While Carol sat close to the fire and glanced around her, she heard Bernie yell in the distance.
“Carol, run!”
Carol quickly stood up. She was confused and scared. Suddenly, she felt the wind blow through the area and then heard what sounded like a mans scream and moan.
“Bernie?” Carol called out.
As the wind picked up, Carol ran and crawled into her tent. She zipped the door closed and turned on the battery operated lamp. Carol grabbed Bernie’s hoodie for comfort and listened to the wind blow. The tent shook as she sat there and waited. Is this a storm or what, she thought. Five long minutes went by before the wind died down. Carol sat and listened as everything was still and quiet again. But as another few minutes passed, she heard a soft growl and grunt. Carol bit her lip and held her breath while she hoped that whatever was out there wouldn’t find her.
Carol listened as she heard another grunt and hiss sound. Is there more than one out there, she thought. Suddenly, she heard one of the camping chairs hit the ground. Then she heard rummaging through the coolers. Carols curiosity got to her, so she quietly crawled over to the zippered door and laid down on her belly. Carefully she lifted the zipper up a few inches and peaked past the tent flap. Because of the soft glow of the campfire, Carol wasn’t able to make out who she saw. It just looked like a thin shadowy figure to her.
The figure said something and then moved to the right. There she saw another figure of similar height. Carol wasn’t sure who or what she was seeing but she knew that she had to be quiet. She continued to lay still and watch them until one of them walked toward her tent. She gasped with panic, but before it got to the tent, the other figure said something. The one stopped and looked back at the other. Carol then heard a muffled sound off in the distance. I don’t know who this is but it sounds like there are more out there, she thought. One thing though that Carol knew was that they weren’t speaking English.
Carol laid still and continued to watch while the two figures grabbed some things out of the cooler. She again heard the strange sound off in the distance and then both figures hurried off. I’ll stay here for a few more minutes to make sure the coast is clear, Carol thought.
After about ten minutes of quiet, Carol zipped open the tent door. She peeked outside and didn’t see anyone. She grabbed Bernie’s hoodie and crawled out of the tent. Carol then tied the hoodie around her waist and glanced around. Do I stay here and near the fire or hide in the woods somewhere, she thought. Carol felt that the figure who walked close to the tent might come back. So, she decided to quietly hike the woods in the dark and hopefully find some help. She looked in the direction where her and her friends came from originally and decided to go that way. Maybe she’ll be able to find the road that way.
As Carol tried to see where she was walking, she tripped over a large tree root. She didn’t fall down but instead, stumbled into some bushes. The dried leaves on the bushes crunched as she fell into them. Carol quickly stood still and listened. Oh good, I must be far enough away from them, she thought. The only thing that she heard again were some crickets.
Carol knew that she had hours of night left and really had no idea where she was going. She found what looked like an old make shift shelter out of thick sticks and branches and checked it out. There was a dirty blanket on the ground but no one was inside of it. Carol quietly climbed inside and sat down. As long as I’m quiet no one should know that I’m here, she thought. She felt tired anyways and wanted to rest some.
While she sat there though, she thought about Bernie and her friends. She didn’t know if they were lost or even still alive. Who knows what kind of wacko’s are in this forest, she thought. Carol did fear that someone was at the least hurt because of the screams that she heard earlier.
Please join me again for chapter 5 of: It’s In The Forest.