Untold - The Wolf In The Woods

Chapter 1

Ben and Sarah pulled up alongside the entrance to the woods and got out of the car. 

"So, this is the infamous Greywoods?" Sarah asked,  she squinted her eyes and looked up at the massive trees that covered the sky. 

"Yep, this is Greywoods," Bill replied.

"I'm telling you this is the one." Ben had a tent packed up and was grabbing some camera equipment from the back of the car.

"Honestly, this whole Rake thing just seems like some urban legend Ben. We've been to over ten hotspots and nothing." Sarah sighed whilst grabbing a cooler box from the front of the car. 

"Trust me, this is the one" 

The two ventured into the woods, following a path that seemed to be fading away. It was getting dark and the woods were extremely dense, the only light was from the moon that was creeping between the enormous, twisted trees. Ben was rather stocky and wore big circular glasses, sort of like Harry Potter, he was fascinated by urban legends and myths; Bigfoot, Mothman,The Loch Ness Monster . He was positive they were out there and he wanted to be the one to find them.

Sarah found Ben online whilst she was looking at alien conspiracies, she messaged him and things progressed from there. She tended to be the more level-headed one and whilst she mainly listened to Ben, she wasn't afraid to challenge him. She'd been with Ben on his adventures for around three months, they were looking to expand the group but people weren't really fond of venturing into creepy places at night to look for creatures that may or may not exist.  

"How big is this place then?" Sarah asked. 

"Roughly a hundred acres, we wanna follow the path until it ends. That's when we'll reach the dark zone"

Ben was carrying a little notebook with all of his notes written down for this expedition. 

"Dark zone?" Sarah replied.

Ben never shared all the details about any of their expeditions just because he knew there would be certain things she wouldn't agree with. 

"Yeah, the restricted area. People call it the dark zone because its the only part of the woods not monitored. That's where we'll find it"

Sarah stopped walking.

"Whoa, restricted area? Ben, we can't set up camp in a restricted area"

Ben continued down the path.

"No one monitors the woods, no one is even going to know we're in here." 

"Ben you said we had full permission to be in here," Sarah ran up to Ben and turned him around. "Ben?" 

Ben looked Sarah dead in the eyes. "Look Sarah, the reason this place is restricted is because they know there's something in there. They don't let anyone in these woods because what we are looking for, is in there" 

Sarah had a worried look in her eyes. "Ben..."

"This is the one Sarah, this is going to be the one that proves fruitful. You don't have to come with me but believe me when I say that once we find this thing, we will both get the recognition we deserve. You'd have discovered a new lifeform, you'll be famous! I'm going in there regardless, you're free to do what you want". 

Sarah had never seen Ben so passionate and serious. She decided to trust him and go through with this, subconsciously she knew what she had signed up for even if she didn't want to admit it. She gave him a nod and they both continued walking down the path. 

They had been walking for just over half an hour and had finally reached the end of the path and a fenced off area. It was now pitch black, Ben checked his watch which read 21:12 and pulled out his flashlight. A fog had started to seep into the woods however it wasn't a major concern.

"Bolt cutters" Ben stated.

"What?" Sarah replied.

"There's bolt cutters in my rucksack, if you could just get them out. Please" Ben gave an apologetic smile and waited for Sarah to grab the cutters.

"Here" she passed them over and Ben began cutting his way through the fence.

The two crawled through the hole that had been made, lugging through the gear they had brought along.

"Should've left the cooler box, just a hassle really Ben" Sarah said as she dragged it through the hole.

"Ah it's fine, we can settle down soon anyway" Ben replied.

"Why don't we just set up camp now Ben? We'll go further in the morning"

"No no, we'll walk a little bit further and set up camp. If we're lucky we can get our evidence tonight and leave in the morning!"

Sarah sighed. She didn't want to be here. She really didn't want to be here. She followed Ben as he marched ahead, not really seeming to care where he was going. There was no path now after all, no form of guidance.

They were truly on their own.

The two had walked for around twenty minutes, that's according to Ben's watch. Their flashlights lit up the woods as well as the moonlight.

The Rake. A horrific monster that eats people and doesn't discriminate. Man, woman, dog, cat and even babies. It's fine to have an interest in these sort of things but venturing into the woods at night to look for one? No one in their right mind does that. Even if it meant fame and fortune right? This was all running through Sarah's mind. Why had she actually agreed to this? Because she'd be rich? No. Because it would be a discovery of a lifetime? No. Or because she'd get some attention? Maybe. Maybe she just wanted to be noticed and recognised on the streets.

But you can attention elsewhere, no need to put yourself in situations like this. Sarah was confused, angry and tired, at this point she just wanted to sleep.

Ben on the other hand. He just wanted to keep going. He was set on finding this creature and having his name featured in the history books. He was blinded by fame.

A bush rustled and the two immediately turned their heads. They stood still and zoned in on the large rustling bush. Sarah took one step back and Ben out his hand out, signalling her not to move.

SNAP.

A fox rushed Ben, snapping a branch in the process. Sarah let out a loud gasp and placed her hand on her heart.

"Fuck!" She shrieked.

"Relax it's just a fox" Ben chuckled and continued walking.

Sarah did not follow. She stood in her tracks and called Ben back.

"Ben I'm not walking any further, we set up camp here". She dropped the cooler box onto the floor and waited for Ben to stop.

He stopped. Not because of Sarah however. It was because of what was standing in front of him.