The Woods

This is a short story I wrote one day. I hope you like it, please tell me your thoughts.

Wind blew fiercely as leaves of gold and red spun around me in a cloud like a warming cloak. My long hair whipped around me as though it was fighting with the snapping wind. A dense fog crept through the woods in between the shrill shrieks of the wind. Lightening cracked above my head in the rumbling black pit that was the sky. I heard a branch snap and turned to see what made the sound, my breath caught as two glowing green eyes stared at me from deep within the same forest that surrounded me. A deep growl escaped the throat of the beast that saw through those deadly eyes. My heart started to race and I began running. Towering trees seemed to close in and try to devour me as I tore by them. I heard pounding footsteps behind me and the heavy breathing of my attacker. The sky opened up and rain poured from the rumbling pit above. As I turned to see what was chasing me I felt my body hurdle towards the ground as my foot caught on a stump. I felt the sharp burning sting as my ankle snapped and broke. As my foot broke loose from its imprisonment my body started tumbling down a steep hill. I felt my skin tear as rocks scrapped at it. Branches bit at my face and I tasted blood. I screamed knowing it would do no good. I felt warm blood ooze down my face as my head connected with a sharp rock, blackness over came all my thoughts and I saw the menacing glowing green eyes peer over the hill, seeing no movement they vanished into the black of the icy damp night. The rain slowed to a mere drizzle. A tear escaped my eye as darkness swallowed me and the thick fog crept over my motionless body.

The storm drove on through out the night and the branches from the trees swayed through the whistling wind. The snap of bones and the loud shrill cry of a dying rabbit echoed through the woods as the predator with glowing green eyes made a kill. Eventually morning broke and the storm receded.

A squirrel scampered across the dew encased needles and leaves on the forest floor. Spotting something it cocked its head to one side. The squirrel bounced over to the object and sniffed it. Dried blood covered its motionless body. Not knowing what to think the young squirrel scampered up a tree. A doe and her young fawn noticed the squirrel and went to investigate. The doe sniffed at the icy air and caught the lingering scent of a predator. Not willing to see if the predator would return the doe and her fawn bounded deeper into the forest past a patch of bushes and over a nearby creak.

Pain seared through my body like a fire rages through a fuel covered bag of papers. The fog that encased my mind slowly receded and the sharp light of the afternoon sun that crept through the thick branches of the trees filtered into my hazy eyes. Attempting to stand my body screamed out in pain. I fell back onto the floor of the forest. Hot tears pouring down my face, I tried to lift my head. There was a nasty taste in my mouth so I spit. Blood sprayed the leaves adding glossy red to the bright yellows and oranges of the leaves. My head throbbed, my ankle killed and the rest of my body was stiff from the cold. My memories of the night before came racing back to me. I remembered leaving my house to go for a walk, entering the forest to walk my favorite trail, leaving the trail to find a place to relax, the sudden strike of the storm, the menacing glowing eyes and my painful trip down the hill. I closed my eyes then quickly opened them again to make sure I was really not just dreaming. I groaned as a sharp stinging pain shot up my body. My right arm was black and blue and terribly sore. I grunted and tried to get up again, I managed to get into a sitting position gentle resting my head against the rock, which had not to long ago split it open. My head spun and I felt sick. My feet were covered in blood and cuts from branches and rocks that had torn them up from when I ran. I told myself if I ever got out of these woods to wear shoes when I went for walks. Laughing aloud I thought if I ever get out of these tormenting woods I would never walk in the woods again, especially alone! My side screamed in pain as I laughed. I looked around; unfortunately, I saw nothing that I had seen before in my life. There was nothing to tell me which way to go after I got over the hill. I heard a quiet gurgling and slowly turned my head to see a small stream. My throat burned from lack of water. I tried to stand again. As I inched my way up the rock my body screamed for me to stop. The sharp stabs of pain turned into long throbbing waves of unbearable pain. In desperation, I sat back down. I looked at the hill I had fell down and realized there was no way I could get back up it with my leg and arm. I reached in my pocket and found a cereal bar, an empty water bottle and a stick of gum. I opened the bottle to try for any last lingering drops and found none. I angrily shoved it all back in my pocket knowing the food and gum would only increase my thirst. I wondered how long I would be stuck in the woods. My thoughts kept going back to my need for water. Finally, I decided I had to get to the water. Crawling across the leaves and needles of the forest floor my body protested in shots of pain. The ground was cold like the air and my body began to tremble with cold and pain. I only had 10 feet left to go. I focused my entire mind on getting to the stream. I thought if I get there, I‘d be fine.

