HORROR SHORT STORY: NIGHT...a man becomes trapped in a night of surreal, deranged woods...
Wes parked his RV and hopped out of it. It was morning on a balmy summer day and the air was fragrant with cedar and earth. Wes had been traveling across America for three years. He had traversed through desert plains, to ocean beaches, to mountains and forest. Nature was held in his heart, a holy domain that allowed him comfort and bliss. This sacred adventure was what Wes sought out, he found no home in modern society and had retreated to his RV after retiring early. Being a solitary creature, Wes found solace in the company of Nature in all her splendor. He could hear her song in the wind brushing through branches, the music of Nature’s flowing rivers, the melody of his quiet footsteps against her realm. And then, to his utmost passions, the silence that fell upon every night was his most cherished time. Most nights, Wes would lay on the roof of the RV with a sleeping bag, taking in the visage of moon and stars, feeling so very small and yet, connected to the All. Ah, yes! The warmth of his sleeping bag, the fresh breeze and crisp air upon his naked face, a paradise of senses that made Wes feel alive and powerful. How many nights and days had streamed through him, each touch and scent of memories and divinity? This sojourn into Nature was exactly what destiny had stretched out before him. Never before had he felt so awake, nearly vibrating with purpose. Truly, Wes had achieved happiness.
Today, Wes was visiting the Olympic National Park in Washington state. Situated by the west coast, it was an enormous forest and mountainscape that Wes was eager to explore. Despite all his time on the road, this was the first time that he was visiting. It had been part of his bucket list and he was glad to check it off. The sun was about a third up from the horizon and was beaming through the branches of luscious trees that rose so very high up into the air, reaching and reaching with all their efforts. The sky was ocean-blue, a delectable sight that always sent trills of pleasure across his skin. Wes pulled his hat on, tied on his boots, gathered his hiking equipment and locked his RV behind him. He had provisions for the day and planned on making it up and down a part of the mountain before night. From his map and advice from locals, Wes was looking for a particular jutting cliff that was boasted to have quite a view. Eagerly, Wes began the trek.
Sunlight poured through the trees, creating a holy shade of emerald and glow. Birds flitted from branches, singing their songs, and in the distance he could hear a woodpecker. Wes strode with purpose as he climbed over roots and felt the earth beneath his boots. Wes’ leg muscles ached slightly with each step upwards and he relished the feeling. His breath grew heavier but Wes felt in good shape for the ascent.
Finally, Wes reached the cliff with ease and took in the view before him. A crystalline blue lake was below, reflecting the sky, creating a sacred image of Nature that made Wes nearly tremble with reverence. Indeed, this was the realm of gods and goddesses beyond human recollection. The sun exuded its grace through the display of Nature that presented itself before him. Thick forest surrounded the area, shone upon by the sun, gleaming in all rapture. It was at these moments that Wes felt grateful to be human. This is what he had sought out from beyond every second of gritted teeth and clenched fists of death in society. Wes continued on climbing the mountain, the silence punctuated by wild animals was Nature’s greatest gift. It was here, in Nature’s bosom, that Wes felt true freedom. Wes sat at the edge of the cliff, his feet dangling below him, and took out his lunch of a sandwich, trail mix and bottled water. The air was delicious, clear, and remarkably invigorating. As Wes ate his lunch, he began to muse about his life before now. He had been an office worker and felt only suffering in that contractual slavery. Meaningless small talk with boring people. Endless meetings that droned on with an irritating ring in his ears. The artificial computer that he stared at for hours. It was no home for such a seeker as him. One day, Wes had decided to not go into work. He had sold his house, bought an RV and drove away with no destination in particular. Wes had his budget but he could stretch it out to the rest of his life. Wes bought very little outside of the bare minimum, he did not particularly desire more objects in his life, except for maybe new hiking boots. Gradually, Wes returned his thoughts to the present, soaking in the view as much as he could. He tried to commit the vision into his memories.
