Any semblance of courage and control was dropped like a hot brick.
Edge, along with Alice and whoever else is with them, sprints like he’s been set on fire. He’s got one hand strangling the bones in his girl’s wrist and the other trying its damned hardest to steady his flashlight on the tearing path ahead, but these owls aren’t making things easy at all; he can feel their beaks and talons relentlessly gnawing and scratching at his body from all sides, even with the protective layering of his clothes, forcing him to squint while shielding his eyes from getting clawed out as well.
“Edge!” he can hear her screaming. “W-Where are we…?”
Whatever this woman is trying to ask him in the middle of all this turmoil, he can’t answer – the adrenaline makes it impossible to think right now. The only thing he is focused on is getting to safety… wherever that may be.
They keep running for… God knows how long at this point… until these berserk owls eventually cease their attack and disperse. After a minute or two, the group finally slows down to catch their breath, all hunched over while holding their knees and chests.
“Fuck me…” Edge panted, “… that was—”
“Where the fuck is Andrew!?” Alice, still breathing thinly, whips back and forth to find no sign of their fifth member. “Andrew!” her shrill voice echoes.
“Oh, fuck…” the worst chill ran up and down the man’s spine as he grips the back of his standing hair, “… we fucking left him.”
Immediately, Alice jabs an accusing finger into his shoulder. “You fucking left him!”
“Alice—”
“This is your fucking fault!” she continues ranting. “If you fucking listened to me, we’d all be fine right now!” Backing off, she buries her panic-stricken face in her hands. “Now, he’s… gone!”
Edge doesn’t bother to argue as he hugs her. “We’ll find him, okay?”
“How??” She glares incredulously while flailing her arms. “People who go missing here are never seen again! NEVER!” Her voice is nearly gone at this point. “I… we…”
Edge stares over his girlfriend’s shoulder into the distant void they had just arrived from – a dauntingly foolish idea crosses his mind.
But just as quickly, his common sense washes it away as he scrambles to unpocket his phone and check its reception. Of course, there’s only a single bar left on his screen… maybe… just maybe… he can try to call Andrew… just maybe. If there’s even a slim chance that he can contact his friend to find out roughly where he is, he has to take it.
Everything’s worth a try.
And so, he calls his number then puts it on speaker for everyone else to hear… of course, it doesn’t reach him. He tries a second time… still nothing. Third time… no charm.
“Fuck this forest, man.” sighs Klaus. “I don’t even know where the fuck we are anymore.”
“If there’s at least one bar on my phone,” Edge points out, “then we may be near the edge where we came from.”
“And you’re so sure of that after running blindly from those fucking owls?”
“Well…” he shrugs lopsidedly, “… it’s a hunch.”
Klaus tensely inches towards him. “A hunch won’t get us out of this, Edge!”
“And neither will this.” Mariah steps in to push the guys apart. “We all fucked up, okay?” She pauses, hoping that her mediation will calm things, then continues. “Let’s all just take a breath, get somewhere that’s safer, and call for help. That’s all we can do at this point.”
Her words, while unsure, are enough to ease Klaus somewhat. He side-eyes Edge, who agrees with a curt nod, before the latter proceeds to lead them all off.
Purposely, he marches at an elderly pace while checking guiltily over his shoulder; he hopes that this way Andrew will be given more than enough time to catch up to them… assuming that that’s the case.
In the meantime, Alice’s words begin stewing in his head…
'You fucking left him!'
'This is your fucking fault!'
Because of this, he can barely look straight anymore; the wind was knocked out of his sails.
She’s right.
And it’s also because of this that his dauntingly foolish idea would slowly resurface…
“No, no, no… this can’t be… I can’t be alone here… lost.”
It doesn’t take long for Andrew to start showing signs of hysteria, muttering incoherently, once his situation became evident. With only a camera and a phone, he paces frantically, unsure whether to stay put or start wandering aimlessly through this unpredictable habitat with so little vision – he’s a sitting duck either way.
