Bump in the Night

It had been a long day’s hiking for both Sophie and Alex. Even in the dense woods, they could see the mix of red and yellow that was the setting sun. Alex sighed and looked over at Sophie. She had never hiked before, and was red faced and clearly exhausted.

“Soph,” He said. “I think it’s time to set the tent up.” Sophie looked up and nodded, clearly relieved. As Alex sat down to start work on the tent, Sophie noticed something large move quickly behind Alex.

“Alex,” She began nervously. “Are there any predators in the woods?”

“Hmm? Oh, well, there are the birds, but they won’t hurt you.” Alex said, not looking up.

“No, I’m talking about something that runs on land.”

“Like a rabbit?”

“No, bigger than a rabbit.”

“A hare?” Alex said. Sophie groaned in exasperation.

“No, like a wolf or something.” She said. Alex snorted.

“Don’t be ridiculous. There are no wolves over here.” Sophie sighed. It must have been her imagination. It had been a long day after all. Once the tent was up, they eagerly hopped inside.

“Now, do you want to see the second largest thing in this forest?” Alex said, smirking. Sophie giggled, but stopped quickly when they heard something. It was a loud creaking noise. She and Alex exchanged a confused look, before Sophie went over to the flap of the tent and lifted it up. The noise was coming from one of the trees. As she watched, it fell over, right in front of the tent, missing them by centimetres. Sophie screamed.

“Holy shit.” Alex murmured. He instructed Sophie to stay in the tent, then hopped out and inspected the tree. The middle was chewed right through. As he looked at it in horror, he heard a sound. A running sound. He spun, trying to see the source of the noise. His breath became ragged. No animal could run that fast. What was that? His question was soon answered, when he turned to see a mouth full of razor sharp teeth.

Sophie heard a scream.

“Alex.” She sobbed. She looked through the bag. The only weapon they had was a small knife. Nevertheless, she grabbed it and peeked out the tent flap. “Alex?” She called out.

“So-Sophie.” She heard Alex say weakly. Sophie almost cried with relief. She hurried out of the tent and turned in the direction of the voice. But upon seeing him she stopped. Alex was limping slowly towards her. There was blood everywhere. His arm lay down his side, rendered useless by the bite in his shoulder.

“Sophie, help, please...” He collapsed. Sophie ran over to him. She knelt down and turned him over. His eyes had rolled to the back of his head, exposing the whites. She sat there in shock for a moment, then his body starting convulsing. She raced back to the tent, and grabbed the first aid kit and a mobile phone. Without bothering to check the contents of the first aid kit, she hurried back outside, dialling the emergency number.

“What is your emergency?” The woman on the phone said.

“Yes, my boyfriend is wounded. I-” Sophie stopped. Alex was standing now, looking at her blankly. His arm had stopped bleeding, but his eyes were still white. Sophie took a step back, and bumped into someone. It was another man, staring at her with the same white eyes.

“What are you?” She said, in no more than a whisper.

“Your nightmares.” The man said, and before her very eyes, his teeth changed. They became sharp and jagged, like that of a shark’s. He grinned at her. Sophie turned, and saw Alex watching.

“Alex, please.” She sobbed, but he just stood there remorselessly. She could faintly hear the woman on the other line, trying to get her attention. She lifted up the phone.

“Help.”

On the other line, the woman could only sit helplessly, listening in terror at the snarling and screaming on the other end.



Word Count: 665