by Kay Lobegeiger

Created on: August 07, 2008

The woods were dark and dank. Very little sun penetrated through the thick canopy of leaves in this part of the woods. He tried to be as quiet as possible, but the carpet of leaves beneath the trees made it difficult to walk, and crunched at every footfall. Robert could smell fear. Was it his, or the fear of all those lost souls who had gone before him and never returned? He looked at his watch. It was past his usual lunch time, and he realized everyone at the party would be relaxing by the pool, wondering where he was.

The seance was the start of it all. Jenny had suggested they find out about the mystery in the woods. Robert had laughed and said it was all a fairy story. People in the area had told stories about a monster, probably another BigFoot, they said. Rumours were, that all those who had gone to investigate had never returned. A group of students from the nearby university thought it would be interesting to hold a seance, and try to solve the mystery.

The day had started out nice and sunny, but by the time they began the seance, storm clouds were brewing, which created a more sinister atmosphere. However, they could not conjure up any spirits to answer their questions, so Robert suggested he would go into the woods and prove there was no monster.

As he trudged through the tangled undergrowth, he was startled by a rustling sound. He jumped with fright. A squirrel ran across his path and disappeared up the nearest tree. How stupid of me, he thought. He was not scared, there was nothing to be scared of, was there? A clearing opened up in front of him, and Robert was glad to see some space, he was beginning to feel stifled in amongst the trees, especially with the storm creeping up on him. The wind began to blow and a few drops of rain found their way through the canopy of leaves above him, as he moved into the open. On the far side of the clearing, he saw a small cabin, in a very bad state of repair. Surprisingly there was smoke billowing from the chimney, so he started to approach cautiously. If someone lived here, surely they could dispel the rumors of the monster. Robert was not really as brave as he appeared, but he took a deep breath and one step, then ahhhhh!

A large hole, covered with grass and leaves, opened up underneath him and down he went. It was not very deep, but was full of all sorts of rubbish. Some bones, probably from animals, were protruding from the loose dirt which had been thrown over the top. Robert started to climb out of the hole, when his foot slipped and he fell flat on his back. He felt around for leverage to get back on his feet, and his hand touched something round and smooth. There was just enough light for him to see what it was - a human skull. Robert started to panic. The rumors were true. He had to get out of there quickly. A door slammed in the distance and he could hear footsteps coming in his direction. Maybe if he stayed very quiet, he would not be seen. A pair of large, dirty gumboots appeared at the top of the hole. Robert looked up to see a very tall, wild looking man dressed in rags and holding a rifle. He grinned at Robert and very slowly raised the gun.

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