Poor Mikey

We had all been looking forward to this so dearly. If only we'd known what that had really meant for us.

We had been planning this camping trip for weeks and finally, it was time. The three of us were totally pumped; getting away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and getting to enjoy some time outdoors appealed to all of us. Nothing exciting ever happened in Grand Rapids, Minnesota so getting away for a while was something we all wanted. Of course, camping was far from uncommon around here, considering almost everywhere you’d turn would be thick brush and brambles. Howling coyotes would be heard during the night and prancing whitetail deer could be seen not twenty minutes out of the main settlement.

The boys showed up at my house only half an hour beforehand and my mom was busy lecturing them on safety and precautions while I packed my pack hurriedly, practically shaking in pure excitement. When I came down the stairs with my bag on my back, the two of them were practically asleep. “Mom,” I groaned. “we know the drill. Stick to the trails, pack plenty of food and call in on the handhelds every evening. Now, can we finally go?” Concern was written all over her face but it was unnecessary. We’d been camping hundreds of times before. This was no different.

“I just don’t see why you have to go all the way to Lake Superior. There are so many nice camping spots here!” I rolled my eyes dramatically at how ridiculous she was acting. Lake Superior wasn’t that far and it wasn’t like it was any more dangerous or anything.

“Yeah, there is,” I agreed. “And we’ve been to all of them. Three times each, at least. It’s just a change of scenery, that’s all. We’ll be fine.” I walked up to her and gave her a peck on the cheek. It always softened her up.

“… Alright. Just be careful, okay?”

“Of course.”

So off we went, clambering into Mikey’s pickup. As we backed down the drive, Mom waved us off through the windshield. Once she was in our rearview mirror, Danny leant over the middle console between Mikey and I, a disc in his hand. “Here, jam this in there, would ya?” He handed me the CD and I slid it into the stereo system. Immediately, hard rock came blasting from the speakers and Danny was singing along, completely butchering the song with his terrible voice. Mikey was bobbing his head to the beat, his eyes firm on the road and hands on the wheel, the occasional glance at me as I simply watched the passing pines and redwoods along the roadside.

“Oh c’mon, Jake! What, are you too cool to sing along or what?” Danny joked, shoving my arm lightly from behind. “Get into it!”

“Hah,” I chuckled. “too cool? Far from it, I reckon,” I told him before breaking out singing at the top of my lungs to something by Avenged Sevenfold. I couldn’t recall the track title.

“Now that’s more like it!” Danny laughed, beating his fists against the seats on either side of him to the rhythm of the song. He was always like that, Danny. Always the energetic one, up to party with a beer keg at any moment. Mikey and I were not antisocial as such but not nearly the party animal Danny was. Looking at the three of us now, that was easy to see.

Thinking about how we had even come to be friends had me chuckling quietly under my breath. If you picture us at maybe nine or ten years of age, we were doing what boys that age did: running around and getting ourselves up to our ears in muck. Though we were never friends at the time, we obviously knew of each other, going to the same school and all that. Grand Rapids wasn’t the grandest town, after all. It was quite a large group of us and we were all playing soccer - very casual rules, I must say. And as I came to shoot the goal, Danny slammed right into me from my left and sending us both to the ground and as we fell, poor Mikey came and tripped over my body, tumbling down beside us.

Being young and resilient as we were, be scraped the mud from our skin and just looked at each other before bursting out laughing, completely in stitches within a few minutes of cackling. We thought it was the funniest thing at the time and ever since then, we’d been practically inseparable -though Danny, being the socialite that he was, had friends all over. However, we were his closest friends.

It was only a couple hours to Lake Superior and that meant only a couple hours of voice-straining and listening to Danny’s screechy singing. Charismatic, he was. A vocalist, he was not. Though I guess that’s the fun in it, right? Just letting go and not caring about what others thought and just enjoying yourself. That didn’t mean that Mikey and I didn’t rip him out for it. “Hah! You’re just jealous that you can’t sing like me!” Danny scoffed before I saw him poking his tongue out childishly in the rearview mirror.

“Yeah, sure,” Mikey replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes. “I’m sure people from far and wide would flock around you just to hear that garbage.”

“Damn straight! And it’s not garbage.”

“You keep telling yourself that, buddy,” I added, turning around in my seat to look at him.

****

Shortly thereafter, we pulled up onto a dirt track that led to a small parking space with enough room for maybe thirty or forty vehicles at best. Mikey parked us near the shade of the towering conifers and then it was all go.

