Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2017 16:03:37 GMT -5
A soft metallic click echoed through the desolate woods before another bathed the scene muted by the evening ambiance in a soft, orange, flickering light. The sound of crackling paper bursting aflame was all that could be heard as the natural denizens of the outdoors began to calm for the evening. A man closed his lighter, adding yet another foreign noise to his surroundings, before taking a pull from his cigarette intensifying the crackling of the paper. It wasn’t but a moment before the distinct smell of burning tobacco pervaded the scene, and in that one simple act the man had managed to force his way into the senses of the creatures that called the forest their home.
The man would never see it that way, as far as he was concerned the mountains were a solitary place. This, of course, couldn’t have been further from the truth as the man was surrounded by countless examples of flora and fauna he had not even perceived. Even by his own standards alone was stretch, the mountains were quite a popular destination in the early parts of September as the warm days transitioned into cooler autumn ones. Securing the cigarette firmly between his lips the man uttered a grunt as he shifted on the rock which he sat and pulled a faded green canvas bag a few feet closer. As he took a long pull from his cigarette the man unfastened the two buckles holding bag shut and began to rummage through his belongings whilst exhaling the smoke from his lungs.
Certain items were deliberately set aside, these included one small burner no bigger than the palm of ones’ hand, one can of pressurized fuel, one package of chicken flavored instant rice, one can of pre-cooked chicken, and one pot with cooking utensils stored inside. After re-latching his bag the man removed his water bottle which he had secured to his pack via carabiner and moved bag back to where it had laid only moments before. Setting to work quickly the man began by screwing the burner onto its fuel source, and once finished set it upon a flat and relatively level rock. A knob located on the side of the burner was then twisted causing it to emit a quiet hiss as the man lowered his cigarette towards the stove causing the gas to ignite with a ‘whoosh’. The pot was placed upon the stove and filled with the gathered ingredients and water, it wouldn’t be a glamorous meal by any definition but one more than capable of serving its function.
The man left the pot well enough alone, it would practically cook itself after all, and proceeded to snuff out his cigarette before pulling a flask out of his black jacket. It was fair to say that the man didn’t feel any sense of impending danger, and why would he? This wasn’t the first trip he had taken to the mountains and he didn’t intend it to be his last. This easiness with his surroundings easily allowed the man to tempt inebriation as he took two long pulls of the whiskey located inside his recently retrieved flask. It wouldn’t take long as the emptiness of his stomach allowed the whiskey quick passage into his blood, and combined with the cigarette he had just finished the man began to feel a slight buzzing sensation that muted his perception. Based on past experience the man was positive of his safety, nothing of note had ever happened during his many visits of the past, and even if something did happen the pistol he had holstered on the right side of his hip acted as insurance.
The ambient light slowly darkened as the man continued to nurse his drink and occasionally stirred his meal. The sky took on a deep blue hue as all the trees not within 15 feet of the man began to blur into one abstract shape. Deciding that the rice was cooked plenty well enough the man killed the heat to his meal, and whilst it cooled he set about finishing the rest of the whiskey in his flask. The meal would take a few minutes to cool and with nothing to occupy his time the man pulled out his lighter and began to rhythmically open and strike it as he studied his surroundings before slapping it back closed again.
The dark mottled colors of the forest caused by the quickly approaching night were cast in a brighter orange tinge in the frequency of once every few seconds. It did little to relieve the boredom from which the man was suffering, but with no other options coming to mind he persevered. The scene continued to darken all the while, the bursts of light from the flame served to show the ever-starker contrast between the darkness and the light. After striking his lighter nearly 100 times an irregularity presented itself before quickly being snuffed as the lighter was closed. It took a few moments for the man to register what he had just witnessed, a pair of bright flashes around 10 feet away. The man wasn’t quick to strike his lighter again, the flashes having given him pause as he pondered if he had actually even seen them, and upon starting the flame once more there was no trace of the flashes he swore he had seen.
