This was such a bad idea.
Sometime later, however long that was, Edge’s trek to find his friend eventually led him to the very same cabin. Cautiously, he follows a huge sidewinding trail towards it – it’s deeply engraved into the soil and wide enough to make a stream. He wonders what could have made such a path like this… though deep down, he probably already knows.
I should have just stayed with the others…
The cabin itself looks as though it’d been compressed inwards, which he assumes is just from years of no maintenance; this place is obviously on its last legs. Still, if he was lost in the woods like Andrew, which he very much is now, he’d probably want to hide in there too, regardless of its condition. It’s worth a look.
“Andrew!”
Cold silence.
He tries again, a little louder. “Andrew!”
Again, there’s no answer as his echoing voice trails off.
Maybe I ought to look inside… see if there’s a clue.
With any remaining hope left, Edge creeps through the entrance, which looks to have been blown through entirely. The inside is an even bigger mess; there’s the door, or what’s left of it, segmented and strewn across the inside floor, along with glass from the broken windows. He measures each step to avoid cutting and splintering himself.
While scanning the room, the first thing Edge spots is a peculiar camera laying tattered on his left near the corner – there’s hardly a speck of dust on its frame.
“Andrew…”
His stomach lurches upon realizing who this camera belonged too and hurriedly scoops it off the floor to inspect it. Maybe… just maybe… his pictures can clue him in of his friend’s whereabouts, but unfortunately, it’s broken beyond repair to turn on.
Shit.
But perhaps, if they even make it back, they could look through them together. Thinking on his feet, he takes out Andrew’s SD card, which is thankfully still intact, and pockets it for safekeeping.
He checks around the room again – he’s no detective, but this whole place looks to him like it’d been recently attacked, as opposed to what he initially believed. There’s even blood on one of the broken windows – it’s fresh.
Wait… blood?? That could mean…
He rushes to examine this window closer, particularly the jagged ends of the glass. This frame is big enough to fit a whole person through, which means he could have climbed through here. Looking through to the outside, he squints at the ground with his flashlight until he sees… a scant blood trail leading away from this house.
Something must have attacked him… and then he ran… off to God-knows where.
Fearing the worst now, Edge leaves the camera, exits through the main entrance, and rounds the back to follow this trail off, praying that at the end of it he’ll find his younger friend still alive.
I am so sorry, Andrew…
He struggles to keep his mind at ease so he can focus on this one trail, this one ominous trail, since there’s no use beating himself up any further. He can also barely ignore the sickness in his stomach – it’s like he had swallowed some dry ice, and it’s not getting any better.
Please, don’t be dead…
Please, be okay…
Edge, who was once just known as Chord Castor, saw untapped potential in his shy friend and wanted to bring that out of him. Once upon a time, he himself knew what it felt like to be isolated. He only ever wanted to include Andrew and make him feel like he belonged, even if it came off as a little pushy sometimes… and now they’re both paying for it.
Was I just being selfish?
He wonders now if he really did this for Andrew or more for himself. After all, he did ignore the risks of coming to this notorious location, despite the obvious signs and warnings from his many peers, not just Alice.
Why didn’t I just quit while I was ahead?
Was I just using him… like I use everyone?
Just why…?
Am I just… manipulative?
While focusing downwards, he also makes sure to glimpse up at his surroundings a few times. The trail’s only getting warmer now with its increasingly metallic scent – that glass must have left a deep gash on the poor kid.
I have to hurr—
Suddenly, there’s a flash… bluish white, like a bolt of lightning – it almost blinds him. Flinching, he shields his eyes, expecting a crack of thunder to follow suit… except it doesn’t.
He waits another moment or two, but once he’s sure that no such sound will take his eardrums by surprise, he lowers his guard and squints ahead to where it originated from. There looks to be an opening at the far bottom of this slope, and then he spots it… a small pool of blood reflecting an exposed root from a nearby tree – his heart skips a beat.
Carefully, Edge scales down for a closer look. The stench is that much stronger. He knows he’s getting closer; he can feel it in his gut. But can this really be Andrew’s blood… and is it even appropriate to hope so?
Looking ahead once more, he sees the trail continuing away from the slope towards… a distant clearing… or maybe even an exit. It’s promising either way, so he marches on, his pace quickening.