We practically threw ourselves from the Toyota and were quickly tugging our packs from the flatbed, doing up our straps hastily and the odd thing falling out from inside in our rush. We stowed away our stray contents hurriedly and were quickly taking off down one of the narrow, overgrown trails. Of course, Danny led the way, a spring in his step, followed my Mikey and then myself. Danny was whistling in content, gazing up at the overhanging branches and the birds which called them home. It must’ve been nice to be able to just spread your wings and take off whenever you liked. To soar through the air without a care in the world was something I definitely envied. I hadn’t met anyone who didn’t feel the same. Well, other than one of Danny’s friends, Cam. He was deathly afraid of heights so it did absolutely nothing for him.

Anyways, we were just walking along as you do, Mikey passing us all a can each. Though this sort of thing was standard for us, being in someplace even slightly different gave us all a buzz. Being so far removed from anybody and everybody was already feeling great and it had only just begun.

Of course, it wasn’t long before Danny’s whistling became humming and from humming, mumbled lyrics, and so on and so forth. Soon, we were all reciting American Pie word for word, getting really into it. It was a good distraction from our aching soles and creaking spines. The crunching of our boots along the dirt and swishing of legs passing by tall grass was a steady beat we could all keep to.

So I’m guessing you’re picking up on our musical tendencies? We enjoyed singing about as much as the next person. It just so happened to be that during our camping trips, it became a sort of habit. When no one had anything to say, we’d simply start some song we all knew and would carry on from there. We weren’t that weird, I swear.

I think it took us about three hours to reach our camping site. I was never good at estimation. During that time, I’d heard Danny’s voice break three times and watched Mikey trip over air at least half a dozen times over. Poor kid, never the athletic one in the group, that was for sure. He just didn’t know where to put his feet, it seemed. They always came crossing over one another, resulting in him flailing and falling to the ground hilariously. Danny and I never let it go unnoticed.

It was just a small clearing, large enough to pitch our tent, at least. Being the sort of messed up group we were, we often found it difficult to cooperate. We found this especially as we were attempting to pitch the tent; we just couldn’t seem to get it sorted. I’d be threading a rod through while Danny was busy hammering stakes into the ground and Mikey would be fumbling, just trying to fix the knots he had made so effortlessly. It was quite the scene.

Nonetheless, at some point, we actually managed to figure things out and get our tent up and ready to be lived in. However, it may have looked functional, I was more than a little uncertain about actually sleeping in it overnight. Knowing us, the damned thing would collapse within the hour. We’d all just have to pray that wouldn’t be the case.

Still with a few hours of daylight left, we all unanimously decided that the woods were there for us to explore and we would take that opportunity. It was very similar to what we were used to at home; tall pines and redwoods, critters that would hop over the underbrush effortlessly and scurry off whenever they caught sight of people, the sound of birds twittering high in the trees and of course, ticks. Oh god, the ticks. Relentless as always, they clung onto our skin and refused to let go. Although, being who we were, we knew all the secrets and exactly how to get those little buggers off without their bodies leaving without their heads. Quite the skill, I must say.

Coming from Minnesota, there were lakes at every damned street corner. You look to your left, lake. To your right, two lakes. They had almost become an eyesore to us. So although we were camping at Lake Superior, we were planted quite the distance from the water’s edge, completely engulfed in wilderness and towering evergreens. It seemed the perfect place for us.

After maybe two hours of walking, we stumbled upon quite a large cave dug out into the side of a sizeable hill. The interior was pitch black, not a single thing able to be seen. A strange scent wafted from inside, only intriguing the three of us. “Damn! Now this was the sort of thing I was looking forward to!” Danny exclaimed excitedly.

“You were looking forward to finding a smelly bear cave?” I replied, looking at him sideways.

“Well, not specifically, no. But like, don’t you at least think this a little cool?” Danny asked us expectantly.

“Only slightly,” Mikey replied. “I mean, a cave is one thing, but this thing… it reeks!” He wrinkled his nose.

“Smells like something died in there,” I agreed.

“Well it’s not exactly uncommon for a bear to bring its kill back to the den,” Danny reminded us.

“In that case, I have absolutely no desire to traipse on inside,” Mikey stated firmly.

“Second that.” I raised my hand. Danny stared at the two of us, bewilderment in his eyes. But suddenly, that bewilderment formed into something which could only be described as utter petrification.

“G-guys, b-behind you.” He pointed shakily behind us toward the entrance of the cave. Suddenly, our backs became rigid as Mikey and I began to spin around ever so slowly, practically shivering in the fearful anticipation of whatever was behind the two of us. Danny was shaking like a leaf, his skin a ghostly pallor. And then, as we faced the cave, we were faced with only darkness. Not a creature standing at its entrance nor the rustling of movement from within. It was completely empty.

