The Hollow Between Pines

Dust danced on the cracked earth. I lowered my binoculars and looked to the horizon. The sun was rising like an orange shield behind the dunes. The unit's camp had begun to stir with the first light of morning. The soldiers were making their final preparations with quiet but quick steps.

"This is just a reconnaissance mission"

I repeated to myself. But the uneasiness inside me would not subside. The encrypted radio message had reported activity in the area. While examining the distance with my binoculars, I suddenly saw a figure, a woman from afar. I felt enchanted, the woman did not look like an enemy, she looked a little wounded. But I muttered to myself again,

"No. No, this is not just a reconnaissance mission..."

I continue to watch the woman, something felt off, she was covered in blood and looked barely alive, yet she was walking so calmly. I look back at the others in the camp before signaling one of the healers to come but when I looked back my heart skipped a few beats. The woman was staring straight into my eyes through my binoculars, though I could have sworn there were at least a few kilometers between us, yet it felt like she could see everything. I continue to watch thinking I was just hallucinating because of being up all night, but that didn't really look like it could be a hallucination couldn't it?

I rubbed my eyes and shaked my head trying to clear my mind, thinking maybe the hallucinations and sleep would go away but as I looked back suddenly a huge figure that looked like a black wolf jumped out straight for the woman's head, disappearing with her into the woods in a blink, the whole life in the forest and woods suddenly went completely quiet.

But the thing is, I doubt it was a wolf, it was too big to be a wolf, and too deformed to be a wolf, almost like some creatures from myths. I felt my heart race, I felt my palms sweat, the sudden silent was unnerving, my mind was racing, memories of the days before entering this damn place flashed back. The locals that lived just a few blocks from these mountains, these woods and forests, had warned us, they told us to never enter or we'd die, there were so many creepy stories about this place, fairy tales and old folklores about supernatural activities in it, yet none of us belived it but laughed at it and the old weird looking man that tried to warn us, but now Im starting to regret, after all don't all folklore stories have a base of truth?

I tried to look around to see if I could spot that thing again but there was nothing expect for the breeze that rustled the leaves, breaking the silence.

I thought to myself for some minutes, debating whether to go in or not, whether to go help that woman or act like nothing happened, after all she should be dead by now, no? I looked around again, the soldiers were minding their own business completely unaware of what might be surrounding us. I turned to the medic I had called,

"Did you saw that Marcos? A woman was there? I thought they said no one lived in these woods, should we head in to check?"

I tried to explain calmly, but it was clear he didn't believe me, probably was thinking I was going insane too. I saw him sigh before looking at me, almost disappointed.

"Lieutenant, I know it's not up to me but I think you should take some rest, you sure there was a woman? I don't see anything there."

The disbelief and annoyance in Markos voice was clear, he was already exhausted having stayed with me up all night and deal with their hangovers. But still I couldn't just sit there could I?

I pinched the bridge of my nose debating what I should do. A few minutes later I made up my mind, I had to go check out what that thing really was and see if the woman was alive. I reached for my radio to contact the camp and the team outside of the mountains to be ready to send in any help if needed, but it wasn't working, instead it made some weird sounds as if broken, I tried to try it a few more times while Marcos tried to try his radio but it was the same too. I tried it a few more, relief washing over me as finally there were some voices from the radio,

"Repeat. Repeat. Lieutenant Alessio speaking! There i-"

The words died in my throat as suddenly instead of the reply from the other team there were creepy sounds, screeching, some words I couldn't make out, children laughing and singing, growls, glitches, it was as if someone or rather something was messing with the signals and radio waves.

I whipped my head up to check the sudden noises in the camp. Their radios had also started to work without being used or turned on, even the big radios were the same, all making the same sounds like my radio, fuck, even the radar had gone off while there was nothing in view. I looked around trying to understand what was going on, damn it, I should have listened to those locals and that old creep.

I quickly grabbed my rifle and took a few steps closer to the woods, the radios and radars had went off control, fuck it if they'll think I'm insane but there's something wrong with this place, really. I checked around, there's not even a single bird or at least an insect, it was as if they were all hiding from some type of predator.

Finally something moved in the bushes, I felt the color drain from my face as I turn to see what it was. It wasn't an animal, I wish it was, instead, there stood the woman staring dead in my eyes, it felt like she would see my whole soul. Not only that but her head was still intact, when I could have sworn I saw that thing bite her whole head. I took a few steps back and pointed my rifle at her. She was creeping me out, I never felt so scared in my whole life, even when faced with death and seeing such horrors in the front lines. Goosebumps crawled up my body, she started to approach singing some lullaby and muttering some words. I shot a warning but she didn't flinch, the soldiers at the camp were staring at me in confusion yet none was looking at the woman. I shouted at them,

" WHAT ARE YOU ALL DOING?! YOU CANT JUST STAND THERE! GRAB YOUR WEAPONS! CANT YOU SEE HER?! SHES NOT A HUMAN! NO NORMAL HUMAN CAN BE ALIVE AFTER GETTING THEIR HEAD BITE OFF!"

They stared at me in confusion before bursting out laughing, I felt like a fool. Couldn't they see her? Am I the only one seeing it? Am I hallucinating?!

God! I didn't even knew the answer myself, I was exhausted from night patrol, I wouldn't be shocked if I was just seeing stuff that aren't real. But I got confirmed wrong, had it not been for Ali, who started to pray all of a sudden and recite the holy book of his religion, as if he had sensed that there was something among us, I would have thought I was seeing stuff.

I knew that out of all of us, Ali was the smartest and most well knowledged in this kind of stuff, his religion talked a lot about beings called "jinns" that we couldn't see and about how easy it was to do magic on others. I heard him mutter in Arabic, starting his usual praying, but the thing was, he had already finished his prayers half an hour ago and what was he saying wasn't something I ever heard. I couldn't understand anything, yet it looked like it had caught the woman's attention. She wasn't looking at me anymore instead she was staring at Ali and started to approach him. I tried to shot another warning and called Ali, he didn't answer and continue his prayers. I clenched my jaw, not knowing what to do, my mind was overheating, I couldn't think of anything. I saw the woman stop in front of him and as if he had sensed it I could notice his voice grow tenser yet didn't stop even once his prayers.

The world around me faded and I focused completely on Ali and the woman. She was staring at him and he continued to pray. I saw her lean down when he sat up after his bow that he always did when praying, placing her hand on his shoulder. I could see her mouth moving, she was whispering something to him and her palm had started to release smoke, her skin burning up as well as Ali's skin which now had a burn on his jumper and skin where her hand was.

The woman turn to look at me again, her mouth moved again, whispering something to me again,

" Leave, I can't hold them back for long. They'll come for you."

I was frozen in place, my head starting to hurt and my eyes blurring. I tried to make sense of what was happening but only continued to get dizzier and weaker, I could feel my consciousness fading as the woman dissolved in to fog and disappeared completely while the radios and radars were still going off control. My vision started to fade while Ali stood up finishing his recite, instead starting his prayers and I collapsed.

The forests quieted down and silence fell again as the call to prayer, Adhan was being called.