Further along, he makes another bizarre discovery. He doesn’t yet know what to make of these floating embers, or whatever these glowing specks are, that suddenly surround him. Embers would normally be orange like fire, but these ones are bluish white like the stars in the sky. They’re everywhere now, as far as his eyes can see, but they’re also drifting from the same direction he’s being led towards. Edge, however, lets none of this puzzling wonder distract him from his one goal; his determination, by a small margin, outweighs his fear.
Next, a groan reaches his ears… the voice, while faint, is unmistakable.
This can’t be real…
Andrew, having lost all track of time since that thing robbed him of his eyesight, lays flat in the shallow water, his arms spread, ears half-submerged, his blank eyes staring upwards.
This has to be a sick joke…
He can’t tell anymore how many minutes or hours have since passed. Perhaps, none of it matters anymore. This is one of those dreams where he’d wake up back in his bedroom by now, but each time he opens his eyes, he’s still in this damn forest.
I really am cursed, aren’t I?
To calm himself, he breathes a little slower before clutching a sharp pain in his left thigh, which must have been the glass from that window he climbed out from; he hadn’t given this wound much thought until now, long after his adrenaline fizzled out.
He only hopes that he’ll bleed to death before that creature finds him again… it’s only a matter of time. Either way, he just wants it to be over with, because this waiting’s devolved into a torturous mockery by now. He can get up right now if he wants to, but where would he go? Without his sight, he’d be running around like a headless chicken, a sitting duck regardless. Maybe if he lays still enough, it’ll pass right over him… right? But of course, he’s only grasping at straws, because surely, no creature, alien or not, would be that stupid… right?
Right…?
He hears a voice… it’s faint. At first, he thinks it’s his imagination… a part of his delirium. But when it echoes again, a little clearer this time, he lifts his head to hear it better. If someone’s there, should he call out? Should he even risk it?
Biting his tongue, he ponders for a second or two…
Fuck it.
“Help!” he shouts, the soreness in his throat causing him to cough. “I’m over… h-here!”
“Andrew!?”
No way… it can’t be.
“Edge!?” That voice, louder, is unmistakeable to him now. “Edge, is that really you!?”
“Oh, thank fuck!” his older friend cries out.
Andrew, with a relieved smile, hears his feet splooshing towards him, then his clothes rustling when he kneels down to scoop his upper body off the ground. By now, he should be able to see his face hovering above his own… but he can’t.
There’s a deafening pause before the man says, “Fuck, mate…” he lowers his voice to a daunting whisper, “… what happened to your eyes??”
“My eyes?” Andrew frowns. “What do you…?”
“There all burned and…” Edge trails off, struggling to find the words.
“Like what??” demands Andrew, growing more agitated.
“Clouded,” he finally answers.
There’s another pause, this time from the younger man. Realization sets in, and it makes him wish that this shallow water would swallow him whole. To have someone else confirm it…
Carefully, he reaches up with his fingers until his tips find the end of his friend’s stubbly chin.
“Come on,” Edge tries to move him, “let’s get you—”
Andrew yelps in pain before clutching the red sharpness in his thigh again.
“That explains the blood.”
“The blood??” He raises an eyebrow incredulously.
“Yeah.”
“How much—ow!” He winces while trying to move himself. “How much blood did I lose?”
“Plenty,” Edge answers straightforwardly while assisting him. “Can you walk?”
Andrew nods forcefully. “Just get me out of here.”
And so, Edge helps his friend to his feet, who hisses while applying pressure to his wound.
“You don’t happen to have a med kit, do you?” asks Andrew.
“Sorry, mate”
“Shit… because I think there’s still a bit of glass insi—argh, fuck!”
“Maybe if I carry you…” Edge then suggests, “… you do look light enough.”
“I can walk,” Andrew declares.
“Okay.”
And so, they begin walking. Andrew, with his arm slung over his friend’s shoulder, must rely solely on the latter’s sense of direction as he is slowly limped away from this… unorthodox site.
“Do you know where we’re going?” questions Andrew.
“No,” answers Edge.
Andrew responds with a predictable sigh.
“Oh!” he suddenly remembers. “The UFO!”
