Jared Chavez

Don't Look Back

Miguel casts a new line in the pristine lake. Blue skies, crisp air, and the soft breeze warms his heart as the kayak rocks in the water. It’s his weekend off, and he decided to take a nice little trip to the wilderness not too far away. Gotta unplug and just chill. Good for the soul.. thinking to himself as he watches the floater bob. He looks around and takes in the view; luscious and vibrant trees surrounding the vast lake. It’s quiet enough to hear all the wildlife thriving in the forestry deep within the trees. The fisherman takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, his way of being within the peacefulness of the moment. He sits there in silence for what seemed like eternity, living in the moment until it is interrupted by a heart-dropping scream “HEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!!” from the trees behind him. He slowly turns his head around and sees a woman running to the edge of the woods where it meets the lake. “PLEASE GET SOME HELP!” she continues screaming out , moving frantically and holding a bloody stump where her arm should be. The woman’s clothing is all tattered and torn, covered in blood and whatnot. Miguel immediately drops his fishing rod and begins to paddle in her direction. “I’M COMING TO HELP JUST STAY RIGHT THERE!” he shouts back, trying to move as fast and as desperately as possible. The woman panics and screams“PLEASE HURRY I CAN HEAR IT COM-” then letting out a piercing scream as something out of sight begins to pull her back in the woods. The woman continues yelling “NOOOOOOOOOO!”, trailing away in the distance until she’s abruptly stopped. Miguel stops paddling; a cold, sharp chill begins creeping up his body as he begins to process the moment. He couldn’t see what had pulled her in but it was strong enough to yank her with an immense force, and brutal enough to mutilate a person. His heart is pounding in his chest the more he questions the moment. He reaches for his pocket to grab his phone but it’s empty. Miguel frantically searches his other pockets in his vest, his cargo shorts, and jacket but still no phone. He looks through the tacklebox and throughout his backpack but his phone is nowhere in sight. Then he remembers he had left it charging in his car parked at the car lot for the park. Sweat begins to build in his forehead as he tries to gather ideas on what he should do. I could head to the other side of the lake but what good is that gonna do? The car’s in the same goddamn direction that woman came from! There is nothing in the opposite direction but more trees and shit, the phone’s in the car, and from what I can tell no one came to fucking check out what the fuck is going on out here. Frozen, he stares at the woods she came from as the realization sets in. I’m gonna have to go through there if I have any chance of getting out of here. Miguel grabs his backpack and takes stock of what he has to defend himself with. Okay I have a knife, I can leave the kayak here and take one of the paddles with me. Piece of cake right? It’s just the woods, I’ve been here many times, nothing that crazy here. Probably just a crazy person, I can handle them, he assures himself, trying to muster up the energy for the trek. He picks up the paddles again, and slowly begins to paddle to the bay while looking frantically around to see if anyone is coming. There has to be other people here, other people to help me and that woman. Park rangers and shit right? After a few moments he finally reaches the bay, giving the surrounding area one last look around before stepping foot on the land. “HELLO?!” he shouts, the yell echoes outward but he doesn’t get a response back after a while. It’s daylight but I can’t hear the birds or any wildlife anymore, the whole forest is silent now. The thought sent Miguel on edge, what the fuck is going on here? He puts on his backpack and grabs a paddle then begins his path into the forest.