The sun was starting to set, beginning its descent and it was time for him to return to his RV. Wes followed the obvious trail, moving downwards with care, silently saying his goodbyes. And then, Wes was met by a fork in the road. He paused, pondered, and realized he couldn’t remember which to take. A 50/50 chance here and Wes turned left, making the wrong turn that would spell out catastrophe for him. He walked on, completely unaware that he was now descending into chaos and darkness. Wes walked for an hour and was unable to recognize anything around him. He looked up at the setting sun and began to feel panic as he realized he was now lost. It was getting dark and Wes realized he wouldn’t be exiting the woods until at least the next morning. Wes pulled out his flashlight, a small one he kept on his person always. The flashlight illuminated very little and the sun had now disappeared in the horizon. There was no comfort of light around anymore.
Wes came to the decision to not move too far from the trail. Instead, he resigned himself to spending the night in the woods, feeling supremely confident he could make his way back down in the next morning. He tucked his jacket in, leaned against a tree and attempted to fall asleep.
While Wes did not fear the dark, feeling quite one with Nature, he still found it difficult to fall asleep. His position was quite uncomfortable and the exposed roots of the tree prodded his lower back. To Wes’ good fortune, he had found a clearing and was given a full view of the night sky. It was a full moon tonight and all the stars were visible. The temperature had dropped quite a bit and Wes was shivering. He drifted in and out of awareness, unable to achieve deep sleep. And then, he heard something that made him jolt awake and aware. Was that some animal? It was something Wes had never heard before. He wondered if he was still half-asleep and was drifting back to sleep when he heard it again. Wes retained rational thought and decided that the sounds were merely the sound of Nature. He comforted himself by thinking of the morning and being back in his RV after just this one night. A rustle in the bushes, bowing tree branches, the soft sounds of animals here and there, the nocturnal beings held domain over this night.
This time Wes sat up and knew he was fully awake. He looked around and then spotted them, a dozen or so pairs of red, glowing eyes were watching from the dark. What the fuck was this? Wes’ thoughts reel in disbelief. But the sounds around began to swarm him in a terrible cacophony of beasts and screeching. Upon reflex, Wes succumbed to his fears and began to run away. In the weak din of his flashlight, Wes attempted to navigate his way through the black forest, accompanied by the light of the moon. Moonglow followed him, only visible through holes between branches. And then, Wes tripped hard and fell on his face, breaking his nose and sending warm blood filling and overflowing. Wes barely registered it and got back up to continue running when something caught him by the ankle. Panic shot up the nerves of his spine. He shined his light and saw that the tree roots were groping against his body. Their strength was far too great and Wes was being dragged downwards, further into the roots of the massive tree he stood beside. He was being absorbed by his feet that were now submerged up to the ankle. The more he struggled, the more the roots seemed to grip him. He could feel them, feeding on his energy, attempting to swallow him whole. His flesh began to meld with the roots, he felt like he was pulling against his own skin. Slowly, slowly, Wes was sinking, now up to his chest. He attempted to detach himself but it was inevitable, this tree was going to absorb his entire body and devour him completely. Just when only his head was exposed, a strange light appeared and the tree recoiled, releasing him. Wes dragged himself out of the earth, sucking in deep breaths of air. He collapsed on the ground and looked up to see a golden-glowing lantern. It blinded him at first but he soon acclimated and saw a strange creature holding it. It appeared to be a short man, but his appearance was bizarre and repulsive. Bandages covered him from the bottom of his eyes to his forehead, supposedly he was blind. A large, gnarled tree stick was held in his hand, comically standing five inches taller than the top of his head. His fingers were webbed. Several teeth were missing and his tongue was long enough that he dragged his tongue above his top lip like a compulsion. He had no nose, the remaining two gaping holes of his nostrils made Wes cringe. His teeth looked like they had been filed sharp, Wes could see the jagged holes in his bottom lip and correctly surmised this odd man had a penchant for chewing his lips. His ears were long and pointed and there were two horns of bone protruding from his forehead. To Wes’ surprise, the man began to dance, jumping side to side and he hooted, hollered strange words Wes did not understand. The man stopped moving, looking at Wes with confusion, and cleared its throat.