The man remained still as he studied the illuminated forest, watching and listening carefully for any sign that something was amiss. After a minute of searching it was decided by the man that he had just imagined it, and he proceeded to extinguish the flame one last time before picking up the pot that held his meal. After taking his first bite the man noted that his meal was about as spectacular as the sum of its ingredients sounded, however This did little to dissuade him from having more. A good portion of the meal was dedicated to the man mulling over what he had potentially just seen, and as the bowl neared half empty he decided it wasn’t something that he needed to be concerned with. The other half of the mans’ meal was uneventful and once finished he fumbled around looking for his water bottle which was now hidden by the cover of night.
After a few moments of digging through the short grass the mans’ hand found purchase upon the bottle, quickly unscrewing the cap he took a long pull of its contents before pouring some into his bowl, resealing the bottle, and reattaching it to his bag in the same fashion as it was before. Weariness began to overtake the man quickly as the heavy meal and alcohol combined to make him long for the confines of his tent. Thoughts of sleep filled the mans’ head as he scrapped the inside of the bowl relatively clean and poured the debris filled water into the grass at his feet, after which he pulled his bag closer and carefully repacked all of the contents he had extricated from inside earlier. Fiddling with another buckle the man proceeded to open a small pocket on the front of the bag and pulled a thick trash bag from inside before proceeding to carefully pull it over his canvas pack. It didn’t seem that rain was likely, but it was such a simple measure to take that ignoring the step would be irresponsible.
Picking up his waterproofed bag the man made his way towards the tiny one person tent he had set up around midday before turning back to survey his camp for anything he may have left behind. It was a fruitless venture as even if he had left something, which he was positive he hadn’t, it would be highly unlikely he could spot the item through the shroud of darkness covering the forest. Satisfied as he could be that he hadn’t forgotten any of his equipment the man propped his bag against a tree next to the entrance of his tent before lowering himself to his knees and unzipping the tents’ door. The wholly unique sound of a zipper quickly running the length of its track split the tranquil night, and was quickly followed by another after the man crawled inside and sealed the hatch behind him.
It took the man what only seemed like moments to depart from the realm of the conscious, clearly helped along by the alcohol he had ingested, and in that plain he would remain for a few hours. That wasn’t the only effect alcohol had on those that ingested it however, and the man was starting to become aware of the annoying signal informing him that he needed to relieve himself.
Waking was a slow process as the man’s dreams were reluctant to let him depart, this left him in limbo between the two realities and he unsure of which was real. The constant struggle between the two worlds would be fought for what felt like an eternity to the man, however reality as he had known it began to overtake the dream world which he had been residing.
Even after becoming acutely aware that he would need to exit his tent and tend to natures’ call the man couldn’t convince himself to move. It would be many minutes, which seemed relatively longer to the man, before he admitted that he couldn’t wait any longer. With a grunt the man fought his way out of his sleeping bag, its zipper whining as it was pulled downward to allow him his escape. Fumbling around with random objects in the pitch-black interior of the tent the man tried to find the flashlight that alluded him.
After a few seconds of ungraceful searching the man found said light source and clicked the button located on its base before confirming it did indeed work as was intended. The light illuminated the inside of the mans’ tent as he covered his eyes in shock before quickly turning it off. Spots swam in the mans’ vision as he was once again greeted by the blackness, deciding I was best to turn on the flashlight after he had exited to tent the man began to feel around the entrance for the zipper that would allow his escape.
All too aware of his growing discomfort indicating that he needed to take care of business the man traced his hand around the zippers track until he found the small metal ring that controlled it and gave it a yank before throwing the entrance flap of the tent wide open.
The man was greeted by a set of large, round eyes. They were distinct and quickly drew the mans’ attention into their amber depths. Even in the faint glow of the moon they were clearly visible and expressed nothing as innocent as curiosity, no, they were hungry. The rest of the creatures’ visage would be noticed by the man in the ensuing moments, it had an almost human quality to it disregarding the proportions. That was near impossible to do however, as the large gaping mouth and oversized jagged teeth of the creature sent the man scrambling back into his tent in search of his gun.