“What UFO?” questions Edge.
He points behind them. “Right there… or wherever. What, you don’t see it??”
“Andrew…” Edge sounds even more confused, “… there’s nothing here except this shallow water and these… embers floating all around us.”
Andrew scowls disbelievingly. “It was RIGHT THERE!”
“Alright, alright!”
He points harder. “It was right there! I saw it with my own eyes before…”
“Hold on a sec.” Edge whips out his phone when he feels it buzzing in his pocket. His screen lights up with several unread messages and missed calls from Alice. “I got reception!”
“The others!” Andrew had almost forgotten to ask about the rest of their group. “Are they okay??”
“Yeah, they’re fine.” his friend assures. “Let me just take this first while I can.”
When Andrew gives him the nod, Edge proceeds to return his girlfriend’s call while setting it to speaker. Anxiously, they wait, expecting the worst while praying for the best. Andrew holds his breath while checking over his shoulder, doing so without a pair of eyes instinctively. The ringing tune also reminds him of the footage that he captured with his own phone; he’ll just show him afterwards.
“Come on, please pick u—”
“H-Hello?”
To their immediate surprise, Alice’s voice jitters through the speaker.
“Alice, it’s me!” shouts Edge, unable to contain his delight. “Can you hear me??”
There’s a definite pause from the other end before she replies, “Edge!? I-Is that…? Oh, my G-God!” Her muffled sobs can also be heard. “H-How…?”
“Dumb luck, I suppose…” he shrugs before pulling his younger friend closer, “… but you’ll never guess who’s with me right now.”
Leaning forward, Andrew waves tiredly. “H-Hey, Alice.” With his remaining senses, he can only guess where the screen is and whether they’re facetiming or not, which he finds unlikely way out here. “You guys… alright?”
There are loud gasps from the other end, utter disbelief from her friends who are clearly listening in too, which gets him to smile more.
“Yeah, we’re… fine,” she sighs, “How a-are… you?”
“I…” hesitating, he checks himself blindly, “… I don’t know, if I’m honest.”
Another voice barks through the phone, Klaus’. “How the… fuck are you not dead??”
Edge chuckles to this. “You sound disappointed, mate.”
“Well…” Andrew hisses while trying to straighten his leg, “… that makes two of us.”
“Come on,” his older friend urges, “let’s get you out of here.”
“Wait!” cries Alice, which does indeed halt them. “Just… where are you exactly?”
“Uh…” Edge takes his turn to check their surroundings with his working eyes, “… I don’t know exactly where we are, but it looks like we’re in a clearing that’s all… flooded.”
“You mean l-like a lake?”
“Yeah, well…” he checks one more time, “… I’m not sure. It’s pretty shallow for a lake.”
“Well, anyway…” she continues, “… I’ve called for h-help! They’re already here! They’ve sent a… s-search pa-arty to… find you.” She begins to break up.
“What?”
“A… search party!” she repeats louder.
“A search party??”
“Yes!”
Once it’s clear what she had said, Edge sighs gratefully. “Thank you so much, babe!” Tears begin welling in the man’s eyes, which he hastily wipes away. “You’re…” from his excitement, he can barely breathe, “… you’re the absolute best!”
“Yeah…” the tone in her voice softens, “… I know, babe.” She then clears her throat, pulling herself together. “Just get back safely… or stay wherever you are until they get you guys.”
“I will, babe.” Edge exhales like he hadn’t breathed properly in so long. After a period of isolation, it feels liberating to hear her voice again, even with their crappy signal. “I love you,” he finally says.
There’s another pause from Alice before she whispers back, “I love you too, babe.”
For a moment, Edge shuts his eyes, absorbing her words deeply while listening to the static ambience. He doesn’t want to hang up, and nor does she it seems. They linger like this, both waiting for the other to end the call. If there’s more that can be said, there might not be another chance after this.
This trailing silence reminds Andrew right then of their looming threat.
“Edge…?” sensing his friend’s hesitation, he begins to nudge him. “Come on, let’s not stick around here.” He actively lowers his voice while peeling his ears for any unnatural sounds from their surroundings… It’s only a matter of time.
Edge, who comes to his senses soon enough, heeds his friend and hangs up before pocketing his phone. “What’s up?”
