It all started when we took that camping trip to the Appalachian mountains. Looking back on it now, I never should have gone with them.
My name is Luke, and in the 14th of August, 2018, my family took a camping trip to the Appalachian mountain range in West Virginia. After all of the bickering and fighting that inevitably ensued during the twenty-one hour drive, we (my mom, dad, older brother and I) finally arrived at the campsite. I was only 15 at the time, and my brother three years older, so when we stepped foot on the soft dirt and breathed in the piney air, I wanted to explore.
We didn't do much during the first day, just pitched the tents and ate a little. During the night though, we stayed up and watched the stars.
"Hey mom, can I go look around in the woods?"
"Sure, just stay nearby and be careful."
"Just be sure to not to stay up too late," my father said, "we have to get up early if we want to go hunting."
"I won't," I sighed.
I went off on my own little adventure, exploring the wilderness. I came upon a small pond with a bunch of animals drinking from it. Surprisingly enough, none of them have seemed to notice me yet. I saw raccoons, deer, and possums all drinking from the same little pond which, when looked closer, revealed to have tadpoles! I was ecstatic that I got to see wildlife so close, only about thirty feet away.
Satisfied, I walked back to camp, went into my tent, and pulled out my flashlight and wildlife book that I picked up in a gas station. I have always been a fan of deer, so I looked up the section on them, and started reading.
Deer are lean, long-legged mammals. Their typical coloring ranges from reddish-brown to gray-brown with cream-colored undersides. Male deer may also be identified by their impressive antlers. These large animals stand three feet tall at the shoulder, and approximately six feet long from nose to tail. Deer feature eyes mostly on the sides of their faces, providing them with a sight of 310 degrees. This broad point of view makes it difficult for deer to concentrate on a fixed location. Deer have a clear view of the night, which is beneficial in the morning hours and near sunset. Toward the front of the lower jaw, deer possess small teeth that they use to tear and split apart food. The front of the top jaw has no teeth. They have a hard palate instead, that is used in just about the same way that teeth are used.
"Wow, so interesting!" I whispered somewhat loudly.
"Bedtime!" my mother shouted from her tent.
Reluctantly, I turned off my flashlight, put away my book, and lied down. As I started to doze off, I hear a rustling sound from right outside my tent.
"Hello? Is that you, Max?" I shakily asked my brother.
No response. Just more rustling. Now terrified, I get out of my sleeping bag, creep toward the front of the tent, and slowly open the zipper. Just in front of me, maybe just three feet away, stands a deer.
"Oh, it's just a deer!"
I expected for the deer to run away, but it just stood there, staring at me. Wait a minute... Staring at me? My mind goes back to the wildlife book: These large animals stand three feet tall at the shoulder, and approximately six feet long from nose to tail. Deer feature eyes mostly on the sides of their faces, providing them with a sight of 310 degrees. This broad point of view makes it difficult for deer to concentrate on a fixed location.
This deer's eyes are pointed at me, like a predator. I started to notice other things while I was frozen in fear, like the deer's legs seemed to be bent in the wrong direction, it had four hooves on each foot, (as opposed to the regular two) with a fifth one acting like a dew claw. The abomination of a deer looked like it stood at least five feet tall. Heart pounding and mind racing, I zipped up the tent, got back into my sleeping bag, and prayed to any holy figure I could think of. I stayed awake the whole night, hoping and praying that it was gone.
In the morning, when the tent's zipper started to open, I thought I was a goner. Luckily, it was just my brother telling me it was time to go hunting.
"Let's go, Luke. Ready to bag some deer?"
If only he knew.
We slowly trudged through the woods, my family on the lookout for deer, I on the lookout for that thing. As we made our way into a clearing, they spotted a large group of deer. Some were lying down, some were standing, but one, and only one, was staring directly at me. It was that thing from last night, hiding in plain sight. About eighty feet away, staring into my soul. Max aimed, fired, and hit the thing, to my horror, in the back flank. It just ran off into the woods like nothing had happened.
"Damn!" Max shouted, as the rest of the deer ran off.
"It's alright," mom said, "we can find them again."
We walked through the forest a little more, and found a smaller group of deer, just about four or five. My brother once again took aim, fired, and hit one of the deer in the back of the neck. It's fragile frame dropped clumsily to the ground as blood dribbled out of the bullet wound. The other deer ran, but my father got one in the back of the head. As we went to go collect our spoils, I could feel something watching me, stalking me. It was getting dark, so we bagged the deer and headed back to camp. Getting back into my tent, I decided to wait outside for a little bit. I started to get drowsy again, and as I started to drift off, I saw it. That monster, that thing walked into the campsite, and what it did next would stay in my mind forever. It fucking stood. On its hind legs. The thing walked slowly towards my parent's tent, sniffed, and walked toward me. It stared me dead in the eyes, sniffed, and walked to my brother's tent. When it sniffed, it's mouth opened further than any creature's mouth should. So much so, that it looked as if it's top jaw would just fall off of it's head. And it's teeth, oh god it's teeth. They were long and shaped like a mountain lion's teeth.
"Noooooooo!" I screamed.
It roared, and dove onto my brother's tent, tearing it open and grabbing him with its teeth. It shook him back and forth like a dog, and as he was torn apart. I heard a loud bang. It was my father, holding a rifle. The beast staggered, then leapt at him, tearing into his throat. My mother jumped onto it's back, beating it's head with a reading lamp. It grabbed her neck, and with one swift motion, snapped it. It slowly got up, blood and viscera dripping from it's teeth. The monster walked to me, sniffed, and bounded into the forest. I must have been lying there, shaking for hours before the ranger found me.
On the news, it was reported as a wild animal attack. They wouldn't believe me, but I know what really happened.