I decided to make another short story again letting off a bit of the stress during midterms, this time just quickly writing out a short story of a camper encountering and escaping(?) a frightening forest beast. Here goes for the description version below;

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Amira stood and overlooked the grand cliff he summited, watching the warm and gracious sunset plummeting the vast mountain region into a cool and airy night. A moonless light left only the stars to emblazon the sky with their light, the warm campfire flickering and warming his small kettle for a late night supper soup. It was nice, setting off to get away from the fervent rush of city life, just have a moment for himself and unwind from it all with an amazing complementary view. For Amira, there was nothing better in this world, feeling the cool breeze lap and furl his fur, the gentle warm embrace of the fire giving a unique sense of calm and ease.

*Krik!*

That was, until the sudden snap of a twig off in the distance spurred Amira out of his trance. His ears bolted to the direction, but he couldn’t see anything more than the trees and grass swaying and bristling in the gust.

Must have been the wind, he thought, as he decided it was time to gather his soup and try to enjoy it, trying to return to that tranquil state he was in moments ago.

Soon enough, the soup was all gone from the small pot, as he lapped the last savory morsels, almost forgetting about that upset earlier. For now, everything seemed alright, and he now decided to settle in for the night. His usual dance soon followed, the whacking of tent pegs and bristling tarps filled the scene as he’s done many times until he has his humble shelter for the night. He rolled out his sleeping bag, packed all his gear into his bag and tucked in for the night, letting the smoldering fire outside flicker and crackle as it slowly died down over the night.

The night seemed calm, as the wind blew and a small shower soon rained down on the ground, once more setting the scene for a tranquil night.

*GASP!*

That was, until Amira was suddenly jolted awake, but he didn’t immediately know why. He couldn’t hear anything other than the now turgid wind rippling the tent’s fabric and the boisterous downpour of the rain. And yet, the trepid sense within him refused to go away, pounding at his head as if trying to tell him something.

He decided to try going outside just to make sure, donning his bag and wielding his flashlight. It’s just some wildlife, he thought, as he unzipped the front and stepped out in the rather harsh weather. Everything seemed fine, if rather dark now, but the reciprocating unease refused to go away. He didn’t know how else to explain it unless..

It felt as if something, or someone, was watching him.

And just as he tried to dismiss it and return to his tent, he froze in his tracks.

A lone pair of glinting eyes pierced right into his soul deep in the forest, as they suddenly bolted and dissapeared inside.

Amira’s eyes went wide. Whatever that was, it certainly wasn’t any wildlife he knew of. He decided that it was best to just head back to his van, deciding to leave his tent and come back for it tomorrow. Despite the startle, he was sure there wasn’t anything violent here, and kept a gallant yet hurried pace to his van on the trail.

At least, that’s what he told himself, as he suddenly remembered hearing tales of a savage beast that roams those woods. One that is very violent, likes to toy with it’s prey, and rumors that anyone who encounters it never returns to tell the tale. Once again, he kept a cool head, his rising heart rate and heaved breaths betraying his feigned sense of composure.

Just as he rose over a crest and headed for a rather dense part of the trail cutting into the forest a bit, he felt a sudden petrifying jolt stand his fur up. Something was close to him, and the din of a snarled growl overwhelms Amira. By panic and instinct, he hurls a can around, having it slip from his grip and end up smashing on the ground, erupting into a cloud of pepper spray with a bang, the noise aggravating Amira’s ears and disorienting him, as he now desperately heaves and bolts through to the clearing. Peals of gut-wrenching growls and what sounds to be broken cackles of laughter fill his ears as they slowly stop ringing, as panic and hysteria kicks his flight response into overdrive as he runs with all his might.

As he does so, he doesn’t realize that he runs off in the wrong direction, and ends up in a deeper and uncharted part of the forst, now finding himself lost in dense vegetation as panic sets in, breaking him down into spurred pants and whimpers, his legs seemingly giving up as he realizes his mistake and situation. Just as he slows down, he is sent tumbling into a ditch, a sharp yelp as he lands hard, bruising his arm.

Just before more whimpers turned into rasp cries, he hears the pounding of the earth doom closer, as he could now do nothing but sit still and pray, the inexorable pummels of dirt stopping inches away from the ditch, a boisterous snarl again piercing Amira’s skull as he cowers, terrified to move or even breathe, as the world narrows to the singular goal to survive.

Behind closed eyes, Amira could only see the black surrounding his world, the booming snarl deafening his ears, and his body aching and cramping from all the shivering and bruises. After what felt like an eternity, he slowly opened his eyes, graciously finding himself still in the ditch, the abject piercing sensation gone from his ears, as he slowly looked around and took a listen. Whatever it was, it miraculously seemed to step away, as he gathered himself a bit again, wincing from the pain as he took out his compass to find his way back. Even though the thought of facing against the creature terrified him, he gathered his strength to get up and start racing back the last leg towards his van.

He couldn’t help but glance back as he dashed the last stretch towards the clearing, and what he saw petrified him, nearly throwing him down to the ground again. What he saw was no wildlife or anything else. What he saw was a mangled monster charging after him, the pair of eyes now shown to be a gut-wrenching shade of red, the battered maw of the creature holding a set of razor-sharp teeth and a mangled appearance furling his fur to a terrifying image of a creature that was seemingly built to hunt and maul.

He practically leapt to his car, opening and slamming the door as fast as he could, prying and breaking his glovebox open to grab his self-defense pistol, only to look and see..nothing. The terrifying creature seemingly vanished, leaving nothing but the frantic steps he took and the pouring rain pounding on the car’s roof. Amira held his weapon in disbelief, all the adrenaline wearing off seeing that he was finally in some sort of safety in his van and armed. He wasn’t going to wait around, as he started up the van and slammed the gas pedal down, swerving to get on the dirt entrance and back out to the roads.

Amira couldn’t help but finally let out manic cackles in his car. Whatever that beast was, he managed to get out alive! His brief triumphant bouts of laughter are swiftly met with pained howls and grunts, his body aching everywhere and his arm weak from the fall. He didn’t want to deal with much else, and simply wanted to head home, tired of this terrible day,

The drive back was surprisingly uneventful, the world seemingly indifferent from what just happened to him mere minutes ago, as he dealt with the usual traffic, someone even cutting him off on the exit ramp. His otherwise calm driving instead sent him swerving around the curb past them, gas pedal all the way down as he raced down the roads to his house. He then just drove into his small driveway, parked the car, got out and dragged his bag into the house, leaving everything by the door as he heads straight for his bed. It never felt softer and more rewarding than now, as his mind finally got a chance to truly come down from the massive cortisol spikes he just experienced that day.

..However, from the hillside not far from Amira’s house, the world certainly didn’t feel indifferent of that day, as the leaves bristled, and the trees pumelled by gusts and rain. And deep within the shadows of the forest, two red eyes gleamed with spurred excitement, a gutteral cackle of laughter reverberating through the forest, as the stars seemingly flickered off, the night engulfed in a deep pitch black.