When I decided to go out backpacking in the woods with my girlfriend I never would have thought that it would have turned out the way that it did. The only thing I wanted was a romantic outing and to spend some time with her in the summer. I was planning to purpose to her sometime during the summer, I planned the hike to be the last date before the proposal.
My girlfriend’s name is Isabella and when I told her my idea she was excited and was on board to go on the trip. My girlfriend was adventurous and enjoyed spending time out in nature, I did too, I swear the two of us were made for each other. We planned out the entire hike weeks ahead of time, we were both very excited to walk through unexplored woodlands. I should mention we weren’t supposed to be going into the woods that we were planning to go to, we had many friends who have gone to the same place without issue and no one really cares but it is still trespassing.
Isabella and I didn’t care we never thought anything could happen, we were careless and young, and if I knew better I would have chosen a better place to go backpacking.
We were at a crappy motel room, the wallpaper had yellow flowers and was peeling off and the beds were squeaky and hard. Isabella was getting dressed while making sure everything was ready for the day. Isabella was an early riser and she was always afraid of forgetting something, whenever we went somewhere she would always make sure to check at least ten times before she was sure everything was there.
I wasn’t a morning person like her and I decided to make some coffee. There was only instant coffee and I forced myself to gulp it down despite the shivers it gave me. I had a hard time sleeping the night before because of how thin the walls were in the motel.
Isabella smiled when she saw that I was awake and greeted me with warmth. I loved her so much.
“Your finally up.” She said
“I suppose I am, excited for today?”
“Ecstatic, you?”
I thought about the day ahead of us, I was excited to explore the woods but I was more excited to spend time with Isabella.
“Super duper excited.” I said, she made a weird giggling sound and went back to packing. She was weird but I loved the weirdness.
“What if we run into a bear or a wild animal?” She asked.
“I brought my pistol and bear spary, we’ll be okay. Plus there’s no bears in this area.”
“Are you sure? There are not many park rangers here, and most of this area is unexplored.”
“Everyone I’ve talked to didn’t see anything in the woods here, no one’s been hurt or gone missing.”
“That we know of.” Isabella smiled after saying this, something about what she said bugged me. what if there was bears I didn’t want anything to happen to us.
We got ready and were soon ready to go out to the woods, we walked to the woods which only took about forty minutes. It wasn’t the best day to go hiking since there was a heavy fog over the woods, it made me think of a movie I saw once of monsters hiding in the dense fog.
Isabella stopped at the edge of the woods staring into the trees, she breathed deeply and made an exhale. “Into the unknown we go.” She said cheerfully and smiling.
The hike was normal for the first few hours, there was a trail that was already made by other hikers, the path was narrow and most of the time we weren’t able to walk side by side. The woods were beautiful and it was nice to get away from civilization for a time. We saw wildlife several times, nothing dangerous mostly deer and rodents.
The fog cleared during our walk and the sun was shining bright. Isabella and I were in a very happy mood and she kept turning back to smile at me. I was thinking of purposing to her during the walk because I couldn’t wait until the next date it was too perfect in the moment.
We came into a clearing, just as I was preparing my courage to ask her to marry me Isabella froze and said in a shaky voice “Mark, what is that?”
I looked at where she was pointing and I saw something lying on the ground. I immediately recognized what it was, it was a old lady laying on the grass with red all around her. I ran over to her and I saw that she was still alive.
I crouched down to her and started to speak to her, she gained consciousness and started to yell. “You have to kill him! He can’t be allowed to live anymore, he has to be killed!”
Isabella came over and helped me to calm her down.
She spoke quickly and hastily panting between words, “My brother, he killed everyone, I got away. He’s still in the cabin, you have to end him.” She saw my gun, “You can do it, make it quick, please kill him.”
“Where’s the cabin?” I asked her, she pointed directly behind her. The place she pointed was down a slope.
I looked at Isabella, she knew that I wanted to check it out and she whispered to me “Please don’t leave me here.”
“I should go look.”
She looked at the old lady then at me.
“Be safe.” She said.
We kissed and then I was off down the slope, with my gun in my hands. I ran through the woods, it was dark down the slope as compared to the brightness in the clearing. I looked for a cabin and eventually, I found it. There was no light on it was completely dark and looked abandoned.
It was quiet other then a damp wet sound coming from inside.
I opened the door and what I saw shook me.
