My body jolted upwards, forcing my entire body into overtime as I awoke from my unintentional slumber. I was shaking, the cold burrowing deep into my skin. The forest was calming in a way. The years I spent here bring my soul to a more vegetative state every time I pass through here. It brings me back to a simpler time when most of my worries were if I packed the marshmallows for the camping trip. It's a shame it was juxtaposed by screaming from all ends. Not a soul was visible, but each scream was louder than the last. My ears began to ring loudly, harsh tones colliding making a distorted cacophony of war cries. I kept looking as panic started to flood throughout my system. Where were they? Were they real? I started running. I didn't know where, but it didn't matter. I had to escape them. Dodging stumps, ducking under branches, jumping over pits. I kept at it until I felt I was safe. The voices were still there. I pulled out my handgun, pointing it toward the screeches. I began to fire, the screams subsiding and fading into the darkness between the slits of the woods. I could feel something crawl up my back, so I tried grabbing at it or slapping it in some attempt to kill it. It was a hand. I grabbed the sentient freak and threw it into the dark.

I watched as the ark it made in the air suddenly stopped. It froze in midair like a puppet on invisible strings. It slowly turned, revealing an arm behind it. The arm connected to a torso, a torso connected to a body, and a body that looked like something from hell. Its skin was simultaneously sagging from its arm and it had flesh that looked far too tight. I could see a ribcage that contorted in inhuman ways and an upside-down heart that held every pump of blood on full display. The teeth of the creature went down its mouth, across the shoulder and forearm, adorning itself to the other hand. The arm was long enough to reach the grassy floor, drooling what I could assume to be ink. Its eyes appeared to multiply across its neck and down the rest of its body, unnaturally placed across it. The legs were turned backward, one having twisted so much it appeared to be similar to a melted screw. The demented freak of nature approached me, a low growl emanating throughout the forest. "YOU." I was paralyzed with fear, being shocked to the very core of my being. "YOU MUSN'T TAMPER." The monster stepped forward, revealing its pale white skin lit by moonlight. Was it a demon? Was it God? It reached across several feet, gripping my throat tightly and lifting me into the air. I could barely see the ground. "STAY AWAY." I watch its maw of death crack open, rows against more rows of teeth with drool strings spiraling throughout.

I gasped for air as I screamed out, still against the grass. I was roadside, thankfully not roadkill. My lungs began to fill again as I appreciated each inhale and exhale I took. I slowly rose from my cold sweat and stood, victorious. That deer was still staring at me. Watching me, observing my every move. Part of the left antler was broken, bloody, and gross. I forced myself to get a grip and turn my view away. I step into the truck, needing to check the time. 7:25. Less than an hour had gone by. My hands sunk themselves into the rubber of the steering wheel with force. "Fuck!" I pushed the gear shift into drive, tears forming already. "You screwed up by having screws loose, Sean. How the hell do you manage a stunt like that?" I was already on the road, driving as fast as legally possible. The night sky was being draped over the city and I only had so long before evening-time vanished.