Immediately, the sound of maniac cackling found our ears. Mikey and I turned on our heels in half a second to see Danny bent over, laughing like an idiot. “You guys… you guys are so gullible!” Danny could hardly get the words out through his howling. “That… was the best! I… I got you guys good!” Mikey and I turned to each other and simply rolled our eyes in annoyance at having been fooled so easily. We’d get him back soon enough. We always did.

****

Back at our camping site, we pulled out one of the handhelds we’d brought - we brought three in total in case we ever got separated - and reported in as we promised we would. The sound was crackly and there was a lot of static due to how remote it was here and the lack of a clear path. Nonetheless, it wasn’t long before my mom answered us. We gave her a short explanation of where we were, what we’d done and the current situation.

Once she had been fully informed, we simply lounged around inside our cramped tent lazily, talking about whatever. Danny always had stories to tell about what he’d done with his other crowd and the crazy things they had all done. It was pretty entertaining, surprisingly enough. You’d think that Mikey and I would get a bit salty whenever Danny talked about his other friends but we really weren’t all that bothered. It meant there was always something to talk about.

Mikey had stories that related more to the many times he had embarrassed himself in public - especially in front of a certain girl. Danny and I always gave him hell for it but we had to admit, he had good taste. Patricia Hamill. The classic long legs and tiny waist matched with long blonde hair that looked so damn soft. Like one of those wooly rabbits only a lot less poof-y. That was her. But she wasn’t just a pretty face. Oh no, she had the smarts, too. Not to mention she kicked a*s in the school’s female basketball team. Everyone knew she’d get the captain’s position next year as a senior.

“So how is ole’ Patty these days?” Danny asked, tearing into a bag of beef jerky.

“Her name is Patricia, not Patty,” Mikey corrected. “And I have no idea, considering she doesn’t even know who I am,” he moped.

“Oh yeah, what’s she call you? Mickey?” Danny asked.

“Mitchy,” Mikey answered shamefully.

“Ah, Mitchy. What a douchebag name,” Danny mused, looking upwards trying to look deep.

“Don’t remind me,” Mikey sulked.

“Hey, it could be worse. Not knowing you is better than hating you all together, right Jake?” I knew exactly what Danny was getting at and I had no intention on talking about it.

“Dude, stop,” I told him.

“Ooh sensitive topic, that one.” I just glared harshly at him. “Poor poor Jakey, left by the girl he loved. Darling Jessica, heartless and brutal, wasn’t she? Walking out on you like that. I feel for ya, pal. I really do.” Danny patted me on the back awkwardly.

“Are you done?” I looked at him irritably. Danny held a finger to his chin, apparently contemplating this.

“Hmmm, yes. Yes, I think so.” He nodded firmly. Mikey simply watched the two of us in silence, seemingly afraid to say anything on the matter. I was glad he kept his mouth shut. If he hadn’t, things could have gone much worse.

Do you know how painful it is to be with someone so long and know nothing else than what it’s like to be with them? The way they speak. The way they move. That look they give you that you know belongs to no one else. Well when all that comes to a violent end, it really makes you feel like crap. They still talk the same and have that same walk you loved but now the look you once received has morphed into pure detestation and your look is given to another. So of course it wasn’t my favourite subject to talk about it. It never stopped Danny, though.

As that nightmare of a conversation came to its quick end, there was a rustling from the bushes near our tent. The distinct sound of an animal crashing through the woods, probably in search of a meal. Mikey instantly switched off the electric lamp we had going and we all sat stock-still, waiting for whatever it was to pass us by. Probably just a deer, I thought to myself. They always came out during the night to graze.

However, a deer would usually only snap a twig or two while meandering through the woods. This was so much louder and violent. Booming footsteps were stumbling through, snapping branches and shaking the shrubbery. Heavy, raspy breathing could be heard through the tent’s thin  canvas walls. The three of us just watched each other, not moving a single muscle. But as soon as it came, it was gone, leaving its noisy trail behind.

Once we were certain it was gone, we all let out breaths we didn't know we were holding. We all had become incredibly tense as we processed what had just happened. None of us seemed to know what to say. “What the heck was that?” Mikey broke the silence.

“Bear?” Danny offered.

“A bear? I don’t think so. Did you hear that thing’s breathing? No bear sounds like that. Nothing sounds like that,” Mikey stated firmly.

“Well whatever it was, it’s gone now,” I told them. “No need to worry. For all we know, it could’ve been a lost hiker. They’re not exactly rare,” I rationalised.

“Plus, if you’d been wandering around the woods all day, you would be pretty tired,” Mikey agreed. “Makes sense, I suppose.”

