Never Go in the Woods Alone

“If you go down in the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise. If you go down in the woods today, you better go in disguise. For every bear that ever there was. Will gather there for certain because, today’s the day the teddy bears are having their picnic.”

Alicia hummed as she walked along the edge of the woods. Blissfully unaware of the ill-gotten fate that was to beget her. She sat there near the edge of the river. Today, the fog was thick and beautiful. And eerie. The hairs on the back of her neck pricked. She hummed the song to take the edge off. She wrapped her long, wine colored hair into a ballerina bun. She hummed while waiting for her friends to arrive. They were taking a small camping trip to relax. She decided to come out a little early to scope out the best place to set up camp.

She looked around not being able to fully shake the uneasy feeling. She looked at her cellphone. There was only one bar. No matter. This is the meeting place, and her friends will be here shortly she thought. She took off her shoes and put her feet in the water. The river looked calm and yet when she stared closely – she could see it was nothing but calm Something brushed her feet. She chuckled. A shiver came through her body. She then decided it was best that she took her feet out of the water to be safe. She slid on her flip flops and walked further down the river. She could make out the bridge and the trees. The birds were chirping as if things were normal. Things were not normal.

She thought to herself. What would she do if something came out of the water? Or even out of the trees. She went to her bag and removed her tennis shoes. Her lucky shoes. The shoes that she wore hiking and slipped off the edge of a cliff. She was able to hold onto a thick, protruding root. Her shoes provided the grip needed to scale back up. Her heart began to race reminiscing about that day. She looked down, wiggling her perfectly manicured pink toes. She grabbed a pair of socks. She sat on the large, wedged rock. She slid on the socks and tennis. Then she heard a noise.

She jumped. She looked to the left. She looked to the right. Nothing. She spun around. Still nothing. Now she is wishing she did have more than one bar on her cellphone. She heard the noise again. She started sprinting away from it back towards the car. She felt something on her heels, and yet when she turned around – nothing was there. She wanted to scream, but the Sci-Fi horror fan in her knows that is a bad idea. She moved quickly to the car only to realize that she left her keys, bags and camping gear near the rock. She prayed that someone would show up soon. The moment she made it to the car, Mike pulls up.

She sighs a breath of relief. “Oh, thank God,” she manages to say breathless. She runs up to the car attempting a smile. Mike looks at her quizzically. She did not disguise her anguish to well. She steps back to allow him to exit the car.

“My gosh woman. What is with you? You act is if you saw a ghost.” He chuckles.

“I’m. I am not sure. I. I might have.” A single tear drop leaves her eye.

Mike pulls her in for a hug. “You’re really shaken up. You’re shaking.” He rubs her back. “It’s okay. I promise. A day like today. I would bet you are. Man, it is so foggy out. I barely made it around the bend.” He looks around and the fog seems to be engulfing them.

“I don’t know. It just feels … off. I think we should go back.” She sighs.

“Why would we do that? We have camped in worse. Remember we camped in the middle of that blizzard?”

That took a bit of the edge off. Alicia relaxed. They stood in silence for a moment. Then it hit her that she and Mike were no longer a couple and yet his cologne made her want him more now than ever. Just then, another vehicle approaches. Mike releases her from the hug and kisses her on the forehead. “Bird, you know I will always be here for you right?”

Alicia clears her throat, “Yeah. I do.” She looks at Dana with remorse, regret, and a tad bit of jealousy. Although she knows it is not Dana’s fault that Mike left her - Dana still could have said no she thought. Dana jumps out of the car.

“Can you believe this fog? What’s up with that?” She laughs.

Alicia speaks first. “It gets worse by the bank. Listen. I was telling Mike how I got spooked like something was chasing me.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I am.”

“Should we still do this?”

“I have a bad feeling. Maybe we shouldn’t.”

Mike interjects. “Are you serious? Do you know how far we have driven? Listen. It will be okay. The rest of the crew should be pulling up any minute now.” He walks over to Dana to give her a hug and kiss. Alicia looks away from them.

“Listen, I’m just gonna go grab my stuff and be back. It’ll give you a few minutes alone.”

Mike swivels around. “Are you sure you want to do that? We can go with you, or you can wait for everyone else. You were just spooked.” He points towards the direction Alicia was running from.

“Yeah. I am sure. Besides, I know you two have not seen each other so this will give you time alone. I’ll be okay, really.”

“Okay. Hurry back.”