“Listen to me…” he leans close while inhaling, “… there is something in these woods. We’re not alone out here.” His voice turns into a shaky whisper. “This thing… I don’t think it’s an animal… it’s out there hunting us.” He points to the trees, unable to steady his hand.
“What is hunting us?” questions Edge.
He swallows the lump in his throat before answering, “The Gazer… it’s real.”
Edge falls silent, which he can only guess is him trying to process this new information with an incredulous expression. “Are you sure?” he then asks.
“Absolutely… which is why we can’t stay here.”
He tries moving again on his own, but to little avail.
“But we might get lost again,” Edge points out while assisting him.
This warning only frustrates him. “That thing almost KILLED me!” he shouts, having run out of patience. “And it still might if we just sit here out in the open!”
“Alright, alright!” Edge raises his hands defensively. “I’ll take your word for it. Just relax.”
“Rela—!?” Andrew claps a hand over his own mouth, catching himself, before continuing his rant anyway. “Relax?? You’re not the one who’s hurt, Chord! You’re not the one who got cornered in a cabin and almost crushed to death by that creature! You’re not the one who’s bleeding to death! But most of all…” he points two fingers at his clouded eyes, daring his friend to look into them, “… yeah.” He sees no need to finish that last sentence.
Having vented, Andrew indeed relaxes after a few breathers. With that anger now out of his system, he is able to think rationally again.
His friend did raise a good point: if they just wander out of this clearing aimlessly, even in the same general direction that they came from, it doesn’t guarantee that they’ll find their way back to their starting point. They could still get lost, which would worsen things for them and their search party.
Damned if you do…
Damned if you don’t.
“I took a picture of it… with my camera,” he mentions next. “But it got destroyed.”
“You mean the one I found inside the cabin?”
“Yeah, and—” Andrew snaps to his friend, his mouth parted in surprise, “wait! You were there??”
“Indeed, I was, and…” he wisely pats his pocket, “… I got your SD card right here.”
“Bro!” Andrew smiles gratefully. “You not only saved my ass, but my picture too!”
“Well… we’re not out of the woods yet, no pun inten—”
A distant moan echoes from the surrounding trees, petrifying the two guys. To Andrew, it’s more than just nails on a chalkboard; he can feel this intrusive sound licking his spine.
“It’s here,” he wheezes hauntingly, like all warmth had been sapped from him.
From Andrew’s tone, Edge decides right then not to take any more chances. “Let’s go,” he says while steering his wounded friend from where that noise was heard to limp him away from the open, double-time.
Even through the searing pain from his leg and eyes, Andrew does his part to pick up and maintain their pace. He hisses through his teeth, spit flying out, while doing his absolute best to avoid tripping over his friend’s feet; they’ve had a few brushes already.
Neither him nor Edge can tell where or how far behind the creature is anymore. Did they lose it? Or is it just biding time? By now, it feels like they’re being toyed with. Surely, with its massive size and familiarity of this cursed forest, the Gazer would have caught up to them by now... so why aren’t they dead yet?
Very soon, Edge begins to slow down, almost out of breath. Andrew can’t blame him; his stamina can only keep both of them up for so long, and hes tired too. Even so, they refuse to allow this spike in fatigue to freeze them in their tracks. They continue at a leisured pace until their breaths can catch up to them, and also to stop their hearts from exploding.
“I’m really… sorry for all of this,” puffs Edge, slowly recovering his voice.
Andrew turns his face to him. “It’s okay,” he responds as weakly. “This isn’t your fault.”
“It is,” he insists, clearing his throat aggressively. “I put all of you in danger just to find this stupid UFO that was probably never here to begin with.”
“Edge—”
“I’m such an idiot.”
“Edge…” Andrew stops him to force his attention, “… there’s something I want to show you.” Taking out his own device, he unlocks the screen with his muscle memory before handing it to his friend. “Just open my photo gallery.”
“Okay…” holding his breath, Edge finds the familiar icon and opens it as instructed, “… what in the fuck, mate??” His eyes widen into saucers at what he sees, his jaw hanging wonkily, before he does a double take to Andrew.
“Believe me now?”
“Y-You took these??”