“You speak English," the small man said with a high-pitched voice.
Wes hesitated, then answered.
“I speak English…who are you?” Wes asked.
The man jumped in the air, landed, and danced from one foot to the other.
“I am Bozo! Bozo the clown!” he replied.
Wes looked at him strangely.
“You certainly don’t look like one.”
“Bozo the clown! Bozo the clown! Bozo the clown!” he shouted in a sudden fury. “I am Bozo the clown!”
Wes put up his hands to mollify him and began to apologize vehemently. He did not want others to hear them.
“Where are we? What is this place?”
The creature cocked his neck and stared at Wes’ face as if trying to process Wes’ stupidity.
“We are within the interstice of the demiurge of the earthen world, the great Ialdabaoth,” the man replied. “You slipped from dusk and twilight in your slumber, and much to your misfortune you found this realm.”
The strange man took a few steps away from Wes and flinched when Wes made a motion to reach out to his shoulder.
“You don’t belong here! You don’t belong here! Away! Away from me!” the man shouted, swinging his staff against Wes, making contact with his head. The man continued to brandish his weapon, hitting Wes across his body. Blood dripped down his face and Wes could not control himself. He grabbed a rock and bashed in the man’s head with several strikes, crushing skull and smashing grey matter. Wes stumbled away, absorbing the mess he had produced. He dripped in blood and wiped his eyes. Horror grew in him at the realization that he had murdered a living being. Wes stumbled backwards, collected himself, grabbed the golden lantern and escaped from the stranger and his own actions. Forgetting it all, Wes sprinted forward with the lantern in his hand to light the way. Without thought or direction, Wes ran and ran deeper into the forest. Finally, he stopped, leaned against a tree and sucked in deep breaths. Sweat dripped from his body and face as his mind reeled. Was this a dream? Had something happened while he had been asleep? An interstice? A realm between asleep and awake? Ialdabaoth? What was that?
Wes heard a strange sound and looked around him. Slowly, he registered that it was the sound of sex. He approached as if driven by a dark sexual desire and saw a strange and disturbing scene. Some kind of blobby alien stood. Vaginal holes were studded across its entire skin surface. It had a single mouth blooming out from the top, eliciting moans of pleasure. Several men with sewn eyes and mouths were humping the blob furiously.
“No…no…please don’t make me,” Wes begged as his feet began to move forward. Wes gritted his teeth.
His steps brought him to the blob and he pulled out his member. It went erect against his will and he inserted himself into one of the vaginas. Tears of shame and repulsion streamed down his face as he fought the motion of his hips. Dear lord, the sensation of its soft cave was terribly pleasurable. Wes began to strengthen his grinding and was about to climax in utter horror when he heard a child’s voice.
It felt as if it was a familiar sound but Wes could not recognize any of its holy notes. Wes was awash with its light and could breath his own Self once more. The honey-sweet sound drifted in his mind gently and brought him back to his own humanity, identity. He pulled against the sensation of vacuuming against his member and successfully removed himself. Horrified, Wes sprinted away from the demented sex of perversion behind him. After what felt like an hour, Wes finally slowed and stopped to gain his breath. Sweat dripped down him and he tucked his member back into his pants, shuddering to think what he might’ve just done. Who was the child? He didn’t know. They sounded so distinct but he just couldn’t place where he had first heard of it.
After a few moments, Wes caught his breath and looked around him. Just as before, he was deep in the forest of immense, epic trees. While he marveled at their beauty, he also felt cold death in the merciless derangement that came to light with the moon and stars into this realm of Ialdabaoth. He saw a light in the distance and approached out of instinct and found himself at a cabin glowing in flowery lights. Iridescent shades of light rainbows sparkled in the air. Little sparks flared and disappeared, falling like a shower of cherry blossoms. Wes was taken in by the sheer beauty and could not resist approaching. Twinkling starlight glowed in his eyes and he began to levitate, being pulled closer and closer to the house, eager to become one with the light. The light blinded him and when he could see once more he realized he had entered the cabin.
