“Shadow in The Withlacoochee Pines"

Barking. He was used to the noises of the forest: birds, hogs, alligators, but no dogs ever ventured this far into his territory. He froze in place and waited. Yes, definitely barking, and the dog was on the move. Must be chasing something, a rabbit or a snake maybe.

The commotion was far enough away that he felt safe enough to continue foraging, sure that eventually the creature would find its way back to whatever campsite it had wandered from.

He was nearing his cave now. That’s when he heard something he was sure he’d never hear again. Something that made his heart race and the grey tendrils that trailed down his body quiver with fear. Voices. Many voices.

*********

“We’re lost, James! Just admit it, I’m done walking in circles!” Sam threw his heavy pack down in anger as he spoke. He immediately regretted it when it landed in a muddy puddle.

“Shut up! I’m trying my best, maybe one of you should try to get us back rather than blaming me!”

“No one is blaming you, dude. Let’s chill for a second.” David chimed in, as the middle brother he always found the role of peacemaker came easily. James was the oldest at 13, and Sam the youngest at 9. These two were polar opposites in many ways, with Sam desperately trying to step away from being the baby.

As the realization of being lost in the middle of the Withlacoochee Forest set in, Sam was barely holding in the hot tears welling in his eyes.

“This is all your fault; I knew you’d get us lost! You’re so stupid!” Sam screamed, more from fear than anger.

“I said, SHUT UP!” James threw his own bag down, his own fear visible now as he ran his hands through his hair and paced in a short line between his brothers.

David held his hands up as if reaching for his siblings and tried to make his voice braver than he felt.

“Look guys, it’s getting dark soon, we should find somewhere to camp out for the night. I’m sure by morning they’ll find us.”

Sam made a whining sound and stomped off to a stump, hoping James wouldn’t see the tears that were now flowing.

“Guys we can’t fight, we have to stay calm and make camp.” he continued to his older brother. James sighed before turning to his siblings.

“You’re right. We’ll be ok. Let's find a spot to camp and make a fire. We can do this; we just have to be smart. Sam, are you ok?”

Sam gave an angry-sounding huff and continued to cry, he was both terrified and embarrassed. David approached him slowly. He was on the verge of crying as well but was trying his best to put on a brave face.

“Come on, Sammy, you can light the fire, ok? I’m sure everyone will see it and come find us. Bowie will catch our scent too.” Please let Bowie be ok.

Sam gave a disgusting sniffle and faced his brothers. “Fine, but I’m definitely lighting the fire! No helping me!”

They walked toward their dogs barking, or at least the direction they’d last heard his barking. That had been hours ago. When the boys hadn’t heard Bowie again after a while and lots of screaming his name, they turned around back toward camp. But despite their compass they didn’t know which direction they should have been going, and James had tried his best to guide them.

With the sun nearly down they’d walked in silence, listening for any hopeful noise, until they’d found a clearing amongst the pines and decided it would do.

They had been gathering some kindling and branches along the way and Sam was momentarily distracted from his grief. He dug through his gear until he pulled out the ferro rod his grandfather had given him and began striking it as close to the small bundle of twigs and dried leaves as he could.

“Come on, Sammo, you can do it!” James cheered. He was jealous he wasn’t the one trying first, but David was right to suggest it be their baby brother who do it, if only to stop him being so upset.

Sams face was determined. He’d tried to start the campfires on previous family outings, but always quit in frustration when it took too long to catch. This time was different, it was survival now. Come on you dumb stick just be on fire already!

“YES! Oh my God, bro you did it!” David cheered the sparkle of flames danced. They worked carefully to build the fire slowly like their father had taught them, alternating between feeding the flames twigs and oxygen.

Usually, their many family camping trips were just days long games of man-hunt and exploring trails, but it was clear now some lessons had stuck.

“We should keep it small, so we don’t need as much wood.” David said.

They settled close to each other, digging through their bags for meal bars and water bottles.

“I wish we had hot chocolate.” David sighed.

“Do you think Mom and Dad will see us in the dark? Maybe the fire is too small.” Sam said, watching the flames consume his wrapper.

“If they don’t tonight, they’ll see the smoke in the morning.” James answered.

They pulled out their emergency blankets, another gift in their survival bags from their grandfather. They might not be full like they were used to, but they weren’t starving. The smoke kept the worst of the mosquitos away and made them feel safe enough to lay down to sleep. Exhaustion was creeping through them quickly.

Their chatter grew quiet as the stars glittered above.

CRASH!

Their eyes all flew open at once at the noise. Something was speeding toward them through the trees, crashing through the undergrowth and grunting angrily.

“What is that?!” Sam screamed.

“I don’t know,” David was standing now, digging through his bag for his buck knife, “Maybe it’s Bowie?” he was hopeful, but too scared to believe it.

James stood in front of them, his own small knife ready to protect, but he too was terrified, his legs jelly.

