Michael sat there in silence, careful not to make a single move, listening intently. Whatever lurked in the woods was large enough that if it had kept moving, he surely would have picked up on the sounds. But the creature, or whatever it was, had stopped suddenly. Perhaps it was aware of him, waiting for his next move.

Michael crouched while moving a few steps to the side, seeking cover behind a large stone in front of him. He checked his pellet gun, his fingers running over the trigger for reassurance. The pellet gun was capable of taking down a small animal but likely didn't pack enough punch to stop this thing, judging by the weight of the creature's movement.

Michael tried to adjust his position and get more comfortable. He accidentally stepped on a stick and broke it. The sound caused a few sleeping birds to wake and fly out of the trees, along with some other small animals rustling in the bushes.

A kind of cold terror gripped him. The entire idea to come out in the middle of woods and figure out what had happened to his friend, Ardwyn, was crazy. He should have waited until daylight. The problem was that Ardwyn's father could have seen him sneaking around the property in daylight. And now here he was, in the middle of the woods, alone, in the wild.

He slowly turned the flashlight in his hand. Perhaps he could use the light to scare the creature. He rested his fingers carefully on the flashlight button and waited.

Something like an hour seemed to have gone by while Michael waited. He lost track of the time. The minutes passed quickly. Then, from somewhere out of the darkness he heard a faint voice.

Michael.

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At first, he wasn't sure if someone was really calling his name, or if it was the sound of the wind moving through the trees. He moved slowly, turning around. There was nothing around. Just the darkness of the woods. The creature had stopped moving as well, even though it seemed to be somewhere still ahead of the clearing. If the creature had left, he would have heard it move through the trees.

Then the voice came again. This time louder and more distinct.

Michael! Run for your life!

His heart raced in fear. Where did the voice come from? How did the voice know his name?

Running seemed like a good idea right about now. Before he could consider the idea any further, a large noise came through the trees, the sounds of twigs and trees breaking under the weight of the creature. A large tree fell over, easily snapping by the creature's movement. That was all he needed to make a decision. He got up from the forest floor and ran as fast as he could. Just like the voice echoed in his head, he ran for his life.

The trees and bushes scraped his legs. He was bleeding. He didn't care. He had never felt what it was like to run for his life, and this was it. Running as fast as you can, being chased by something large in the woods. What was that thing? He wondered. Was the voice he had heard watching the entire thing?

He skidded to a stop before a large wall of undergrowth that seemed to have no entry. He had to find another way and quickly. He looked back at the woods. There in the distance, another large tree broke and collapsed in the creature's path. That thing was huge! What are you? Michael thought. It didn't make any sense. He didn't know of any creatures that large. Now was not the time to stop and ask questions.

His feet carried him with momentum down a hill and then into a rocky ravine. He almost tripped and fell on the hard rocks. Just in time he caught his balance, the heavy backpack swinging behind him with inertia.

After reaching the end of the ravine he came up to a dirt wall. He jumped and grabbed the ledge, then propped himself up. The equipment in the backpack clashed together as he made his landing. Ahead of him was a clearing. He would be exposed there, but at least he could run undeterred by trees and bushes.