It was mid summer a while back when this happened. In the year before my dad had left to get milk from the store and well.. We all know how that goes. So it was just my mom and I. She worked two jobs, waitress at a cafe during the day, dancer in a nigh club in the evenings. This meant I spent most of my time unsupervised. That’s not to say my childhood was necessarily bad or anything, I don’t consider it to be anything particularly unusual, especially given the times. It’s just that I was able to get away with more than most kids my age would have been. Pretty much the only rule was that I’m home before the street lights come on.
I used to like to think I was tough, riding my bicycle around the town like I owned the place with my two best friends Kane and Henry. We liked to explore areas where not too many people dared go. Mostly that meant the odd abandoned houses or constructions sites after the workers had gone home. In the summer it was hot and dusty, heat shimmered off the asphalt and most people with any good sense stayed inside. This made the town seem devoid of life save for the occasional lizard darting between patches of shade, though that’s not saying much, the town wasn’t big. It only had a population of around 6000. There wasn’t anywhere we didn’t know, no street we hadn’t terrorised.
However, we always wondered where the railway tracks out of town lead. The towns train station has been abandoned for some time, we explored it once. There’s wasn’t much to it, desolate train carts sat in a state of disrepair for the better part of a decade. It had been winter then and fresh vegetation overgrew everything, you could barely make out the tracks. Graffiti and deep scrape marks ran down the length of the few train carriages that had been left, we found what we assumed to be a homeless person’s camp and left pretty quickly after that. We definitely didn’t want to meet any one let alone potentially get into trouble. The whole train station was marked with ‘Private Property Keep Out’ signs that we had ignored.
Because of this we had neglected to ever follow the tracks, but one day out of boredom or stupidity we decide to give it a shot. We thought we were well prepared for the day, having packed a lunch and water expecting git to take the entire day. We rode our bicycles down to the train-station in broad daylight. The site was surrounded by wire fence, but we knew how to get in, there was a hole cut in the fence near where the pine forest at the edge of town started. We hide out bikes in the trees, and then crammed ourselves through the rusty heap.
Upon entering the station we could see it had changed somewhere/ In the summer time the vegetation had dried and withered over the metal structures, incasing them in grassy coffins. The station house doors had been boarded up and new graffiti was evident. As we walked under the old boarding area we disturbed some pigeons, the sudden rapid fluttering of their wings scared the crap out of us. Not that any of us would admit as much. We taunted each other about being scared as we jumped down onto the tracks.
Underfoot the large gravel rocks were sharp and we each made an effort to walk on the wooden sleepers instead. Kane even tried to walk directly on the metal lines of the tracks with varying success, he might have been a little better at it if Henry didn’t keep playfully pushing him so he’d lose his balance. “Oi! Cut it out.” Kane complained giving Henry a shove in return and they both laughed.
As we walked we got further out of town. The wire barrier ended at some point and was replaced by a fence line of old termite eaten wooden posts strung through with barbed wire. We were now facing an open expanse of farm land on either side, the farms themselves alternated between live stock and crop. Overhead crows cawed at each other, but otherwise there was little noise except the gentle rustling of the breeze blowing through the dry wheaten crops.
Along the way Kane, Henry and I started talking. Henry spoke about the girl he sat beside in math class, he had quite some crush on her but didn’t know how to ask her out. Instead he found himself frequently and idiotically asking her for help with simple math problems, or asking to borrow a pen for the hundredth time. He couldn’t tell if she liked him in return or not, and apparently he didn’t want to ruin whatever it was that they had going by asking so he was stuck in a sort of limbo there.
Kane told us about how his parents had been fighting a lot recently. Most of the time he stayed in his room blasting music, or avoided the house altogether by coming out with us. It was hard for him to concentrate on anything with them constantly yelling at each other or him. His older sister had already moved out and he was thinking about asking her if he could come live with her instead. I sympathised with him especially on that point. My own parents fought like cat and dog in the weeks before my father left. Unfortunately, being an only child I didn’t exactly have the option of moving out myself and it’s not like my mother was hard to live with or anything. She was just never there.
Our conversation died off as we refocused on the path ahead. The farm land was tampering off now and we could see the edge of the pine forest coming up. When we began walking we had walked the opposite way from the forest, we never discussed it, it was more a mutual understanding that the forest was generally creepy. Unfortunately the forest covered a large expanse and we had assumed that it would met back up with the tracks at some point. We had just hoped it wouldn’t.