“Do you think we should go and look for him, then? You know, offer some help?” Danny asked us. Mikey and I looked to each other with uncertainty. We didn’t know what it was for certain and if we were wrong…

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Mikey answered. “Not after dark like this. It’s not safe.” Danny gave Mikey a look that said ‘really?’

“Always the buzzkill, Mikey. We’ve been camping and hunting in the woods for as long as we can remember. I’m sure we’ll be fine.” I knew what Mikey was thinking because I was having the same thoughts. We’d never been here before. We didn’t know this place like the backs of our hands like back home. This was different.

“Guys, if it’s all the same to you, I think I’m just gonna hit the hay. No point int worrying over it. See you all in the morning.” I waved weakly before falling back onto my poor excuse for a pillow, pulling the sleeping bag around me tightly. Always a comforting gesture.

The lamp was never switched on again and I didn’t hear either Mikey’s or Danny’s voice again that night. It seemed they must’ve thought it a good idea to turn in for the night, too. Unlike some, I never fell asleep quickly. I’d always lie awake in bed for hours at a time before sleep would finally tug at my eyelids as fatigue would overcome me. Tonight was no different.

I tossed and turned, finding the sleeping bag too hot but without it, I was all but freezing to death. The pillow was too flat and narrow and I’d slide off my thin bedroll easily. The slightest sound out in the woods would have my full attention, be it a bird flying through the trees or a coyote howling into the night. I was no stranger to paranoia, that was for sure.

Nonetheless, I must have fallen under eventually because I woke up after Danny shoved me accidentally as he rose from his sleeping bag along with a tired and groggy Mikey, rubbing at his eyes drowsily. I knew I mustn’t have slept long yet I didn’t feel an ounce of weariness that morning. I supposed that was a plus.

After everyone had adjusted to wakefulness, we opened our packs and grabbed whatever canned goods we’d managed to get our hands on. I took my can of peaches and a spork and began digging in hungrily while the other two had nectarines. It wasn’t the worst way to start the day. 

Wiping our faces free of sticky fruit juice, we each grabbed a bottle of water and slapped ourselves down with sunscreen. Mikey carried his pack with the essentials just in case of emergency, though we were sure it wouldn’t be needed. Glancing around our campsite, I saw the branches of nearby trees had been broken from their trunks and the bark had been scraped aggressively, deep claw marks etched into the wood. I drew my fingers across them in curiosity, admiring the strength and power which would have been required to do such damage as this. I’d never seen anything like it in all my life.

“Dude, c’mon! Let’s go,” Danny called over to me. I quickly diverted my attention over to him, somewhat in a daze.

“What? Oh right, yeah.” I nodded before joining them, still thinking about the harsh claw marks.

“What were you looking at over there?” he asked me, glancing over his shoulder.

“Oh, um… nothing. I was looking at um, nothing,” I answered, rubbing at the back of my neck.

“Man you really need to get some more sleep one of these days. It’s obviously wearing you down,” Danny told me, something similar to concern coming off his tongue. I waved him off.

“He’s right, you know,” Mikey agreed. “We know about your insomnia. You gotta get that sorted.” I knew it was a problem but that wasn’t what was to be worried about right now. This had nothing to do with it. 

“Yeah, sure. Let’s just focus on enjoying ourselves, ‘kay?” I told them with an air of finality, getting them off the subject.

“You know, a funny thing about the birds here, did you know they-” Mikey started before standing on one of his laces, tripping and falling onto his bare hands. “-ugh,” he groaned. Danny and I struggled to stifle our laughter at his incredible fall. The way his arms flew high above his head as he went down was hilarious. Like something out of a low-budget comedy.

As Mikey got back to his feet, wiping his hands on his pants, I noticed a red stain wearing into the fabric. “Did you cut your hands on something?” I asked him, staring and the drying crimson.

“What? No,” Mikey answered, looking down at his hands. Gazing at his palms, his eyes grew wide at what he was seeing before he flashed them toward us; they were coated in an oozing scarlet, sticky and dripping down to the earth below. Simultaneously, we all looked down to where Mikey had fallen and we each took three steps back. The decayed leaves which had collected on the ground were decorated a thick layer of blood, a strong metallic smell wafting through the air. Mikey’s face grew pale before he began gagging, eventually emptying his breakfast onto the forest floor. Danny and I couldn’t bear to watch.

“You know what? Maybe your mom was right,” Danny said with a quivering voice. “Maybe we should’ve just stayed around Grand Rapids. This place is really starting to freak me out.”

“S-second that,” Mikey stuttered, recovering from his retching.

“Can’t say I’m all that eager to stay, either,” I agreed. “Let’s just get back to camp, call in on the handheld and get the heck out of dodge.”

“Sounds like a damn fine plan to me,” Danny replied before all but shoving past me in the direction of the tent. 

