I've always liked winter mornings something about the way the cold air bites at your skin feels refreshing it clears your head like nothing else I usually jogged early before the sun rose when the streets were empty and the world felt like mine alone that morning wasn't any different at least that's what I thought when I laced up my sneakers and stepped out the door the air was biting cold with a thick clinging f and the otherwise dimly lit Street the street lights flickered every now and then casting faint pools of light that barely cut through
the haze but I didn't mind the silence was peaceful the world was still asleep and I liked it that way I started my run feeling the rhythmic thud of my feet against the pavement my breath came out in little clouds puffing in front of me like smoke signals everything felt so Serene empty streets quiet houses just me the cold and the fog after about 10 minutes I reached the park it's usually busy during the day but now it was deserted not a soul in sight I'd figured I'd do three laps around it and head home
before the chill really set in the first lap was fine but halfway through the second I started to feel off it wasn't immediate just a creeping sense of unease like the air had grown heavy heavier the silence became more oppressive I found myself glancing over my shoulder expecting to see someone there but every time I looked back all I saw was the fog thick and impenetrable by the time I started the third lap the feeling had only gotten worse my skin prickled my heartbeat quickened and I kept thinking I heard faint footsteps behind me I'd
stop and turn scanning the park but there was no one just the low Gro of trees swaying in the cold wind stop hallucinating Lizzy I told myself maybe the fog was Playing Tricks on Me Maybe I was just tired but deep down I knew something was wrong I decided to take a break I ploted myself on one of the benches by the playground to catch my breath as soon as I sat down I heard it rustling like someone stepping on dry leaves my pulse spiked and I shot up eyes darting around is anyone there I
called out my voice sounding small and shaky no answer I scanned the area trying to focus but the fog was too thick it was like trying to see through a wall of smoke and then I heard it a soft chuckle a sound cut through the silence so sharp it made my skin crawl who's there my voice was more desperate now but still no reply only the Eerie faint laughter closer this time and then she stepped out from the fog a woman tall and gaunt her red hair matted and hanging in limp strands around her face
she was wearing a torn white night gown stained with Crimson awfully resembling blood my eyes slowly traced upwards until I met her bloodshot one her eyes caught her eyes they were wide wild smeared with mascara like she'd been cry for hours I froze unable to move my breath caught in my throat the woman's lips curled into a smile but there was nothing kind about it it was the kind of smile that sent chills down your spine the kind of smile that made you want to run and then I saw her hand she was clutching something
a finger a man's severed finger there was blood dripping from it staining the snow at her feet and dangling from the finger was a wedding ring my stomach turned I felt bile rise in my throat I took a step back and stumbled to the ground the woman let out a hollow laugh now he's single she said shoving the finger in the air her tone was mocking almost gleeful he doesn't have to hide his affair from me anymore before I could even process what she had said her eyes rolled back into her head and she collapsed
on the ground right beside me for a moment I couldn't move couldn't think my mind was blank overwhelmed by a flood of horror and then somehow I snapped out of it my hands fumbled for my phone as I shakily dialed 911 the cops arrived within minutes though it felt like hours they took the woman away but not before telling me the truth Sophia was an artist who had killed her husband while he slept she was somehow convinced he was having an fair with the secretary afterward she cut off his ring finger and wandered the streets
in a days I was later told that Sophia was sent to a mental institution she never spoke a word again after that night and me I haven't jogged in the early morning since not ever it was supposed to be a quiet getaway Steven and I needed a break from everything work family the city so we rented an Airbnb in the woods a cozy cabin deep in the middle of nowhere it was Winter and the world around us was draped in snow making it feel like we were completely isolated from everything else exactly what we wanted
we arrived at around Sunset the cabin was adorable with a creaky wooden deck and inside a stone fireplace already laid out with logs by the time we unpacked and settled in it was dark outside we opened a bottle of red wine after a few glasses Steven suggested we explore the property there was supposed to be a small clearing behind the cabin so we bundled up and trudged out into the cold we were Tipsy walking halfhazard and giggling we soon stumbled upon a small Mound partially hidden in snow near the edge of the woods strange there
was a stone marker like a headstone of a grave but there was no name just a weird symbol it looked like two interlocking circles with a serpent twisting between them Steven knelt down to brush off the snow laughing he was always the braver one between us always curious It's a grave right maybe it's someone's pet I don't know no name could be anything he was drunk and in his ridiculous State he unzipped his pants and started peeing on it laughing all the while I swatted at him telling him he was being dises respectful but he
just waved me off laughing as he finished I felt uneasy something about that grave unsettled me but I was too Tipsy to really process it so we headed back to the cabin stumbling and laughing that night I woke up to a strange sound it was like scratching the kind of sharp repetitive noise that made my skin crawl I reached over but Steven wasn't in bed my heart skipped a beat and I sat up the scratching it was coming from outside I pulled on my coat my hands trembling as I opened the door I saw Steven
standing in the snow staring out into the woods motionless his breath was visible in the air and I could hear that scratching sound louder like nails on Stone Stefan what are you doing he didn't answer the scratching grew louder a horrible grating noise that made me feel like I was losing my mind it wants to come out his voice was flat almost distant like he was in some kind of Trance I grabbed his arm trying to shake him out of it come back right now something isn't right the grave it wants to come out he