He looked around him to see a peaceful abode, a warm hearth with a fire burning. Over the fire hung a giant pot that seemed to be cooking some kind of stew. Standing to the side of the room was a matronly woman, swollen and pregnant. She showed a greasy and yellowing smile that made Wes uncomfortable. With a grunt and a shudder, she evacuated an infant from her vagina. It fell onto the ground with a heavy thud and it began crying out. The woman picked the infant by the ankle and dropped it into the stew. It continued to scream as the heat of the stew began to cook its tender flesh. The infant writhed in agony, desperate in suffering until one hoarse croak sounded the end of its life. She put a ladle into the stew and brought it to Wes, gesturing for him to take a sip. Completely repulsed and close to vomiting, he shook his head no. The woman grew furious, her eyes beginning to bulge out of her head and thick veins pulsed across her forehead. She grabbed him with easy force, bent him over her knee, pulled his underwear down and shoved the handle of the ladle into his anus. Tearing delicate flesh, she pounded him with the handle. In, out, in, out, every motion made Wes scream out with fresh pain. His suffering and shame melded into a black miasma that swallowed him whole, wrapping its arms around him with a tight embrace. Wes screamed and struggled against the strength of her grip until his voice nearly broke. With a burst of courage, he grabbed a nearby pair of scissors and stabbed her leg with it. She howled, dropped him, and stumbled backwards. Wes took the opportunity and ran out as his rectum bled.
The full moon shone as he grabbed his lantern before him. He could not stop running, he needed distance from the horror and trauma of what he had just undergone. Panting like a beast with sweat dripping down his face, commingling with the tears of utter humiliation that he could not resist. The pain in Wes’ anus shrieked in his head as he moaned out guttural sounds with no meaning other than a release of suffering. He ran and ran. He tripped, hit his body but got right back up to continue running. With no direction in mind, Wes could not stop his legs from fleeing. Whispers floated around him.
“...that’s him…”
“...get him, get the bastard…”
“...run shithead…”
“GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!” Wes shrieked in desperation.
He ran until he suddenly reached a clearing. A fresh coat of moss was across the ground and the trees stood upon the edges, as if in some kind of reverence for the object in the center. Beaming with the color of the moon, a fountain of water stood stoutly, the surface painted in star lights. A beating within began in Wes’ chest and he was drawn towards it against all will and thought. Wes placed both hands against the edges of the fountain and looked into the pure water. He saw every possible attempt to escape this night being ended in some kind of brutal ending. Visions of his own deaths seared his mind as he struggled miserably. Every single death presented itself to him and Wes could scarcely withstand the barrage. Wes attempted to wrench himself away from the fountain but found it impossible to escape these visions. Wes began to sob, hot tears against his hot cheeks, he tugged and tugged. Like a ball of gravity, Wes could feel a pulling sensation and began to fall into the fountain. He fell into the blackness, a stream of nothingness that made Wes’ chest ache with terror. And then he was plummeting downwards, falling from a cloud in the night sky. He fell into a grand lake of glowing golden water.
Bathed in the light and healing waters, Wes began to feel the burdens of the night melting away from his skin and flesh. His tears quieted and a sense of tranquility bloomed in his mind, like a golden flower. Sweet nectar tasted upon his lips. A single violin strung out notes of divinity and Wes felt distant from all the horror of the night. His wounds repaired themselves and Wes began to wonder if this was the end of the terrible trials. He merely soaked in every sensation this holy water held for him for as long as he could. Before long, the night wrenched its comfort away from him and the lake turned cold and completely opaque black. A whirlpool swallowed him up and dragged him to the bottom of the lake. A giant clam with its mouth open accepted him and clamped down shut, trapping him inside. Wes rallied against the inside of the clam but it was useless, there was no escape.