“Did you guys… really fucking leave me here??”
With no knowledge of his friends’ whereabouts, he may as well talk to himself – he doesn’t know whether to feel upset, angry, or worried about them.
“Maybe you all just panicked…” he breathes weakly, “… I guess I can’t blame you for that…” he shrugs crookedly, “… it’s not like… I’d do any better… yeah.”
Figuring that maybe his second option is better, he turns on the light from his phone.
“You really should have brought your own flashlight, dickhead.”
Despite its poor visibility, he shines it on the ground to start his walk, moving slowly as to avoid any unwanted surprises… which will likely find their way to him anyway.
At the very least, his battery percentage is nowhere close to the danger zone yet. Plus, he had brought a battery pack with a cable to charge it with thanks to his dad’s annoyingly frequent reminders.
“Oh, dad…” regret splashes him like a bucket of water, “… you must be worried sick about me.” Andrew badly wishes he was home with him right now. “I should have always listened… talked to you more… said whatever I was thinking instead of...” he inhales shakily, “… shutting everyone ou—”
He spots something just up ahead… a moonlit cabin stationed in a small clearing. It looks abandoned… like it hasn’t been touched in years, let alone maintained. It’s a nonetheless welcoming sight; it’ll at least provide some shelter from the unpredictable horrors of the wilderness… he hopes.
And so, with a slight spring in his step, he hurries over. This cabin, with its crooked worn structure, looks much smaller than it does from afar. He approaches the door, which hangs loosely from its hinges, and pushes it open. Before entering, he scans the interior with his phone light. It’s full of rubbish but spacious enough to occupy; there’s even a stool left here.
Stepping in, he shuts the door behind him to rest his butt on that stool. Hunched over and exhausted, he takes his time to catch his breath and reflect some more. Maybe here, inside this crudely manmade structure, he could waste more time trying to phone his friends.
About half an hour later, Edge lags behind his group, his feet dragging across the leaves and soil, while Klaus leads at the front. Surely enough, it seems like they’re close to the exit, which only worsened the former’s guilt.
I brought Andrew here… only to leave him for dead.
I have to go back…
I have to try…
He knows how ridiculous the idea is – he’d just be putting more lives in danger.
“Hey…” Alice spins around, turning to see her boyfriend stopping in his tracks, “… you okay?” Her tone had softened since her outburst.
Edge gazes down with a harsh sigh; he looks impossibly rigid. “No,” he answers,” I have to go back for him.”
These words yank the others’ attention as they stop to stare absurdly.
“W-What!?” gasps Alice.
“I have to try.”
“No!” Panicking again, she runs to grab her boyfriend. “It’s not your fault! Forget what I said! We… we all panicked! R-Right Klaus??”
Klaus barely nods.
“We need to stick together! All of us!” Her nails dig into Edge’s sleeves as she tightens her grip around his wrists. “We will find Andrew… but not like this!”
Her hands move to his cheeks. They lock eyes.
For a while, Edge quietly studies his girl’s face, her microexpressions even in this low light; despite her best efforts to be reassuring, he sees plenty of doubt.
“I really should have listened to you.” He grabs her hands, which are smooth but cold to his touch. “We shouldn’t have come here.” He smirks bitterly. “I should have just taken you on a regular date.”
With a shake of her head, Alice snickers to this.
Out of nowhere, Edge pulls her into a warm kiss.
“Come on.” says Klaus while cocking his head.
“Right behind you.” he responds before ushering Alice with a wink to follow on ahead. “Just, um…” he hesitates, “… let me take a leak behind this tree first.”
This catches her off guard. “Okay…”
Hurriedly, he swerves out of sight to do just that.
“Don’t take too long,” she adds, crossing her arms firmly.
“I hear ya!”
After doing his business, Edge tidies himself up. Facing away from all his friends, he stares off into the vast forest, his intrusive thoughts once again taking over. Alice’s words, while reassuring, do little to soothe his nagging urge.