We all marched our way out of the woods and were back at our camping site in less than an hour, paranoid and shaken. Poor Mikey’s face had been drained of all its colour, leaving it in a sickly pallor. Danny grabbed the radio swiftly and called in to let my mom know our plan before we tore down the tent and packed it away hastily. We weren’t even bothered by how well or messily we shoved it away. We just wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible.

Soon, with our packs on our backs, we were tearing off through the woods back in the direction of the carpark. At least that was what we thought. As we stumbled over the underbrush, the path seemed unfamiliar and becoming much less distinct. Something seemed very off. “Hey, are you sure this is the right way?” Mikey asked, his voice laced with fear and panic.

“Yes, I’m sure,” Danny answered confidently, though both Mikey and I were unsure of that. I was almost certain Danny felt so, too. “We just… we just have to go down here,” Danny assured us before taking a left around a particularly large and sprawling redwood.

“I don’t think it took us this long to get to our camp yesterday…” Mikey thought aloud. Danny turned around, glaring daggers at him. Mikey immediately shut his mouth. Danny nodded before turning back around, sighing exasperatedly. 

“You have so little faith in me. I’m offended,” he joked humourlessly.

“I think Mikey’s right,” I spoke up. “I swear it didn’t take nearly this long. I think we’re lost, dude.” Abruptly, Danny came to a stop and spun around to face us.

“We’re not lost. We’re just… taking the scenic route,” he reassured us.

“In this place? Yeah, I don’t think so.” I shook my head. “We gotta get outta here and fast,” I told him urgently.

“Yeah well your complaining isn’t helping,” Danny retorted.

“Well we can’t have you leading us in the wrong direction for hours,” I replied in frustration.

“Fine then. You lead the way,” Danny said, stepping to the side. Though I was reluctant, I took my place in front of him. I quickly surveyed the area, looking upward at the sky. It was about two o’clock in the afternoon which had to mean that the sun would be to the south-west. If I had recalled correctly, we had headed almost exactly due east of the carpark for a couple hours until we set up our camp. It appeared that we had been hiking northward this entire time. Hoping I had calculated correctly, I took off in the direction of the sun with Mikey and Danny close behind.

After about an hour of walking, came Danny’s complaining, “I don’t think this is right, Jake.” His voice was whiny like a child’s.

“Trust me, I think this is the way.” The keyword being think. Danny huffed loudly but I ignored him as I wound my way through the shrubbery, leaving a trail for the two of them to follow.

However, it seemed Danny had been correct as after another half hour or so of walking, we came to a cliff’s edge. A cliff I didn’t even know existed around here. I’d never heard of any overlooks near Lake Superior. Still, we couldn’t argue with what was right in front of us. Peering over the edge, it was quite a ways down but not quite devastating. Almost survivable of a fall, I’d say.

“See? Wrong way.” Danny shook his head with an air of superiority. Though I hadn’t led us to where we had desired, from the edge of the cliff, we were able to overlook the woods almost completely. Funny, I hadn’t even noticed an incline. Gazing across the landscape, I was filled with hope as I caught sight of shining steel. The bright silver of a camper’s SUV.

“Look! Over there! There’s the carpark!” I pointed toward the shimmering light. “At least I wasn’t all wrong. We’ll just walk back down and circle around until we’re at the foot of the cliff. Shouldn’t be too hard.” Danny and Mikey both agreed and so we spun around to head back but as we did so, Mikey’s foot slipped and landed on crumbling dirt which fell away beneath him. Stunned by the sudden lack of footing, he stumbled backward and grabbed onto my sleeve for stability. However, I hadn’t been prepared and fell backward, dragging Danny down, also.

Suddenly, the three of us came hurling downward, plunging toward the hard ground below. We hadn’t the time to panic nor the time to evade harm and injury. Our bodies simply hit the ground roughly and our vision was immediately lost.

****

I didn’t know how long I’d been unconscious when I finally woke. My head was pounding and my back throbbing. That was the least painful of all. My right leg had a sharp pain shooting through it and as I looked down, I saw it was pointing in a very unnatural direction. It was definitely broken. Probably in multiple places. 

Looking over to my right, I saw Danny begin to stir, getting up on his hands roughly before falling back down again. “Ah! My elbow!” he cried, resting his arm on his lap gingerly, his knees tucked to his chest. I saw a steady flow of blood trickling from his temple. “Ugh… my head,” he groaned as he touched a finger to the blood with his free hand. He glanced at the blood before wiping it on his shirt. He looked over to me, smiling meekly. “You alright?”

“Broken leg. Other than that, yeah I’m good,” I told him. He nodded.

