Some time ago I had decided to go on a little personal vacation out into the woods of Northern Arizona I was experiencing a sort malaise that was really messing with my creative flow and I needed a chance to really knuckle down and just enjoy the natural world again I had spent six days out in the wilderness just enjoying the feeling of being in nature but the night of day seven was one I will never forget noise something was waking me up groggily.
I rolled over and looked at my phone it was ringing I looked to the top of it and blinked no signal that made sense I had come out here for the isolation a chance to clear my head and make some music again so why was my phone ringing how was my phone ringing I stared at the number as my phone rang incessantly an unknown caller.
I heaved a tired sigh swiped to answer and croaked blurry hello you need to be ready it knows you’re there and it’s already here it has come for you came the voice on the other line who is this who am I speaking to I asked the exhaustion beginning to leave my voice be ready it will be there soon don’t open the door the line went dead my phone blinked and the words signal lost flashed on the screen don’t don’t open I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and wearily watched my phone waiting to see if it would ring again.
I must be losing it, I murmured , placing my phone back on the nightstand and rolling back over to go to sleep. That’s when the house thundered, booming knock shook the glass of the windows and rattled the glassware.
Jesus I spun to the door of my room and my mouth dropped my door was closed but it was shaking like something was trying to get in boom boom boom three knocks in short succession thundered against my bedroom door
I didn’t remember locking it the only door I locked was the front it was the only one I figured I needed to out here the angered knocking came again three strong blows and the rattling began a new it shook the door and as I watched I saw the frame begin to crack my phone rang and the rattling stopped sparing a glance I snatched it off the nightstand and looked at the number unknown caller again sh fily I swiped to answer the call and brought the phone to my ear saying nothing it knows you’re in there it isn’t going to be polite for long get under the bed hide then the line went dead again signal lost.
I looked at the cracking door frame and wasted no time taking this mysterious caller’s advice quickly I crawled under the bed and watched it was only minutes I knew it was only minutes but it felt like hours I stared at the door Terror wrapping its cold arms around my gut my breathing became ragged as my eyes remained glued to the door it wasn’t moving there was no knocking had the CER been wrong this time was it done had it just given up what was it questions raced through my skull each firing out of the cannon of doubt before the next one could be rationalized could any of this be rationalized though something had called me up and warned me of something else in my house now that something else was just outside inside my door.
I couldn’t explain it but I had this feeling like whatever it was that was out there was waiting for me to make a move like we were in some kind of terrible chess game so I watched I waited beneath that bed for agonizing minutes.
The Sounds began shortly after that soft scratching noises almost inaudible from my position the one my signal savior alleged would keep me safe I never let my gaze Drift from the door and I’m glad I kept it there because watching what happened next defied Logic the door itself began to bulge inward I could hear the wood splintering as the center continued to Bubble toward me then it exploded debris and lethal wooden scrap fired throughout the bedroom I wasn’t spared when this happened my Hiding Place provided shelter from the brunt of the door’s destruction but I was peppered with fragments of splintered wood that dug themselves into my skin I wanted to cry out in pain but the sight of what was beyond caught the scream in my my throat there standing in the doorway.
I saw a pair of feet massive legs that must have been at least 3T across themselves but that wasn’t the strangest thing the skin was no tone I had ever seen on a human it was this Mossy green and brown and the texture was so wooden like a pair of Tree Trunks slowly the thing in my doorway ambled its way into my room I could hear its heavy ragged breaths like some sort of hunting Beast it was at the foot of my bed the scent of moss and pine clung heavily to it but there was another scent I caught as it just stood there rot death the pungent odor of decaying meat clung to the creature’s wooden legs.
I had to cover my nose and mouth to keep from wretching as it circled the bed was it going to throw it up and pull me out from underneath was this monster just waiting for the perfect chance to tear me to shreds what the was it the feet turned and suddenly my blood felt like ice my whole body shivered as the temperature in the room suddenly plummeted I could see my breath as this thing let out an ear shattering roar I can’t place the sound but it reminded me of a mixture between a jet engine’s Roar and a grizzly bear’s growl.
I watched from my Hiding Place as the nightstand was lifted and launched across the room I could only hear the thing shatter as the creature tore the place apart my eyes were discs in my head my hands were clamped over my mouth to hide hide any sounds of breathing or whimpering but just as it spun to face the bed it stopped instead whatever it was turned and shambled out of my room what the what the they were the only words I could choke out as the creature disappeared from my sight then the phone rang again terrified.
I seized it trying to silence the ringer I swiped to answer the caller and immediately began to whisper into the phone what the was that who are you how the did you know it was coming there’s no time for any of that it knows where you are you need to run jump out the window and keep running until you lose sight of this place keep going until you reach the highway don’t come back until morning are you kidding me that thing is huge I can’t outrun it you have to it’s the only way you win this then the call cut out signal lost.
I steadied my breathing and psyched myself up shooting out from under the bed as I heard heard that Dreadful Roar again it was coming back I didn’t have time to think no time to find shoes I bolted toward the now shattered window in Dove slicing my arms and legs against the shards of glass adrenaline coursed through my veins urging me to ignore everything else I ran bolted through the forest as fast as my legs would carry me twigs and rocks tore into my feet but I kept going even as my chest began to tighten and my lungs began to feel like there was a fire being set beneath them I ran I couldn’t hear the monster behind me anymore maybe it stayed at my cabin maybe it kept looking elsewhere every ounce of me just hoped.
I had gotten lucky but the voice on the phone told me to keep running until I hit the highway so I did I ran through miles of backcountry Woods never stopping pushing myself far beyond anything I thought I was capable of just to get away from whatever the hell that thing was I could see Darkness starting to push its way into my vision my legs were beginning to feel like they were made of stone my body achd and every muscle screamed for me to stop but I kept pushing when I burst through the tree line onto the road I stopped almost instantly I began sobbing and I dropped to my knees I gazed up at the Moon as my phone began to ring again I pulled it out of my pocket and looked at the number before I could do anything else Darkness overtook me.
I woke the following day in a hospital bed apparently someone had discovered my unconscious and bloodied body on the side of the road the sheriff’s had a million questions none of which I had a good answer for they thought my story sounded like something I had made up but when they went to the cabin many of them were singing a different tune it looks like you got lucky and escaped one of the biggest bears I’ve ever seen one of them said didn’t find it but the claw marks in the wood made it look like a damn dinosaur Grizzlies are huge son but not even they leave marks like that when I asked about the phone calls they just shook their heads there’s no cell service that far out you might have imagined that part in everything it took me over a week to recover from my injuries.
I was told I had lacerated a tendon in my right arm and that it had never quite functioned the way it had before that was the arm I used to play guitar and to this day there are still certain notes my fingers just can’t quite nail anymore the day of my discharge I was given the things that they had found me with and given an escort back to the cabin the debris was mostly cleaned up by the time.
I arrived to collect my things but the damage to the building itself was visible and the cops were right whatever the hell it was that came after me that night must have been massive to leave the marks it did so deep in the wood I checked my phone as I crossed the threshold of the house to gather my things inside no signal well thanks whoever you were I muttered Gathering what stuff was left after the attack to this day I don’t know who called me or what it was that was in that cabin but frankly I don’t think I want to know
