A Ghost Story - Part IX
Image: Thomas Bonometti
The darkness was so total that Jennifer, heart beating wildly, was forced to stop. She couldn’t see the ground well enough to avoid tripping over roots or fallen branches. Without a flashlight she was stuck, the blackness of the forest spreading ominously around her. Too late to build the most rudimentary of shelters, she got down on her hands and knees and felt for a mossy spot to sit on, thinking she could use handfuls of leaves and pine needles to cover herself.
That didn’t work quite as well as she hoped. She was cold, so cold, her face wet and dirty from being soaked in tears, her whole body shaking. She couldn’t possibly stay here all night! But she had no choice and as she hugged her arms around herself, the true nightmare began. Behind her, suddenly, a creaking sound. Her heart stopped. She forced herself not to scream. What was that? The sound disappeared, replaced by other sounds, some of them very close to her in the dark. She felt something crawl over her leg and then she really did start screaming. It occurred to her that there were wolves and bears in these woods. Probably bats, foxes and moose, too. Anything could attack or kill her. For all she knew, her husband Jim, helpless and wounded, had been eaten alive in the exposed spot where she’d left him.
Gripped by a terror she couldn’t control, her mind went blank -- there was only raw panic. She stood and began to run, branches scratching her cheeks, whipping at her face, but of course she didn’t get more than a few feet before she tripped over something and fell. Wisdom told her to lie where she was, not take any more chances, curl herself into a ball and hope for the best. She squeezed her eyes shut. And then, not far away, she heard a rustling sound and footsteps. “Help!” she screamed with all her might.
Image: Mariusz Slonski
No answer. She sat up and peered into the darkness. She could feel that something or someone was there. “Hey! Over here! Help me!” she shouted.
Closeby she heard a cough. “Please!” she screamed. The cough was creepy since she couldn’t see the person. For a moment there was silence, and she waited, holding her breath. What if it was a crazy man with a knife? Sweating profusely, she felt around for a rock, which she gripped tightly in her fist to use as a weapon. She’d never killed anything beyond insects (and once a snake) in her life, but if she had to, she’d kill whatever was out there waiting for her.
Cover photo: Angel Luciano