And then, more visions began. Wes was a mere reluctant viewer with no power. A child with a crater in its head wobbled from side to side in the destructed rubble of wartime. Exposed bits of bone jutted outwards as powerful spurts of blood sprayed from the wound. The child smiled when soldiers gunned it down. He saw a giant alien creature in a cabin with small people hanging from hooks. The creature tortured each person, rooting around in their guts for some kind of prize. Wes witnessed the rape of a nude small child, the sight of the rapist’s buttocks tensing with each movement.
Wes wanted to scream but could not make a single motion. He saw a mother grabbing her child by the clothes. She was screaming and shaking her. The mother slapped the child again and again with one hand, the other holding the collar of the child’s shirt with the other. Blood began to trickle down the child’s nose but the mother would not relent. Eventually, Wes painfully observed, as the mother tossed the child to the ground and walked away. Fury burned in this child’s eyes and Wes what kind of monster waited to be revealed in adulthood.
A man held up by the wrists and ankles on a table. He was begging, nearly mewling, but the women did not care. One of them raised an axe and slammed it into the shoulder with experience, completely severing it. Another chopped off the other shoulder, moving along until he was only a torso. Blood sprayed from the stubs left, dousing the women in blood. They drew back their hoods and bathed in his warm blood. They opened their mouths, stretched out their tongues and licked the blood spurting into the air.
After a few more horrific visions, the clam got bored with Wes and ejected him out of its mouth. Gratefully, Wes swam to the surface. He broke out and sucked in fresh air. The delicious air revived him, if only for a moment. It was still night but it appeared as if the moon was close to setting. Or maybe it was just wishful thinking. Wes could barely get a few breaths in before something snatched him up. Tough talons dug into his skin by the shoulders and lifted him out of the water. Wes looked up to see that a giant bird had him now. It appeared to be an unholy communion between human and avian, patches of human skin and patches of feathered bird were all over the bird creature. Sharp human teeth studded its beak and it screamed like a human. With powerful gusts, the bird soared across the forest. The talons pierced skin and were painfully digging into his flesh. The view of the forest was endless, all horizons covered by trees and lakes. Flying above like this, in the air, he could see celestial bodies in the distance of the sky. Rotating spheres, glittering meteors leaving streaks of divine paint behind them, auroras stretching into great distances. Wes took in the beauty of the sight and was nearly unaware of his current situation. The sharp pain of the talons as the creature turned towards the east broke Wes from the spell and he returned to the precarious situation once more. A giant bird’s nest was nestled at the top of a tree. Three small bird-human hybrids ran around within the nest. They were all blind and hobbling on legs of both birds and humans. At the scent of Wes, they began shouting in a perversion of a child’s grating voice.
“Feed! Feed!”
“Hungry! Hungry!”
“Screeeeeee!! Screeeeee!”
Wes was wracked with fear and began to descend into the bustling below him. The grotesque baby birds squealed with hunger. One of them grabbed him by the shin and the other got him by the forearm. The mother bird sat to the side as the third bird competed for a remaining limb. The ragged teeth and sharp beaks tore apart his flesh. They ravaged him, chewing and licking up his blood. Wes screamed bloody murder and struggled against them. His sanity slipped away at the sight of bloody muscle stretching, pulling, detaching and being swallowed up by these fucking freaks. His exposed bones glistened in the moonlight, now so close this high up in the trees. With a surge of fury, he used his remaining leg to kick one of them in the face. He kicked as much as he could, desperate and desperate to survive. He kicked a human eye and the baby squawked and released. He used his remaining strength to wrench himself away. He jumped out of the nest, grateful to be free and sure that this time he would die. Wes thudded against branch and branch, painful with each impact as his ruined arm flapped down with him. Two ribs fractured on his way down but the trees had broken his fall and he fell onto a bundle of tree roots. He coughed up blood and lay there, devoid of any impetus for movement, disappointed he was still alive. What the fuck is happening? What the fuck is this? Wes’ thoughts reeled as his rationality slipped further and further away from him. He lay there for what felt like a great deal of time, staring at the slant of