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Chapter One: A Prequel To Remember
Eliot entered a darkened room, and saw newspaper clippings all over the wall. Mostly about a family that had all gone missing while hiking in the Oregon Cascade Mountain Range. Something went wrong.
Based on a forest ranger testimony, the sole survivor frantically gave an account of what happened, and then disappeared.
To try and recapture that moment, we make this attempt:
Jasmine, was enjoying the hike. “There should be more hiking in this life, but surely in Heaven,” She said to her young daughter. “Yes, in Heaven for sure,” was the happy reply.
They had been hiking for about two hours on the trail, and were about to turn back, as they knew they were in pretty deep. Getting back to the main road would be imperative, before dark; however, they were not thinking of this fact. They had gotten a late start, and had also lost track of time.
No one knew they had gone hiking that day.
They had no survival gear. No weapon. No bear spray. Not even a pointy stick.
Perhaps this adventure was a last minute decision, and these mistakes could have been made by anyone.
Jasmine’s son and husband were also with them that fateful day. Her son kept getting too far ahead, but they were not concerned.
Jasmine’s daughter kept falling behind, but they were not too concerned about this either.
The two adults of the group started up a very serious discussion which had them distracted. Two responsible and normally careful, adults, and a perfect day.
Had the forest Just fallen silent? Yes, it had, but they were unaware.
A slight mist was developing around them, but they were unaware of this too.
“Mommy, I see a baby” exclaimed her daughter, and off she went. This was crazy right?
Jasmine said to her husband, “Did you hear that? Something about a baby.” She turned and saw her five year old daughter disappearing down the trail they had just come. Turning to her husband, she looked past him and then noticed that her son was almost out of site up the trail, and could faintly hear his voice chattering away. She looked in horror at her husband, directly, and pushed him, without speaking to imply “You go up the trail, and I will go back down the trail. NOW!”
Now they felt like they were being watched. They had felt this way for about an hour, but did either of them bring it up? No, because that would be silly?
If they had an overhead view, there were “mysterious beings” all around them. Hidden in plain sight really. What were their intentions?
Jasmine had gotten a small distance from her husband, as she turned to glance back at him, “WOOSH!” Crashing, a giant dark mass grabbed her husband and then immediately was gone. It was a blur!
In horror, she paused, as she heard the crackling of sticks and other dead tree debris, under a massive weight. She would have ran after him, but the children?
Her son was eight years old and thus was more able to fend for himself, so go after her daughter? Her daughter had seen “a baby” so she is near other people, and thus was safe, so go after her son? She had to act fast!
She ran up the trail, up the hill to her son, and this took forever, so it felt. Get up the hill! Her son had just gone over the top of it. Tripping on a rock, she stumbled but stayed upright. She called out for him often, but kept it awkwardly quiet so as not to be heard by the mysterious large mass.
Note: a Creature like this knows where you are in the forest, and it doesn’t matter how quiet you are.
Top of the trail, she looks over, and screams like never screamed before. Her eyes felt as if they would pop out, because the trail was empty. Many yards, and many feet, an expanse really, as she could see an empty trail for what seemed like forever as she gazed upon it.
Where was her son?
No time to lose, as she turned in an instant, and was now fleeing back down the trail in pursuit of her daughter; who, she hoped was safe with that baby.
Beyond horror, was this Hell? Had she died on this trail and now she was in torment? Perhaps a portal into hell? The oppression fell upon her. She could feel it. She prayed in desperation for all to be OK, but how to pray? It all happened so fast. The smell of sulfur did not help. Perhaps she would have been in more control if it was only her, but her family was in peril, and every second counted. Today it was true, bad things do happen to good people.
Trying to manage her own fear, and sense of loss, she raced on. No stumbling over rocks this time. She hurdled past her husband’s abduction point, hoping not to be snatched by some monster; anticipating a black mass collision, that didn’t happen, but then rocks! This time, not stumbling over them, but being hit by them. Something was throwing rocks at her! She felt the first one hit her in the back of her shoulders. Thwack! That hurt!
Note: accounts of being hit by rocks in the first often are not meant to hurt, but instead to play or mess with your mind. This was different, and she could feel the difference.
Then she heard her heart pounding, and it was all she could hear. Then she thought about how there was nothing else to hear. No birds, no frogs, no bees buzzing, no wind blowing through the trees. What stops the wind from blowing?
She had reached where her daughter “should” have been, and nothing. Realizing this disappointment, and figuring she needed to not pass too much further, her need to stop defied the laws of physics. At least the laws we are aware of, and so she fell. Sliding into the dirt head first, she slid. Oh this hurt, and she slid some more. As if crossing a barrier, as she slid to a stop, she could now hear the sounds of the forest, and a refreshing breeze wafted over her dirty and warm face.
Without fully thinking about it she turned to awkwardly crawl back the other way, back towards the silence. She had to go back to the silence, but It was gone!
Bloodied and hysterical, she screamed a mighty roaring sound that lasted, a great while. Just then, before she could finish, “thwak” she was hit. Suddenly, hard to breath, it was as if she was having a stroke. Loss of memory and confusion ensued. She collapsed to her hands and knees, she tried to gather herself. She heard loud noises, but felt blind.
She then remembered nothing, but found herself waking up, back at her car leaning against the driver’s side door. A dead squirrel in her lap.