The forest stood silent, it was an intimidating line of trees that started on the other side of a thick river separated the land, marking a stark distinction between civilisation and wilderness. We reached the edge of the river and eyed the bridge over it suspiciously. It stretched out over the river effortlessly, the wooden beams supporting it seemed stable enough, but it was the gaps between that made it daunting. There weren’t any side supports, nothing to hold onto when crossing it. We looked to each other nervously.
In that moment we were genuinely considering turning back. It was undoubtedly dangerous to attempt a crossing, all it would take was one misplaced step. Without even considering the drop from the bridge to the water, the river was also fast moving and deep. I opened my mouth to suggest running back when Kane set his jaw and stepped onto the bridge. He moved with purpose, staying towards the centre he stepped fearlessly from one board to the next. When he reached the other side he looked triumphant, “it’s easy. Hurry up!” He called back.
I sighed a deep sigh of regret and looped my hands into the straps of my backpack then followed after him. I focused on the wooden boards the most. I tried to ignore drop into rushing water I could see between each gap. I wanted to walk right along the metal part of the track, but that was nearer to the edge so I remained in the middle. I told myself that the spaces between each step weren’t that big, that even if I slipped I probably wouldn’t’ fall through. I don’t know if that was true or not. The soles of my feet tingled with anxiety and my breaths came shallow.
What if I slipped? What if I stepped on a rotted through plank? Trains hadn’t run in years, but what if one suddenly decided to come down the tracks at this very moment? I would have no where to go but into the water. I felt myself starting to freeze up more than once, fear pulsed through me like waves of heat but I forced myself onward. When I was nearly at the other side I stopped to look back at Henry. He had followed at me, but had stopped frozen in place about half way across. I could see he was trembling and unable to move. His eyes were locked onto the river below.
“Hey, Henry, come on. You’re almost there.” I called back to him which as much confidence as I could manage. In response he licked his lips dryly and shook his head, “You can’t just stop there.” I tried. Damn it I thought. I was going to have to walk back and get him, as if I wasn’t having my own panic attack.
Slowly I made my way back until I was standing in front of him, I put my hand on his shoulder, “It’s not much further, don’t look down, just focus on the steps.” I instructed.
It took him a long moment to look up at me, his eyes were wide with fear but he focused intensely on me, “I’m fine, I just shouldn’t have looked.” He smiled weakly.
“It’s fine, let’s just go.” I urged keeping hold on his shoulder as we walked the rest of the way across. As soon as we made it he started laughing hysterically, all the nervous energy uncoiling at once. I laughed too out of relief and Kane jumped about excitedly, “Told you it was easy!” He exclaimed elated. I think he might have been a bit worried that he was the only one who was going to make it across, no one wants to be the only one standing on the creepy side of the river alone.
We decided to stop there to have lunch, taking off our backpacks we sat on the edge of the tracks to eat. Kane and Henry had both packed sandwiches and a bag of crisps. I had packed an apple and left overs from dinner the night before. The pine forest that was now either side of us was silent. It was eerie but none of us mentioned it. Absently I found myself wondering why the train station had been shut down in the first place and so I spoke aloud, “Hey, do you guys know why the train station was abandoned?”
Henry shook his head but Kane sat froward with a gleam in his eyes, “My uncle used to work in the railway station, so I know.” He said smugly.
“..Well.. are you going to tell us or what?” I asked after a long pause waiting for him to continue.
“It’s because trains got attacked going through this very forest and *sometimes*, they disappeared all together, never to be seen again.” He lowered his voice for the ambience of it, “Remember how some of the train carriages where scratched up? It’s because they’re the ones that made it out.”
“You’re not a good story teller.” Henry interjected rolling his eyes.
“It’s true!” Kane insisted, “My uncle said the scariest part was listening to the train drivers over the radio getting more and more nervous as their train chugged through the forest. He said you could hear it when something *else* boarded the train. The slight metallic scraping as carriages rocked side to side under the weight of something jumping onto them. They stopped running the trains altogether after one of them was derailed. My uncle was working that day. He told us they found the train badly damaged and most of the cargo ripped up, not stolen. The drivers were both found dead. But he wouldn’t tell me how they had died. Apparently, that train is still out here. Too expensive to try to bring it back.” He shrugged at the end of his story as Henry and I sat in stunned silence.