It was so close now. There was no time to hide or look for more weapons. Sam didn’t have a knife, but he was holding a thick branch like a baseball bat, ready to swing.

A hog as big as a barrel stood just beyond the reach of the small fire, yellow eyes starring them down. It grunted at them, unbothered by their weapons. It could easily take on three young boys without much trouble.

“Stay together! Try to stab it if it gets closer!” The younger boys could barely hear James’ commands, but standing together made them feel tougher, stronger.

“Come on you stupid pig!” screamed Sam, full of fear and grit.

The air held its breath, just a moment between all creatures, even the fire seemed to pause. The razorback scratched at the ground and its legs buckled, ready to charge.

The hog moved to strike, but its back legs were held tight by something unseen. It squealed and bucked, fighting with all its might, before it was pulled into the darkness. The boys held their stances, ready to defend themselves and each other, but as the animal was dragged into the forest and its screams grew fainter, there was nothing to fight.

“What the hell was that?!” Davids eyes darted around wildly, looking for anything, anything at all to explain what had just happened.

The night was long, but silent, not even cicadas sang.

*********

He watched from the shadows; his camouflaged form hidden beyond the firelight. It had been years since he’d been this close to people, let alone children.

They were clearly brothers. His own kin were long dead, wiped out decades ago. Not much scared him anymore, but the thought of guiding them to the voices he’d heard earlier in the day paralyzed him but they were missing, being searched for, and if the people kept searching there was a chance they’d stumble in his territory, and he couldn’t allow that.

At first light, not long after the boys had finally been able to fall asleep, he crept closer. He carried a woven basket of tangerines. He would’ve brought the hog meat but with such little time he’d been forced to throw it in the river for the gators to enjoy.

He threw some pebbles at them until the youngest opened his eyes and starred right at him. Neither made a sound, both panicked.

He held up both arms, the moss hanging down long and tangled. He hoped he made a peaceful gesture. The young boy watched, his eyes red from exhaustion and crying. He lowered one limb, but with the other he pointed. He wanted this to be over as quickly as possible. He alternated pointing between the boys and the direction of the voices. He couldn’t form the words, his mouth long grown over with moss.

“Guys wake up!” the boy shook his brothers.

“What?” They both asked, too on edge to need any convincing.

Now 3 pairs of eyes were locked on him.

“Are you a hunter or something?” one of the older boys asked him. He did not answer but continued to point. The youngest boy slowly approached him. “That way? Go that way?” he asked.

His brothers joined him and looked hopefully into his eyes causing him to shrink back. Go home.

“Are you sure it’s that way? Who are you?” No more questions. He pointed again at them and then toward the rising dawn. Carefully avoiding the mossy coils growing from his feet, he placed the fruit basket down and backed away.

All were quiet as he slunk back into the pines. He silently watched over them from the trees as they made their way toward rescuers. He heard the dog barking and was sure it could smell him. It was time to return home.

BROOKSVILLE COURIER OCT. 28th

MISSING BROTHERS FOUND SAFE IN WITHLACOOCHEE FOREST

After 18 hours of searching, the three missing Palmer children were safely recovered by rescuers 2 miles from the trail near their campsite.

James, 13, David, 10, and Samuel, 9, were on a camping trip with their family in the Withlacoochee State Forest when they disappeared in the woods Saturday afternoon. Rescue agencies and Park Rangers combed the camping area overnight with no success in locating the children.

Family members reported the trio missing after they followed their dog, who was off leash and chasing an animal, into the forest for several miles.

As the Sheriff's Office was preparing to make a statement, it was radioed in that the children were located just over 2 miles from the family's campsite.

Though the family has not given an interview yet, reports state the boys were directed to their rescuers by an unknown person, potentially a hunter. The Hernando Sheriff’s Office requests the mysterious rescuer come forward and seeks public help in identifying him. The children described him as being nearly 7 feet tall and wearing a Spanish moss Ghillie suit. The suit is reportedly of high quality and completely camouflaged the unknown rescuer, who refused to accompany the children but provided them with directions and a basket of tangerines to eat along the way.

The Dancy tangerines may help in identifying this person as they are not commercially grown and may be from a private garden. Anyone with information is asked to please contact the Sheriff's Department at the number listed below.

One of the Park Rangers and lifelong Brooksville resident, Roger Pearson “Roger Pearson claims the rescuer is not a hunter but the legendary Florida Moss Man. Moss Man, similar to the Florida Skunk Ape, is a mythical creature said to stalk the states forests and parks.

“I’ve worked this park for the better part of 30 years, and I’ve seen a lot of weird things. And a lot of people claim to have seen Moss Man. Most think he’s dangerous, but he helped save those kids.” Pearson continued, “How else do think those boys made it back completely unharmed? And no one sells Dancies, he’s growing them out there in the woods!”

While we here at the Brooksville Courier cannot confirm or deny the existence of Moss Man, we can assure the public the Palmer family is happy and safe in their home, including their adventurous dog, who returned to the camp within the first couple hours of going missing.