The Snipe

Four young men went on a camping trip through the woods. It was beginning to get dark so they set up camp and began to prepare dinner. As the boys were settling down to eat, the leader of the group, Russel, told the others about their evening event.

"Boys, I brought you out here to this particular spot tonight for one reason and one reason only. There have been rumors of an animal out here called a snipe. Now, no one has seen it so no one knows what it looks like. We're here to try and find it. I'm sending the three of you out to my predestined positions to see if you can capture it. As soon as we finish eating and clean up, I will send you with a flashlight, compass and a box."

Once the boys had finished cleaning up and putting everything away, Russel gave each of the three men their supplies and a direction. Kyle went downwards back towards the entrance about 200 yards, found a tree stump sat down and began the wait.

He began to nod off when he heard a rustling in the bushes. He quickly shut off his flashlight and readied his box. As he waited, a small creature no larger than a cat emerged walking on two feet. It had skin that sagged all over its thin, bony body with a very large head and two large black eyes. It turned it's head towards Kyle and let out a small mewling noise. Kyle didn't hesitate, he jumped off his stump and slammed the box over the head of the creature who then began to utter surprised noises unlike anything Kyle had ever heard. He didn't wait to see what would happen next, he just ran as fast as he could back towards the camp.

When he finally got back, he saw that everyone was already there and relaxing around the fire. "I got one!" said Kyle breathlessly as he carefully put his box on the ground.

"What do you mean you got one?" asked Russel. "There's no such thing as a snipe. It was all a joke."

"Then what do I have in this box?" asked Kyle. He carefully opened the flaps to reveal the odd looking creature. It looked back with its large, luminous black eyes.

As they watched it, the eyes of the small creature began to change to dark red color, starting at the center and slowly moving outward. When the eyes had changed completely, it let out a long, sharp shriek that made all the young men cringe and even one cry out in pain. It ended its unearthly call and sat quietly again.

"What the hell was that?" asked one of the young men.

"I have no idea but I've got a bad feeling," said the other one.

Just then they saw another pair of red pinpricks beginning to grow like the small creature in the box, then another and another, until the whole camp was circled by glowing red eyes. The young creature began to chirp and the creatures circling began to chirp back.

"Hey, Kyle," whispered Russel.

"What?" Kyle whispered back.

"I think you found the snipe."

..........

The Rochester Post Anne Harlington

The parents of four young men were reported calling

in their missing children. The report was given one day

after the teens were supposed to arrive home. The area

has been searched extensively and nothing has been

found. As of yet, the authorities have no idea where the

young men have gone. One of the searching officers told

us, "It's real strange out here. All the [camping] gear is

out here but there is not even one track that we can

trace, not even the dogs have been able to find anything.

Something strange went on here, and we will do our best to

find those young men."