With our appetites sufficiently ruined we packed up, left our backpacks taking only our water with us, and started walking again. Railway gravel crunched under foot as we travelled along with the smell of pine needles in our nostrils. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one of us who had considered turning back, who wondered why we hadn’t turned back. Did we really need to know where the railway led? Looking back, I think we were all just too afraid to be the first to speak up and say we wanted to turn around. Usually on adventures like this we simply continued until we felt like stopping.
A couple times in the past we had walked or ridden too far and been completely exhausted when we got home. On those occasions the uncanny feeling of *‘we’ve gone too far, we’ll get in trouble’* was the catalyst that sent us hurrying home. The time I remember being the worst was the day we wanted to see how far out of town we could get. Inevitably we went too far and it was as we sat on the side of the road with blistered feet that we really felt scared. We weren’t sure we would make it home, we definitely weren’t going to make it before dark that day, not when we were all limping. Thankfully Henry’s mother happened to drive past, it was pure dumb luck but we were saved.
The following days of muscle ache and blisters healing were enough to deter us from walking too far again. In fact from then onwards we gained an uncanny sense for what was ‘too far’. I mention this because as we walked done those tracks we weren’t worried about the distance. By my judgment it wasn’t yet midday, we still had the whole day left. No, it was the sense that we were being watched the echoing impression that Kane’s story had left on us that hung in the air like an oppressive force. We walked slowly talking very little. Each of us subconsciously listening to the forest.
If there had been any scurrying animals, or the flutter of birds wings or even the soft footfall of deer on pine needles we might have been more comfortable. But once we were far enough away from the river that we couldn’t hear that anymore, there was nothing but the sound of our own footsteps and the gentle slosh of water in our water bottles. For something to do I picked a stick off the ground to use as a walking stick and tried to change the mood by talking about anime. The conversation took off surprisingly well and it kept us entertained for a while. Even Kane was enthusiastic about it despite him not having watched any anime at all.
I was just about to argue with Henry over which of our two favourites were better for Kane to watch first when we spotted something up ahead on the tracks. Curious we approached the object without fear, it was dark and wrinkled, from a distance it looked like someone had left a trench coat on the tracks. However as we approached the smell of it hit us. It was putrid like rotting flesh, I covered my nose with my arm. Kane pulled his shirt up over his nose and Henry crinkled his face in disgust.
“What is it?” Henry asked horrified.
“Someone’s gross old jacket?” Kane offered.
Hesitantly I stepped forward and poked it with the stick, “I don’t think so..” I commented, it had a rubbery texture and didn’t move as freely as fabric would. Carefully I angled the stick so that I could lift the thing up.
“Road kill?” Kane suggested again.
I held it higher. It was heavy and damp. A strange clear fluid was built up along the inside of it and that gave it the mushy texture, however it didn’t tear or stretch as I handled it, “it’s.. skin..?” I said slowly, letting that idea settle in my mind. It’s not like I was afraid of it exactly, more like deeply unsettled. I laid it back down on the ground and poked it into shape with the stick. It was roughly the shape of a dog, only larger, and although it did have fur, it didn’t have enough fur on it to be a fully furred creature.
“I haven’t seen anything that would make a skin like that.” Henry pointed out, starting to back away from it out of instinct.
“Maybe we should go back now.” Kane suggested folding his arms over his chest as if to say, ‘I’m not scared, it’s just time to go.’
“I agree.” I said willingly as I stepped away from the unpleasant thing.
We turned and started to make our way back down the tracks the way we had come. We weren’t running, yet, but I could tell we all wanted to. After finding that skin something in the ambiance of the atmosphere had changed. We felt.. Watched. In the woods surrounding us I though could hear things moving. I thought I heard tree branches snapping under weight, padded feet on pine needles and sharp claws scraping on bark.
“Did you see that?!” Henry whispered alarmed. I turned to see him wide eyed looking at us urgently.
“See what?” I asked and he pointed into the trees. Following his direction with my eyes I looked out into the forest but I could see nothing.
“..There’s nothing there man, stop trying to freak us out.” Kane said with a hint of nervous energy to his voice.
“There was. I swear.” Henry insisted.
“Let’s just keep walking, I don’t like this forest anymore.” I told them to keep the peace.
“I never liked it.” I heard Henry mumble behind me as we stared walking again.
This time the building feeling of dread was undeniable. I knew my friends could feel it too. We didn’t get more than 600 meters down the track before I felt the urge to glance behind us. I don’t know what made me do it. The weird thing is, when you feel like something is behind you, creeping up on you, following you.. You can’t help but feel the need to turn and look. As if somehow seeing what’s there will make it stop or go away, and once you look just one time, you find yourself compulsively checking again.
