Woodsmen

It was another summer day and I had just packed my things for vacation. I was headed out to my mountain cabin with a few of my friends for a couple of weeks. I loaded up my van, picked up my friends, and drove off to the cabin.

Upon arriving it was dark and the wind blew softly through the great northern pines of the forest. We unpacked and settled into our rooms. It being the time it was, a couple of my friends went to sleep. I stayed up with my close friend, Jon as we relived the glory days of old.

After a while he went to sleep and I stayed up watching television. I checked the time; midnight. I relaxed back in my chair and began to fall into a comfortable sleep when I heard something. A snap of a branch outside jolted me, but I shrugged it off as a squirrel. Relaxing once more, I let the TV lull me to sleep.

Yet another snap of a branch, louder than the first, ripped me from my sleep. Curious of its origin and knowing sleep was impossible, I rose and ventured outside. The air was unmistakably colder now, with the wind still silently blowing through the trees. I turned on the light outside of the cabin. The surroundings were illuminated by yellow light. I looked about and sighted the culprit; a tiny squirrel hunting for acorns no doubt. I chuckled and turned to the door but something else caught my eye.

I turned once more and squinted in the darkness. Nothing out of the norm, but I was still unsure of myself. So after retrieving my flashlight, I journeyed further into the foliage.

With each crunching step I began to feel eyes all around me. Something was out here, and it was big. Maybe a bear. I concluded that safety was of utmost priority so my mission was to scare the bear. I hurried on, wanting to be done with it and sleep.

There it was again! Out of the corner of my eye darting around the forest. I jerked around as to not miss it but nothing was there. The forest was playing tricks on me. I began to feel defeated as my mission was just a trick of the mind when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I whirled around to face my adversary but it was only the branch of a tree.

Beginning to feel paranoid I turned towards the cabin. The light of my flashlight began to flicker and then the bulb burst. I threw the useless thing to the ground and cursed. Yet now I was enveloped in total darkness. What's more, was the silence. Nothing scurried or hurried in any direction. No owls, birds, squirrels, or rabbits; just silence.

I darted for the cabin; I didn't care if it was a bear or not that was out here, I just had to get inside. Then, just out of eye sight two figures began to run beside me, but it wasn't normal. Their movements were unreal and loose. Their arms hung behind them as their legs pumped forward at tremendous speeds. One's head was bent back in a strange way. They were soon ahead of me. I stopped dead in my tracks as did the beings.

Soon more of them came to surround me, each more contorted and hideous as the last. Their arms, legs, chests, heads all twisted and broken in different ways for each thing. Now in a circle around me, they began to bend into more human-like poses. With each correction came bones crunching and snapping under the pressures of the bodies aligning them. Then, as if on cue, their eyes opened to show deep red and black shining eyes. They all stared at me.

The sight was maddening, and I rose to try to break free. As I did the beings looked maliciously at me. Smiles of hunger were on their faces. Each one cackled and crowed at me. Then they converged, step by step, closing the circle around me, until they were on top of me. Their smells were intoxicating and putrid. It was all over for me. They began feasting on me as I screamed in pain, but to no avail. I was their feast