The Figure In The Woods

This was the time of the day or, rather night, he wished he did not have to face. What if it comes back again? He could feel the bile in his throat as he remembered.

The raspy laughter. Or were they growls? He couldn't care. Not after all that had happened that night. 

The shapeless jaw over her neck and Smita's screams burning through his ears... Her body flailing lifelessly as the thing carried her into the jungle... 

He had been frozen with fear and cold. Bone deep cold...

He had wanted to help her. Kill whatever that Thing was. Take her into his arms and make a run for it. But his body had given up even before he had tried to do anything. He had collapsed into a puddle of his own making, whimpering...

He shuddered. Don't think about it, Karan... Just don't think about it. He did his daily ritual of going to bed for the night. But he knew he was not going to sleep. He hadn't slept properly for the past few months. Not since...

Everything was going fine. Their vacation was going perfectly. They had let themselves go at the party. And God was that fun! They had never tried psychedelics before and what an out-of-the-world experience it was!

She had been asleep beside him as he was driving down the road. The forest on either side had been swaying silently in the cool night breeze. He had been paying full attention to the road, and yet... And yet he had never known when a man suddenly had suddenly appeared right in the path. He had tried to slam the breaks. But it was late. Much too late... 

He adjusted the quilt and tried to sleep again. He knew it was futile. Sleep had abandoned him completely. Her face kept appearing in his thoughts... Why didn't you save me, Karan? You were there but you did nothing...

Just try to sleep. He tried the age-old method of counting sheep. He tried to visualize them around him to keep the wrong thoughts away. It worked for a while. The sheep were grazing away on his bed while he tried his best to sleep. Yet again, he couldn't. And yet again he couldn't stop the thoughts.

The sudden blow had woken her up. Both of them had got out of the car, only to find... nothing. He had gone back trying to find a corpse but he might as well have been hunting for a saber-toothed tiger. 

Are you sure you hadn't imagined it? She had asked, her voice full of concern. No, I am sure there was a man. Even you felt the blow, didn't you? 

They had then gone back inside the car. He had tried to bring the engine to life but it just wouldn't start. With frustration, he had popped the hood open and went out. He had worked around, trying to gauge what exactly was wrong. She had been holding the flashlight, standing just beside him. Everything was fine ... and then he had felt it. 

The temperature had dropped. He had felt his body freezing up. He had felt the hair on his back standing up. The chill down his spine. There is something else here.

He had turned to his wife and had seen a glazed-over look cross over her face. She had begun to walk towards the forest as if she had been put in a trance. 

No. He had tried to yank her back. But his body just wouldn't obey. His instincts were roaring at him to run away. 

It was then that a hooded figure had emerged from the trees. If not for the moonlight, he wouldn't even have known someone was there. The figure was almost as dark as the night itself. 

And she was walking right towards him!

Somehow he had managed to regain mobility and had tried to go after her. Smita !! He had wanted to shout but the words would just not come. 

He was heaving by the time he had managed to catch up to her. He had tried to yank her back and it was then that he saw it. No, smelled it.

It was a rancid odor. Like decomposing flesh would smell. It had sent a burning sensation through his nose. He had tried to ignore it and instead, he had caught a glimpse of the face beneath the hood. 

Terror had coursed through his body. He hadn't even noticed the figure move. It had lunged forward and grabbed Smita. As his knees gave out, the unmistakable sound of bones snapping went through the silent night. Then came the screams. Blood-curdling screams as that Thing sucked the life out of her. Laughing as it did so... It had then disappeared into the forest, taking her lifeless body flailing around with it as if she were a ragdoll...

He didn't know why it had spared him. Maybe it had sated itself on the woman he had loved and didn't want him. It didn't matter. None of it mattered anymore.

He didn't know how long he had stayed there, but when he had found he could move again, he had tried to run.

It was probably hours before he had found a police car. He didn't know how he had managed to speak. They had listened to him and gone to the site and rummaged the entire area. 

After what seemed like an eternity to him, they had finally managed to find her mutilated corpse. Then they had put the cuffs on him and shoved him into the cruiser. He hadn't even wanted to protest.

The next few days went by in a blur. Apparently, he had murdered his wife in a drug-induced rage. He had wanted to scream so much but couldn't find the strength to do so. 

The police had ruled out an animal attack. They had found his fingerprints all over her corpse. Had found narcotics in their system. Each piece of evidence and forensic reports were painting him as the culprit. As expected, the judge had ruled on the basis of the report presented by the police. He was sent to prison for the murder of the woman he had loved. Preposterous! Why would he kill his own wife?

But it didn't matter. None of it mattered anymore. 

Snap out of it! 31..32...33.. He tried to push his way through the flock he was visualizing around himself. 

"Your sort should be sent to the Chair", a guard was glaring at him through the bars. "What you did to that poor girl ..." He stopped suddenly. Karan saw the guard's eyes glaze over and he felt a fearfully familiar feeling coursing through him. He smelled the same smell from the woods. The same horribly familiar rancid smell, burning right through his nose.

No... He saw the guard walk off slowly...

Suddenly, the lights went out. The door to his cell opened with an eerie creak. It did come for me after all..... Smita I love you. That was when the screams started.