Board Thread:Writer's Workshop/@comment-27533774-20160103052121

So I won't beat around the bush, I'm a relatively new writer who is a fan of fantasy, horror, what have you and I decided to write my own creepypasta. Here it is, tips and tricks are greatly appreciated! Footnote: Stories not written by J.N Lovecraft (me) are not canonical to The Friend's tale. Anything I write that isn't canonical will be noted prior to reading. Written by J.N Lovecraft The Following Friend  "Dude are you okay?" Aaron asked his friend Isaac, the crackling of the fire with its orange licks of flame and rewarding heat that was more then enough to calm his cold bones and stiff nerves that had been the focal point of his attention for a rather long time was suddenly interrupted by the former, who had been a close friend since childhood. "Yea... Yea I'm fine" Isaac replied rather hesitantly but soon second guessed himself in his thoughts 'Am I fine?' Although he had been camping countless times before Isaac couldn't hide the fact that he was deathly afraid of the woods and even in the company of his two friends he couldn't help but feel unsettled. Steven on the other hand didn't seem to be much afraid of anything, his trademark vacuous expression filling his pudgy face but his joyful smile across his lips as always and Aaron with his matter-of-fact tone and confident (if not cocky) attitude easily made both of them appear to be fearless. Deep down Isaac wasn't afraid of the woods itself but rather what he percieved had lived within them, and these woods in particular did little to diminish his fear. "He's fine! Anyways I managed to drink an entire keg AND run naked through ten backyards and swim in that asshole's pool who lives down the block, you know what they say 'If your neighbor got a pool you got a pool!'" Steven said heartily followed by his deep laugh, soon accompanied by Aarons. Isaac beadily peered over his shoulder towards the dark trees in his unfounded paranoia while thinking to himself once more at how deeply he disliked the forest that Aaron had chosen this year for their annual camping trip, one they've been doing every year since they were freshmen in high school (but that was a distant memory) and each year Isaac detested the new location more than the last, this one taking the cake. He thought that the many grouped together pine trees provided excellent cover for an angry bear waiting to pounce or the three feet of white snow on the ground cloaking a pack of wolves creeping up on them. "Isaac man, you sure you're okay? you look a little shaken up... Afraid the trees are gonna hurt you?" Aaron asked mockingly, flashing his white grin at Steven while snickering, although they regularly insulted eachother like that (What best friends didn't?) and to cement that Aaron patted his friend on the shoulder while Steven finished his third Sam Adams and crushed the can; tossing it into the fire. "Ugh Isaac's fine, he's always been afraid of the woods and every year nothing happens! Hell I even brought my 1911 just to convince him to come along" Steven said loudly while belching and kicking some snow up.It was true that he had brought his pistol for this one occassion at the behest of Isaac, these woods in particular scaring him due to the reports that people had been attacked by bears and disappeared in the area. "In any case Aaron I think these woods are badass! the total coniferus snowy forest vibe is totally chic" Steven blurted in before belching once more, this time loud enough to rightly startle every animal within a mile radius. "Er... Steven do you know what chic means?" Isaac had asked quietly with an eyebrow raised. "Of course I do! it means uh... awesome!" the former replied earnestly, much to Aaron's visible annoyance, causing him to speak up. "No it doesn't it means stylish you dumbass!" he'd retort while chuckling and tossing an empty can at Steven's head which lands with a ding on his brow that caused him to flinch. "Hey! why the hell did you throw a can at me?" the latter asked angrily while glaring at Aaron with an irritated gaze, his fists balling. "Well because Steven, I want you to... can... it" He replied with a cracked grin and a shrug, the sheer quality of his pun enough to make both of his friends facepalm painfully. "That was the worst pun you've ever made man, the worst I've heard in my entire life" Isaac said in disgust. "What? I'm just trying to lift the mood" Aaron replied, his grin becoming sheepish.Minutes later the three friends had opened up cans of nondescript food and begun cooking them over the open flame, beans mostly but the rare can of Spam. They all sat awkwardly while it cooked but soon Aaron piped up "Steven why the shit are you cooking Spam? you aren't supposed to cook spam" Steven quickly snapping up a response "Piss off I like hot Spam! why're