“Good. And how’s Mikey?” He asked, jutting his chin out toward him.

“I don’t know. He hasn’t woken up yet,” I answered, turning my attention to Mikey’s limp, unconscious body. Carefully, I rolled his head up so that I could examine it to see if he was okay but when I did, I almost screamed out of shock and fear. Poor Mikey, his cold, lifeless eyes staring blankly into nothingness. His skin was cold to the touch and there was no warm air from his nostrils. He’d taken the brunt of the impact, saving Danny and I. A single tear trailed down my cheek.

I looked up at Danny who just watched me, his eyebrows furrowed. He didn’t say a word; he simply stared. I didn’t know what he was thinking, and frankly, I didn’t want to. All I could do was look down at Mikey’s fresh corpse and think of all the times we had spent together. He’d helped me get through some pretty tough times and I was always there for him. Now, it didn’t seem any of that mattered.

With great effort, Danny hauled himself up into a standing position, surveying the immediate area. We must’ve been out for quite a while because the sun was quickly falling from its perch in the sky and soon, we would be engulfed in night. Danny shrugged off his pack painfully which had broken most of his fall - along with Mikey - and began searching through it with his free arm, pulling out the battery powered lamp. He set it up between the two of us, in front of Mikey’s head which was furthermost from the foot of the steep cliff.

I couldn’t bear to see Mikey in such a state. So cold and unmoving. Biting through the agony, I dragged myself away from his body, realising that I had been draped over him almost entirely. It had been my doing. I had crushed the life out of him. Horrified, I looked to Danny who gave me a sympathetic look. “It’s not your fault.” His voice was barely above a murmur. I didn’t answer him. He wouldn’t like my response, I knew that.

I pulled off my pack, difficult as it had been, and began rummaging through, looking for something of use. We hadn’t brought anything in the way of splints or the like - just a basic first aid kit. Thinking back, it was stupid of us not to bring such a thing. However, hindsight was useless.

As the final rays of the sun passed beneath the tree tops, we found ourselves trapped in darkness, the only light coming from the small lantern. Danny sat crosslegged staring into the fluorescent lighting, obviously lost in his own head. Who wouldn’t be? With all that had happened in such a short span of time, one could never hope of ridding it from their mind. That sort of thing became branded into your head forever.

Mikey still beside me, I looked to him, guilt tearing at me. If I had been stronger, none of us would have fallen. If I had fallen just slightly further to the left, he wouldn’t have been crushed. He might’ve still been alive. But no, here he lay, his eyes unblinking and his lungs never drawing another breath. Taking a deep breath, I brushed my fingers across his cold face and drew his eyelids shut. Now, he was just sleeping.

Soon, the cold began to set in and Danny and I were adding layers upon layers of clothing onto our bodies to try and battle the chill. It was fortunate that it happened to be summer. During the winter, we would’ve frozen to death by now. As I was grabbing more clothing from my pack, I pulled out a regular cotton shirt. It was nothing special; white with horizontal pinstripes. But when I found it, an idea came to mind.

I began tearing it at the seams, ripping it free until it was nothing more than a limp rag. Danny eyed me skeptically but never said anything until I asked him to sit next to me. “Dude, I know times are tough and all but we are not having any heartfelt moments, got it?” I rolled my eyes dramatically.

“Just shut up and get over here would you?” Wincing, Danny got to his feet and then crouched down beside me, falling onto the small of his back roughly, holding the rest of his weight only with his left hand, letting his legs lay outstretched before him. Carefully, I took the new rag and tucked it under his injured arm, folding half of it around the outside. I then took what used to be the sleeves and tied them around his neck, nice and secure. Danny looked down at his makeshift sling, something closely resembling a smile appearing on his face.

“Thanks man. Makes life a bit easier, doesn’t it?” I nodded silently before we resumed our night of desolation and despair. We felt so weak and helpless; there was nothing we could do. 

That was when we heard the rustling. The strong shaking of the brush and the breaking of branches. Heavy footsteps could be heard marching across the dirt, kicking away the decaying leaves and snapping twigs. Danny and I held our breath, switching the lantern off in an instant. Its raspy breathing was nearing us and Danny and I could only look to each other in fear, looking for comfort but finding none.

Then there was its silhouette. I’d never seen anything like it. A tall figure with an unhealthily thin body. Still, its pure strength could be seen merely by the way it moved; large, powerful steps that pounded the ground. It must’ve seen something or caught a scent because suddenly, its head snapped to attention and it made its way toward us. Danny and I were both sweating bullets as it neared.

