. Most people were too afraid to travel through them at all, and the few thrill seekers that did always left before morning. After all, what was the point in exploring such a cursed place, filled to the brim with the supernatural, during the daytime?

Today was different.

A collection of news reporters and cameras were piled right in front of the entrance to the Forbidden Cave, said to be the most dangerous place in all of the Woods of Sin. A place that was banned from the general public. Everyone there was frantically reporting the newest story, one that was sure to capture a lot of attention.

Someone had been insane enough to break in.

A barricaded entrance had been built in front of the cave to deter anyone from trying to enter. Apparently it hadn’t been near strong enough.

“Earlier today, it was reported that a teenage girl was running out of this cave, crying.” The news anchor stated. “She has since been identified as Johanna Iverson, a fifteen year old from the local high school. She claims that her boyfriend, sixteen year old Antonio Donner, was killed in the cave from being crushed by rocks. While she has declined a public interview, she has agreed to a private one with the Supernatural Investigation Department.”

The camera changed to show a close up shot of the entrance of the cave.

“The Supernatural Investigation Department has stated they will explore the cave to try and retrieve Antonio’s remains. They have also stated they will put up higher level protection around the entrance, to prevent anyone else from entering.”

The camera went back to the news anchor. “All our hearts remain heavy at this horrible tragedy. We will keep reporting on this story as new information comes out. This has been Miranda Kines, and now, back to you.”

The TV playing that news story in the office of the head of the Supernatural Investigation Department was turned off.

The middle aged man at the front desk, known by his last name, Geisinger, turned in his chair and with a bitter groan, got out a folder full of paperwork.

“Captain?” A woman asked at his front door.

“Why do you guys always call me ‘captain’?” He asked. “This isn’t a pirate ship.”

“I’m sorry… boss?”

“Oh that’s even worse.” He remarked. “Seriously, just call me Geisinger. No need for all these dumb titles.”

“Okay, Geisinger.” The woman replied. “I just wanted to inform you that Johanna has arrived, ready for the interview.”

Geisinger furrowed his eyebrows. “Already? Don’t these things have to wait like a day or two?”

“She says she wants to do the interview right now.”

He quietly grumbled. “Well, I can’t do it right now, I’m pretty busy. Someone else will have to do it.”

“Who?”

Geisinger thought over the question for a bit. “How about Ben Cross? He seems good with these things. Get him to do it.”

“Alright, will do, boss.” The woman said before quickly leaving the room.

“Geisinger!” He yelled.

***

The Supernatural Investigation Department, or S.I.D., was housed in a fairly large building with a plethora of different rooms. The first floor was mainly for visitors, people who were having problems with the Supernatural who needed special appointments or medical care. The second floor was for the employees, each one with their very own quarters. The third floor was where the head of the department, Geisinger, worked in his office. Aside from that, it had rooms which held the paperwork and information for the especially secret and top level investigations.

The building also had a basement, where combat and safety training was done. Every employee was required to spend a full eight hour work day there each week, to keep up their physical prowess and skill in combating beings that often gave physics and biology the middle finger.

All in all, it was a very versatile building that specialized in a multitude of activities. To be able to work for the S.I.D. was considered a prestigious honor of the highest order. It was a hard place to get into, but most people said it was well worth it if you did.

***

The woman walked around the halls of the second floor for about a minute before reaching the necessary quarters. She knocked on the door.

It opened almost instantly, revealing a young man just approaching his mid twenties named Benjamin Cross, a rather new recruit who had joined a year prior.

“Johanna Iverson has arrived for her interview. Geisinger wants you to be the one leading it.”

Ben leaned his back on the doorway. “I take this is less of a ‘want’, and more of an order.”

“Basically.”

Ben sighed as he went to open one of the drawers in his quarters, getting out a folder and a pen. “You know, before I got this job I didn’t think there’d be so much paperwork involved.”

The woman grinned. “My thoughts exactly.”

“I know, right!” Ben exclaimed. “I mean, you think you’re gonna be some badass fighting ghosts and demons and the next thing you know you’re in this room recording a bunch of shit.”

The woman laughed. “If we had to fight demons a lot, the world would probably be a very dangerous place to live in.”

Ben strapped on his backpack. “Sometimes I crave for that excitement.”

The woman moved aside as Ben exited his quarters.

***

Arriving on the first floor, Ben made his way toward the room where they'd be conducting the interview. He opened the door to see Johanna, already in there.

Her face was still damp.

Ben laid his backpack to the side and got out the folder and pen.

“Hello.” He said as he sat down. “You doing well?”

She didn’t answer.

“Well.” He said. “I have to say I’m very sorry about what happened. I know you think I’m just saying that, but I’m being serious.”

Johanna’s eyes began tearing up.

“Hey.” He said. “It’s okay. Many people have been in your position, watching someone close to them die due to the supernatural. I mean, it’s not known that that’s what killed him but that seems to be the theory as of now. Anyway, what I’m saying is that you’re not alone. Many people can help you.”

Johanna sniffed. “It’s just… if I had told him no, or ran after him sooner, I could’ve saved him. Instead I was so… so stupid, and a coward. It’s my fault, all my fault.”

“No, it’s not. The first step to getting through this is accepting that this is not your fault. You were not responsible for his death.”