you cooking beans huh? beans blow!" and soon the two began arguing over what kind of food is appropriate to cook, Isaac just stifling his giggles at how stupid they look before suddenly they stop and all glare at the fire, Aaron shouting out first. "Oh my god what the hell is that smell?! it's fucking horrible!" Followed by Steven "Jesus it smells like shit and burning rubber!" Followed by Isaac "Dear god what the hell IS that? Is that the Spam?" And with that Aaron attempted to kick the cooking Spam into the snow, quickly stopped by Steven who shrieked and grabbed his food, promptly bringing it close to his chest while Aaron and Isaac held their noses. "Dude it's your shitty Spam! just toss that crap it must be spoiled or something!" Aaron said commandingly while Isaac gagged. "No! Piss off!" Steven replied hastily while stuffing his mouth with the meat, watching the two with paranoid eyes. The other two then began laughing at how Steven stuffed his mouth like a pig, the latter soon following and tossing his empty can into the snow. All in all though, the closest smell one could identify it as may be a cross between boiling blood and singed flesh.Hours passed by as the three friends caught up with stories of eachothers escapades and laughed at one another's anecdotes. The sun had soon become a mere memory blotted out by the ominous impending storm clouds and darkness while the full moon made itself known on the opposite horizon, the piercing white glow from the natural satellite unable to be extinguished by the otherwise dreadful and cold umbra brought by the wintertide atmosphere. This chill prompted the three to bundle up more and pull their jackets closer to their bodies, an icy breeze picking up that kicked frost into the fire and begun killing the little light. "Damn it's freakin' cold" Aaron cried in complain, pulling his hood up and tightening the laces on it "Yea no kiddin', and to top it all off the fire is starting to die, which in turn will make us die of hypothermia like... fast" Steven proclaimed while similarly pulling his hood up, Isaac already ahead of both of them with his hood and his scarf drawn up to his nose. "Well then save the freakin' fire Steven! I'm not trying to turn into a popsicle!" Aaron shouted over the irate howls of the wind, howls that turned into shrieks accompanied by a torrent of blinding snowfall from all directions. "What do you want me to do huh? we don't have anything to cover the fire with!" Steven replied. "I don't know dammit! just use your fat ass or something, you're a complete idiot sometimes Steven how do you not have a plan for this!?" Aaron said curtly, becoming enraged at Steven and his apparent incompetence and his building frostbite.This insult towards his friend had garnered Isaac's wrath, although in hindsight it had been brewing for years. Aaron always was the friend who did or said something Isaac found abhorrent or inappropriate and he had reached a breaking point, finally lashing out. "You know what Aaron? I'm really tired of you and your complaining shit all the time! You're always a grade-A dick who acts all tough and big but you end up looking like a complete jackass! Not only that but you constantly hit on women, even if you know one of your friends like them like you have no boundaries!" He yelled. Causing Aaron to turn to him with a scalding expression and scoop snow into his face. "Go to hell, at least I'm not afraid of the woods like you!" He said. "Fuck. You." The former replied assertively into his friends face, glaring at him as if waiting for any action of retaliation. Seconds passed but there was no physical exchange, no words were spoken except for Steven lifting his hands at them both. "Guys.. Just uh... chill out okay? Everyone is stressed from the cold and some other stuff but that doesn't mean we should argue okay?" But it was in vain, Aaron had stood up in tandem with Isaac and faced him, huffing before turning and walking away from the little camp. "Wait, Aaron where are you going?!" Steven asked with a concerned tone, ready to chase after his friend. "I need to piss and I don't want to see his face." He replied in a decrescendo while walking away. Isaac sighed and plopped down crestfallen, both men watching their friend walk off into the heavy storm and become obscured. Steven turned to Isaac and opened his mouth to say something but a disapproving glance put any idea of talking it out to rest.Ten, fifteen or so minutes had passed and the storm had done naught but increased in wanton intensity, The distraught friend who had ironically stormed off into the wrathful blizzard had not returned, causing tension between the remaining two. The silence that had bred itself among the small camp was broken by Steven, who spoke with contemplation. "He uh... hasn't been back for awhile.." was