Can You Feel it Watching?

Chris and his fiance Abby were  hiking through the cold Appalachian mountains. The ground was still wet from the early morning dew and the leaves stuck to the pairs boots as they made their way to the small ranger's station at the head of the trail the two were planning to take this morning. 

The ranger's station was more of a shack than a station, with broken down boards for a makeshift door, and a simple cutout in one of the walls of a window with a little piece of wood that could be used to cover the hole if it got too windy. The thatched roof was covered in green moss and tiny plants that appeared to have taken root after being left there for a long period of time. There was no bathroom or outhouse,  just a simple wooden stool and a long distance walkie radio receiver in one corner.

The pair gave each other incredulous glances as they approached the sorry excuse of a station. Chris grabbed Abby's hand as a sudden feeling of foreboding overtook him. It felt as though they were being watched by something and he wasn't sure how he knew, but it wasn't human. He gestured to Abby and put his pointer finger to his lips. They crept closer to the little shack and the feeling became increasingly stronger as they approached the open window. 

Chris held his breath as he peered into the shack, “Hello?” he whispered. To no one's surprise the shack was empty, or so they thought. Right as Chris turned to face Abby,  a small weasel leapt onto his head before scrambling into the man's pack. In a panic, both Abby and Chris let out loud screams as Chris tossed his bag to the ground and ran a few feet away.  After a few seconds of loud scratching the little weasel appeared with a small mouse in his mouth before scurrying off into the heavily wooded abyss. 

The feeling of anxiety quickly melted away as both Chris and Abby bent over and placed their hands on their knees. The two looked at each other and burst out laughing. 

Bent over Chris exclaimed, “That little dude scared the fuck out of me. I literally thought some kind of animal was hunting us.”

Abby cleared tears from her eyes while choking back another laugh, “Well technically there was. It was just a tiny, cute, mouse hunter. The way you screamed man; I wish I could have recorded that to show our kids one day!”

Chris's face turned scarlet. He was about to make a retort when a loud voice suddenly boomed behind them causing the couple to literally jump.

The tall Native American man with flowing black hair let out a deep, sincere laugh. “I didn't mean to scare you folks. I was just askin’ what brought you this deep into the woods?”

Chris took a look at the man's aviator shades, his tan shirt, brown pants, and the badge that said “department of natural resources”. He ruffled his dirty blonde locks and smiled at the ranger. “We are here to see the Devil’s Pass and the waterfall.”

The ranger took off his shades and with a smirk, “I'd have to advise against that right now. Ya see, right now is deer season… Round these parts that means a couple uh things. One: lots of wild animals come to hunt. Two: poachers. Now poachers don't give a damn if they shoot ya. I don't really think it's safe. Plus, there was a man went missin’ not too long ago and we still ain't find him.” 

Abby looked nervously at Chris. Chris just shrugged his shoulders. “Thanks for the advice man, but we know this area pretty well. I think we will be ok.”

“That's your choice but when you get airlifted out of here make sure you tell ‘em Uncle Roger warned ya.” Roger gave them a creeper smile then went and sat next to the radio. 

Chris grabbed his bag off the floor and brushed off the wet leaves stuck to it. He extended his hand out to Abby who hesitantly grabbed it. Her hands were shaking. Chris looked at her beautiful brown eyes and sunkist skin and knew instantly that she was actually scared. He gripped her hand to try and comfort her and felt her do the same. He adamantly believed that they would be ok as long as they were together. 

After about 15 minutes of hiking, the sun had fully risen which made Abby feel safer instantly. The pair stopped to grab a quick sip of water and remove their jackets. Abby tied her army green hiking jacket around her waist and brought her hair into a ponytail that hung down to her mid back. Her tan shorts came down mid thigh so to protect her legs from all the bloodthirsty mosquitoes she sprayed on a fresh coat of bug spray. As a Native woman, she prided herself on her affinity and love of nature but the biting kind of bugs were something even she didn't want to deal with. 

Similarly Chris wrapped his jacket around his waist and put on his red baseball cap on his curly locks and the two began their hours-long journey. At first the two had fun chatting, laughing, antakint soaking in all the nature they could, but after another few hours on the path that feeling of anxiety they both had begun to creep back up. Both of them looked around nervously before Abby started to panic.

“We need to get out of here now Chris. Something isn't right. Do you hear that?”

Chris listened carefully but wasn't sure what she was talking about. “No, I don't hear shit?”

“Exactly, all the birds and animals stopped making any noise. That usually means they are hiding from a predator. We gotta get out of the woods now!” 

Through a gap in the trees, Chris saw what looked like a stream. He grabbed Abby by her wrist and shielded his face with his forearm as he raced towards the water.  Soon they could hear the sound of running water and emerged just a few feet away from a small stream.  Immediately, the sound of nature resumed and that feeling of dread disappeared. 

“Wtf was that Chris? I really think we need to turn around and go back to the ranger's station.” 

Chris stared up at the sky and noticed some ominous looking grey clouds in the distance. “I think you're right, but we can't go back on that trail. Whatever was following us could be there. It looks like this stream runs alongside the path, I think we should follow it back. I can't imagine something would attack us out in the open like this.”

Abby nodded in agreement and the two started speed walking in that direction. After about 5 minutes the two noticed something floating in the distance. As the two approached they realized it was a waterproof pouch. Chris took his shoes and socks off then walked out to grab it from the center of the stream. 

The two exchanged some weary glances before deciding to open it. Abby unfolded the pouch which contained a single leatherbound book with a pen tucked into its spine.