Standing only a few feet away from us, I was able to fully examine its body; its sickly, monstrous body. Pale, translucent skin clung to its bones. Ragged nails were kept at its feet and hands. The thing’s eyes sat sunken into its skull, where the skin hung so tightly, revealing every crevice. Thin, wispy hairs sat on its bulbous head and its ribs were so easily visible on its stomach. However, through all of this, its features looked like at one time, they were almost… human.

As it sniffed the air, it seemed unable to really see us. That didn’t stop it from walking toward us, stumbling upon Mikey’s body. It gazed down at the corpse before scooping him up over his shoulder effortlessly. Danny and I had never been so horrified nor terrified in our lives. As it turned to leave us be, all three handheld radios crackled to life, my mother’s worried voice on the other end. I cursed her in my head as the creature’s back erected, hard and rigid. It turned around slowly to see Danny and I hastily attempting to silence the radios.

It let out a bloodcurdling roar before knocking Danny to the ground, slashing his face with its rough claws. Danny didn’t get back up again. Then it turned to me, snarling wickedly, revealing its rotten teeth and sticky, oozing saliva which dripped from its jaw. Fear-stricken, I watched as this beast reeled back its lanky yet strong arm, bringing it back around and making contact with my jaw, sending me to the turf, consciousness escaping me.

****

I woke to the feeling of something constricting my wrists tightly. They felt painful and raw. My feet, however, dangled beneath my body, bound together. My head was throbbing and everything ached. My snapped leg was in pure agony. Lifting my head, I looked over to my left where Danny was hanging beside me, still passed out. There were three clean slashes across his cheek, still bleeding. “Danny,” I groaned. “Danny, wake up.” He moaned and grunted as he came to, glancing over at me without lifting his head. His arm looked to be in so much pain at its distorted angle.

“J-Jake? Jake, where are we?” He looked at me with desperation in his eyes. 

“I… I don't know. But we can’t stay here,” I told him firmly. “There’s gotta be a way to break these chains,” I said as I gazed upward at them, rattling them vigorously. However, no matter how much I shook them, they wouldn’t budge. They just continued to clatter against the stone wall behind me, banging loudly, the sound ricocheting around the room.

Suddenly, that silhouette we both knew was cast upon the wall of a corridor which must have led outside. It was moving closer and closer until that creature finally moved into sight. In one of its “hands” it held some foul-smelling meat in the other, a small wooden bowl. The scent was familiar though I was unsure where I recognised it from. It saw the pair of us and quickened its lengthy stride, making a beeline right for me. I’d never been so afraid in all my life as this creature of nightmares approached me.

It stood before me, looking me over from every angle. It even dropped its bowl and held its sickly, damp fingers below my chin. I looked down at it, wincing and holding my breath unknowingly. Then, it simply took its free hand and poked my chest, digging its crooked and cracked nails through my skin. I cried out in agony at the sensation of this thing’s finger digging deeper and deeper into my body before it began to drag its hand downward so painstakingly slow. It traced down to my waist, slitting the flesh so roughly with no concern for my agony. Even as it took its hand away from my body, leaving me panting and aching, my blood spilling onto the stone floor below, it wasn’t finished.

No, it then dropped the meat in its other hand and used them both to pull my skin away, exposing everything within without killing me, though at this point, I wished it had. It picked up the bowl from the floor, taking some strange-looking paste from it and smeared it inside of me agonisingly, my bleeding slowing. This kind of torment was indescribable and I wished it upon nobody else. I just wanted to go back home. But even though I felt there was nothing worse than what I was experiencing, I had been oh, so wrong, for this beast picked its hunk of meat from the ground and approached Danny. I observed its movement, trying to ignore the unbearable pain that had been forced upon me. The meat in its hand still had tufts of fur stuck to it. Chestnut brown fur. It was unmistakeable. That “fur” had once been the mop that sat on Mikey’s head, shaggy and far too long.

Disgusted and horrified, I watched as it pried Danny’s mouth open and forced Mikey’s flesh into his mouth. Danny was wide-eyed and whimpering, tears running down his face as the creature made him chew. As he finally swallowed, a wispy grey smoke drifted into the room, circling and circling before it found Danny and raced toward him, entering through his nostrils. Danny’s back arched as he writhed with this stuff in him. He began to pant and breathe heavily, sweat dripping from his forehead as something appeared to take him over.

Apparently satisfied, the creature left us alone in the room, Danny thrashing in his chains and I, dripping to the floor. I could hardly comprehend this situation and my voice was failing me. I wished only to be free of this place but that was an impossibility, I knew. “Damned creatures, aren’t they?” A gruff voice said from somewhere beside me. Through the pain, I forced myself to look to the right to see an older man hanging from the same chains which bound us here. His feathery grey beard hung down to his chest and his white hair was almost as long. He too had been slashed across the stomach, though he looked different. His body, it seemed to have been… fed upon. The flesh chewed at, small pieces at a time. Obviously, seeing my mixture of fear and concern, he merely chuckled. “Heh, yeah this’ll happen to you too, I’m afraid. We been strung up like cattle, we have. Just ready to be picked at whenever these beasts like. Bloody monsters.” He shook his head. Examining his wrists, they appeared red and raw from his shackles. I wondered if mine were the same. They sure felt like it, that was for sure.

