This Feeling, It's Killing Me

“Hey Daddy, Can I get a peak now?” The little girl asked irresistibly. “Just a moment sweety. Let me fix this telescope and we can gaze the stars all night long.” The Father said, aligning the tripod. “And Done.” The father said as he gently moved aside from the eyepiece. “Yay! I wanna see! I wanna see!” The little girl shrieked with joy. “Just be careful sweetheart and don’t move the eyepiece like last time.” The mother told her. “Whoah! Look at the moon! It’s so pretty!” Joy sparkled through every word from the little girl’s mouth. “Ain’t it? I see you loved it. Let me make a quick run and fetch our snacks from the car.”  The Mother said as it seemed they’d probably stay here a little longer. “Okay Mommy. As you say.” The father replied sharing a moment of gaze with his wife before she left towards their car. The view from the hilltop was quite amazing. The dense forest as long as the eye could see. The hilltop was the only flat area unoccupied by the trees. The chilly winds blew from time to time. The father looked at the car from afar. It was parked near the barbed fences. He felt sorry for trespassing into private land, but the joy on his daughter’s face, balanced it all. He laid down on the grass and closed his eyes, feeling the cold breeze through his body. AAAAAWOOOO A sound arose from the forest behind. “Daddy! What’s that?” The child shrieked at the terrifying sound. The father hurried towards his child. He looked where the voice came from but couldn’t figure out anything. “That’s the wolves sweety.” He told his daughter. “I didn’t know there were wolves here.” The girl replied. “Me neither.” The father said. He was worried. There were several occasions when he passed through the very same place but never before had he witnessed any signs of wildlife. “Daddy, I’m scared, I wanna go home.” “It’s nothing sweety, we are far away from the wolves. Besides, we only get one chance to see the stars right?” “Yeah. But I don’t feel good with the wolves around.” “They’re very far. And besides, we’re nearly done. Let me get Mom and-“ He stopped all of a sudden. His words felt short. His wife hadn’t yet returned. “Stay here sweety, I’ll make a quick trip to the car.” He said before jolting up and running towards the car. He reached the car. The car door was open. Strange. He looked inside the car. Everything was intact. He looked outside but nothing. His wife was nowhere to be seen. His ears picked up a sound. He looked around. He heard the sound again. It appeared to come from the bushes. He took out his phone and turned on the flashlight. A pair of footprints went towards the bush while another went out of the gate. He was in a pickle. There’s no way his wife would’ve went in the bushes. That’s ridiculous. He went out of the gates. A light approached from a distance. An old man marched towards him. He had a limp in his leg and carried a big stick with him. He held a lantern in his other hand. He was dressed raggedly and looked terrifying. The old man approached him. He ran towards his car. “No! Don’t run. Please. Don’t go inside. Only death awaits you there.” The man stopped in his tracks. What was the old man saying? What did he mean by that cryptic message? “What are you saying?” “Listen to me please. Don’t go inside the gate. For only a gruesome death awaits you. A vile creature roams the forests at night. There’s no time to explain. Run away for your life.” The old man rambled. “But I must find my wife first. She headed out through the fences a few minutes ago.” “No one walked out of that fence in the past hour. I saw your car going in so I came here to warn you. I did not see anyone leave. Try calling her cellphone.” “Okay.” He said as he dialed the number. “cuz the only other pair of footprints I saw headed towar-“ His sentence was cut off by a phone ringing through the bushes. “No no no no no.” he murmured. “Listen. Do not go in there. Leave now.” “My wife is in there for all I know.” “Listen. There is no time. Save yourself while you can.” The man ran towards the bushes. His vision was instantly cut off as he walked into the trees. Everything turned pitch black. His only hope was his flashlight. Twigs crumbled beneath his feet while he lay a step down. The silence in the woods was eerily creepy. Even the voice of the twigs crushing was amplified. He was starting to get afraid. Everything was so quiet that he could hear his own heartbeat. He turned his phone around hoping to see something. Just then a pair of large beady black eyes caught his eye. He looked again. A huge dark figure perched on the tree as he walked, looking down at him with its huge eyes. Their eyes met for a second. His phone started buzzing. He looked at the phone and looked over the tree again. The figure was gone. He looked at the phone. His wife was calling him. He was relieved to see her call. He picked up the call. “Where are you?” he asked almost whispering, trying to make no noise. “There’s some some-thing I saw earlier.” She said fumbling. She sounded terrified, unable to form sentences. “What happened?” He said this time loudly. “I don’t know. There’s something, Something’s watching me. It’s behind me, I turn- Then its gone. And again its behind me and gone again. It’s following me. Please help. Save me please.” She said almost breaking down to tears. A sheer ran down his spine. It was exactly as the old man had described. “Tell me where you are? I’ll come there. Just tell me. Quick.” “I don’t know. Wait, I see the car.” “Umh mhm. That’s good. Go on go towards the car. I’ll meet you there.” “Wait. I think that thing stopped following me. It moved somewhere else.” “That’s good. I think it moved to some other animal. Now quick hurry up and we’ll leave the place.” “Okay. I’m at the car now.” She said still sounding terrified. “Very well I’m coming there. Don’t worry for all we know, we’re out of the danger now.” He was relieved it had stopped following them. He wiped his sweating brows. He walked a few steps. He wasn’t very further down the bush. He reached his car. His wife wasn't there yet. "Heck whatever it catches, I don't care. Not my problem." he thought. "Let's get out of here as fast as possible." “DAAAAADDDDYYYYY!!” A scream arose from the other side of the forest. “NOOOOO!!!” The old man was long gone. He made a run for the hilltop. He felt a strong grip holding his leg and yanking it. He fell down. He turned stone cold. He tried to shake his leg but the grip out-strengthened him. He looked down, terrified. He saw huge veins grabbing onto his leg and pulling him backwards. He sat up and tried to free his grip. He pulled the veins out only to realize they were in fact tree roots merged together. He ran uphill. He looked towards the spot he left his daughter. There was nothing to be seen. He ran there. The telescope was still there. Intact. He looked around. He looked at the bushes. He noticed a movement from the bushes. He stood steady. Looking into the thicket. He saw two figures appearing through the thicket. Towards him. Slowly. The figures gained speed. “DAAADDYYY! WHY DID YOU leave me all alone?” The man was relieved to see his wife and daughter again. “Come here. I was scared something might’ve happened to you.” The woman said. “Let’s leave now. This nightmare better be over now.” The man said. He walked a few steps ahead. A loud unearthly howl raged through the whole forest. He instinctively looked behind just to spot two large blood red eyes locked onto him. He turned back to run, but the figure had already made it’s leap.