Echoes Of The Forest

“Where did he run off to now?”

Walking towards the car, Rebecca looked in all directions. The sun had begun to set, and a cool breeze brushed past her face as it began to rush out of the woodland edge. The stumps of once proud and tall trees were all that remained in the open field. In that instance, a man came out of the car with some camping supplies.

“You looking for Jacob, hun?”

"Yup. Have you seen them?"

“I told him he could go with Ollie down by the stream for a bit.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea, Rob? It’ll get dark soon.”

“He’ll be fine, Becca. Let him play with Ollie for a bit while we finish setting up camp. I want to surprise him with his present when he gets back.”

"Well... okay."

Not fully convinced, Rebecca glanced one last time at the forest before continuing to help Rob unpack.

At the same time, a song of nature could be heard within the forest. The wind rustled the leaves and branches throughout the treetops. The stomps and cries of animals passing by echoed throughout the area. A calm rush of the water came down the stream as Jacob threw rocks at it.

“… Splat, splat, splat... splat... splat… splat... plop!”

“Just 6 this time… Probably would have gone farther if the rock was different.”

Upon searching his surroundings for the perfect rock to throw, a flat, gray stone caught his attention.

“This is the one!”

Jacob yelled with excitement as he went to pick up the stone. Next to it was his great dane, Ollie, rolling over a patch of grass. The gentle giant was so happy to have some space to stretch his body after the long drive to the campsite that he accidentally blocked the stone from Jacob.

“Ollie, move!”

Ollie refused; he looked very comfortable. Jacob tried to move him, but Ollie did not budge that easily. After trying for a bit, Jacob finally grabbed the stone from under him and Ollie then stood up.

"So now you get up...", Jacob said annoyed. Ollie just stared and wagged his tail.

Setbacks aside, Jacob was ready to make history. Assuming his throwing position; he flung his blue hat back and was ready to give it his all on this next throw. In an instant, Jacob whipped his hand in the perfect angle and released the stone.

“… Splat… splat, splat, splat, splat, splat, splat, splat... splat... splat—CLINK!”

The sudden sound startled the duo. A shiny object flew up a few feet from the water and got tangled in a nearby branch after being hit by the stone.

“What the heck?”

Jacob squinted his eyes and tried to focus on what he had just hit.

“Hmm... Maybe I can get across by jumping on those rocks and get it.”

"WOOF, WOOF, WOOF!"

Ollie started barking towards the object. Jacob tried hushing to calm him down, but his attempts did not work. Upon focusing back on the shiny object, Jacob noticed the reason Ollie was barking was because he had noticed a snake on the trunk of the tree. It was climbing up the tree where the object was dangling from.

“That’s odd. Ollie's seen snakes before, but he’s never gotten this worked up about it... OH NO!”

Jacob noticed the snake was heading towards a nest filled with hatchlings and that Ollie’s barking was an attempt to get the snake away from them. Two small robins pecked and attacked the snake, but to no avail. In swift movement, the snake had smacked away one of the birds with its tail while wrapping the other one tightly with its body.

“GET AWAY YOU DUMB LIZARD!”

Jacob picked up and threw a stone at the snake. With amazing precision, the stone flew directly into the snake's head. The robin flew free as the snake fell onto a nearby branch. The weight of the snake caused the tree to branch with enough force to cause the shiny object to drop into the water once again.

“Come on boy!”

Jacob and Ollie began their pursuit down the edge of the stream. Such was his excitement on getting the object; Jacob's blue hat fell off.

"I'll get it later."

The duo jumped through rocks and logs, as well as going from side to side on the narrower spots of the stream.

“Smack, smack... CLUNK!”

The shiny object never got stuck and was flung side to side by as the currents of the stream grew stronger. Jacob was so focused on retrieving it; he did not realize that dusk had settled upon them, and they had ventured far from the campsite.

Back at the camp, Rebecca and Rob finished unloading and setting up their gear.

“Hey, why don’t you take a seat here with me beautiful?”

Rebecca sat on his lap. Rob noticed something was on her mind.

“Something the matter babe?”

“Yeah. Do you hear that?”

Rob looked around. Nature’s melody had come to a complete halt. The gentle breeze from earlier had vanished, leaving the trees standing completely still. It was as if time had frozen around them.

“No... I can’t hear a thing now that you mention it.”

“Exactly! Don't you think it's a bit odd.”

“It is, but babe... you need to stop worrying.”

Rebecca remained thoughtful, with her gaze fixed in the direction where Ollie and Jacob should have been.

“If it makes you feel any better, why don’t we go get Ollie and our birthday boy.”

Rebecca nodded as she quickly jumped off Rob's lap. Both began walking towards the pair.

"Not gonna lie, I hate that you're so relaxed sometimes."

“Both of them will be fine. You’re just overthinking Becca.”

Rebecca stared at the forest. It had grown darker as the last rays of light had disappeared. Still keeping her hopes up, Rebecca took a deep breath and began to call them.

