I swear, I don’t know if I’ve ever been as terrified for my life as I was a couple minutes ago. I’m not a big believer in supernatural stuff, and it’s not like I’m against it or anything, just kinda skeptical. I haven’t really been afraid of the dark since middle school, and I’d honestly say I’m more of a risk taker and thrill seeker than not. Last Halloween, I explored an abandoned hospital and my only fear was getting caught and expelled.
I’m saying all of this -and you don’t have to believe me- because I want it to be understood that I’m not jumpy, and I’m not really freaked out usually by situations like tonight. That said, I now believe I should rethink some of my doubts. It had been a really long road trip, we were visiting my dad’s side of the family before thanksgiving and we got back around 6:15-20 pm. It was already night, and since I live in a rural area I could see the stars. My dog, Milo, came to the car door and practically jumped on me. He’s a medium-sized dog, but only a year or two old, so he can be a bit overexcited for his size. As we unpacked the car he and I played a bit, I’d turn to him and he’d spin around, I’d take a low stance suddenly and he’d run around like a crazy dog, all very basic stuff for us.
After we got everything from the car into the house, I decided to take my walking stick and go on a walk with Milo. I’ve always been outdoorsy, and for a while I’ve been making an effort to go on a walk with him a couple times a week, now seemed like a good time since I hadn’t done any walking all day. When I left the house Milo was immediately excited to see me. I think by now he recognizes the walking stick as an indication of a walk.
I have two trails I take on the surrounding property, which is split in two by a road through the middle. The first trail is across that road and about and hour and a half of walking, the second is just a short loop through the woods and back to my house. While I prefer the length of the first, I couldn’t remember if hunters would be in the area at the time, so I just took the first trail tonight. I hadn’t done a walk on the property at night before. I had walked alone in the woods at night before, back when I worked at a summer camp and left something behind after an event, I did a quick walk from my cabin to get it back. Then, it hadn’t been scary, even though I’d heard stories about how the campsite was haunted, and how the area was infested with shapeshifting monsters that my coworkers wouldn’t let me say the name of. I had simply, calmly, gone to get what I’d left back.
Tonight, like at camp, I did used my phone’s flashlight. It wasn’t because I was scared or anything, really just because of a few run-ins with snakes along the path made me want the extra light, even if I had the way memorized. As we began walking the path, Milo instantly diverged, dashing off-course into an area with incredibly dense foliage. I kept walking without following him. He tends to run off during our walks, but always comes back, I think he’s just expelling excess energy. Besides, it would be hard for a human to follow him without getting thorns or stepping in an ant bed.
I continued the walk, finishing the uphill part of the journey and passing by the cabin. The cabin was this small building my grandpa had built before I was born, it was in the really big plain area with a couple of trees around it. The plains behind it were bordered with woods again, and a small break in them indicated where I would walk next. This is where it got a bit freaky for me.
As I walked up to the entrance of the path, I looked to where my journey starts a downhill walk, and the reach of my phone’s flashlight suddenly felt so limited. Looking ahead, all I could see was the darkness. I wished Milo hadn’t run off a minute ago. Still, I shrugged off my nerves and kept walking. It wasn’t long before Milo rejoined me, but for some reason my fears had grown much more. I looked at my dog for solace, but something seemed wrong. He had come from the wooded area walking, not running like he usually did. He wasn’t panting, or doing his little dog smile. He was just kinda walking. He didn’t react at all when I petted him, but seemed to just trudge along the path without me. It felt like an invitation, like he wanted me to follow him. Though, I guess he would want me to walk with him, wouldn’t he? I called out his name, but he didn’t turn, didn’t seem to react at all. He is young, I thought, I probably haven’t trained him well enough to recognize his name. For a moment I see his eyes reflect in the flashlight of my phone, but they disappear.
My mind was racing, but I feel frozen in place, one side of me feeling terrified and the other side feeling like the first was being irrational. I keep staring as he keeps walking. Just before he would be out of view, out of the reach of the flashlight, I see something strange. A spot of his back has shifted. Did his shoulders always look like that? Where did his spot there go? His back looked like it was rising, something was wrong. If I was imagining something, I did not want to find out. I decided to back up, still facing what might have been my dog, but in only a few steps he was out of the light, I couldn’t see him. Except, was that the glint of his eyes? Again, there they were, and then they were gone again. Another flash of them, but this time they seemed a bit higher up. They couldn’t have been, could they? Another glint, higher still. I felt by breath trap in my chest. Luckily, I felt the ground get flatter as I backed up. I was in the plains area again.
My phone vibrated in my hand, and my eyes dashed to its screen from instinct more than anything. I was getting a video call from a friend. Maybe talking to them would make me feel safer. I clicked the green little icon to pick up, not realizing video calls turn off your flashlight. I was shrouded in darkness, and I could feel my heart beating, my face buzzing. The call was still loading but I turned and ran.
My panicked brain automatically filled in the steps I’d need to take to get back home. In the light of the moon, I spotted Milo running alongside me. He wasn’t behind me, or in front of me, it was like he was just at determined to get home as me. I could only breathe once I felt the warmth of the light outside my house. Milo ran in the door as I opened it to my family, who were calmly watching a Christmas movie.
I write this now locked in my room, terrified. I don’t know if the milo in the living room is the one I know, and I don’t know if they’d believe any accusations. In the over an hour it’s taken me to write this, I haven’t heard any screams, so that’s something. Once I finish writing this I’m going to go back into the room, I need to be sure.