READERS TALES
Something In The Woods
(NOTE: Be
sure to read the other tale by this author, titled
It Wants
In...)
It was the spring of 2001, a nice warm, sunny afternoon in
Western Kentucky near Lake Barkley. I had gone to visit a friend that afternoon;
I didn't expect any out of the ordinary event to take place. I arrived at his
house, was talking with him outside. It was typical for me to visit on Saturdays
and we would discuss the week's events.
Not long after I arrived he told me that he needed to use
the phone and that he was going down to the shop where he worked to do so. He
asked if I wanted to go with him and I said, "well, if you're just going down
there to use the phone and come right back, I'll stay here". He acknowledged
that as being his plan and said he would be right back. He then got into his
truck and pulled out onto the highway, going towards the shop. I sat there on
his back porch, smoking a cigarette and watching his truck go down the road,
until it disappeared.
It wasn't long after his truck went out of my sight that I
heard a distant sound. It is kind of hard to judge exactly how far away it was
from me, but sounded like maybe a quarter of a mile. When I first heard this
sound I thought it was a coyote. Sitting there I began to realize that if it was
a coyote, there was definitely something wrong with it. Most times you will only
hear coyotes at late evening, night and early morning. It was three in the
afternoon, sunny and generally nice out. I heard it howl again, this time it
sounded like it might be closer and moving through the woods that run behind my
friends house. I wasn't real sure of it's' direction of travel, so I sat there
patiently hoping to catch a glimpse of it crossing through the neighbors
pasture.
The howl sounded again, this time I knew it was moving
closer and I realized that it was moving along the edge of the woods towards my
friends' house. After the fifth howl I realized that it wasn't a coyote. If it
was a coyote, it was like none I have ever heard before. With each progressing
howl it moved closer to where I was. This howl got louder and louder as this
thing moved through the woods towards me.
A very predominant feature of this sound was that after
each howl I got a very uneasy, sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. It is very
hard to describe, but I assure you it will never be forgotten. I was sitting
there, wide eyed, looking for whatever this creature might be. With each howl I
could tell that it was moving closer to me. I had heard about eight howls from
this unknown creature when I guessed it to be no more than one hundred yards
away from me. At that point I had heard, fairly well, its' direction of travel
and it really didn't take long for it to cover the distance it had.
Sitting there patiently, I heard one last howl that
sounded like it came from the top of a ridge behind my friends' house. My eyes
were scanning the woods, looking for any sign of this creature, no movement
could be seen and there were no sounds other than that last howl. There were no
more howls. What happened? Where did it go? I then began to think about what
might be taking place.
I have hunted those very woods for the last five years and
have never really seen anything out of the ordinary. I do know that from atop
the ridge where the last howl came, the house and back yard are visible. My
guess it that whatever it was, stopped up on top of the ridge to figure me out,
what I was doing, or maybe it knew I was there all along. I sat there, waiting
for anything to happen, hearing and seeing nothing. I was in a very nervous
state and felt very uneasy, not being able to see what this creature was.
It seemed like forever, but then I heard the sounds of my
friend's truck turning into his driveway. I was glad that the stalemate of sorts
was now over. I didn't mention anything, at the time, to my friend about the
events that took place while he was away. I didn't stay much longer that day; I
was very unnerved by the event. I have heard of the "Beast of the LBL", but
never really paid the story too much attention until that day.
-Unsigned.