Turnskin

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. Cicadas whistled in the distance while screeching owls rang in the night like sirens.

Inside the cabin, the moonlight was blocked by the cabin’s dirt-covered windows. Elliot placed his hairy hands on his hips and glanced at the damaged video camera.

He removed his mocha-colored campaign hat and adjusted his green trousers. He’s been the head park ranger of Grizzle National Park for fifteen years. Other park rangers would describe him as cool, calm, and collected, but for the first time in Elliot’s life, he felt uncomfortable hiding in this abandoned cabin.

Elliot discovered the video camera amongst some ferns in the woods. It was a small camcorder, the kind that was popular before people started using their cellphones. He blew dirt off it and rotated the viewscreen camera around in his hands, then pressed the start button. His skin tingled as the image camera came into focus. The battery was half dead. Some pictures of deer, moose, cliff formations, and what looked like a bald eagle. He switched the camera to video, noticed a few clips in the gallery, then clicked on the first.

A pink-faced man with orange UV sunglasses and a backpack tramped his way through the woods. The gravel crunched underneath his hiking boots. “Just walking along the Bluestone trail, about a twelve-mile hike, up here in Grizzle National Park!”

Why does he look familiar? The camera panned around, revealing the leeward of The Northern Mountains. Elliot’s mouth fell open.

This footage was from the hiker who had gone missing. Arnold Perkins, twenty-four-year-old, disappeared about three months ago when his campsite was found abandoned near Sleeping River. The tent was in perfect condition, Arnold’s possessions were untouched, and there was no sign of a death struggle. National Park Service responders and members of Arnold’s family led a search party that combed all fifteen-hundred square miles of Grizzle park but found no trace of him. Elliot had to call the search party off after a month, covering the same areas.

Arnold’s twin sister remained behind. For four months straight, she lingered among the trees like a lost spirit. Elliot banned her from the park because she was scaring the tourist.

Elliot had assisted in many search and rescue missions, but something felt off about this case. Arnold had vanished into thin air without a trace. Not to mention, Elliot found this video camera twenty miles away from Arnold's tent, without any footprints near the camera.

“Some say this park is haunted. By what, I don’t know. I’ve hiked the Appalachian Trail, the Continental Divide, and more. Never ran into anything that I couldn’t handle.”

Stupid kid, I told you not to camp alone. Elliot shook his head. He couldn’t stand thrill-seekers, especially an ignorant one. He warned Arnold not to hike alone because the park was too dangerous. Some park rangers even wanted to close the park temporarily because so many people had gone missing, but Elliot demanded the park stay open because he didn’t want the government to shut them down permanently.

The video ended, and Elliot clicked on the next one. Arnold was inside a tent, shining his camera light.

“I just heard something.” Arnold leaned forward, and Elliot could hear the crackling of branches outside the tent as heavy footsteps crept closer, and closer, and closer, then – it stopped. Arnold remained silent.

Elliot felt uneasy because he’s never heard the woods that quiet. Not unless there was a predator around that could scare away the other animals, but Elliot didn’t believe Grizzle was dangerous. He became a park ranger because he loved nature – most of all, the animals. He even nicknamed them funny names like Owl Capone, Deer Aunt Sally, and Teddy The Brown Bear. For him, living in the woods amongst nature was the safest place in the world.

Arnold slowly reached his hand up and unzipped the tent. Outside was more darkness except the full moon glowing in the night sky. Arnold shined the camera light in different directions, but there were only trees. “I must be going crazy,” he whispered. His breath turned to smoke in the cold nighttime air. Arnold pointed the light to the ground and saw large footprints circling the tent. “Must be bear tracks.”

“Those are not bear tracks.” Elliot had seen plenty of animal tracks to tell the difference, and these tracks were elongated and human-like.

Beyond the trees, something roared like a lion and made Elliot’s body shudder. He had never heard anything like it in his life.

Arnold hurried back inside his tent, and the video ended. Elliot went to the following video, and it was daytime.

“I’m going to move my camp.” Arnold’s hair was disheveled, and there were bags under his eyes. “I don’t know what that was last night, but I’m not about to stick around and find out.”