Alicia trots off. For this to be a relaxing weekend camping trip – it is nothing but that. She stays focused running. She continues to look around her and assess her surroundings. She reaches the rock where she left her belongings. Her bag shredded like it has been through a cheese grater. Whatever belongings that she does see leads to a trail into the woods. She searches around in the sand and the surrounding areas. She cannot find her keys. She follows the trail of clothes and other items. She hears a faint sound of keys jingling. She knows that distinctive sound. Everyone tells her that her keys sound like a dog collar. She has not heard another sound like it other than dog collars.

She moves toward the sound. The feeling overcomes her again, but she at least needs her keys. Everything else can be replaced. She reaches the edge of the woods. She looks left, then right. The fog has truly gotten thicker. She hurries toward the sound of her keys. Bad idea Alicia, she thinks. She keeps going. She pulls out her cellphone to use for light. The sun seemed to set quickly. So many thoughts are running through her head. She has never been afraid of the woods. Today, she is terrified. It is all the unknown.

She continues forward trying to recall landmarks to lead her out when she finds her keys. She thinks about how her bag was so shredded. By what animal? They have never come this close before. Another group of people? There were no other cars outside of hers which made her happy for the silence and tranquility. But that does not mean that no one else could not be out here. She stops in her tracks. It is eerily quiet. The keys stopped jingling. She completes a 360 degree to determine if it was just her. She knows she feels another energy, but what (or who) could it be? She moves forward. There. The keys are jingling again. Only now, her paranoia is getting the best of her. She should have waited.

Another sound – voices. She stops moving. She knew it. There were other people here. She strains to hear from which direction it was coming. She turns and moves that way. Then she heard growling. Fight or flight kicked in and flight won. She begins running back towards the river. So far so good. Except she feels that presence again. It feels so close as if it were close enough to touch her. She yelps and picks up the pace. She glances back to see if there were tracks or anything that would indicate that something is there. There is none. She begins to pray in her head.

She cannot breathe. Her inhaler! Where is it? It was in her bag. Was it still there? She cannot stop running due to the adrenaline. She keeps going and just as she reaches the edge of the woods – something turns her around. She hears more voices. This time she recognizes them. It was Mike and Dana calling for her. The echoes made it hard to determine from which direction they were calling. She yells out, but she is cut off as if someone grasped her by the neck and covered her mouth. She fights with the air. She passes out.

Alicia is coming to, laying on the ground. She sits up. The wind is knocked out of her. She is dizzy. The screen of her cellphone is broken. She sucks her teeth. Her head is pounding. She tries to make out if she has a signal and if so, can she make a call successfully. The voices again resume. This time she decides to call for help.

“Dana! Mike! I am here! Help me!” She attempts to stand up and a force pushes her back down. She is trying to reason what is happening, but nothing she deduces makes sense. She attempts to stand several times. Each time, Alicia is knocked further and further back with extreme force. She screams. She heard footsteps. She struggles to scream once more, and her voice escapes her. She feels her mouth opening, but nothing comes out.

She is finally able to stand. She makes a mad dash towards the single shred of light that looks to be an opening. She no longer hears Mike and Dana calling her name. Her heart is racing so fast. She trips. She tumbles over twice. Her vision is now blurry. She remains there listening to the sounds. Finally, something familiar. Birds. Dear? Frogs. She wants nothing more than to get out here. Her vision finally comes in focus. She looks over the path. She was hoping to see twigs, roots, or something that would have caused her to take such a hard fall. Nothing. Did she trip over her feet? That is so unlike her.

That feeling of a presence is back. She sees or hears nothing. Everything goes quiet again. She comes to the realization that she may not make it out of these woods … alive. She stands only to find she has rolled her ankle. She runs regardless of the pain. She is not going to give up that is for sure. She moves with determination. She finally makes it to the edge of the woods. She can see the river. The moment she attempts to step out of the woods. Something yanks her hair, and she falls backwards. She goes to scream; it is muffled by the unknown.

The way she is being held down and dragged; she cannot break free. Her head is hitting the rocks and wooded debris. She blinks over and over to regain focus. It was of no use in fighting. That moment of determination and resolve to live diminishing with each second. She closes her eyes. She knew that whatever this is – it was the end. Before her heart stops, she hears her flesh ripping. She lets out a gurgle. She can hear her bones breaking. Mike and Dana call out her name. She also hears her keys jingling, but the sound of her bones breaking are much louder. She never opens her eyes. She did not want to know.