The Land of the Surviving

Across the ocean and beyond the treacherous mountaintops lay a small village that was lost and forgotten. Some of the most unspeakable events happen there. The things you only hear about in fairy tales. Werewolves chasing the vampires, statues coming to life, and even the ax murders in the woods and much more happen here in the Land of the Surviving. Everyone thinks it is just an old abandoned town, but they will never know the truth.

No one ever came to visit this small town, only lost tourists and crazy drunk people. Oddly enough, whenever the abandoned town had a visitor, that visitor was never seen again. What many people didn’t know was that the town was very much alive. From the treetops all the way down to the insects crawling around on the ground. Although these weren’t the regular residents that you might be thinking of.

Today was one of those peculiar days, as a group of adventurous college students came hiking down the peak of Dooms Mountain. Everyone laughing and goofing off, not knowing what was truly going to happen by spending the night in the Land of the Surviving. Boxes of beer in all of their hands, one right after another. Along with their sleeping bags draped over their shoulders carelessly, as they begin to enter into the seemly abandoned town. The buildings being taken over by the overgrowth, as it takes back what originally was the forests.

Eyes coming from every direction, watching the newcomers' every step, as if they are ready to pounce at any moment. All you can hear is the cracking and rustling of the breaking tree branches. The breeze flowing through the leaves only it wasn’t wind it was the whispers of the creatures living there. As if they were warning the newcomers to leave while they had the chance. Only that none of them would listen close enough to hear to whispers, all of them too focused on each other instead of their surroundings.

“Charlie, how about you go off in the woods and go get some firewood while we set up camp?” a high pitched squeaky voice said as it interrupted everyone’s conversations at once.

“But Brittany, I don’t want to go out there alone,” Charlie whined in reply.

“Are you saying you are a baby?”

“No, I just don’t want to get lost is all,” Charlie said as his voice got quieter and he turned and started walking towards a patch of gnarled trees.

Later that night a bomb fire was built in the middle of town illuminating the dark night sky. The college students having a beer in their hands and dancing around the fire as some of them sat and watched their drunk friends make a fool of themselves. All of them having a good time laughing and talking. They all settle down talking and taking turns trying to make their friends scared as they tell ghost stories.

“Danny, why don’t you tell them the story you told me last time we went camping?” Claire said with a devilish smile on her face.

“Claire, don’t you think that could be a little too scary to tell? Considering we are here in the exact same place,” Danny tried to reason with her.

Then everyone chimed in, “Come on, Danny, don’t be a big baby.”

“Okay fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you about it,” he said as he took a deep breath trying to figure out how to start the story off. “Many years ago in this, each same spot used to be a town of 200 people. Discovered by a young explorer who needed a place to stay the night on his long journey back home. The thing many people didn’t know is that the town was already there. Buildings and everything, but no residents ever lived there. The explorer went home wondering why that town was there and how it got there. The thought constantly on his mind, he finally told his partner about his findings. Not knowing that he would bring many people to their deaths for telling about this place. After that people moved here to live and make a settlement, no one really knowing what actually happened to this town in the first place. Everyone going on with there everyday lives not thinking much about it. Until one day everyone was gone. Nowhere to even be seen.” He took a deep breath letting that resonate with his friend as he thought of what else to say. “It was like everyone...”

One by one, they all fell asleep, the night moving on as the creatures came to life. Taking the chance to pry among the sleep.

All of the creatures moved differently as they moved closer and closer to them. Some of them flying, some climbing walls, some winging on trees, and some crawling like spiders. Their movements smooth and sharp as they start picking off the college students one by one and dragging them to different parts of the woods. One by one the creatures start feasting on their bodies, but not to kill them, to allow them to be reborn into something else. A creature of the land of the surviving. Only not everyone lives through the process of being reborn.

(To Be Continued…)