what had made the silence die, die much like the puny and pathetic fire they once had for warmth and comfort. "Pffft... I don't care, He probably got lost or something in the storm, he's an idiot but he knows how to take care of himself." Isaac replied stressfully. He didn't like arguing with his friend no matter how much he deserved it. "Yea... probably, but I just have a bad feeling y'know? He should've at least taken my gun." Steven said while anxiously in the direcion the faded bootsprints led to. After thirty minutes had passed and Aaron had not returned, leaving Steven noticeably apprehensive and Isaac, as much as he'd hate to admit it, concerned. The fact that the brief blizzard had begun softening up did little to dull their anxiety and if anything exacerbated it. However they could see deeper into the forest but unfortunately not enough to follow the tracks to any noticeable form. "I.. I really think we should go look for him Isaac" Steven said while loosening his hood, his scarf still neatly around his neck. "No I think I see him.. there" Isaac said while pointing to the darker sooner of the shadowy cluster of trees ahead, the spot that Aaron's footprints had led to now occupied by identical prints, although these prints were being actively made by the figure that crunched snow while moving towards them. "Hey man! where the hell were you? it's been like... An hour!" Steven asked in relief while chuckling at finding out their friend wasn't frozen. Although he didn't reply, merely stepping into the moonlight feet from them.He was wearing the same dark navy blue heavy winter jacket lined on the inside with a kind of pseudo-fur that he had arrived with them in, albeit it was unzipped a bit more than it was when he left but that was of little note, merely exposing the tough denim vest underneath that was worn solely to retain heat. On his lower body he had his thick army surplus pants that were drenched at the heels with their forest camouflage pattern and black hiking boots, while his worn black weave gloves have seen better days. This was in stark contrast with Isaac, who wore a standard blue puff coat and black cargo pants with brown boots, and Steven with his rainbow pattern jacket and jeans. However, Aaron had his hood up and his tight black skullcap scarf on with his orange snowboarding goggles, cracked on the edge of the right eye. However this wasn't much of a surprise to the two as he had been dressed like this the entire time. "So Aaron, one hell of a piss huh?" Steven asked jokingly and cracked a grin but was met with furtive silence and a slow gaze covered by the goggles but Aaron soon let out a small huff-chuckle. "Yea.." He replied, but Steven a double take and glared at him. "Hey your voice sounds kinda... different, like scratchier and a bit deeper, you okay man?" He asked, causing the former to glare at him with an eyeless gaze in the form of the goggles. "Yea, It's my voice. Just from... yelling before." He responded promptly while Steven swallowed awkwardly at his shortness, clearing his throat. "So uh.. How 'bout you show me where you were this entire time? I gotta use it too and I need to talk to you about some stuff" He asked in a forced cool voice, ignoring the building tension brought forth by Aaron's uncharacteristic (if not pleasant) quietness. Adhering to said change of personality Aaron stood up and turned back to the deep tracks he left, walking along them without so much as even glancing at Isaac while Steven got up and followed suit, moving to the former and whispering to him. "Hey bro, I think he's really pissed about what you said and now he's pulling the old 'Silent treatment' like he usually does. I'm gonna try to talk to him alone for a bit while you chill here alright?" He said quickly before standing up and catching up to Aaron, who did not stop walking and had made it at least thirty yards before he caught up. Giving Isaac a 'good luck bro' hand wave while both of them vanished into the thicket. It helped Isaac build a degree of confidence that was quite frail.So frail that it was a miracle that it had lasted as long as it did, it was thirty minutes ago that both men had left to, as Steven put it, smooth over any quarrel that had formed between Isaac and Aaron but had taken an amount of time that Isaac had found quite disturbing, easily his stoicism was pushed to the edge because of his isolation from them and his crippling fear of the forest. He though himself unlucky as a lonely forest was exactly what he had found himself in. "This REALLY sucks right now, what the hell're those guys doin'? this better not be some shitty joke.." Isaac said aloud to himself as if someone would respond, but preferred nobody did. A patch of clouds high above him had cleared in seconds to reveal the full moon once more, the pale light emitting