“Yeah, I did,” he nods. “It was before I lost my sight.”
“Hold on, mate… that thing did this to you??”
He nods again while sensing his friend’s finger waving in front of his bleached eyes.
“Do you realize what this footage is going to do?” Edge can barely contain his excitement.
Andrew nods for a third time before motioning the older man to, “Play the video.”
Edge does so, proceeding then to watch the whole thing in stunned silence. From beginning to end, the video locks him in an almost-trance, his mind working overtime to process what he is seeing on his friend’s innocent device and absorb what he is hearing from his recorded explanation. When the video ends, he pauses for a time then hazily returns Andrew his phone before drifting his fingers to find the back of his hair standing like grass.
“Is your mind blown?” questions Andrew rather smugly.
Edge looks to him again, nodding rigidly. “Consider it blown, but I’m now more worried about that…” he guzzles before uttering the word, “… Gazer.”
“Convinced now, huh?”
“After seeing that… I’ll believe anything.” He then jerks forward with his friend. “Let’s keep movin—”
They hear it again, the ghoulish moan – it’s much closer now. Once again, that cold chill returns, scraping their bones while rooting them to the spot.
“That came from… in front of us,” Andrew’s voice shrinks as he points this out, his muscles tensing again, threatening to cramp. “It circled us…”
Next, they hear movement – a hulking mass pushing through the earth towards them while sidewinding with increasing speed.
“RUN!!” his piercing shriek echoes.
“Andrew, the tail…” he feels Edge’s shuddering against him, “… it’s huge!”
“DON’T LOOK AT IT!! JUST FUCKING RUN!!”
Coming to his senses again, Edge’s adrenaline kicks back into full gear as he attempts to drag Andrew away from the approaching predator, only to lose his grip when his younger friend gets his foot caught in another exposed branch. His chin spikes into the cushioning leaves, shattering his teeth almost. But because of the adrenaline, this newfound pain doesn’t stop him from reaching up to his friend.
“H-Help me!” he begs desperately.
Edge stands over him, his knees bent, arms floating at his sides, while pivoting his head frantically. Andrew senses it, the dramatic pause, the hesitation from his friend, his survival instincts taking over; it’s obvious even to a blind one like himself.
Realizing what he believes is about to happen, tears begin flowing from his dirtied face. “Don’t l-leave me!” he pleads to him anyway. “I don’t want… to d-die! Please!” He hopes, in his selfish fright, that if he cries hard enough, his friend who had come all this way won’t suddenly abandon him to save himself. “PLEASE!!” His hand stretches as far as it can, stressing the muscles and tendons inside, while his fingers feel nothing but cold air still.
Finally… after forever… he hears his best friend mutter under his breath, “Fuck it.”
And before he can assume the worst, Andrew observes with his ears as Edge, who was once just known to him as Chord, stumbles to him… but not to help him back up. He feels his shadow blanketing him from the moonlight as he instead reaches over to wrestle with the branch he had tripped over. He hears him grunting, the wood creaking, as he channels his inner might to…
CRACK!
… snap it off.
Standing up again, Edge inspects its jagged end with his fingers before whacking this bat-sized piece of wood into his other hand to wield as a weapon. “I’ll buy you some time,” he asserts with funereal conviction before turning away to face the oncoming threat.
“Edge, n-no…”
“COME ON, YOU MOTHERFUCKER!!” he roars primally before charging off.
Andrew, still laying helplessly, spits away the leaves that were kicked into his face as he crawls off on his forearms from the impending slaughter – he knows too well that his friend stands no chance. They are by no means warriors nor hunters – they are cornered mice.
In no time at all, he finds a tree to slump against. Leaning his back against the crimped bark, he continues pressuring the wound in his thigh… not that it’ll do much good now. Perhaps one of them should have torn a piece of their clothing off to use as a tourniquet beforehand.
Dickheads… both of us.
And surely enough, his imagination plays out the horrific scene that his eyes can’t witness unfolding just a few metres away from where he is sitting, which is perhaps a blessing after all. Of course, the Gazer makes short work doing God knows what to his fallen friend – he can hear the bones in his body contorting like twigs… even taste the blood from his agonized screams puddling beneath him… which is finally followed by a wall of silence.
