Hidden
For as far back as I remember the elders used to always tell us to avoid the forest at sundown. They would tell us “Nothing good ever goes on in the forest after sundown.” I remember one of the kids from my class I think his name might have been Chen inquiring as to why the forest was so bad after sundown. To which the elder responded “A monster lives there and has only been sighted after sundown.” “The monster” the elder told us was “hideous and would eat boys like us.” The look in the elder’s eyes and the sincerity in his voice had my hair standing on end.
You see I come from a small town which is surrounded by a forest on one side. “A dangerous and deadly forest.” The townsfolk would say in the forest there is said to be a lake. Although I personally do not know anyone that can confirm it, the lake is said to be the home of our forest’s “Monster.” Little did I know that I would come face to face with this so called “monster of the forest.”
It was a Sunday night, me and some of the local kids had gotten together at the school’s playground. We usually drank and horsed around until it was time to go home. On this night one of the kids a really big and mean one named Big Henry decided a game of truth and dare would be a great idea. It was in that very moment I felt fear pile up in my stomach, I had never enjoyed that game, and it seems every time we play I always have to do the worst thing imaginable.
Of course I was the first person to get picked. The other boys looked at me, “you better pick dare because picking truth means you’re a sissy boy.” I rolled my eyes “fine”, I replied, “Dare.” The boy that decided my dare looked at me with mischievous eyes. “I dare you to go into the forest and come back with something from the monster’s home.” I was already pretty pale to begin with, to them at that very moment I must have been ghostly. “Fine”, I replied, “but do I get to take something with me at least for protection.” The other boys smiled and one of the baseball team members handed me a bat and a camera. “It would be better if you photograph the monster for us.” The boys walked with me to the edge of the forest, one boy tapped me on the back, “good luck” he said, and they all ran away. What had I gotten myself into I thought as I started forward into what just very well be my early death.
As I entered the forest I could still see the sun in the sky behind me, that and only that gave me some comfort. I kept telling myself in my head that the story of the forest monster is only a joke, and the elders just want to keep the young ones in line. This gave me just enough confidence to push further into the forest.
To me the forest looked beautiful, tall trees, with vibrant leaves. Everything in the forest that I had walked by were bright and alive. The forest looked as if it had been untouched by man. The odd part I don’t remember hearing a single animal, not even a cricket. This is when the hair on the back of my neck began to stand up. I had this odd feeling of being watched, but from where I don’t know.
I think I had walked probably three miles into the forest when the shrubbery started getting a bit thicker. Off in the distance I heard a splash, it was faint, but I heard it. That is when my feet faltered but only slightly. I told myself that I had to prove myself to the boys at school, I must show them that I am not afraid. If only I had known just how wrong I was.
The smell of water was so near I could taste it. This is when the shrubbery in front of me ended, instead in front of me now was this crystal blue lake. The lake was so clear it looked as if it was untouched by man and creature. Having traveled for miles, a throat parched, I stepped to the water’s edge, and touched my fingers to the water “ouch”, I thought, that waters burning. Suddenly my throat no longer thirsted for water. The feeling of someone watching me had gotten stronger, and it seemed as if the air around me was on fire.
“Human”, the trees seemed to bellow. Suddenly startled by this I turned around quickly in all directions. “You are not supposed to be here”, the trees bellowed again. At this point I began to tremble. The voice sounded male, and dangerous, and most definitely not human. As to not anger this being any further I responded, “Guardian of the forest, I was just curious, and came into the forest to look around.” “Liar”, the voice responded this time from behind me. I turned my head in fright, and the last thing I remember was this extremely tall golden man standing behind me before everything went black.