Under his breath, he again whispers, “I have to try…”
“NO!! CHORD!!” Alice, who had been monitoring his tree suspiciously, lurches forward, only to be restrained, her hand outstretched. “GET THE FUCK BACK HERE!!”
Too late… he had already taken off in his mad sprint.
With nothing much else to do, Andrew checks through his phone, having lowered his screen’s brightness to conserve more power, which has now fallen below forty percent. A small window of coverage has his phone blowing up with notifications, all of which are missed calls from Edge.
He’s alive…
Immediately, he uses this opportunity to attempt another call. With bated breath, he presses the phone into his ear, praying that somehow, someway, he’ll hear a click on the other end followed by his worried voice… nothing.
With a tired groan, he pockets his phone.
His skin feels dry but also sticky, especially beneath his clothes. He feels the urge to remove his jacket and set it down for the time being, but he’s worried he’ll forget it in case something comes up. He’s even getting hungry now – too bad he’s out of snacks.
“What the fuck do I do now?” he asks himself.
Right then, he hears something… it’s just outside. Quieting his breaths, he listens carefully… a heavy slithering noise rippling through the ground… its size has to be huge to do that. The windows are frosted, partially cracked, which limits his view to whatever is lurking this way. Instinctively, he flies a hand up to muffle his breathing – something in his gut tells him that this presence isn’t friendly at all.
Next, he hears moaning… it sounds like a woman… but something’s off about it… it’s just… wrong. It’s supposed to be a human voice, but he can’t make out any coherent words.
This moaning, along with the slithering, gradually circles the cabin. Its mass brushes and creaks the outer walls while also covering the windows, shadowing the helpless young man in complete darkness – through the small cracks of the glass, he catches a glimpse of the creature’s reptilian scales reflecting the night glow.
This is it… I’m going to die.
The one thing Andrew wants to do is jump off the stool, but he dares not move now. He focuses his gaze on the rough wood-panelled floor, his teeth clenching tight, while clawing his thighs. For the first time in his life, he feels truly powerless. Neither fear nor bravery can save him – all he can do is wait for the worst and pray for the best.
Come on…
The circling continues for another lap.
Come on…
He can feel its serpentine body looping around the shed, tightening.
Just get it over with.
He wants to scream, to open his mouth wide until his jaw breaks off… but he appears to have lost his voice too. The longer this draws out, the worse it becomes. All he now hopes for is a quick death, for these weak walls to cave in and crush him instantaneously, which is far preferable to whatever this creature will do to him.
To make matters even worse, his phone, which he forgot to turn silent, rings. The resulting shock rips his soul out of his body as he scrambles to shut it up – Edge finally manages to call him… at the absolute worst possible time.
Everything halts… the moaning… the slithering… the squeezing… all at once.
Suddenly, the walls expand as light spills back through the windows as the creature releases its hold. He still hears it moving… more towards the front of the cabin now.
Still holding his breath, a split-second down-glance reminds Andrew that he still has his camera. His hands do all the work turning it on then uncapping the lens to face it at the door. He doesn’t know why or what this will do to help his situation – he’s just acting on impulse.
He may as well capture the impossible shot in hopes that someone in the near future will find his last ever picture… one that will make history long after he’s gone. He expects that the creature, which he assumes is the Gazer, will break that door down and rear its ugly head through the entrance… that is when he’ll take the photo, his final masterpiece.
His eyes glue squarely to the viewfinder, adrenaline pumping through his veins, his temples threatening to pop. The bass in its voice ripples through his spine and ribcage like a current of electricity, his nerves colder than ice, his heart and stomach heating faster than an oven.
Eventually, there’s a deafening crash… the door snaps inwards, pieces flying everywhere… Andrew shuts his eyes, screaming from his chest, his finger squeezing the shutter… and everything whites out from the flash.