I say this because the first two times I glanced back, I saw nothing. Only the tracks running down the tunnel of trees until the blur of distance made it impossible to see further. However, on the third check something darted across the tracks not more than 50 meters behind us. It was too fast for me to make out exactly what it was, but it made my blood run cold. I opened my mouth to tell the others but it was too dry for me to speak then Henry grabbed a hold of my arm.
I turned to him gaping like a goldfish as I tried to speak, but he didn’t say a word either and he wasn’t looking at me. He was staring up into the pine trees. I followed his gaze and saw what he saw. There was a set of large, round, yellow eyes watching is from the near top of a tree. Then I noticed hands with long sharp fingers clinging to the branches of another tree. The longer I looked the more I saw, 10, 12, 17, 20 of them..
They were well camouflaged against the pine bark, some were in the trees some on the ground, all at varying distances but the closest ones were only a few meters away. Slowly I turned to look around us, there were there in all directions. Some were crouched beside the train tracks in the distance behind us. We were surrounded.
Before I could think of anything that we should do Kane started running. Leaving Henry and I staring after him in shock as he bolted off down the tracks at full speed. Several things happened at once then. We watched him go while we were both still frozen in place. Displaced railway gravel flinging away in all directions as Kane ran, I remember very distinctly thinking his running was too loud and that he was too slow.
It seemed that all at once every one of the creatures stalking us turned their attention in his direction. A few agonising moments passed and I was beginning to regret not running with him, when suddenly all the things started to chase after him. A cacophony of noise erupted around us, the sound they made was not unlike excited howler monkeys, only these weren’t monkeys, I have no idea what kind of creature they were.
Some of the things ran right by Henry and I in their pursuit of Kane, they were at least as tall as my hip and running on all fours. In the distance I saw the first of the creatures reach him. He was knocked to the ground and in moments they were swarming over him. We could hear his cries of agony and I could have sworn I saw limbs being torn away from his body before I looked away.
“Run!” Henry hissed in my ear. He pulled on my arm and we ran into the forest. I don’t believe either of us knew where we were going, but I had the vague idea that we had to meet the river. I thought that if we got across it we would be safe. We ran like track stars, vaulting over fallen logs and ducking under branches. Thin low branches whipped face giving me stinging cuts but I didn’t care. In the distance Kane’s screams had stopped and we knew without doubt that we didn’t have long until those things were after us again.
There was no way we could outrun them they were too fast for that, but we hoped against hope that out head start would be enough, that they would be distracted for long enough.. I still feel a pit of nausea and guilt in my stomach thinking about that. Kane was my friend, and yet, I was running for my own life hoping that it would take them a while to eat him.
I stumbled once as we ran, not quite falling but, falling enough that I kind of pushed myself off the ground with my hands and kept going. A broken stick impaled my hand but I didn’t even feel it. Ahead I heard water running could have collapsed with joy, relief wash over me too soon. We had run down hill a significant portion of the way, but when we reached the river there was still a considerable drop into the water.
Henry and I stood on the edge breathing heavily. Neither of us had enough breath to say it, but we knew we needed to jump. We could hear those things howling in the woods, I didn’t think it was going to be long until they found us. The looked at me and I nodded to him, then we jumped off the edge into the water.
It was freezing cold and I struggled to reach the surface of the water. It was moving too fast and I was too exhausted from running. I don’t know where Henry went, I know he jumped with me but I couldn’t find him again.
My next recollection after that is of stumbling through someones wheat field, it was dark and I could see the light of their house in the distance, I followed it in a haze. I remember knocking on their front door and then laying down on the timber steps of their home before waking up again in hospital.
Henry was asleep in a bed beside mine and my mother was asleep in a chair in the corner of the room. I learned in the following days that when I was found by the family with the wheat farm, the Wass family, I had mumbled something about Henry being in the river and then collapsed. Search parties were directed to the river and the forest, they found Henry, alive but unconscious in the same wheat field I had been in. The search efforts never found all Kane, they only found his shoes, chewed, though with his feet still in them.
In response to our recount of what happened a boarder fence was put in place around the forest and warning signs that read, “Dangerous area. Do not enter. Danger of death.” were hung at regular spacing along it. The railway bridge across the river was also destroyed. There’s now just an urban legend in the town about the three boys that went missing in that forest, slightly exaggerated I know, but everyone knows not to go into that forest at least.