Horror logo

Into The Woods

By Tracy Lawson

By Tracy LawsonPublished 3 years ago 7 min read
Like
Photo Credit to McCauley's Haunted Woods

I hope you enjoy this Halloween story. It's going to be a beautiful 31 days of Halloween. Have a safe Halloween.

9:45 PM

The road in front of him was illuminated faintly from the eerie glow of the full moon. If it weren't for the moon and his truck's bright lights, he would be plunged into a world of darkness, unable to see clearly. The long stretch of the highway was eerily quiet and there were no other cars or trucks. There usually was. But he was alone.

There wasn't anything out of the ordinary. His truck's radio was playing some classic rock n' roll music. He enjoyed hearing the classic rock n' roll and sometimes heavy metal. It was his taste in music. As he drove up the highway, it forked into two different directions. He paused at the fork, wondering which direction to head upon. One road was a blacktopped asphalted road. It had the normal yellow reflective lines in the middle and one white reflective rectangle. There was also a stop sign. It seemed that this road would be the one to take. The road on the left was a gravel dirt road.

He shifted the gearshift into 'park' to consult his directions briefly. The directions pointed in the direction of the dirt road. He shifted into 'drive' the truck, laid the directions on the passenger seat, and began to drive up the dirt road. The gravel clanged on the underside of his truck as he drove.

Right, and left of him were woods which were darker, even with the faint glow of the moonlight. The dirt road was once wide, grew narrow and he drove a little slower in case there were other people driving down the dirt road.

Then all of a sudden, his radio switched to another radio station. He took his eyes off the road for a moment to glance at the radio. It went right onto a program. He could hardly hear the announcer. The announcer spoke in low tones.

When he looked up, he saw a white flurry of movement on the right side. A quick glance at the clock revealed 12:00 AM. He rubbed his eyes with a finger. It couldn't be that late! How did time fly so quickly when he just took the road about 10ish. He quickly pulled to a stop and took a few deep breaths. He looked around and wondered if he should turn around and go back onto the paved road and take the other way.

He carefully eased his truck forward, looking for the first turn around he could find. The more he drove, the more the road seemed to be endless. Another flutter of white caught his eye and he stopped. His heart started to pound in his chest.

"I'm seeing ghosts." He mumbled to himself as began to drive again. His eyes were darting to and fro. Slowly, a cold feeling settled into his stomach and the dirt road forked. One road led directly into the woods and the other one seemed to be so unkempt and wild. There was no way he was going up that unkempt road. He decided that he would turn around here and then go back the way he came.

He didn't want to proceed up this dirt road or the unkempt road. He proceeded down the gravel dirt road. He was starting to relax and think everything was going to go right.

But then something popped up in front of him. It was a girl with a white dress, long black curly hair, and a rosy red cheek complexion. He slammed on his brakes and stopped in front of the little girl. The little girl smiled and then ran off into the woods.

"Wait!" He exclaimed, his fatherly instincts coming into light. "Where are you going?" He quickly parked his car and grabbed a flashlight. Then he opened the door and ran after the girl. "Come here."

The woods were dark, moist, and smelled of earth. Fog wisps covered the ground. Mud caked his shoes as he ran after the innocent girl. The girl turned and smiled again. She seemed to float as she ran through the woods, joyfully giggling. "Catch me if you can." She taunted.

He couldn't believe that this girl was here, playing in the eerie woods. "Wait! Little girl! Don't run."

He slipped and steadied himself. His flashlight beam danced around, looking for the girl. She appeared far away now. Waving and dancing. Twirling, and laughing. "Hello! Over here!"

He hurried forward, not realizing that the more he followed her, the more he was lead away from his truck. Then the girl jumped up and down. "Look. Look what I can do!"

In an instant, the little girl transformed. Standing 8 feet tall was a grotesque figure with glowing red eyes and glistening fangs. It sniffed the air with its wet nose and licked its lips with a smooth large tongue. It was dark and reeked of Earth. Its skin was darker than night. It let out a rattling breath and then spoke in a voice that chilled anyone. "You've finally arrived."

He seemed almost mesmerized and then his brain clicked. He turned and bolted. Running as if his life mattered to him. He flicked his flashlight, right and left, trying so hard to find his truck! The lights. The open inviting door. But there was none.

Then he saw his truck---It was so far away---and the woods expanded in front of him.

He heard a rattling breath from behind him and laughter issuing from around him. He just kept running and running, until something hit him from behind. It was like a cold splash of mud. He fell down, the flashlight falling out of his hand and landing near a bush.

He could hear something on top of him and a chuckle. "That was fun!" Then something dragged its claws across his back, ever so lightly. Not enough to harm. Clawed hands gripped his shirt and lifted him up.

For a moment, he hung in midair- before the 'thing' turned him around. It was even more terrifying. Even more terrifying now that he could see him. The red eyes were glaring at him. He saw rows and rows of glistening teeth oozing with saliva. Its breath was so rank and smelled of rotten meat or something else. He couldn't tell and let out a terrified shriek when the 'thing' opened his mouth wide. He could see a black, dark abyss. The 'thing' moved him forward to its wide maw, but then stopped midway between the incisors. The 'thing' drew him out of its maw. Then the 'thing' dropped him to the muddy ground and took off into the woods, leaving large wet footprints behind. He landed with a plop, into a wet spot of muddy water and mud. He took a deep breath of fresh air.

When he stood up, he felt his legs trembling as he made his way to his truck. He got in and sat there for a moment, trying to figure out what he had just seen? What did he just see? He reached out to grab the door and closed it. His hands were shaking as he reached for the ignition. He didn't feel any keys in the ignition. His heart sank. What happened to his keys? Did he leave them in the woods? His heart pounding, he felt around for the keys. He found the spare keys and started his truck. It took him a moment to compose himself. He began to drive down the road at a faster speed. He clearly didn't want to stay much longer in these woods. The pavement was just ahead and he sped down the road, feeling a little more at ease. When he looked at the time, he was surprised it was 5:45 AM! He couldn't believe what the clock said. It had read differently when he walked into the woods. How did he lose so much time? He wasn't sure and drove straight home, forgoing his destination. If anything, he may have just went through a dimension he knew nothing about.

The house was a welcome sight and when he pulled into the driveway, he relaxed even more. He turned off the truck and opened the door. He left his truck and walked into the house. He walked straight into the bathroom and freshened himself up. Walking out of the bathroom, he noticed an article in the newspaper. "Missing Person: Mike Gracier. Last seen driving a red truck on 10/19/2020. If seen, please call 911." He was even more baffled about this missing person report and was concerned. That was his name! He couldn't have been missing for more than a day. It made no sense and went to the living room to see what the news had to say. He had been gone a week, according to the news. And then there was another article about the woods. It showed the two forks. One led to another dimension and another one led to another town. Mike rubbed his eyes and head. He was still dismayed and had more questions than answers. Mike also heard that few people ever lived to tell the tale of a mud monster. He collapsed into a recliner and wondered what to do. Then he decided. "Call the local sheriff and tell him what happened," He said to himself.

He reached for the nearby phone and said, "Sheriff? You won't believe what happened to me. My name's Mike Gracier."

halloween
Like

About the Creator

Tracy Lawson

Hello everyone. I'm a science fiction, fantasy, horror, real life author. I enjoy writing poetry as well in my spare time. I'm happy to share my stories on here with the hopes of getting out there.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.