A bloodcurdling shriek follows suit. Something collides with him – its head, body, tail, or whatnot, he doesn’t know… but its power alone knocks him clean off his stool against a window behind him, his back shattering the glass. The force also severs the strap of his camera, causing it to fly out of his hold and tumble just out of reach.
Through his pain and panic, Andrew risks a peek… he sees, through the tight crevice of one of his eyelids, the backlit form of this ginormous serpent thrashing from wall to roof violently… like he had hurt it somehow. In one of the corners, just next to the ravaged entrance, sits his now broken camera, its upturned lens facing him directly.
It’s too far… you won’t make it.
But the picture… maybe if I’m fast enough.
He whips his head to the window, the one he got knocked against; it’s big enough for him to fit through.
Sure, you may get a few cuts… but you’ll live.
And leave empty-handed?? Come on…
Like a pendulum, his focus swings between his camera and window repeatedly, time fizzing rapidly, until ultimately… he chooses life.
Abandoning his camera, he dive-rolls out the window, cutting himself on the jagged pieces left on the frame, to make his desperate escape. Just like before, he has no idea where he’s going… clutching his side, all he can do is move forward.
His luck has to be toying with him – this doesn’t feel like an escape. Rather, it feels like he’s just delaying the inevitable. If that monster doesn’t get him, he’ll either freeze, starve, or bleed to death anyway… easy pickings that way.
Regardless, he tenses every leg muscle until they burn white-hot, working into overdrive, while his feet crash against the earth, his lungs puffing with the ferocity of a steam engine – at this point, he’s just a meek wild animal fleeing from its predator.
Just give up… it’s easier that way.
Wait… what’s that up ahead.
His eyes forward, Andrew spots something else… a pulsing light shining through the mist… and it keeps fading in and out. Could that be an exit? Could that be his way out? There’s no time to think… just act. Picking up speed, which he didn’t believe was possible, he sprints to that light. He doesn’t even know what it is – he’s just drawn to it like a moth to an open flame.
But something else, right then and there, swoops down to attack him – another damn owl. While shielding his face, he attempts to swipe it away. Its talons claw into his scalp, scratching out hairs while drawing even more blood.
“GET… OFF ME!!” he growls.
But this bird is relentless. It continues screeching in his ear while also trying to gnaw it off; its beak may as well be teeth. He wonders, through his frenzied frustration, why these owls in the Black Forest are impossibly hostile and—
Somewhere along the way, Andrew misses his footing and tumbles down a slope… everything’s too blurry, he can’t see a thing now… screaming, he curls up his body as best as he can, bracing for the unavoidable impact.
And just like that… everything goes black with a ringing thud.
It had either been hours or a mere few minutes until Andrew woke up with a splitting headache thereafter. The ground feels like a mess… it’s all rough, littered, and bumpy… and it smells like grass too. Rolling onto his back, he rubs the bump on his head where he got struck… it must have been a rock, or a tree, or an exposed branch, that ‘broke’ his fall. Fingering this bruise, he finds a wet cut creviced on its peak, the kind that requires stitching.
My luck’s got to be toying with me.
Clutching his side again, he groggily stands up; thankfully, none of his legs are broken. His other wounds, including the ones from the window, are only skin-deep too.
My luck is definitely toying with me.
He checks his surroundings, especially behind him. The owl is gone, and so is that creature… for now. The slope he had fallen from is neither big nor too steep, not that it made anything less brutal.
“How the fuck am I still alive…?” he mumbles, hoping he didn’t just jinx himself with those words. “And where…?
Facing his front again, he squints through the brightening mist… the light is still there, pulsing just like before… it hasn’t gone away.
With a long sigh, he trudges on. The trees progressively space out from one another, the ground levelling as he progresses through this area; he must be reaching a clearing since the shadows are also giving way to bare night again. The mist, on the other hand, only thickens.