“JACOB! OLLIE!”

Ollie stopped dead in his tracks upon hearing Rebecca’s faint calls through the thick forest. He frantically looked around, trying to find out where the sound came from. Ollie’s sudden stop caused Jacob to look back and trip on a root, letting him fall to the ground.

"ahg... Gonna have to look forward next time."

Although he recieved minor cuts and bruises, the soft patch of grass cushioned his fall.

“Thank God I landed here, otherwise I would have-”

Jacob’s train of thought was cut short. Beneath him, half-eaten salmon were scattered all around him. Warm blood painted the patch of grass and part of Jacob's clothes.

“D-dad said there were no b-bears in these woods anymore… r-right?”

Not wanting to become dessert, Jacob did not plan on finding out if his father's words were true or not. Upon getting up, he noticed a trail of dried-up blood leading to a nearby bush. Jacob was overwhelmed with fear, and Ollie kept staring intensely towards where the campsite was.

“I should try to get Ollie’s attention and head back.”

Ollie had not noticed Jacob had fallen moments ago. His senses began to go off and Ollie frantically looked everywhere until he set his sights on a faint shadow that stood behind a tree.

“BARK! BARK! BARK!”

“-noo, ollie shut up!” Jacob whispered desperately, trying to calm Ollie down.

“BARK! BARK! BARK!”

Jacob slowly tried to get up, but a sharp sensation ran through his leg.

“AaAaRrgh-”

Jacob let out a painful grunt.

“I think I sprained my ankle or something.”

In an instant, Ollie suddenly bolted into the dark forest. His barking could be heard less with each passing second until only the sounds of the strong current could be heard.

At that moment, Jacob realized how far he had gotten from the campsite or from anyone who could help him. However, that was not the worst of his problems.

“CucuruCOOO! HIssssSS! SQwuaaack!”

The sounds of wild animals kept Jacob uneasy. Although alone, he could feel goosebumps on the back of his neck accompanied by a strong feeling that something was not right.

“It feels l-l-like... something is w-w-watching me.”

Jacob smacked his face with both hands to try and focus.

"I need to get back..."

Although scared, he noticed the trail was somewhat visible.

“Ollie...”

Jacob did not want to leave his best friend behind, but he was out of options.

“I’ll go get Dad and then come get you.”

Glancing one last time at the trail leading downstream, Jacob noticed a ray of moonlight revealing something shining atop a rock. It was the same shining object he was pursuing earlier.

“N-now you stop... Might as well see what you are after all this trouble.”

Slowly but surely, Jacob inched his way closer to where the object was located. Upon picking it up, Jacob lifted it towards the moonlight to get a better look at it.

“A collar?”

Jacob was unimpressed that his chase led to something Ollie had around his neck this whole time.

"It's kind of dirty tho... wait..."

Noticing some writing on it, Jacob wiped the excess dirt with his shirt.

“…Test… X09. I wonder what this could mean--”

"Stomp! Crack! SNAP!"

Jacob’s train of thought was interrupted by powerful stomps coming from deep within the forest. It was unclear where the noise was coming from, but Jacob was sure whatever it was it was charging right towards him.

“What do I do!? What do I do!?”

His heart was pounding as if it wanted to jump right out of his chest.

"Stomp! CRACK! Snap!"

In his panic, time felt like it had slowed down. Running was not an option due to his injured leg. There was no place to hide.

"STOMP! CRACK! SNAP!"

As Jacob turned around, the roaring currents made it clear to him that they would easily drag him down the stream. He was out of options and feared for the worst when suddenly Jacob heard a familiar voice.

“Ja--Aco---JACOB!”

“…Mom?”

As he turned around again to face the forest, a deformed beast on all four legs emerged and cornered Jacob. Its crimson eyes locked onto him. It lifted its front paws to reveal something truly terrifying. Its stomach opened wide, revealing numerous sharp and dull teeth that were ready to sink into Jacob and devour him to shreds. From its mouth it let out a raspy, eerie cry.

“Hu--hun...HUNGry!”

For a split second, Jacob’s heart sank as the haunting sound resembled that of his mother once again. Jacob could only stare in horror, not being able to do anything about his situation. Such an image was the stuff of nightmares, and Jacob was living it. The hideous beast swiftly lunged at Jacob.

"AAAAH!"

A shadowy creature emerged from the forest, but it was already too late.

SLASH! CRUNCH! SNAP!

The collar in Jacob's hand flew up high, followed by the pungent smell of blood filling the air.

"SPLASH!"

A loud splash echoed through the forest before being silenced and forgotten by the sounds of the forest.

At the same time, Rebecca’s calls continued. They arrived where the duo had been playing earlier, and no sight of them could be seen.

“JACOB! OLLIE!”

Rob noticed something on the trail leading down the stream. Upon picking it up, Rob called Rebecca and showed her Jacob’s blue hat, all covered with dirt and feathers. Both parents looked at each other worried as the snake glared intensely at the couple from within the hatchlings' nest.