My normal jogging routine during weekends consist of waking up before sunrise and without eating breakfast, get out and jog to the beach, which is roughly twenty minutes away if you run at half speed. Once there, I do sprints in intervals and focus on my breathing. The solitude and sounds of softly crashing waves give off a calming sensation, which I find helps me center my mind.
The beach at this time is, as you can imagine, empty and lit only by moonlight. The stretch of sand goes as far as the eyes can see. In the more populated areas, there are beach houses that can be seen, as if they are peeking at the sea from the hills that protrude over the beach. But I prefer the more secluded sections that are further along, where there is nothing but forestation connected to the beachside.
This moonlit jogging tour went as expected. I did my jogging through the first bit, focusing my thoughts on inhaling and exhaling. Once I got to the forest area I started my heavy sprinting. I got about three intervals in before an interruption occurred for my ears to hear however.
The sound of what I can only describe as howling, but from a man.
The sound emitted from the deep and dark bushes and trees to the left of me. A wave of shock struck me and I almost froze, starring at the what now seemed like pitch black forest. The beastlike screams abruptly stopped, and the now deafening silence crept unto the sand. This is when I decided that my interval training should continue the way I came, and that the next resting set was far from here.
I ran with all my might, feeling my knees weakening by the cumbersome task of traversing on sand. For a stretch of five minutes I went full throttle, only then deciding to have a breather. My heart was pounding and lungs grasping for air. My eyes where still curious of where the sound came from though, so I turned around for a quick glance.
To my dismay, a figure of manlike proportions was on its hind legs, much like a person. He was idly standing right on the beach about a hundred feet away. I could see his golden eyes shining through the moonlight like that of a feline. A rushing feeling of dread overtook me and I started to walk backwards in fear. It was only then that the howling started again. As he was screaming like a possessed goat he started putting his arms forwards on the sand, his elbows bending the wrong way. It started leaning down to take the shape of a quadrupedal. The image of a naked man crawling on the beach in pure darkness, while omitting a sound fit for a farm animal was almost comical, but also uncannily morbid. I wanted none of this nightmare, and started to sprint for my life.
Throughout the escape my ears picked out the heavy breathing and splashing of sand behind me, slowly gaining speed on me. The closer the splashing got, the more eager the sounds of the breathing seemed to be.
I ran for as far as my legs could take me. Reaching the beach houses on my right. The sounds behind me slowed down, but I kept on running until I came across the exit and ran for a bit more after that.
The sun was slowly waking up, sending small beams of light over the horizon. That made me feel safer, but in my mind I was not in the clear until I reached the safety of my home. Once there I could finally calm down and have breakfast.
As I thought about what happened it struck me, who would I tell about this unnatural sighting to, and would they even believe their ears?
I know I certainly did.