The walls were drenched in blood, and flesh and ripped-apart pieces were everywhere beyond recognition of what part they belonged to. Admist it was a man. He was small and later when reflecting he looked like golem from lord of the rings. He had a long white beard and red eyes. He was skinny to the point of looking like a skeleton. He was completely naked and he was cover in blood. He had a handful of intestines that he was gobbling. I gasped, the smell and the sight had started my body into panic, my heart was going to explode and I couldn’t seem to catch my breath. I knew I should raise my gun but I couldn’t bring my hands to do so.
The man screamed and my flight instinct took over and I ran. I didn’t look back and I couldn’t even think of what I should do, somewhere in my mind I knew I should use the gun in my hand but my fear had taken over me and I all I knew was I needed to get away. The sounds of his screams came from behind me and knew he was following me. I was hoping that I would be able to run faster than him.
I made it up the hill and Isabella was still there with the old woman and she turned her head towards me.
“Mark what happened?” And then she saw the man behind me. She screamed and started to run away. I was running to and then I saw the creature leap in front of me onto the helpless old woman. I’m glad that the woman never had the time to realize what was happening while the deformed creature ripped out the throat of the woman. The blood splattered across isabella’s face and she screamed and fell down.
The man hunched back, his whole body red with blood, I knew he was about to attack Isabella and without thinking I raised my gun and started shooting.
The bullets ripped right to throw the man’s head, each one tearing apart his skull, and the brains flew onto Isabella.
The man was screaming while he died, later I was confused about why he was able to scream when he should have been dead.
Isabella was on the ground breathing deeply, her entire body covered in blood and gore. I went over to comfort her but she flinched away from me. I tried to speak to her but she wouldn’t respond to me.
I decided we wouldn’t tell anybody of this, we were able to clean her off and I took the body out of the clearing and hide them under some bushes. Isabella didn’t speak the rest of the time.
We went back to the motel and she laid on the bed after getting changed and showering, I tried to lay next to her but she whimpered and moved away.
She did speak to me again but she was never the same, she would never speak to me the same and she began to become distant from me. We stayed together for two months and then she left me. She told me that every time she saw me the entire event would repeat in her mind. I curse the man and the old lady for what they had done to us.
Questions flew threw my mind every day afterward, what had happened? Why was the man so twisted and deranged? I had to know so a few weeks before writing this I decided I would go back to the cabin to try and understand what had happened.
I hiked through the same pathway in the woods, this there was no mist and clouds but the sky was clear and the sun was shining brightly. I came upon the clearing in the woods, the blood stains were still in the same place as before. I went to check on the bodies, the old lady was there. It had been two months since the event and she was decomposing, there were many pieces of her missing, animals I supposed. I looked for the man’s body but it was nowhere to be seen.
I took out my pistol and my heart began to thud, it was impossible for him to be alive but where had he gone?
I came to the cabin and before I even went inside, I found the man. He was in a thousand pieces; each piece was nailed to the wall of the cabin. The sight made my stomach uneasy, and I decided to go inside. Inside wasn’t any better, the gore of whoever else was victim to the man was splattered across the entire house. The first room was the worst, the rest of the house was filled strange symbols and blood spatters.
As soon as I left the house I began throwing up my breakfast. As I was emptying out my intestines I felt a darkness surround me, my body suddenly shut down and I fell to the ground unable to move. It felt like sleep paralysis, I couldn’t move at all but my body was paralyzed.
I was able to see in front of the house, there was a darkness down the front of the woods and it came closer and closer to me, darkening the woods around me. I tried desperately to move but my body wouldn’t respond. I saw a vague deer like shape, but that wasn’t right it was like a man but it’s head was that of a deer with giant antlears, it’s hands were that of a man and the entire body covered in deer fur.
I began convulsing on the ground as it came close to me. It bent down and I saw it’s hideous face. I can’t even bring myself to write down what I saw in it’s eyes. It then took a bite out of my shoulder. The most intense pain I ever felt occurred and then it was over.
I woke up outside the cabin and there was no signs of anything that had happened except when I looked at my shoulder it was still there.
I’ve been so hungry since then, nothing can satisfy my hunger. I’ve eaten everything in my fridge and my stomach is still empty. My body has started to become skinny as well. I’ve had horrible dreams every night and I’m so afraid of what’s happening. The hunger is always there and it’s burning into me. Isabella is giving our relationship a second chance but I’m scared. Whenever I think about her I get hungry and I don’t know what’s happening to me. I need to protect Isabella, even if that means from myself.
My gun is beside me, I’m thinking of using it but Isabella. Oh Isabella. I suppose I’ll have one more meal before I go.