from it intricately casting through the trees upon the forest like a massive searchlight but mockingly kept things dark. "Hm.. I should probably get this fire going bef-"BANGHad suddenly boomed from deep within the forest, echoing around Isaac in a way that could easily make even the bravest man leap out of his skin, doing just that. "What the fu-"BANGHad rung forth again, a two note cacophany of ear ringing noise that heralded one sinister thing that made Isaac, and any human who knew what it meant, fill with dread and the cold shiver prone to running up the spine like the thousand legs of an insect. He sat silently for a good minute with his breath held before he exhald slightly, gaining an audible hyperventilated breath. "W-What the hell was that.. that was a gunshot.. it had to be" He said rapidly to himself in festering fear, knowing what they meant. "Oh god, oh god it was a gunshot, a gunshot that came from the woods where my two friends went with a gun that was probably used just the fuck now" Isaac began ranting to himself in a very afraid way, obviously overestimating the insidious implications of those noises. But then again, wouldn't you?Soon realizing he was hyperventilating Isaac forced himself to calm down as much as he could, his breath returning to as close to normal as it possibly bould but that wasn't quite comforting enough to stop him from shivering from cold and terror. "Okay, Alright Isaac it was two gunshots from where they went, one of which had a gun but maybe they're alright, right? I mean of course they're alright Steven DID have a gun and Aaron isn't a stranger to a fight, but I really don't want to be alone here right now, but I also don't know if I want to go towards what they shot at" He said to himself in a heated voice, internally debating what he should do. "But what if... what if they need me? what if one of them is hurt? I can't just leave them while I run back to the car and haul ass" Isaac retorted to himself, taking a minute to decide what he will do. "Ugh, Yea I know I'm a complete dumbass for doing this, and yea I know this is how everyone dies in a horror movie but I'm going to find my friends. I least I won't be sitting here in the middle of the freakin' woods" Isaac finally declared, standing up and pulling the collar of his coat closer to his chin to help him feel more secure.It wasn't particularly hard to follow the tracks in the snow, it had stopped storming awhile ago and the moonlight helped him see them better, his heart aching in his chest in response to his gnawing fear of being surrounded by the darkened forestry. "It's just the forest, it's just the forest, it's just the forest" He kept repeating to himself like a mantra while picking his gait up to reach the end of the tracks as fast as possible, simply proving he was as afraid as he knew he was. Surprisingly it didn't take thirty minutes to reach the end of the tracks that opened up to a cozy clearing similar to the one the camp was settled in, save for the bootprints leading to the middle of it and suddenly going wild, signs of a struggle with streaks of ominous crimson sunken deep into the snow, the sundered path leading to a dropoff next to a crooked and decrepit tree. "What the hell happened here..." He whispered to himself while slowly creeping up to the area of struggle, smashed snow compacted together and two empty bullet casings lied inside it. Isaac gave them a shivering nod of acknowledgement and followed the path of the struggle, his hands shaking while he steps up upon the edge of the dropoff and cautiously glared down, what he saw made his blood freeze and confirmed his phobia. Although it would do so to any man.He had found Steven, lying in the ditch. However one could scarcely call him Steven. He was more fittingly called a cadaver as that was exactly what he had become, lying in this blood caked divot was a dessicated naked torso with deep carvings all across it, the stomach split open and frosted intestines slick with frozen gore and blood hung out into the snow. There were no arms on the sides but only ripped sockets with scarlet morsels of meat writhing out with overstretched tendons, sinew and muscle where the left arm should be accompanied by splintered and jagged bone, marrow seeping out of it while the other arm, the right one, was completely gone. A grotesque chunk of shoulder missing as well that had stopped bleeding solely because there was no more blood to lose. Not much was to be said for the legs, or stumps that had sharp broken bone protrouding out and the head, being the only identifiable feature of his late friend was also the most traumatizing. The eyes were bulging in a nightmarish way and much of the flesh on the scalp was gone, the ears mangled into bloody holes and the jaw dislocated from the skull in a way that it appeared to