Entrapment.

>> ☼ ☒ Chapter One.

Warning: Gore

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Gentle leaves swayed quietly on their sturdy branches, dancing with the sounds of wildlife below them. Birds, elks, bears... all breathing, all at peace.

This reassured the tired officer that everything was going to be okay.

It was not uncommon for (Y/N) to have to help others in need in Down-Pine National Park. Campers got lost, rock climbers forgetting vital equipment... it was common. What was not common was the frantic plea for help from a fellow ranger with loud screeching followed by static protruding from the ranger office's comically large radio. The officer kept screaming that they were on 'West Copper Trail, We-st Copper Trail! At the top-! Hu_Ry!" which gave the young adult the information needed to help. They grabbed what they had thought would be essential for the hike (and possible first aid, even a flare gun if it was that bad), told the other officer who was in the office for coffee where they were going, and headed out. Simple, but still enough to make them tense.

"Come on (Y/N), 'sjust another day on your job... Get it together."

They mumbled quietly in their honey voice, eyes flicking up to the foggy sky. It was a shame that it was a cloudy day- she would have appreciated some sunlight on their route. Looking back to the varying trails ahead of them, the careful youth went up a familiar large hill to West Copper Trail. It had a breathtaking view of most of the beautiful place they worked at, and was somewhere they liked to go on their free time. A nice cup of tea/coffee, sitting underneath a nice tall tree... man, those moments hit the spot. Fresh soil obeyed their boots and compressed as they neared the top of the trail, with the fog deepening every step of the way. Did the sky get darker as well? Their visibility was quickly declining...

Foreign sounds invaded (Y/N)'s ears. An inhuman screech demanded the attention of those around it, with loud human screams following after it. Sounds of some sort of struggle was clear. Sounds of pain, sounds of breaking bone-

This was a new, and alarming.

The inhuman noise was unlike any animal they had ever heard of before. Not a wolf, not a bear, not even an elk- it was quite difficult to listen to, due to the sheer intensity of it. Their hand went down to grip their holstered gun, deciding that they needed to act immediately. Whatever that was... it was not normal. The noises only grew louder as they ran to the top, a new pungent smell coating the once serene hawk's eye view. This was not the spot they knew and loved. Fog hid a great portion of the horror in front of them, but not enough for them to keep their gun down.

There was a dark red entanglement of a bush and an unfortunate hiker. Large branches were mashed into the body indiscriminately, popping out bones and meat where it felt fit to reside in. Was that poor person's death painful? Did they die, and then this happen? Nausea and outrage filled the Ranger's core, a firm grip tightening around the biggest source of protection they had. (Y/N)'s eyes snapped away from this grotesque scene at the sound of more struggling. They had a feeling that it would explain where their colleague was...

SMASH.

SMASH.

...Oh no.

The brave person rushed forward, preparing themselves to see the unexplainable. The horrific monster that would do such a thing to someone. However, what (Y/N) saw could not be described with their knowledge of wildlife. Was it even an animal? A large, unforgiving mouth hung open on the tree-like monstrosity. Black appendages mixed with ill branches, glowing orange leaves mocking the witness of this abomination. It was as if it was the manifestation of nonsense and fear. The thing outside your window that you feared as a child. In its many bloodied thin limbs was the brutalized body of their older colleague, being thrown to the ground again and again for no apparent reason. Amusement? The strained eyes on the creature's head stared at its now deceased prey, noticing the lack of screaming anymore.