pulled away from me and ran towards the grave I followed him the snow stinging my face as I stumbled after him he dropped to his knees clawing at the snow his hands bare as he dug Into The Frozen Ground stop it Stefan stop I tried to pull him away but he was strong stronger than I'd ever seen him his nails were breaking his fingers red and raw as he tore at the snow like he was possessed and then I saw it a fox emerging from the woods its eyes glowed in the dark an unnatural Eerie
light that made my stomach twist it watched us its gaze fixed on Steven but when it came out I was shocked it wasn't red but black finally Steven stopped he looked up at me his eyes wide and unfocused I pulled him to his feet and we started back towards the cabin my heart pounding in my chest as we reached the deck a deep growl echoed from the direction of the Grave low and gutal I turned and there was the fox sitting at top of the mound its eyes still glowing its body curled up like it
was guarding something looking at us Steven collapsed onto the bed and I watched him until his breathing evened out his face relaxed I couldn't sleep I just sat there staring at the window the next morning Steven acted like nothing had happened he didn't remember a thing I showed him his hands expecting the torn Nails the bloody fingertips but they were fine perfectly fine he laughed it off said I must have been dreaming but I knew what I saw I knew what I heard we packed up ready to leave I wanted to get out of there
as fast as possible Steven was humming to himself as he loaded our bags in the car completely unfaced but as he put his hand on the steering wheel a jolt ran through me there just under his wrist was a small Scar the shape of two interlocking circles with a serpent twisting between them the same symbol from the grave stepan where did you did you get this he had no answer it's the same symbol as the grave what grave the one we saw yesterday but he just looked confused when I insisted he pulled me by my
hand and took me to the place of the grave but to my shock when we reached there there was nothing I felt a chill run through me a deep gnawing fear that settled in my bones I did not care to investigate and pulled Steven to the car driving away but I am certain that we Disturbed an otherworldly presence that day the snow had been falling heavily all afternoon turning the rugged Trail into a winding sheet of white my friend John and I had been trekking for hours we were deep in a forest far off the
usual hiking routes a place which was only known for its Grim history an unfortunate accident during Civil War transpired there a unit of Confederate infantrymen were stationed there when their gunpowder caches caught fire many soldiers were blown up and cried in agony for hours before dying rumors were that you could still hear their screams in those lands as the light faded and the sky darkened we set up camp near a steep Cliff the wind howled through the branches sounding almost like voices we didn't say much as we ate but there was there was something in
the air that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up I brushed it off just nerves I told myself this place feels off doesn't it I glanced at him trying to read his face his voice was flat but his eyes had the same weary look I'd been feeling all day yeah I admitted it's like the Air's too heavy or something could be the altitude or maybe we're just tired we both tried tried to laugh but it fell flat something wasn't right as night fell I found myself staring into the darkness waiting for
what I didn't know but I couldn't shake the feeling that we weren't alone eventually exhaustion took over and I must have fallen asleep but sometime in the middle of the night I woke up with a start my body jolted awake like someone had shaken me the tent was freezing the fire outs ided long since died and JN was still snoring softly beside me that's when I heard it footsteps not faint distant ones like before but deliberate crunching through the snow right outside the tent I heard a soft scratching sound not like an animal no this
was different like fingers trailing along the side of the tent I fumbled for my flashlight the beam shaking as I pointed it at the fabric nothing but the scratching continued as soon as I turned it off low methodical I didn't dare move suddenly there was a loud thud against the side of the tent like something or someone had slammed into it I jumped my flashlight slipping from my grasp what the hell was that John was awake wide-eyed and pale before I could answer the thuing came again harder this time the entire tent shook I don't
know I whispered but we need to get out of here we grabbed our flashlights and unzipped the tent just enough to peek outside the snow was untouched pristine like no one had been there but the sound those footsteps the scratching it had to be real I could feel it in my gut I'm getting creeped out man let's just wait it out I nodded even though every Instinct screamed to run a few minutes passed in an uneasy silence just as began to drift off again I felt the sudden urgent need to pee I didn't want to
go outside but there was no way of avoiding it I grabbed my flashlight and stepped into the biting cold I walked just a few steps from the tent finding a spot behind a tree just as I was about to relieve myself I felt a cold Icy hand on the back of my neck I froze it gripped me hard pulling me backward I spun around the flashlight beam cutting through the night but there was no one there the snow behind me was undisturbed but I knew something strange was there that's when the beam of my flashlight
fell on the ground ahead of me where there was a massive crevice partly hidden by the snow if I had taken just one more step I would have plummeted to my death my breath caught in my throat I stumbled back to the tent I didn't want to wake John I couldn't explain what had just happened I just crawled into my sleeping bag trying to calm myself the next morning John was pale as a ghost he wouldn't meet my eyes I had the weirdest dream last night I looked at him my stomach nodding I was outside
the tent wearing some old solders uniform and I wasn't me it felt like I was guarding something or someone I stared at him my mouth dry before I could say anything we both heard it a distant scream of Agony from deep within the trees we sprang upon our feet and decided to leave the tent behind preparing to rush away but just as we emerged out we saw clear Footprints made by heavy boots emerging from the forest cover and coming towards the face of our tent we left that place in a hurry I don't know what
it was but somehow I owe my life to the spirit of some dead civil war soldier who was probably looking over me