The man had taken his eyes off the creature to search for any indication of the location of his only protection, and he was positive at any moment that he would feel the creatures’ sharp teeth digging into his flesh. After only a few seconds, which felt like nothing less than minutes to the man, he found his pistol and quickly pulled the slide reward chambering a round before turning to point it at the entrance of the tent. The man was greeted by nothing aside from a darkened forest filled with vaguely visible shapes of trees.
The man didn’t bother questioning whether he had honestly seen the creature, he was leaving as fast as he possibly could. Quickly jamming his feet into his boots without bothering to even tie them the man felt for his truck keys that never left his pocket. Confirming that they were indeed still there he departed for his escape vehicle with his gun in one hand, and his flashlight in the other. It took the man only a few minutes to find his vehicle, yet again another bit of time that was relative to him as the thought of the monster made the journey seem like it had taken hours. The entire process was uneventful, there was no chase, and the man made it to the safety of his truck unabated. Missing on his first few attempts the man jammed the truck key into the lock on the door handled and twisted it frantically before wrenching the door open before climbing in. Throwing his pistol on the passenger seat the man started his vehicle without any fuss and quickly threw the vehicle into reverse and tore out of the tall grass in which he had parked. It would be the last time the man ever set foot in the mountains.
Nearly three months had passed since the man had escaped the mountains, and he had needed every moment to recover. The brief encounter with the creature had shaken the man to his core, everything he had known was shattered in that moment. There was no doubt in his mind that he hadn’t imagined it, and every night before he drifted into a fitful bout of sleep riddled with nightmares he pondered his place in a world that was larger than he ever could have imagined.
It was time for him to wrestle with this uncertainty again as he laid in his bed with closed eyes and pondered what else could possibly be lurking in the shadows leaving humanity completely unaware of its’ existence. The man kept finding himself at the same conclusion which asserted that humanity was unaware of the creatures’ existence because word of its’ existence had never been allowed to spread.
Finished entertaining such depressing thoughts the man slowly opened his eyes, and to his utter horror he was greeted by the same amber eyes he had encountered in the forest all those moons ago. After letting out a panicked yell he rolled and grasped the pistol which had sat on his nightstand, he hadn’t gone without it for three months. As he drew up the pistol prepared to take his shot just as he had before he was again greeted by an empty space. The mans’ reaction was the same as it had been for the last sighting. Not even taking the time to don his boots the man found his keys, climbed into his truck and proceeded to run.
The man would never see it that way, as far as he was concerned the mountains were a solitary place. This, of course, couldn’t have been further from the truth as the man was surrounded by countless examples of flora and fauna he had not even perceived. Even by his own standards alone was stretch, the mountains were quite a popular destination in the early parts of September as the warm days transitioned into cooler autumn ones. Securing the cigarette firmly between his lips the man uttered a grunt as he shifted on the rock which he sat and pulled a faded green canvas bag a few feet closer. As he took a long pull from his cigarette the man unfastened the two buckles holding bag shut and began to rummage through his belongings whilst exhaling the smoke from his lungs.
Certain items were deliberately set aside, these included one small burner no bigger than the palm of ones’ hand, one can of pressurized fuel, one package of chicken flavored instant rice, one can of pre-cooked chicken, and one pot with cooking utensils stored inside. After re-latching his bag the man removed his water bottle which he had secured to his pack via carabiner and moved bag back to where it had laid only moments before. Setting to work quickly the man began by screwing the burner onto its fuel source, and once finished set it upon a flat and relatively level rock. A knob located on the side of the burner was then twisted causing it to emit a quiet hiss as the man lowered his cigarette towards the stove causing the gas to ignite with a ‘whoosh’. The pot was placed upon the stove and filled with the gathered ingredients and water, it wouldn’t be a glamorous meal by any definition but one more than capable of serving its function.
