Otherwordly

Uncovered Tracks

Tranquility.
The green leaves rustled their familiar song on the blindingly bright afternoon.
The sun was not present, but it's mighty shine was not blocked by the clouds. Those white, plush sky bunnies seemed to encase the sky with a bright glow.

"If only my teeth could get that white," I chided with amusement.

Being a regular hiker, I could not resist exploring today. I steered off from the paved dirt path millions of hikers have walked on before, and, instead, disappeared behind the lush, tall bushes encasing the area.
I took a deep breath with almost each step. Mist was starting to float in, mixing with the greenery and creating a delightful smell and irresistibly calm atmosphere. But soon, it was dark. This, of course, was not a troubling matter since camping was the original plan all along. Camp was already set near a babbling brook and the fire crackled with a satisfying pop.
I crawled into my tent only to be stopped midway when I heard a loud scream. I could not help it, my heart suddenly escalated into an erratic beat.
Despite all those scary movies, never have I ever once heard a scream in the woods.
I quietly crawled back outside and observed my surroundings, my mind already playing scenarios of a masked creep peeking out from the bushes. But no. No such thing came to greet me. Though, that scream still unsettled me greatly.
Maybe it was my imagination playing tricks on me.
    Thought too soon, a bright, pulsing light encased the area, ignoring the darkness of the sky. I cried out as a strong wind bursted out and hurled my body back into a tree, knocking the air out of me. Tears startled to prickle at my eyes, threatening to fall out. At that moment, I was in a daze, encased in pain.

"Help."

    My mutter of help faded into the still eery bright sky. It was as if someone created the brightest stadium light ever and multiplied that creation by another seventy lamps. There was, clearly, a light source.
It's like those movies, with alien saucers.
A dry chuckle escaped me despite the pain chewing on my back.

"Yeah, right, Y/N."

    Suddenly, all that light, the one that seemed too eager to burn my delicate corneas, disappeared. Where to? Don't know. Of course, my mind could have imagined an insanely realistic hallucination, but my instincts screamed otherwise.
Run, Y/N!
Hurriedly, ignoring my aching back, I grabbed the items that I needed and hurled them into my backpack. I kept trying to look past the trees where the strong light source, as well as the chilling scream, came from.
Nothing is there.
However, all the sudden, a bright light, but smaller, started to lurk around. The earth the beam met was hidden by the vast amount of trees, and I could only see so much with the thick, lushious, secretive leaves. It was accompanied by a low hum. Whatever I was witnessing, whatever I was seeing...
Hold on...
It was coming my way! With a terrifying confidence, the light seemed to be coming closer and closer to me, showering the further trees in light.
They are looking for me! How did they know I was here?
Feeling like I was losing my mind, I started bolting, my eyes momentarily glancing at the fire that warmed my bones so peacefully only moments ago.
The fire...it gave me away.

"Fuck!"

    The low hanging tree branches whipped past my jacket and across my soft skin, drawing out blood. No matter. The adrenaline rushing through my veins made me oblivious to my injuries. Looking back, like a foolish creature, I saw the light become stationary. It seemed to be peering down near the campsite. The fire I left behind, glowing a bloody red. Of course, as I was running from the unknown, a tree root grabbed the tip of my shoe and hurled my entire body forward. Face first, I ate dirt.
    But the need to survive, the instinct that drove my ancestors at every moment, shook me from my stupor. I stood up, facing the extremely dark path before me. The light from whatever was behind me, was on a low brightness and did not aid me into seeing the path any further. Quickly, I grabbed my backpack, and shuffled through it for the flashlight I was sure I threw in my panic.

"Come on, come on, come on. Please, please..."

    My pleas were unheard for the moment, until I grabbed my phone and quickly remembered the flashlight setting.
Not so bright as my flashlight, but this will do.
    And then I ran the long path again. I ignored every urge to turn back to see if the light was just behind me. Eventually, thankfully, I reached my car parked in the empty parking lot. I looked beyond me, while on the elevated space, and into the forest. My mouth dropped open.
    The fire, the smoke of the fire that gave me away, it was gone. Put out for one reason or another, but not me since I ran for my survival. No warm light peered through the trees either. Above, where I assumed I once was, I saw a saucer. It looked exactly like those saucers I saw in movies and tv shows. But this was not a feature film, this was real-life.

"No..."
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YEAH don't leave ur fire unattended and always put it out when ur not keeping a close watch on it.
This is the beginning of my story. It is a short chapter because it is the prologue. The first chapter will be longer and will have more dialogue.