He’s finished…
The Gazer turns its attention to the younger man.
… and now I’m next.
The ground quivers as this serpent gradually slithers towards him – there’s nowhere for him to run nor hide, so why would it rush?
Any semblance of sanity and bodily control gets pushed to the far back as a distant memory as he begins to hyperventilate. His pants become soaked in warm urine, or maybe it happened already without him realizing. His bleached eyes sting from the endless overflow of tears, his clogged nose dripping with slime all the way to his quivering lips, then down his chin. His fingers are digging so deep into his thigh that they could almost tear its flesh off.
Andrew can’t see its face, but he knows from its shadowing mass and toxic breath that he is staring point-blank into its mouth. Any second now, this reptilian beast is either going to maul him to death or unveil its fatal gaze – he can’t decide which fate is worse.
Please, be quick…
Please, be painless…
The Gazer lets out another moan, except this one is different… less ghoulish… less foreign… but closer to human – this voice sounds like Edge, but off somehow. Is the monster perhaps holding his dying friend between its teeth as some sort of mockery?
Why is this ‘thing’ taking its time?
Just get it over with already!
By now, he’s reached the point of resignation, which remarkably gives way to a new emotion… anger. Pumping his airflow harder, he grits his teeth while staring death in the face.
“COME ON!!” he growls at this creature. “KILL ME!! KILL ME AND GET IT OVER WITH!!”
Are these really going to be my last words…?
“THE FUCK ARE YOU WAITING FOR!?!?” His wet hands clench so hard that he can feel his nails biting into his palms. “DO IT!! I’M READY, MOTHERFUCKER!!” He hopes that by screaming this hard until his brain explodes that it will somehow block out the forthcoming mutilation. “KILL ME!!”
But even with his garbled goading, this creature still has yet to attack him… it continues to just stare him down. Why? Is it too easy? Is it full? What is taking so long to end his suffering already?
Is it maybe… interested in him?
Whatever the case, he doesn’t know… and it wouldn’t matter anyway.
But after an eternity of waiting, he flinches when it suddenly throws back, probably to strike him, before feeling the sharp tip of what is either its claw or tail pressing the apex of his forehead. Clenching every muscle in his body including his eyes shut, he prepares for the end.
This is it.
Dad… I’m sorry.
But what happens next, he doesn’t expect at all.
He hears a whistle… it comes from a distance. He turns his head slightly to hear it again from the same direction… it’s getting closer. Along with that, he hears barking from multiple canines, along with hurried boots galloping towards them… he can even hear voices… actual human voices calling out.
In one violent motion, the tip on Andrew’s forehead swishes upwards, drawing a fresh new stream of blood from its shallow cut, before a gust of air, kicking more leaves and soil into his face, knocks him back against his tree. He curls into a ball while raising his fists defensively, ready again for its attack…
He waits…
… and waits…
… then waits some more…
… but nothing happens.
Lowering his hands, he finds the air different. He can no longer feel the creature’s presence… though he can’t tell without his eyes. Could it really be gone?
“There’s someone there!” yells a woman’s voice. “By that tree!”
Before he knows it, his stunted vision is hit by a yellow stream of light.
“Right the—he’s moving! He’s alive!”
Their group gets louder, their lights getting brighter, as they hurry closer.
“You, there!” The same woman softens her voice as she kneels right next to him. “Are you Andrew Coffey?”
Weakly, he nods to confirm this.
“Are you okay?”
Bowing his head, he shakes. “No.”
One of their enthusiastic K-9s hovers its wet nose all over his body to sniff all his injuries.
The woman, while carefully inspecting the cuts herself, finally introduces herself. “I’m Officer Carol, and I’m here to bring you home.”
“Oh, sure… take all the credit, why don’t ya?” jibes a male officer from close behind her. “Ooh… his eyes don’t look good.”
Officer Carol, ignoring the man, tears out an unknown piece of fabric to wrap around his thigh. With the strap applied, she gently pats him. “There, now let’s get you out of here.”
Completely and utterly overwhelmed now, Andrew breaks down sobbing.
He’s saved, but it doesn’t feel at all like he’s alive.
The Black Forest… as far as he knows… had just claimed another victim.
