The Trees

Setting up in the middle of all the trees made me nervous, this was not the campsite and ‘Mr. Brilliant’ couldn’t find where we were supposed to be. The trees swaying back and forth, looked frighteningly alive. The largest tree near our tent had a huge knot about five feet from the ground. Ivy had grown up across it giving the impression of a wicked gaping maw, and two rounded hallow holes for eyes.

Due to our late arrival, we had no fire and only two flashlights. The wind in the trees was not the only noise we heard. Owls called in the distance, as did a few wolves. Those sounds were almost a comfort to the sudden, deafening silence. Bob decided to have a look around when we heard something unidentifiable so close it caused the hair on my arms to stand up. I decided to hide in the car. I got in and locked the doors, and realized Bob had the ignition key.

Bob had been gone for maybe five minutes when I heard a loud thump and something dented the roof of the car. I squealed and jumped hitting my head, as the face of the tree appeared in the rearview mirror. Then I saw two of the limbs appear to reaching out to the top of the car.

I flattened myself to the seat hoping it would not see me, trying to rationalize in my mind what I saw. I heard a moan and the sound of the branches scraping the car. I felt the struggle, as it bounced the car. Then the struggle stopped and a sudden wash of dark liquid flowed over the windshield. The moon cast an eerie red light through the windshield. I huddled, afraid to move, barely breathing. The wooden face appeared to my right. Red dripped from its distorted limbs. The grin grew exposing pointed steak-like teeth. I screamed, jumped out the opposite side of the car and ran as fast as I could. Looking back, I could still see its reaching arms coming closer and as I turned, back around I ran right into the outreaching arms of another tree. The world turned black.

I felt the tearing of my clothing and the wooden hands lifting me, as I fought to regain consciousness. While I fought, I got the vague impression of a grandmotherly face watching over me.

A voice drifted to me in the blackness. Confused I looked around and gasp, I was a hundred feet up in a tree, the sun was up and a stranger stood at the bottom. Every inch of me hurt, as I remembered every detail of the two very different trees.

Once they got me down, they went looking for Bob. They found only little pieces of Bob and a tree across the crushed car. They reported it as an animal attack, because I could not bring myself to tell the story of the trees. Who would believe me?


Written for 'A flicker of Madness' Contest. The prompt was Trees. This story has a word count of 498, the word count requirement 500 words or less.