The Man in the Woods

Alan was always an outdoor person. Exploring different parts of the world where no one else would dare to venture was so thrilling to him.

He had done these types of trips so many times throughout his life, he never bothered to question what would happen if he got lost. Alan believed that he was already an expert by now, so he didn’t have to worry.

However, he always made sure to let people know that he was leaving on another trip. The last thing that he needed was something happening to him, and no one would ever find his body.

It was a horrible thing to wonder, but Alan always threw his doubts in the back of his mind. He was going to be alright. Nothing bad was ever going to happen.

He was a lone wolf, a man that knew the outdoors like the back of his hand.

Alan was busy setting up his tent for another night in the woods, excited to begin his hike. He made sure to send a text to his friends and family, letting them know that he was going to be out exploring again.

He laughed at all of his friends mocking messages, and ignored the warnings from his mother and sister.

They worried too much whenever he set out into another world, but he always assured them that everything would work out.

What none of his loved ones knew, was that he actually cared a handgun on him. Alan knew that you couldn’t be too careful. The world could sometimes be a bad one, and without protection, you were screwed.

He always kept the weapon tucked away in the back of his coat; it was better to have easy access than none.

Alan began to set up a fire, as the sky was turning into night.

As Alan finally got the fire going, he heard a twig snap behind him. He whirled around, already reaching for his gun. A man with a rifle swung over his shoulder was standing a few feet away from him.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

The man looked at every single direction of the woods before speaking again.

“I came here to warn you.”

Alan refused to let his guard down, his eyes never leaving the man’s gun.

“Warn me? About what?”

The man gazed into Alan’s eyes.

“There is a werewolf that lurks around these woods.”

“Uh…what?”

The man pointed at the sky.

“There is going to be a full moon tonight. The werewolf will come, and rip you apart.”

Alan couldn’t help but laugh.

“You’re joking, right?”

The man scoffed.

“That’s what everyone says. Until it’s too late.”

“I don’t want to be rude here man, but this is ridiculous. Werewolves aren’t real.”

The man glared at Alan.

“It doesn’t matter whether you believe it or not. It’s still an animal, and it can be dangerous.”

Alan stood up. He raised his hands in the air, studying the area in a mock gesture. He could feel the man’s eyes on him, and he could tell that he was pissed.

“Do you normally run off people in this part of the woods? Do you live around here, and are you just pissed that people are disturbing your peace?”

Alan knew that it was stupid to taunt a man with a rifle that wouldn’t exactly be a match against his handgun, but he was irritated. He came here to have a relaxing time in the outdoors, he didn’t expect to run into a loony.

“Yes.”

Alan wasn’t sure if that answer referred to his questions or just one, but that was all the info that Alan needed. His good time was already ruined, and he wanted to leave.

Besides, the last thing he needed was this man attempting to blow his head off. Alan packed up his tent, taking his time. Alan saw the man moving his feet, his head moving towards any direction of the woods.

“You need to hurry. Can’t you see the moon is almost here?”

Alan took a quick peek over his shoulder to study the sky.

“Yeah. No shit.”

Alan jumped when the man suddenly yelled. He looked at the man, and saw him aiming the rifle, swinging the gun all over the place.

“IT’S HERE! IT’S HERE! CAN’T YOU HEAR IT?”

Alan listened closely, and he did indeed hear something.

It was coming from the man.

It was a sort of rumbling noise. It sounded like it was coming from the man’s stomach. The man grabbed his head, dropping his weapon.

He writhed back and forth, the sounds now coming from his mouth. Then he opened his eyes.

Alan accidentally bit down on his tongue, stopping his scream.

The man’s eyes were a dark shade of yellow.

Then he started to scream. It was a sort of agonizing scream that Alan only heard in movies. It was a person in horrible pain. Alan covered his mouth in horror as he watched something burst through the man’s stomach.

It was an arm, engulfed in gray fur. There were long claws on its fingers. It’s arm was covered in blood. Then another hairy arm emerged from the stomach.

Both arms pressed against both arms on the outside of the man’s stomach and started to slowly split the man open.

He released another banshee like scream, as parts of him spilled out of his open hole. Alan couldn’t make a sound. He was frozen in fear.

A dog like face popped out of the man’s stomach. Thousands of sharp teeth littered with blood chomped at the skin. The thing then slid out of the man’s body, collapsing onto the ground.

The man’s body fell backwards. The body then slowly deflated like a balloon. The man now resembled a squeaky toy that loses its air. He was completely flat on the ground, surrounded by blood and gore.

The dog thing studied it’s hairy hands, as if it was experiencing how to move for the first time. It slowly stood up on its hind legs.

It’s eyes zeroed on Alan.

It instantly charged straight for him.

Before he could process what was happening, the dog clamped it’s mouth around one of Alan’s legs. Sharp teeth sunk straight into Alan’s skin, and it started to move his leg back and forth.

Alan yelled and used his other leg to kick at the dog’s face. It ignored or didn’t feel the blows, and it continued to treat Alan’s leg like a chew toy. The pain was unlike anything Alan had ever felt before.

He wanted it to end.

Alan gasped when he felt something press against his back. When another lance of pain shot through him, he remembered the one thing that he always carried with him.

With all of his resolve throughout the pain, he retrieved his handgun. He pointed it at the dog eating away at his leg. His vision was beginning to become hazy, but he had to try. He pulled the trigger.

The dog released a loud yelp, and through Alan’s blurry vision, it looked like the dog was pawing at its face. Red trickled from its head. The dog landed facedown. It tried to get back up again, but it gave up.

The dog remained still, face down in a pool of its blood. Alan let out a loud laugh before fading into a darkness that he never experienced before.

Alan was found by a couple.

They were hitchhiking together, and they called for help. They described to the authorities that it looked like Alan had been attacked by a wild animal.

Whatever it was, it had vanished.

There was so much blood everywhere, and authorities knew that Alan had injured the animal, because of the handgun found by his side.

Miraculously, he had survived.

Alan was taken to the hospital where he made a full recovery. He was able to reunite with his loved ones. Despite this victory, Alan never stopped thinking about what he saw that day.

He couldn’t figure out whether or not it was all a dream, or maybe in a state of panic he had imagined the animal coming out of the stranger in the woods. Perhaps the man had been killed by the animal.

Werewolves aren’t real. He was sure of that.

As Alan was relaxing in his bedroom, he went over to open the curtains. There was a full moon. Like that night.

A strange rumble started to echo in Alan’s stomach.

Surely it was all his imagination.

Until he started to feel two hands within his body press against his flesh.

Thank you for reading!

Emy Quinn