be hanging from one hinge, teeth embedded in the snow near the throat while the tongue hung out, frozen and blood stained. The last terrifying feature Isaac noticed was the scarred, hastily cut word that was carved deep into the dead mans chest. "Friend" was burning in his mind as he immediately turned and without second thought began running as fast as his muscles would allow. Adrenaline coursing through his veins as he enters the instinctive fight-or-flight mode and already bolting back through the woods to the camp, his heart roaring in his chest while a deafening ringing flooded his inner ears.Time was dissociated to him in his delirium and he had already arrived back at the camp, ravaging his brown duffle bag to retrieve his small key that would fit into the ignition of his car, turn the engine on and allow him a way out of this nightmare. His hands were shakingly madly from horror and adrenaline but he managed to find the key, gripping it tightly in his palm before taking off again towards the derelict "path" the three used earlier in the day to get to the camp, having no intention or thought to take any of his belongings as Isaac was thoroughly consumed by the need to run like hell. It was ten minutes later, ten minutes of pure sprinting that he managed to locate the snowed over car parked in front of the marked tree, gasping for the frigid and freezing air around him desperately as he moved to the car and unlocked the drivers side door while the nagging feeling that someone was right behind him constantly clawed at him, the feeling you find yourself having when coming up from the basement stairs after turning off the lights. "Come on! Come the fuck on!" He screamed at the ice jammed door before finally breaking the frozen seal, opening it just enough for him to slip in and slam said door shut and lock it. Isaac was a mess, sweaty and flushed his hyperventilation increased hundredfold from what it was last and his stomach a cauldron of brewing trepidation that brought nauseousness. Clinging to the cold leather seat while gasping He snapped his eyes shut and grit his teeth, a shoddy whining noise coming from his throat due to the absolute horror he was consumed by, Isaac forced himself to not think of the mutilated corpse of his friend but of happier thoughts so he would not have a heart attack. He could not remove the traumatizing images from his mind, but he could suppress shock just enough to push the key into the ignition.When he turned the key he was met with a loathsome rumbling noise from beneath the hood that turned into unfortunate sputtering, a loud pop coming from deep within his car led to it going dead silent again, the sound of wind dying down outside turned to similar silence that then turned to the soft sound of wood cracking, nothing loud but a small and innocent 'snap' that coerced Isaac into motionlessness, his constricted eyes glaring out the window for a sign of movement and in his state of awareness he realized that in the seat next to him lied a small, soaked and ominous teddy bear that was torn in various places and was missing an eye, solely staring at him with an empty hole. "What the hell?"CRASHThe sudden noise made him leap in his seat and scream, covering his face to prevent anything from hitting him but nothing would've hit him anyways. The object that had slammed into his windshield shattered the edges of it but did not collapse it inwards, instead Isaac was inches from the dead glazed face of Aaron, his jaw similarly devastated but completely gone while his flesh was much colder and grayer, implying he has been dead and naked for a long time. His arms were not gone but were horrifically twisted in ways similar to his legs, his teeth torn out and a massive hole in the right side of his face exposed white cracked skull underneath. This implied he was struck with a blunt object hard enough to kill him or stun him long enough to allow whoever - or whatever did this to do so with ease. Isaac kept shreaking while pressing up against the leather seat of his icy Chrysler 200, the word engraved in his memory from Steven's corpse was also on Aaron's, prompting Isaac to shield his eyes to protect his sanity.Wheezing, hyperventilating and crying Isaac sobbed quietly before holding his eyes closed and gripping the key in the ignition, trying to start the car over and over again but to no result. Finally he had resigned and given up the attempt, sitting silently in the car as he rocked back and forth in the drivers seat from shock, his entire body trembling and he froze one last time at the sound of leather crinkling behind him. Sniffing and swallowing in regret and turning to face what lied behind him, to Isaac's surprise the last thing he sawWas his Friend.Credited to Joseph Galletti and Nicholas Stephan, coloquially known as J.N Lovecraft.  