The man left the pot well enough alone, it would practically cook itself after all, and proceeded to snuff out his cigarette before pulling a flask out of his black jacket. It was fair to say that the man didn’t feel any sense of impending danger, and why would he? This wasn’t the first trip he had taken to the mountains and he didn’t intend it to be his last. This easiness with his surroundings easily allowed the man to tempt inebriation as he took two long pulls of the whiskey located inside his recently retrieved flask. It wouldn’t take long as the emptiness of his stomach allowed the whiskey quick passage into his blood, and combined with the cigarette he had just finished the man began to feel a slight buzzing sensation that muted his perception. Based on past experience the man was positive of his safety, nothing of note had ever happened during his many visits of the past, and even if something did happen the pistol he had holstered on the right side of his hip acted as insurance.
The ambient light slowly darkened as the man continued to nurse his drink and occasionally stirred his meal. The sky took on a deep blue hue as all the trees not within 15 feet of the man began to blur into one abstract shape. Deciding that the rice was cooked plenty well enough the man killed the heat to his meal, and whilst it cooled he set about finishing the rest of the whiskey in his flask. The meal would take a few minutes to cool and with nothing to occupy his time the man pulled out his lighter and began to rhythmically open and strike it as he studied his surroundings before slapping it back closed again.
The dark mottled colors of the forest caused by the quickly approaching night were cast in a brighter orange tinge in the frequency of once every few seconds. It did little to relieve the boredom from which the man was suffering, but with no other options coming to mind he persevered. The scene continued to darken all the while, the bursts of light from the flame served to show the ever-starker contrast between the darkness and the light. After striking his lighter nearly 100 times an irregularity presented itself before quickly being snuffed as the lighter was closed. It took a few moments for the man to register what he had just witnessed, a pair of bright flashes around 10 feet away. The man wasn’t quick to strike his lighter again, the flashes having given him pause as he pondered if he had actually even seen them, and upon starting the flame once more there was no trace of the flashes he swore he had seen.
The man remained still as he studied the illuminated forest, watching and listening carefully for any sign that something was amiss. After a minute of searching it was decided by the man that he had just imagined it, and he proceeded to extinguish the flame one last time before picking up the pot that held his meal. After taking his first bite the man noted that his meal was about as spectacular as the sum of its ingredients sounded, however This did little to dissuade him from having more. A good portion of the meal was dedicated to the man mulling over what he had potentially just seen, and as the bowl neared half empty he decided it wasn’t something that he needed to be concerned with. The other half of the mans’ meal was uneventful and once finished he fumbled around looking for his water bottle which was now hidden by the cover of night.
After a few moments of digging through the short grass the mans’ hand found purchase upon the bottle, quickly unscrewing the cap he took a long pull of its contents before pouring some into his bowl, resealing the bottle, and reattaching it to his bag in the same fashion as it was before. Weariness began to overtake the man quickly as the heavy meal and alcohol combined to make him long for the confines of his tent. Thoughts of sleep filled the mans’ head as he scrapped the inside of the bowl relatively clean and poured the debris filled water into the grass at his feet, after which he pulled his bag closer and carefully repacked all of the contents he had extricated from inside earlier. Fiddling with another buckle the man proceeded to open a small pocket on the front of the bag and pulled a thick trash bag from inside before proceeding to carefully pull it over his canvas pack. It didn’t seem that rain was likely, but it was such a simple measure to take that ignoring the step would be irresponsible.
Picking up his waterproofed bag the man made his way towards the tiny one person tent he had set up around midday before turning back to survey his camp for anything he may have left behind. It was a fruitless venture as even if he had left something, which he was positive he hadn’t, it would be highly unlikely he could spot the item through the shroud of darkness covering the forest. Satisfied as he could be that he hadn’t forgotten any of his equipment the man propped his bag against a tree next to the entrance of his tent before lowering himself to his knees and unzipping the tents’ door. The wholly unique sound of a zipper quickly running the length of its track split the tranquil night, and was quickly followed by another after the man crawled inside and sealed the hatch behind him.
…
It took the man what only seemed like moments to depart from the realm of the conscious, clearly helped along by the alcohol he had ingested, and in that plain he would remain for a few hours. That wasn’t the only effect alcohol had on those that ingested it however, and the man was starting to become aware of the annoying signal informing him that he needed to relieve himself.
