Run. That was the only thought in my mind, I had to run. I wouldn’t look back, I couldn’t look back. That’d be no different than suicide, and I didn’t want to die yet. But, I guess they didn’t want to die either. So it’d be fair if I died too, right?

It all started the moment we stepped foot into the woods. “Let's go to the woods!” “It’ll be fine!”. That’s what they said, and yet here we are. Sarah, James, Charles, Sophie and I. We all came here looking for adventure, we wanted to camp out here in the woods, together. Though things didn’t go as we wanted them to.

Sarah was the girl of my dreams, so when she asked us to go camping, I couldn’t refuse. Looking at her chestnut brown hair and her sky blue eyes always soothed me, it was as if I were in a trance, as if I was hypnotized. And thinking back, she did look at me a lot, she probably liked me too, but that didn’t really matter, she was dead anyways.

Ah, I really wish she was alive. She had always been there for me, but I couldn’t be there for her. I clearly remember the first time we met, we both joined the school’s literature club. If only I could go back to those days if even for a single second. Even after my parents died, she never left me. She made me happy, and I wouldn’t be able to live without her.

Our first mistake was lighting up our campfire. A lighter and a couple of bottles of mineral water were enough to make a decent fire, but we didn’t really know how we'd turn it off. The area we picked to set up our camp was pretty dark, even in the afternoon, since the trees blocked the sunlight from reaching the ground.

Our second mistake was not running. We saw it, we all did, but none of us moved. There was something in the woods, it was staring at us, I could feel it. I could feel it’s deep, yellow eyes, staring deep into my soul, striking fear into me. But I didn’t say anything, and that was something I’d soon regret.

“Sarah, are you sure about this?” I asked her, having second thoughts about this whole camping thing. ”Come on Ben, it’s just one night!” She answered. “Yeah man, if you wanted out you should’ve said so before coming.” Said Charles. “Yeah yeah, whatever..” I said, a bit annoyed at his reply. “But anyways! How about we tell some horror stories?” Said James.

I wasn’t really listening to them, I was too busy thinking about how I’d go back to the city. I was definitely scared, though I didn’t know why. Not until I turned around….not until I saw it.

Sophie was the first one, the first to die. It’s claws were already deep in her body for anyone to do anything, and her muffled screams were heard by everyone. Blood fell to the ground, as the now dead Sophie was nothing more than food for the animal, no, the monster that was eating her corpse. I looked at everyone else, in less than a second, I knew that no one was going to move.

Sarah screamed, James cried, and Charles panicked, but none of them were running. Sophie’s body had been torn apart by that monstrous beast, her insides were outside and she was missing most of her limbs. Her black hair had been painted red with her own blood, and we could do nothing but watch as the beast feasted on her organs.

However, not even ten seconds passed before the best let out an otherworldly scream, and jumped towards Charles. At that moment, I knew none of us were safe. Not only had it devoured Sophie’s entire body in seconds, but it had also jumped several meters in less than a second.

It was then that I started running. I didn’t think about Sarah, I didn’t think about James, I just ran. I heard Sarah scream again, and tears started streaming down my face. I didn’t know what to do, why was this happening to me, what was that thing? Why us?!

Sarah’s screaming then stopped. I didn’t hear her anymore, I didn’t hear anything other than my own footsteps. She was dead. I assumed James was dead too, and that meant that I was the only one left, but I wasn’t just about to give up. I didn’t know the way out of the forest, so my best option was to hide. And so, I did.

I found a cave, and I hid behind one of the rocks inside of it. I’d wait until morning, and run in a straight line, that way, I’d eventually exit the forest. That was the best thing I could do. I wanted to scream, I really did want to scream, I wanted to throw up, I wanted to cry more, but I couldn’t. The only thing I could do was tremble in fear and hope I didn’t die.

But why not die? The only person I loved is dead now. I don’t have any friends, I only just got to know these people and now they’re all dead! They’re all dead….and I’m alive. But why?! Why should I live, if I’m alone, is there really a reason for me to smile? Once again, I lost it all. My friends, my family, they’re all gone!!

Drip

What was that?

Drip

That again?

Drip

Something wet had just fallen on my shoulder. I looked up, and I saw nothing, but honestly, my heart was about to jump out of my chest. I looked at my shoulder again, and I noticed that the liquid wasn’t water, but rather, blood. I quickly took out my phone, realizing that I still had it in my pocket, and I used the flashlight to look around me, as it was too dark to see.

However, as I looked up again, I found the disfigured body of Sarah. She only had one arm, and both of her legs were gone. Half of her face was gone and there wasn’t a single spot in her body that wasn’t bleeding. But if Sarah was here...then that meant-

SCREECH

Ah, right. People say that their lives flash right before their eyes when they’re in a near death experience. I wish it was like that. All I could see was that terrifying beast, with its massive mouth open, its blood-stained teeth as large as my fingers. I saw it reach out to me with its claws, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to dodge- much less escape.

I really wanted to become a writer, but I guess life doesn’t always work out as you want it to. Not even a second later, it reached me. I felt how it ripped my insides out, how it bit my arm off, and felt my head being torn off.

On that fateful night, I, Ben Anderson, died.

The End