moonlight breaking the treetops. Was he already crazy? Was this death? Suddenly, two slimy tentacles emerged from the darkness and wrapped itself around Wes’ destroyed ankle. Tears began to stream. Wes felt utterly powerless and resigned to whatever wish to lay claim on his soul. Anything to escape this terrible world. Slowly, Wes was dragged away, towards the sound of a laughing man. And then some kind of biologic imperative to live electrified his nerves and set his skin ablaze. He sat up and kicked at the tentacles with fury. He finally saw the body of the tentacles and was immediately disgusted. It was a plant, fleshly petals bloomed from its maw of multiple rows of teeth. It laughed with the voice of a man, choking out strange phlegm. Wes grabbed a stone and smashed his exposed shin bone. Pain rocked him but he would not stop smashing until it had broken off completely. The plant swallowed up the shin, sucked off the meat and spat out the shattered bone. With great speed, the plant grabbed him by the other leg. Wes panicked as suddenly, a small feral female sliced up the plant with swift movements. The plant screamed and retreated backwards. Wes moaned with pain at his crushed shin bone. Before Wes could say anything, she darted back into the woods. Wes blinked at the enigmatic appearance and instead laid down once more. The pain of his ruined body thudded in his head as he waited for the night to end. Whatever would come would kill him, there was no way to defend himself now. His only hope was to wait the night out here. Wes began to cry. Tears streamed down the sides of his temples as he stared up at the tree branches. Waters of divinity flowed from his tired eyes, so very tired of all these horrors. His face contorted in pain with each pulse of his blood, in such suffering as to elicit a single goddess’ tear. Pure misery tainted this mind of his, slowly washing away in the vital waters of Wes’ teardrops. Wes sobbed out all the pain of his life like a black mass that he was only now regurgitating from his throat.
All his tears flowed together, creating a strong river that carried Wes with it. Through trees and bushes, the river seamlessly navigated its way to whatever destination awaited them both. The river brushed his hair, cooled his scalp, and refreshed his wrecked body. The sensation calmed Wes down and accepted whatever fates this river had deemed him worthy of. Whipping and weaving, the river moved with deftness, sending electrifying vibrations within him. Eons began to pass, this never-ending river taught him the history of his own soul. Not just him but the accumulative individuals that had once embodied the very energy, the very spirit within him. He saw the folly of humankind, the destruction and reconstruction of civilization itself. He witnessed ancient trees forming ancient forests, endless with deep roots. The thoughts of Wes began to evaporate and he became part of the greater All. It was here that Wes could be brought to bear witness to the truth of pain. Waves and waves of deaths ran through Wes in a single instant long enough to bear an eternity of suffering. His chest was caved in by a truck. His arm bone stuck out of a broken arm. A chainsaw malfunctioned and caught a chunk of his neck and clavicle. Wes had experienced deathly mortality again and again. He felt like destroying himself.
Finally, Wes poured out of the woods and was spat out onto a lake. The sun was rising and Wes saw that he had restored completely, totally unwounded. He floated that way for quite some time, numb to the world. The sun rose in the sky but Wes refused to believe that he was truly free. This must just be another vision of the night, one to destroy him, to harm him. An innocent fisherman drifted by in his small boat. He hurriedly grabbed Wes and took him into his boat.
“Jesus christ what are you doing out here like this? You’ll die if you keep just floating there, mister,” the man said in confusion and worry.
Wes shot upwards, who was this man? He couldn’t be trusted, no one could be trusted. Wes pounced on the unassuming man and shoved both thumbs into his eyes. Blood and white mush popped out and Wes shoved his thumbs further inside. The blinded fisherman stumbled backwards before falling into the lake. The man screamed to all hell but Wes paid no attention. He searched through the boat and finally found what he wanted. A gun. Wes put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger, exploding brain matter everywhere.
Local authorities later found both bodies, unable to deduce what exactly had transpired there. A few troopers followed Wes’ direction into the woods and realized too late that the light had drained quicker than they thought and that it was time to try to get home. Soon, though, they became lost and were forced to stay the night in the woods. The night accepted them with an eager grin.