The video ended. The next one showed Arnold at a new campsite. Elliot could hear Sleeping River, which sounded like a bathtub filling with water. With a lace of string, Arnold tied empty beer cans around his campsite. Elliot had seen this before. Campers used this security system to alert them if anything approached their camp.

“This should do the trick.”

Elliot went to the next video – nighttime again. There was a rattling noise like cowbells outside the tent.

“Something is out there.” Arnold reached into his backpack and pulled out a stainless-steel revolver. His hands trembled around the handle. Arnold stopped himself from unzipping the tent as another can rattled in the distance. Then, another can rattled behind him. Eventually, the noises became louder and louder. Elliot’s chest tightened as Arnold turned the camera in different directions. Then, everything went mute like someone had taken the tent and placed it inside a soundproof room. Arnold jittered and finally unzipped the tent. He left the camera behind as the tent’s flap blew in the wind. “Okay, whoever is out there, show yourself!”

Arnold’s footsteps move further away. After a while, the only sound was the Sleeping River flowing nearby. Elliot loved fishing in Sleeping River because it brought him peace of mind. Plus, the Northern Mountains were on the other side of the river, giving him the best view of the park.

Elliot placed the camera to his ear and heard twigs snapping in the distance. Then, he heard what sounded like a car tire pop. Two more pops go off in the air, and something yelped like a wounded animal. Rocks were being kicked on the ground as someone ran towards the tent. Arnold poked his head through the flap, snatched his bag and camera, then ran away from the campsite – something howled behind him. Arnold’s heavy breath and movement shook the camera with each step he took in the darkness. He tripped over something and tumbled to the ground. After that, the video ended.

Elliot went to the last video in the gallery. Arnold’s face was covered in lacerations. He appeared out of breath. “Something has been chasing me for the last three days, and I don’t know what it is. I shot the thing in the shoulder, but. . .” Arnold palmed his face, and tears rolled down his cheek. “I don’t want to die out here,” he sniffled. “I just want to go home. I had to drop my bag just to move faster.”

Elliot paused the video. The abandoned cabin was filled with dust. He imagined Arnold’s twin sister, how she was left behind, and how she spent her days hoping her brother would be found. She never got the closure she needed, and Elliot blamed himself for that. He wished that he would’ve helped her. He wiped the tear from his face and clicked the video.

“To my family, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I love you all. I’m just sorry.” Arnold trekked his way through the trees. “I don’t think I’m going to make it out alive. My cellphone doesn’t have any service. All I have left is this camera and one bullet left in my gun, which are both worthless.” Arnold looked up towards the sky. “Full moon tonight, I—”

Something could be heard growling in the background. Arnold stopped and turned around, camera pointed at the trees, but there was nothing. But Elliot squinted his eyes and spotted two yellow eyes that blinked in the darkness. Arnold zoomed the camera in, and you could make out a dark figure that had to be over eight feet tall. Elliot sensed Arnold backing up, then Arnold raised his gun up and shot off into the distance. The dark figure moved among the trees and was now only twenty feet from Arnold.

Elliot had never seen something cover so much ground that fast. The creature howled into the sky, and Arnold ran while something pursued behind him.

The camera dropped to the ground.

A shadow darted across the screen, and Elliot covered his mouth as Arnold screamed in the background, which turned into crunching noises. The last thing Elliot saw were the ferns in the woods.

Relief washed over Elliot. If anyone had found this camera, they could’ve closed the park for good. He grabbed the camcorder, knelt down, and lifted a loose piece of the floorboard. Underneath were the items of campers and hikers Elliot had hidden for the last fifteen years ever since he was cursed.

He dropped the camera atop shredded rain jackets, hiking boots, dead cellphones, and Arnold’s revolver. Elliot would never let them close the park down, not because he loved nature, but because if they did – he wouldn’t have more victims.

He dropped to the floor and yelled out in pain. The candle in the window shivered as the full moon arrived. The bones in Elliot’s body shifted like tectonic plates. The sound resembled someone twisting an empty water bottle. He tried to rise, but his arms and legs contorted. Then, his back cracked open like a walnut and revealed black leather fur. He rolled around on the floor, his jaw bone splayed open with sharp fangs the size of sniper bullets. Elliot finally ripped his shirt off, and his green eyes turned yellow.

Elliot burst through the cabin door, and the werewolf howled into the night sky as the full moon bathed the forest in moonlight.