I follow the trails that were littered in flowers, buzzing with wildlife. The day was fresh in the early morning, the rain had washed away the warm excess of the day before. Leaving only a brisk, cool, reminder of how summer has ended, and now there was only yellow spotted leaves, and a overcast sky. My mind began to wander as I carried myself with a sense of pride. Lightly and swiftly, although I was taking my time. I felt as if I were a predator, a savage in the wilderness prone to my instincts alone. As if some one where to say, it would be a catch-22. I came to this place to escape civilization, to escape the nuisance of society. Only to crawl back to my primitive ways. No language, No social structure, only thoughts. My mind has over stayed it’s welcome. I have never felt more comfortable.

Climbing up ridges that escalated continuously, I grew dirty, I grew hungry. And I wasn’t sure what to do, other than to make camp, and stay for the night. I have been traveling for many years, staying at wildlife reserves and escaping reality. And I had made an arrangement to stay for the night. I settled down in a site a while off the path, and it was secluded enough for my comfort. The later hours began to crawl fast, I grew restless. I stared straight in the fire, the smoke had made me calm, and light headed. The atmosphere was thin, with a cool nip in the air. The sound of silence engulfed my entire presence as the crickets and frogs own the night. And suddenly I was proven wrong.

I stood up, and inhaled deeply. The cold freezing my body’s core temperature, and my spine began to shiver, like never before. While reaching for one of my bags, I looked around at what I could see was my camping site. The darkness and slight fog had made my sight shorter than expected. I heard what was expected to be an animal in the woods. I didn’t shake, or grow worried. I pulled out what I was looking for, my bag of tobacco, and rolling papers. I rolled a cigarette and searched my pockets for my box of matches, and slid it open. As soon as I reached in for one and shut the box closed, i was startled by the noise of soft rustling behind me. Not far enough to think it was something else, and too close for comfort. My mind rattled for a moment, searching quickly and effortlessly for the first thing to cross my mind. A weapon, or tool to protect myself from what ever is passing by. I light my cigarette and began to search, quietly. I looked to my right, scanning the area for whatever I could use, and just as I found what appeared to be a strong piece of wood in the shape of a club, I heard a branch on one of the trees breaking, and no impact of something below. I inhaled my cigarette and patiently waited for my stalker to appear, I didn’t think anything was going to happen anyway. I have an over-reactive imagination.

I remember from a long time ago, when I was a little girl. Growing up on a farm, no neighbors or anyone to talk to. My parents left me alone most of the time from the very start of it. Always busy with something more concerning than myself, but it’s quite selfish to feel that way. I would run wild through the woods, as my plot of land had been a little shy of 10 acres. I’ve grown accustomed to surviving and protecting myself. Reading the woods like an open book, I’ve climbed more trees, and studied the wildlife as it were the most beautiful thing to ever peak my interest. My memory had been bleak and vague, as nothing of extreme terror or turmoil has ever seemed to imprint my soft brain, until a brisk autumn morning walk through the woods. I was breaking the age of 15, rebellious as all get out. Skipping school to hide out. Both of my parents were never around, so why not do something I enjoy. While climbing a tree, I sat upon a thick enough branch to rest, and pulled out my cigarettes. I placed it in my mouth and reached for my lighter. As I was about to light a cigarette, I peered up from my focus and to my surprise, I was not alone. In the distance, was a creature that was disturbing. Not once in my life had I been so terrified. The thing was tall, no human being. Standing with posture that no animal could. A shroud of black covered it’s entire body, no shape or limbs to identify. I smoked my cigarette, possibly trying to ignore the creature. But it stared at me, no distractions besides the cool air. I blinked several times, confused. Trying to understand why it is I am being watched. I exhaled, and I looked away for a slight second to only find that it had disappeared. I had been visited by a presence that could not be described.

I grew worried so I looked at my watch. The smoke lifted from my cigarette into the murky black that was above me, into nothing. And then there it was, green eyes that were as luminous, and full as the stars. Of course, I couldn’t see around it, or to classify it as something else. I was being stalked by the killer, and I was the prey. I reached for the club, grasping it with all my might. My body rose, my feet moved. I abandoned my things, as if my body had a mind of it’s own. I was terrified, to be greeted by the being. Climbing the twisting trails, I felt nothing inside of me but the only thing I knew how to do. Survive. The cold air dried my eyes, making them sore and red. And the atmosphere felt thin, I was questioning my chance of survival. Especially when I had traveled a distance to finally end up bumping, and falling face-first into the ground. My hand wiped the dirt that accumulated on my face. I sobbed loudly, with no care. And there the presence was, towering over me with it’s one-way mirror eyes. No protrusions from it’s body. Limbs were no part of it. It acted as if we could communicate, through telepathy. The inside of my head was raging like a mad bull, a piercingly loud ringing pulsed through out my brain. The only way I dealt with it was to clench my fists and scream. Finding the strength inside me to find power to put myself on my two feet, was such a struggle. That before I could even sort out anything that was happening, the breathing from this creature had already stolen my will. In astonishment, the creature had bent over, the only way to describe it would to be animated. And how utterly distinctive the smell that wafted off its shell, was putrid. It examined me all over, as I shook with fear. No way out, I slung the club over my head and shut my eyes. I opened them to only find that the creature had disappeared. I was alone. I sobbed for a minute on the trail, and then I sat up. Pulled out my tobacco, while tears ran down my face. I rolled a cigarette and pushed myself to camp. That night I didn’t dream.

Dawn came fast, as I rose from my sleeping bag. Reaching for my mess kit, and my rolling tobacco, the chirping of the birds were a sweet reminder that I have been saved by the day. Wearing only a tee and underwear I grabbed my pants and slide into them. I pull my hair back and light the cigarette. un-zipping the tent was always a hassle, and I stepped out. The sun beating on my pale skin, and the smell of charred fire from the night before. I smoked my cigarette, inhaling like my life depended on it. I collected all my things, and began walking on the trail again. I reached a point on the trail, that was narrow, and had a huge slope to reservoir below. I sat on the edge, as the wind blew through my hair. I felt safe, but at the same time, the events that happened last night were so unrealistic that I made believe they were a dream. There had to of been an explanation. I remembered the piercing noise the creature created. Blaring through my brain, just remembering can recreate the noise. My subconscious had played the noise on repeat, and I hung my head and shrieked. Losing my balance, and sanity I slipped off the ledge, smacking into the slope on the cliff. Falling from so high feels like forever, in slow motion matter of fact. As I fell from the cliff, I looked up from where I was sitting, and I noticed something that wasn’t there before. The creature, with it’s green eyes. Peering over the cliff it had watched me fall off of. I closed my eyes, and the splash of water around me engulfed me. Comforting me, and swaying me like I was it’s child. And I sank to the bottom, to loose my consciousness. Greater men have fallen to worse problems than I. The waters are high, the time is nigh.