“You… know what these… these things are?” I managed to ask through my suffering and heavy breathing. He nodded solemnly.

“Aye. They’re called Wendigo by the Native Americans. Nasty things. Monsters born out of human cannibalism, they are,” he explained. “Their spirit enters the body of any man who has reverted to cannibalism to survive. Your ole’ pal over there… well, let’s just say he ain’t gonna be your pal shortly.” My eyes grew wide as I processed what he was telling me. After being fed Mikey, Danny was going to turn into one of those things. There was so much wrong with this situation and it made me feel incredibly nauseous just thinking about it.

“You’re… you’re not serious?” Again, he nodded, only solidifying these fears. “Is there a cure?” I asked him urgently.

“Hah! Even if there was, how d’ya reckon you’d be able to get your hands on one? Or even get it to him? We’re stuck here, there’s nothin’ that can be done about it. Hell, I’ve been here for… a week? A month? Hard to tell from in here.” My blood suddenly drained from my face and pooled at my feet as I considered the idea of being tied up here for weeks on end. I’d rather be killed now rather than over the course of a month.

“So it’s really hopeless, then?”

“‘Fraid so.” There was so much going on in my head, yet I couldn’t focus on a single thing. This was the end. This was it.

****

As that man had said, I found escaping to be impossible. Anytime I tried to rattle my shackles free, one of those Wendigo creatures would appear, taking a bite while it was at it. It would dig its hand into my unhealed wound, bringing out a small piece of my flesh - blood, organs, tissue, anything it could get its hands on - and shove it into its face, letting the remnants drip from its mouth and down onto the cold stone at its feet.

Danny writhed uncontrollably for hours on end, sweating and panting. Every hour or so, a Wendigo would enter and force more meat into his mouth, feeding the beast inside him. I could see his skin paling, losing its opaque complexion and his hair had began to fall from his head. Even his eyes were sinking backward into his skull. His teeth had become yellow and gnarled, sharp and fang-like, even. He wasn’t Danny anymore. That, I could see. He would never be the same.

And eventually, the violent thrashing came to a sudden halt, the cold room becoming eerily silent. I looked over to Danny who clearly was no longer Danny. He was one of them. His skin had tightened and been pulled along his body and his eyes were bulging in their sockets. His body had elongated to where his feet almost reached the floor and his finger and toenails looked ragged and chewed.

He turned his head to me, a certain hunger in his eyes. He roared loudly just as the others did and one came to his call. The Wendigo examined Danny before it broke the chains simply by tugging at them effortlessly. They fell from the ceiling and then the Wendigo pried them from Danny’s red wrists.

Danny turned to me hungrily, visibly salivating. He walked up to me, his facial expression lustful. He ran his fingers along my body agonisingly. I cringed at his touch but he didn’t care as he continued to caress me. Then it became so much worse. So, so much worse.

Looking me dead in the eye, Danny plunged his hand into my stomach, feeling everything inside. I couldn’t even comprehend my own pain as I watched him, tears falling from my eyes. I groaned soundlessly as he allowed his fingers to wander through me before pulling them out violently, bringing something out with them. Smirking wickedly, he touched my flesh to his tongue, savouring the taste, my own blood dripping from his chin.

“D-don’t… do this,” I moaned. “D-Danny.” He didn’t listen to me nor even process my words as he plunged his hand in again. And again. Over and over. My vision was beginning to fail me as he feasted incessantly, with not a care in the world. I couldn’t believe that he who was once one of my best friends had been swayed like this - transformed into an abomination.

 I felt myself suddenly falling. Falling from this reality to the next. No matter how hard I gripped onto the here and now, it was a futile effort. There was no saving me now. I was gone just as Danny and poor Mikey were.

Reviews

[Lady Celery]

I always love reading creepy things at night so I was happy to read this. I really enjoyed the characters and their conversations, they were a fun bunch. But now, oddly, I feel a little hungry...

[Sophie Marshall]

Thank you so much for the feedback! Honestly, I was a little hesitant in posting because it might have been too much but I'm glad you liked it! I really enjoyed developing my characters so I'm happy that they turned out okay! :)

[Lady Celery]

Well hey, nice work! I know how scary posting stories can be. I really liked this!