Missing

The night is dark and stormy, Kyle and Cara Blye lie in their red and orange two-person tent listening to the sound of the rain hitting the walls of their tent. “Go camping they said it will be fun they said!” Cara blurted out sarcastically. “It's just a little rain.” Kyle replied playfully nudging her on the shoulder. “Just a little rain, JUST A LITTLE RAIN?!!” Cara shouted. Kyle couldn't help but laugh at her. The way her nose would twitch and one eyelid would close just a little more than the other would. “You know your very pretty when your angry.” Kyle said trying his best to be seductive. “Don't you try to be cute Kyle I’m angry with you.” “Why are you angry with me what did I do?” Kyle asked spreading his hands in a questioning gesture “this camping trip was all your idea and all its done since we got here is rain!” Cara shouted back. At this point Kyle’s patience begun to wear thin and his mood began to darken slightly. “Look Cara I didn't know it was going to rain like this and don't forget you agreed to come here.” Kyle replied trying to keep his calm. “Well I don't know why I agreed to this!” Cara replied sharply and turned around and laying her head on her pillow closed her eyes and did not say anymore.

Kyle did not move for a while he just sat there staring at this woman, his wife of four years laying there in her sleeping bag with her long blond hair spilling over her shoulder and falling to the ground. He loved this woman with all his heart but her words to him just then cut into him worse than a knife ever could. This was supposed to be a special weekend for them. A chance to get away and spend some quality time together. The weekend however seemed to be one disaster after another with the torrential rain being the final straw the broke that camels back. Kyle had always prided himself on being cool and even tempered. But his anger and frustration ate at him and threatened to break the surface. He opened his mouth to speak but before he could, he heard a sound from outside the tent. He froze in place listening intently trying to separate this new sound from the sound of the rain. After straining his ears he could hear it, faint scratching sound coming from outside. What could that be Kyle thought to himself. His first thought like many others would have been in that situation was Monster!!! A split second later, however the adult side of his brain kicked in and decided it was probably a tree branch moving in the wind. His curiosity won in the end and he decided to go investigate. He opened the tent and stepped outside in the pouring rain, holding his flashlight in his hands he began to circle the tent shining his light into the trees. This effort yielded no results his light could find nothing suspicious in the trees, but still the sound persisted growing almost louder. This confused Kyle he kept shining his light around keeping quiet as to not wake and scare his wife. Suddenly the sound stopped and all he could hear was the sound of the rain. Then suddenly he felt something cold, metallic and sharp scrape down his back like the tip of a knife or claw. He froze in his tracks, dropping the flashlight to the ground his eyes going wide with horror. He whipped around as fast as he could but before he gets all the way around everything went black and he fell to ground in a crumpled heap.

Morning came none too quick for Cara she rolled over in her sleeping bag and was shocked to find she was all alone. She felt bad for what she had said to her husband the night before, it wasn't his fault it had rained so bad. She crawled out of the tent and into the sunlight. She stretched reaching her arms to the sky, this woke her up a bit and made her feel a little better. Now to find Kyle, she thought and apologize to him, maybe bring him back inside the tent for a more intimate apology. She circled the tent and soon discovered she was alone. This puzzled her, where could he have gone, she thought. She called his name into the woods, no answer. Panic began to set in, then the rational side of her mind kicked in and she decided he probably went to the bathroom somewhere out in the woods. She went back into the tent and dug into their supply bag for some breakfast. She pulled out a couple granola bars and ate them rather heartily for she was rather hungry. Thirty minutes elapsed and still Kyle didn't return. The panic that she had pressed down now began to return to the surface, she left the tent again calling into the woods for her husband her voice full of worry and concern. She was met only with silence not even the sounds of wildlife. The corners of her eyes began to moisten as tears began to form. She ran into the woods leaving there campsite behind, frantically calling his name. The woods seemed to mock her with their silence. The tears she had been fighting back were now flowing full force, pouring out of her eyes, streaming down her face. A branch seemed to reach out from nowhere and trip her and she fell to the ground. She managed to get her knees and collapsed into a fit of sobs. After her eyes seemed drained of tears she rose shakily to her feet and her rational brain returned and told her she needed to call for help. She picked her way back to their campsite where Kyle still hadn't returned. Reaching into the tent she grabbed their supply bag to look for the satellite radio Kyle had so thoughtfully packed. The radio however was gone. Where, oh where could it have gone she thought the panic returning to her mind. Frantically she began to tear the camp apart searching for it. The radio it seemed was gone. A terrifying thought crept into Cara's head, she was all alone with no wilderness survival skills and a missing husband. She searched deep inside herself for that inner strength she so desperately needed in that moment. She decided then that she was going to find her husband and they were going to make it home. She grabbed what supplies they had left and set off into the woods to find her husband. She soon learned that this would be no easy task, for within twenty minutes of searching the woods she was almost hopelessly lost. She looked up at the tall trees all around her with their long almost snake like branches covered with green leaves that were so thick in some places they would almost blot out the sun. She walked on through the woods looking intently all around her for any sign of her missing husband. The forest seemed empty of all life even wildlife, and the sound of the silence rang so loud, it nearly drowned out the sound of her fast-beating heart. For hours and hours she wondered the forest searching and calling, but was met with silence again and again. When the sun began to set all hope seemed to drain away from her and she collapsed to the ground in a sobbing heart broken mess.

When Kyle came to the sun was shining and he could hear birds singing in the trees. He sat up trying to get a look at his surroundings only to find himself back in his sleeping bag in the tent. He rubbed his eyes and blinked several times, had the events of last night been a dream he wondered to himself. He looked over and saw his wife laying there, shivering in her sleeping bag, and when he bent down for a closer look, he discovered her tear-stained face and her red rimmed eyes. He shook her gently to try to get her to wake. She didn’t wake at first she seemed lost in her sleep. Kyle nudged closer to her and put his arm around her waist and pulled her close to where his eyes were staring directly into the back of her skull. No sooner had he done this, Cara’s body went rigid and she spun around in her sleeping bag very quickly and stared directly into his eyes. Kyle saw her eyes get wide with what looked almost like fear he was a bit taken aback by this. Before he could say anything her eyes soften and she leapt out of her sleeping as quick as tiger and tackled him in a warm embrace. She buried her head in his shoulder and the tears flowed freely down her face. Kyle was happy to be close to her like this, but was confused as to what prompted this sudden display of affection and sadness. He opened his mouth to speak but before he could Cara began to speak, “I thought you were gone, I thought you were dead, it all felt so real, I was all alone.” “But you are not alone” Kyle replied in a reassuring tone of voice. “I am here with you.” “What happened to you last night?” he asked her. She told him everything she experienced from waking up to him gone to searching the woods for hours trying to find him, only to be met with silence. Kyle’s eyes went wide with shock at what he heard. He told her everything he experienced last night searching the campsite in the dark for that strange sound and then him blacking out. They looked at each other a moment. “They must have been only dreams.” Kyle mused. Cara pushed him to the ground playfully and hopped on top of him, “it doesn’t matter” she said “we are together now” she leaned down and planted a long and passionate kiss on his lips and the two shared a long, warm and passionate embrace.