Waking was a slow process as the man’s dreams were reluctant to let him depart, this left him in limbo between the two realities and he unsure of which was real. The constant struggle between the two worlds would be fought for what felt like an eternity to the man, however reality as he had known it began to overtake the dream world which he had been residing.
Even after becoming acutely aware that he would need to exit his tent and tend to natures’ call the man couldn’t convince himself to move. It would be many minutes, which seemed relatively longer to the man, before he admitted that he couldn’t wait any longer. With a grunt the man fought his way out of his sleeping bag, its zipper whining as it was pulled downward to allow him his escape. Fumbling around with random objects in the pitch-black interior of the tent the man tried to find the flashlight that alluded him.
After a few seconds of ungraceful searching the man found said light source and clicked the button located on its base before confirming it did indeed work as was intended. The light illuminated the inside of the mans’ tent as he covered his eyes in shock before quickly turning it off. Spots swam in the mans’ vision as he was once again greeted by the blackness, deciding I was best to turn on the flashlight after he had exited to tent the man began to feel around the entrance for the zipper that would allow his escape.
All too aware of his growing discomfort indicating that he needed to take care of business the man traced his hand around the zippers track until he found the small metal ring that controlled it and gave it a yank before throwing the entrance flap of the tent wide open.
The man was greeted by a set of large, round eyes. They were distinct and quickly drew the mans’ attention into their amber depths. Even in the faint glow of the moon they were clearly visible and expressed nothing as innocent as curiosity, no, they were hungry. The rest of the creatures’ visage would be noticed by the man in the ensuing moments, it had an almost human quality to it disregarding the proportions. That was near impossible to do however, as the large gaping mouth and oversized jagged teeth of the creature sent the man scrambling back into his tent in search of his gun.
The man had taken his eyes off the creature to search for any indication of the location of his only protection, and he was positive at any moment that he would feel the creatures’ sharp teeth digging into his flesh. After only a few seconds, which felt like nothing less than minutes to the man, he found his pistol and quickly pulled the slide reward chambering a round before turning to point it at the entrance of the tent. The man was greeted by nothing aside from a darkened forest filled with vaguely visible shapes of trees.
The man didn’t bother questioning whether he had honestly seen the creature, he was leaving as fast as he possibly could. Quickly jamming his feet into his boots without bothering to even tie them the man felt for his truck keys that never left his pocket. Confirming that they were indeed still there he departed for his escape vehicle with his gun in one hand, and his flashlight in the other. It took the man only a few minutes to find his vehicle, yet again another bit of time that was relative to him as the thought of the monster made the journey seem like it had taken hours. The entire process was uneventful, there was no chase, and the man made it to the safety of his truck unabated. Missing on his first few attempts the man jammed the truck key into the lock on the door handled and twisted it frantically before wrenching the door open before climbing in. Throwing his pistol on the passenger seat the man started his vehicle without any fuss and quickly threw the vehicle into reverse and tore out of the tall grass in which he had parked. It would be the last time the man ever set foot in the mountains.
…
Nearly three months had passed since the man had escaped the mountains, and he had needed every moment to recover. The brief encounter with the creature had shaken the man to his core, everything he had known was shattered in that moment. There was no doubt in his mind that he hadn’t imagined it, and every night before he drifted into a fitful bout of sleep riddled with nightmares he pondered his place in a world that was larger than he ever could have imagined.
It was time for him to wrestle with this uncertainty again as he laid in his bed with closed eyes and pondered what else could possibly be lurking in the shadows leaving humanity completely unaware of its’ existence. The man kept finding himself at the same conclusion which asserted that humanity was unaware of the creatures’ existence because word of its’ existence had never been allowed to spread.
Finished entertaining such depressing thoughts the man slowly opened his eyes, and to his utter horror he was greeted by the same amber eyes he had encountered in the forest all those moons ago. After letting out a panicked yell he rolled and grasped the pistol which had sat on his nightstand, he hadn’t gone without it for three months. As he drew up the pistol prepared to take his shot just as he had before he was again greeted by an empty space. The mans’ reaction was the same as it had been for the last sighting. Not even taking the time to don his boots the man found his keys, climbed into his truck and proceeded to run.