The Hunger

The Woods

As we followed the path deeper into the woods, trees closed in around us until they, together with the heavy darkness of the night, were like walls and the barely leaf-covered branches above hung low like a ceiling. The night seemed to have become even darker than it had been before. Streetlights, that were placed at regular intervals, illuminated only a small portion of the path at a time leaving everything around it pitch black and made it so that we had to walk through darkness every few steps. It kept my eyes from adjusting. I was starting to get a bit anxious and dragged James along at a faster pace than he would have liked. I could hear complaints about going slower but ignored it and forged ahead. After a while, I became aware of how quiet it was. The only sounds I could hear were our ragged breaths, and the sound our feet made as they clapped against the pavement and seemingly echoed against the trees around us. The wind, although soft, had grown noticably quitier as it was blocked off by the foliage around us. I was starting to doubt we'd ever find whoever it had been that had released such a frightened cry. My body started aching as it realized how cold and how tired it was. I shivered.

"You think we shou-?" My question was cut off by another scream, the same scream but shorter, more urgent. Or so it seemed. My heart pounded against my chest like a drum. It was nearer now and it came from our right. Off the path and further into the dark woods. The courage that had taken hold of me earlier was washed away by dread. My toes seemed frozen in my shoes and my fingers like icicles. Only the presence of James stopped me from turning around and running away like my body wanted me to do. Standing here, hearing the scream so closely somehow made it more real. More frightening. I looked at James seeing the same emotions of fear reflect in his eyes. But we had to keep moving. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I ran away from what could potentially be someone needing help. I took out my phone and put on the flashlight before beginning to walk again.

I entered the trees, pointing my flashlight towards the ground so as not to stumble on some unseen thing. I could hear James following close behind me. When I had taken a few steps further in I heard a a rustle of leaves. I pointed my flashlight towards the noise and; there, illuminated by my flashlight, crouched a girl in nothing but shorts and a shirt. She sat there with her back to us, cradling something hairy in her arms.

I was about to say something but at that moment she suddenly turned her head, as if for the first time noticing the bright illumination around her. What I had been about to say got caught in my throat as I took in the scene before me. Blood dripped from her wide mouth, eyes completely black. They stood out from her face like shiny stones. Black tendrils seemed to spread from her them. It made her skin look as if it had begun to crack open. She stood up in a burst of speed. Her movements were elegant but wild. As if she resented some motions and wanted to get them over with as fast as possible. Some, she took her time with. Like the motion she did with her bloodcovered hand, moving it to her mouth to take a small lick that narrowed her eyes in satisfaction. As she stood up, she revealed what she had been crouching over. A body lay still behind her.

She smiled, but not in delight. She parted her blood red lips until they formed a wide and menacing grin. Her corner teeth were long and pointy, like the canines of a wolf. Then, before I could react she sprinted at me, opening her wide and monstrous mouth as she leaped at me... After that, there was only agony. All that existed was the throbbing pain that grew worse with each heartbeat. I could only hear James, who seemed to be a mile away, screaming.

When I woke up the next morning, I was in a hospital.