Tears were falling almost freely from her eyes. “But I still feel guilty.”

“This is a process.” Ben reassured her. “These things take time, it’s not like a switch that can be flipped on or off. Trust me, one step at a time, you’ll get through this.”

She sniffed again. “Thank you.” She said with a quivering voice.

“Now, you said you wanted to do an interview. Is that still true?”

Johanna nodded silently.

“Okay, why don’t you tell me what happened before he died, all that you can recall.”

Her face turned up, eyes red and unfocused. “Well… we were in the Forbidden Cave. He convinced me to come with him. I didn’t want to but he was so persistent. So I went along. And we traveled really far, I think it was like… two hours or something. Anyway, he pushed a rock off a cliff and I told him I wanted to leave. He said he wanted to explore one more room. I said okay, and then. And then…”

Her voice trailed off as she started crying again.

“It’s okay.” Ben said. “Let it out.”

It took about a minute before Johanna was able to speak again. “He… he walked down this path and then I heard something breaking. I called his name but he didn’t answer. I began walking down that path but got scared when I saw all the spiders. I hesitated, and then I heard him scream my name and I ran. Then I heard a bunch of rocks breaking and falling, and when I got there… he was gone.”

Her eyes were filling with water.

“I called his name so many times but never heard anything back. All I saw was just a mess of rocks on the ground. He was gone. I couldn’t find him anywhere. And then I ran out of the cave, realizing he was… dead.”

Johanna buried her face in her hands, failing to suppress her sobbing.

“I’m sorry.” Ben said.

Johanna continued to cry for another minute before she calmed down.

“Is there anything you can think of that caused his death?” Ben asked her.

“I don’t know, it’s just…” She stopped for a bit, as if remembering something. “Actually, there was! I remember it now! There was this… weird light I saw for a bit.”

“Weird light?” Ben questioned.

“Yeah, I could see some kind of white light on the walls and floor. That’s when I heard him screaming. Once I got there, it was gone.”

Ben made a special note of that. “Interesting.” He said to himself. “Is there anything else you can think of that may have resulted in his death?”

“No.” Johanna shook her head.

“Alright…” He said. “Well, is there anything else you want to say?”

“Not really. I just… I just don’t know what to do. I don’t think I can ever accept this.”

Ben leaned closer to her. “Hey, we actually have a grief counseling program available if you’re interested. I think it’d be very helpful for you. Alright?”

“O- okay.”

Ben nodded. “Well, I think that about concludes our time here. It was a pleasure meeting you, Johanna. I wish you the best, and please consider that grief program.”

She nodded. “I will.”

Ben smiled. “Thank you for your time.” He said before escorting her out of the interviewing room.

***

Ben walked quickly over to Geisinger’s office, folder in hand. He knocked on his door.

Geisinger came to open it about half a minute later. “Come in.”

Ben entered the room and took the seat in front of Geisinger’s desk.

“So…” Geisinger started. “I assume you want to talk about the interview.”

“Yes.” Ben affirmed. “I talked to Johanna. She was real torn up about her boyfriend’s death. She was crying a ton. I just felt really awful for her, and for that guy too. But anyway, I was able to get quite a lot of information. And some of it I think you might find interesting.”

“Really? Explain.”

“Well, apparently right before Antonio died from being crushed, a white light was shining through the walls and floor.”

“Just a light?” Geisinger asked.

“That’s what she gathered. She said that he was screaming when it appeared and that it disappeared right when she came to see Antonio crushed under the rocks. I think it may have been what caused his death.”

“I’d wait until we have the evidence before jumping to these conclusions.”

“Of course.” Ben replied. “But either way, I do think this is worth looking into.”

Geisinger swiveled around in his chair. “This may be something we should leave alone too. We don’t know what this thing might be. I don’t like going around looking for trouble.”

“I understand that, but we’re already going to the cave to try and retrieve Antonio’s body, or what’s left of it. This light, whatever it is, is probably still in there. We’ll likely run into it.”

“Yes, we can’t avoid that.” Geisinger conceded.

“So… what are we going to do about it?”

Geisinger tapped his finger on his desk before coming to his conclusion. “We’re going to go get Antonio’s body. If we see this light, we’ll deal with it. If we don’t, then we’ll let it slide. I don’t want to be poking the bear for no reason.”

“But there is a reason.” Ben argued. “This thing could be dangerous. It could leave the cave and start terrorizing and killing people outside.”

“If it could do that, it probably would’ve done so already.” Geisinger argued. “It sounds like this thing is bound to the cave, which we’re blocking access to anyway.”

Ben frowned, causing Geisinger to sigh.

“We’ll have all the equipment we need in case of an attack. If we see it, we’ll deal with it by trapping and examining it, is that satisfactory to you?”

“I guess.” Ben mumbled.

“Good, because sometimes I get annoyed with youngsters like you looking for trouble. Just look at what happened to Antonio. It never leads to good places.”

“You’re probably right, there.” Ben said.

“Excellent, I’m glad we agree.” Geisinger replied. “ Anyway, I have work right now that I need to get back to. I shall see you later, goodbye.”

“Goodbye to you too, captain.” Ben said as he left the office.

“Geisinger!”