Shadow In The Woods

I used to love the woods. I loved staying in the woods, sleeping in the woods, hiking in the woods; you name it. The woods were where I would go when I wanted to get away from everything; my little fortress of solitude if you wanted to call it that. It was quiet there, and I enjoyed the quiet of the woods. The leaves and the trees in the wind, the birds and other animals making their different sounds. I loved the woods until IT happened. IT is the very thing that drove me from my fortress, my escape. IT is the reason I'm huddled in my room alone with all my doors and windows locked tight.

This whole thing started about 4 months ago in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan; out by Au Train. My family owned a cabin that was bought by my grandfather back almost 13 years ago. He used to take me there all the time, just to be together and spend time in the woods. The cabin was out in the middle of the Hiawatha forest, about 45 minutes from Munising Michigan. It was a nice log cabin, not a giant mansion that rich and famous people call a cabin because it's made of "wood", but it's not a tiny shack you find in a horror movie. It was a good size family cabin that the family could go and spend time at for a while for some time outdoors and completely cut off from the world. Besides the running water and electricity, there was no internet and no WiFi.

The drive was long from where I live, but it is well worth it. I remember that I got there in the winter, and like any winter in the UP, there were several feet of snow everywhere. The lake was frozen with several feet of ice. The winters were not meant for everyone as they were bitterly cold, often reaching below 0 degrees several times. The day I went up was no different from any other winter day, except it was -12 degrees outside, but it was okay. I got to the cabin late at night, so I was tired, but it wasn't dark, as the moon was as bright as the sun on the hottest summer day. The moonlight burst through the clusters of trees and lit up the white snow, giving it a heavenly glow. As I came to a stop and got out of my truck, my legs creaking like the boards of an old house, I thought I heard something over in the thick woods, something like a stick snapping. While it startled me I was not worried, as wildlife was normal here. I proceeded to unpack the truck and go to the door of the family cabin.

When the cabin sits in the dark with all lights off, you can't help but feel uneasy, as if someone is lying in wait for you to open the door, so they can enact some dark twisted plans against the first person they see. I could feel this forming a deep black pit in my stomach as I unlocked the door, but found nobody as I inched the door open. Letting out a small sigh of relief I walked inside to get settled in, and open up the cabin. While I was getting the cabin going again I continued to feel the black pit in my stomach, as though I felt someone was still there; watching; waiting for the right time to emerge from the shadows. No matter where I went in that cabin I still felt that pit, slowly eating away at me like some kind of parasite. I decided to just ignore it and finish opening up the cabin so I could sleep. It took me about another hour to get everything done, so it was about midnight before I went to sleep. While trying to sleep the pit only seemed to get worse, as if it was getting deeper. I felt as though I wasn't the only thing here, and that whatever it was that was out there in the pitch black of my solitude; was watching me.

Once I fell asleep I began to have a strange dream with Native Americans and smoke. It was very confusing to me, but as I continued to dream I realized I was sitting at a fire and a strange man wearing what seemed to be the pelt of a deer; antlers and all. He just sat there and looked at me for what felt like an eternity before he said a word, and when he did speak, he spoke in a language that I didn't know. " Yee naagloshii woshdee" is all he told me before I seemed to be ripped from my dream back into the real world.

When I woke up I checked what time it was, and my phone said it was 1:34 am. I was only asleep for an hour and a half, but the dream felt like it lasted for several lifetimes. The feeling of being watched felt worse now. It felt as though someone or something was standing right outside the window house, I thought I heard something over in the thick woods, something like a stick snapping. While it startled me I was not worried, as wildlife was normal here. I proceeded to unpack the truck and go to the door of the family cabin.