Flash Fiction: Trail Cam

If you go into the woods today...

Last night, I made a couple of mock covers just for a bit of fun, but as I laid in bed after the fact, a story began to emerge in my head. As soon as I got up this morning, I hammered this one out in a single blast. Hope you guys enjoy it.

The first time I saw it, I knew I should have left well enough alone, but leaving things be is not in my nature. Even as a kid, I was always poking my head into things, earning the moniker of Curious George from my mother. I’m sure she would have something to say about my current situation, but she is not around to give me one of her disapproving headshakes and a lecture about my ability to get myself into all kinds of trouble.

I am, I suppose, getting ahead of myself a little, so let me tell you about how it all began. Tired of the city life, I bought a house out in the country. It was a humble home, but it sat on a lot of land surrounded by dense forest and the kind of solitude that might make the average city slicker more than a little uncomfortable.

As quiet as it was during the day, it was nighttime when I realized that I was not quite alone on my new property. The forest seemed to come to life as soon as the sun went down, with all kinds of hoots and howls echoing through the night sky. I’ll admit to being scared at first, but as time went on, my innate sense of curiosity kicked in. I had to know what animals were stalking my woods at night.

I invested in a set of trail cams, each of which I positioned at different spots in the forest. While the daylight hours were quiet, I was sure I could feel eyes on me as I installed my new devices. I’m sure this sounds like paranoia, and I might even believe that if things hadn’t turned out the way they did.

On the first night, I was delighted to see all manner of forest critters show up on my feeds. Deer, raccoons, squirrels, and all the usual suspects made an appearance. What was odd, though, was that one of the cameras revealed nothing. I went out the next day to make sure I had installed it properly, which I had. The feeling of being watched was strong and I fairly bolted out of that spot, imagining spectral hands reaching for me. The skin on the nape of my neck prickled as I ran, small hairs standing to attention like lightning was about to strike.

For the next few days, it was more of the same. I would see a hive of activity on three of the cameras and nothing on the fourth. On day seven, that all changed. The fourth camera began to trigger at frequent intervals, but nothing appeared, at least, nothing that I could see. I enhanced the footage as best I could, which was when I was sure I saw something moving in the distance. It was little more than a silhouette and should not have been close enough trigger the camera.

Each night, the camera went off at the same intervals, only this time, I could clearly see movement. At first, I thought some animal was passing through the area, since it looked as though thin branches were moving as they passed. Then again, now that I think about it, branches are usually attached to trees, not simply somehow floating inches off the ground.

When the thing finally came into full view, I felt as though my heart would stop. It was tall, yet walking on all fours that looked like thin, gnarled branches. Each of its legs ended in another series of branch-like appendages that serves as fingers gripping the earth to propel the beast forward. The body was emaciated, puffing out like a bellows as the thing took a breath. It was an awful sight to behold, but the head, the head was the worst. It appeared to be the skull of a deer, but not quite. Something was off in the design, and the massive black eyes were not anything I had ever witnessed on any other living creature. When it looked directly into the camera, I heard a voice in my head say, “Curious George.” It was not the voice of my mother.

The thing became bolder with each passing night, moving closer to the camera and turning itself around as though to show me everything, to let me see its full true form. I posted video of the creature online in all manner of wildlife social media forums, but they ran me off, accusing me of posting AI video. I decided then that I would show them the truth, so I decided to head out there with my phone to record live. Good luck debunking that.

The moment I set foot in that part of the forest, I knew I was making a mistake. Nothing moved there and no sound could be heard in that tainted space. When I decided it was time to leave, the creature stumbled out of the woods, moving toward me faster than I had ever seen it move on the trail cam. I expected the scent of rot, of something old and dead, but nothing touched my nostrils. The only thing I felt was a slight tugging sensation inside my head, which became painful as the thing leaned down to stare at me with those dead onyx eyes. I saw things in those eyes that are beyond explanation, and I screamed before blacking out.

When I awoke, I found myself strapped down to a makeshift metal bed. The room around me dimly lit and bare. I turned my head and saw the creature there with me, watching me. And then there was another and another and one more and they moved toward me holding implements that were not of this world. I squeezed my eyes shut and let them have their way, poking and prodding and slicing me open, only to quickly heal me and numb my pain.

I don’t know how long I have been here now, strapped to this same bed and subjected to the same torture every night. In my head, I hear snippets of conversation in some language, with Curious George the only words I understand. Again, it is not my mother’s voice.