The young squirrel watched as the figure that had earlier been near death slowly drag itself across the ground in lurching movements. Three feet left and I would be touching the stream. I could almost touch it! At that moment, my body had had enough. I felt everything I had ate before I left the house come up. I cried into the soft leaves and winced as a sharp stab of pain coursed its way through my body. Breathing heavily I began crawling again. Inch by inch I came closer and closer to the stream. I trembled as my hand first touched the chilling water. Filling my hands with the precise water, I took a drink. My throat burned as the cool water trickled down my throat. It had a sweetness that I had never noticed before. I told myself not to drink too much or I would start heaving again. I slowly cleaned the dry blood off with the chilly water. My right arm began hurting intensely so I leaned against a nearby tree. I looked up into the tree and I saw a small squirrel staring back at me. I wondered if I would ever see my pets or my family again. I started heaving again and blood poured from my mouth. Resting my head against the tree, I fell into a deep slumber. When I awoke, there was little light left. The young squirrel had gone to sleep on the branch he had watched me from. All I wanted was to be able to get in a tree and hide from creatures that would soon be lurking on the ground trying to find food. I filled my bottle with the water from the creak. In the bottle, the water looked musky brown. A thick fog loomed on the top of the hill. Ignoring the intense flares of pain, I crawled into a thick patch of brushes and curled up.

Sniffing the ground by a stream a pair of glowing green eyes blinked; blood, human blood. A large tongue rolled from a cage of gnarled teeth that belonged to the green-eyed monster. It lapped up water and tasted the sweet taste of blood mixed into the stream. Craving pure blood the green-eyed monster went on a hunt hoping to find the prey it had been deprived of the night before.

Breaking twigs and the crunch of leaves broke through the dead silence of the night. A chill raced up my back as I snapped awake at the sounds. The heavy breathing of the green-eyed beast added to the soft gurgling of the brook. I caught the faint smell of his putrid breath. Faint moon light glistened on his dagger teeth sending flickers of light through the murky fog. He sniffed the air and let out an ear splitting sound. I closed my eyes and tried not to move. When I opened my eyes again, the beast was turned away from me staring at something in the distance. I saw his bulging muscles twitch under his silky black coat. His body sunk to the ground and he slithered behind the tree by the brook. I then noticed what he saw. The fawn that had earlier checked out the brook with his mother in the morning was back but his mother was gone. The tiny fawn sniffed at the icy air. The green-eyed beast lunged from behind the tree and cleared the brook by twenty feet. The fawn’s eyes dilated as it realized the beast’s presence. Before the fawn could even turn the beast’s dagger teeth sunk into its back leg. Blood sprayed the ground. The fawn screeched and the beast broke the other back leg. The beast backed off and sauntered around the fawn in circles. The beast’s large tongue rolled from his mouth as he smirked slightly. His eyes sparkled with malice and amusement. The fawn continued to cry out in pain. The beast swooped in and snapped its right front leg. The fawn collapsed to the leaves of the forest floor. The green-eyed monster was making a game of it. Still crying out in pain the unfortunate little fawn kicked the beast with his remaining leg. The beast had prevailed nonetheless. At that moment, the fawn’s mother rushed into the trap the beast had set. Before she could comprehend what had happened the beast sunk its shimmering bloody red fangs into her neck. The beast finished off the fawn then dragged them both off into the black of the night. Pain seared through my body as the sleep wore off; I made up my mind to leave first thing in the morning. Curling back up I closed my eyes and drifted to sleep.

In the back of my mind, I wondered what was happening at home. I crawled to the brook and washed off the last bits of blood. I looked at my reflection in the water. My face was bruised and there was an enormous gash from the middle of my temple to my eye. It hurt to do anything. My breathing was uneven and my sides hurt. I touched my side and could feel that my rib had cracked. I dragged myself into a standing position and held back a scream. On the other side of the brook, I could see the dried crimson blood of the two deer. I beat back the thought of what would have happened if that had been me. I gazed back at the hill I had came from and noticed it was more of a drop off. This was probably why the beast had not followed me. I hoped he thought I was dead but I doubted it. I realized that he had somehow gotten down the hill. I debated whether I should attempt the hill or follow the brook. Remembering the night before when the beast had cleared the brook I realized the brook might be a better option. In addition, I did not know which way the beast had come from so it was useless to attempt it. Using my good hand, I broke off a low branch on the tree and used it as a crutch. The first step brought me back to the tree. I screamed out in pain as I stumbled back to the tree. Birds quickly flew into the air and fluttered away as fast as their wings could take them. Tears pouring down my face I forced myself to step again. Blackness threatened to overcome me but I forced the pain to the back of my mind. Slowly I made my way down the brook.