There’s a sudden misstep, and then a sploosh, as water seeps into his shoes all at once, wetting his feet inside. He stares down at his rippling reflection before panning upwards; this floor of water, wherever it’s coming from, stretches everywhere… there’s also something unnatural about it, but he can’t put his finger on why just yet.
And then he sees it… through the mist, as it slowly dissipates, an outline of what one may describe as a heavenly obelisk reveals itself. With its illuminating white glow, it towers several feet above the young and bewildered man… and it’s shaped exactly like a monolith, the extraterrestrial kind. It sits directly in the middle of this flooded clearing.
This has to be the UFO… the one that fell from the sky.
“I…” he can barely form words, “… I f-found it.”
He can’t believe his eyes… he has to be dreaming… or tripping... but here he is, barely alive but fully conscious… this is almost too good to be true, considering what had already transpired. It’s just so… mesmerizing… like if he stares into this thing long enough, it’ll just absorb him altogether.
No one’s going to believe this…
He may not have his camera anymore… but he’s still got his phone.
Wasting no time, Andrew snaps out of his trance. He whips out his phone, first to take a few pictures, as well as some selfies for an added bonus, and then finally, he begins to video the encounter, pacing his steps carefully to avoid another accident such as dropping it into the water. Steadying his breaths, he speaks whatever comes to his mind.
“So… I’m lost in the Black Forest right now. My name is Andrew Coffey, and I came here with a few friends before we were attacked… by a flock of owls.” Breathing some more, he continues. “I don’t know who’ll find this, but if you do… know that the Gazer is real. I don’t know how much longer it’ll be until it finds me and…” he inhales shakily, “… does whatever it does to me. And this here in front of me…” turning around, he switches to selfie mode in front of the obelisk, “… I think this is the UFO. So, Edge, if you’re watching this… just know that you were right all along.”
Pausing longer this time, his thoughts wander to his dad solemnly.
“My dad…” he sighs again, “… he’s probably sitting at home worried sick about me.” He gazes away, shaking his head wistfully. “I don’t know what’ll happen to me… just know that I love you, and I wish I listened to you more.” Tears stream from his eyes while a lump forms in his throat. “I took so many things for granted, and I…” he trails off into silence before shutting his eyes in resignation, and then he ends the video.
Facing the obelisk again, Andrew stares dreamily into its pulsing light. There are so many questions that he knows will probably never get answered, such as what this thing really is and where the hell it came from. It also appears to be containing something inside, but its details are too obscure to make out. Nonetheless, he squints.
This light inside the obelisk, or whatever this containment is, floats down to its base. Its shape is somewhat… human… with a head and a pair of legs… as it strides towards him, stopping just before the front barrier. Its outline becomes a little clearer, but it still lacks a face or any other defining features; there has to be a term for glowing silhouettes.
Is this… some sort of alien…?
Next, this glowing silhouette places its ‘hands’ on the surface – both have five fingers, just like his own. Does it see him? Is it trying to communicate? What does it want? As he stares into this entity, he can feel its unseen eyes staring back through him.
Like a cold shower, his common sense returns. “Nah.” he says, backing away with a headshake. Even he knows better than to screw around with these sort of things, let alone touch them… even if it does look more appealing compared to what he dealt with beforehand.
But before he can do anything else, there’s a consummate flash – it comes directly from the obelisk, brighter than daylight and sharper than lightning. Andrew doesn’t get even a second to register before he is writhing in the water, shrieking in agony, while clutching his face, his other hand securing his still-functioning phone to the front of his upper body – his eyes are burning… steaming… like they’d been set ablaze by some splashed chemicals.
“What the… f-fuck!?” Just when he thought this day couldn’t get any worse.
After cursing some more, he resists the compulsion to rub out the pain as he tries clenching then unclenching his eyes repeatedly until he can confidently open them again after some minutes – there’s no forest anymore, no night sky, and no obelisk or UFO.
He blinks a few more times – there’s absolutely nothing.
