Fantasy Forest 3: Ressurection

19. Predator

I stood in front of the forest gates with Earnest by my side. He paced and tugged at the sleeve of his shirt as he stared up at the foreboding trees and shadowed darkness.

"I thought you said you wouldn't come back here." He said.

"Im worried about Vince." I stated.

"And you think he's in there?"

"Maybe. Theres no harm in checking."

"I actually think there's a lot of harm." Earnest said and I sighed and quickly climbed the fence, hopping down onto the cool dirt earth below before turning back to him.

"Are you coming?" I asked him and he flinched.

"Are you sure there is nothing bad in there?" He asked me, a slight but very evident shiver in his voice.

"Ive been twice and nothing terrible has yet to happen."

"'Yet' being the key word here." He said as he nervously began to climb. When his feet touched the ground I could seem him quiver slightly as he looked up at the tall trees and then down at the brown dirt floor, almost as if he was seeing them for the very first time.

"We won't go far." I told him. "Just wander around the outskirts and see if we see anyone."

"And lets say we do run into some giant terrible monster, what do we do then?"

"We won't."

"But what if we do?!"

"Then we would probably run away. Look Im really not that worried about this so can we go." I said and Earnest slowly nodded as I led him around the edge of the fence and started heading a little deeper and as we walked I could see him calm himself as he quickly became marveled by the sounds of birds and the rustling in the trees. Every once in awhile I twig would snap and he would jump slightly but it would only be a squirrel or something.

"Its different than I thought it would be." Earnest stated as he looked up at the sunlight filtering through the leaves.

"Every time I come in its a little different." I said honestly as I took a few steps forward before catching sight of something out of place near the bushes. "Is that a cellphone?" I asked as I walked up to it and picked it up. It was a cellphone, a silver one with a slightly cracked screen. I tried pressing some buttons to see if it would turn on but it appeared to be dead.

"I wonder who that belongs to." Earnest said.

"Unfortunately with it being dead its nearly impossible to tell how long its been here. It could be a few days or it could be weeks."

"Is that blood on the back?"

I turned it over and sure enough there was a small smear of blood on the back. I touched it and it was dry.

"I-I think I want to leave." Earnest stuttered as he looked back the way we came.

"What are you thinking? Are you thinking someone got attacked or something?"

"That exactly what Im thinking so lets go!"

"Calm down!"

Earnest flinched and cast his eyes down as a small stillness fell over the forest. In the corner of my eye I thought I saw something move and out of nowhere the birds stopped chirping and everything became quiet.

"Maybe we should leave." I muttered as I grabbed Earnests arm and dragged him back the way we came. He quickly followed but we both stopped short as we noticed something peculiar. Coming in we had followed a single thin path that had gone straight without curving or bending but looking back the path now tried off into two winding paths, one going right and one going left.

"Which way did we come from?" Earnest asked and I paused as I tried to remember but my brain couldn't grasp the sudden change in atmosphere.

"Lets go this way." I said as I pulled him to the right. We walked for awhile until we suddenly came across a clearing with a lake that I definitely did not remember being there before. The lake water was dark and surrounded by rocks and tall grass.

"This isn't the right way!" Earnest cried as he looked around at the unfamiliar area. "Lets go back!" He cried but then he suddenly stopped as he gripped my arm tightly. "I just heard something." He whispered.

"What did you hear?" I asked.

"I don't know. It came from back on the trail and it sounded big." I paused to listen too and sure enough I heard something large moving across the bushes followed by a long and deafening growl.

"We should hide." I whispered to Earnest.

"Where?!" Earnest asked and I looked around franticly.

"In the water."

"That doesn't look very safe."

"Do you have a better idea?" I asked as I pushed him towards the lake. He waded in until the water reached above his waist and hid among the tall grass. I followed him hoping that the water would hide our smell from whatever was following us. I ducked down next to him as the water soaked through my pants and shirt. Earnest gripped my arm and I motioned for him to be silent. Quietly we waited and I did indeed hear something come out of the trees and approach the lake. It was large and definitely not human as each step seemed to almost vibrate the water. We waited for what felt like an eternity until eventually I heard what ever was there move along. I heard bushes rusty and footsteps get farther and farther away until all was silent. The bird chirping returned and the wind picked up again as the tall grass rustled slightly. 

"I think we can get out now." I said as I moved out of the tall grass but Earnest didn't follow.

"My foot is caught on something." He said. "Feels like a rope or a chain."

"Okay hold still and Ill try to remove it." I told him as I came back over. I held my breathe and dunked my head under the water as I moved down Earnest leg until I felt his foot. I couldn't see anything in the muggy water but sure enough there was some sort of net he was caught on. I took my house keys out of my pocket and used the sharp end to cut the net a bit until I was able to free him before lifting my head to the surface. 

"I think I did it." He said and for a second he looked relieved until slowly his face paled as I heard something float to the surface above me. Slowly I turned around to see a human body floating in the water near inches from where I had been. Its skin was pale and its body was bloated and its face and torso was wrapped in a net but I could still make out his features. Earnest began to scream and I clamped a hand over his mouth as I dragged the two of us out of the water. We had just found Vince.