Scampering after the longhaired figure, the squirrel that had watched so intently the other day chattered continuously. At one point, it hurled a nut at the figure, the nut missed and splashed into the brook. The figure glanced at the squirrel and scowled. The squirrel started bouncing along beside the figure. The figure laughed at the squirrel then groaned in pain. The squirrel wondered why the figure would not play with him. Noting the figure’s ankle, which was facing the wrong direction, he figured it must have been from the fall it had taken the night before. The squirrel continued to follow the figure until it finally fell down. It grumbled and began to weep. The squirrel figured it must have been noon.

Hearing the quiet brook gurgling in the back of my mind I slowly sat up. Tears poured down my face. I began coughing up blood. My head spun and I closed my eyes. Leaves blew around me as the light breeze lifted them from the ground. The sharp chatter from a bird disrupted the light sounds of the forest. The leaves continued their dance as I sat on the cold ground. My leg went numb and I opened my eyes. Red, yellow and orange leaves covered the ground, the trees swayed lightly in the breeze. Sunshine filled the woods and warmth slowly crept into my body. My hair floated leisurely on the quickening breeze that filled the woods. I reached in my pocket and pulled out the gum and cereal bar. Not knowing how long my journey would take I broke the cereal bar into fourths and ate a piece. I shoved the other three fourths in my pocket. I pulled myself into a standing position and once again began my journey along the brook. My family kept coming back to my mind as I hobbled along; I hated to think of what they must be imagining especially since night was drawing nearer. Wispy clouds floated leisurely in the orange and pink sky above my, allowing the days’ last rays of sunshine to burst down upon the trees and my face. My face was home to a long gash too. Crusty blood encompassed this wound and pieces of hair were extruding from either side of the dried blood. A thunderous sound filled my mind and disrupted my thoughts. Looking up the stream, I noticed a clearing in the far distance. Letting down my guard pain seared through my mind and I collapsed with a scream. Joyously I struggled to stand and continued toward the heavenly opening breathing heavily.

Ominous green eyes flashed wide as a scream filled the air. Muscles coiling the green-eyed beast set out at a quick pace to find its’ next meal. The beasts’ paws crashed repeatedly into the soft earth. Its’ breath quickened as it smelled sweet blood wafting on the air. A small squirrel chattered at the beast as it quickened its’ pace through the woods. The long slick body of the beast dogged around trees. Black shinning fur emphasized every muscle in the beasts’ legs as they pounded ruthlessly into the ground. The beast spotted movement ahead of him, his ears flattened as his lip curled, and his fangs glistened on the streaks of sun bursting on the forest floor. Letting out a mighty roar he broke out into a run.

Pain seared through my body as I turned to see where a load noise came from. Behind me, I saw the green-eyed monster coming on fast. Knowing I had no other choice, I began running despite the protests of my body. My ankle made snapping grinding noises as I ran across the cold ground of the woods. I spotted the clearance as I heard the pounding of the beast behind me and I tried to run faster. As I came to the clearing, numerous things crossed my mind, one being the breath of the beast right behind me. As my body crossed from the woods to the clearing, I noticed my miscalculations. I had presumed a field was in the clearing but as my body hurdled over the edge of a cliff, I noticed it had been a fifty-foot drop off into quite a large pond. Fiery pain seared down my cheek as the claws of the beast dug to the bone. I screamed and kicked out. The beast retracted his claws and instead opened the cage of teeth that was his mouth. The water and rocks were coming on fast when blood sprayed from my arm as the beast sunk his fangs into my right arm.

Screaming I opened my eyes. Looking around I noticed the leaves of the forest floor. I allowed my breathing to settle as the events of my nightmare revolved in my head. I looked around and noticed the spot to be the area that I had decided to take a rest from my hike through the woods. Wiping sweat off my forehead, I looked up into the tree that I was resting on. A small squirrel lay askew on the branch above me. I felt my body to make sure it was only a dream. Looking around I noticed it was getting dark. Breathing a sigh of relief, I started my journey home. The wind picked up and a dense fog began to creep in. The sky turned black as thunder began to shoot across the sky. I quickened my pace. I heard a branch snap, as I turned to see what made the sound, my breath caught as two glowing green eyes stared at me from deep within the same forest that surrounded me. A deep growl escaped the throat of the beast that saw through those menacing green eyes. My heart started to race and I began running.

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