it's raining again to be honest with you I'm terrified of rain I never leave the house when it's storming outside but to give myself some credit I never used to be like this I used to love watching the rain fall from outside the windows but now I always have my curtains pulled tight across the edges of the window sill I wish I could show you what made me the way I am partly to warn you partly to verify myself but I can't I can only tell you my story like it's some sort of fantasy as
if it's just another bizarre story that deserves to be forgotten in a week if you see it like that then that's fine but I won't forget I'll never forget in 2012 I was a 21-year-old college student I was absolutely madly in love with nature and all things wild I spent my childhood roaming up and down tree lines fantasizing about mythical creatures and fantastic monsters now there I was in 2012 as an adult studying forestry with dreams of Defending those tree lines and Fantasies I held so dear I was absolutely ecstatic when my professor announced an
opportunity for some extra credit he suggested that we spend a few days of our upcoming break walking along some trails and paths to remind ourselves why we were doing what we were doing as an avid hiker I knew of a hiking trail a few hours over from our town that offered plenty of room to walk with very little crowding the only ones who really walked more than a few minutes down the trail with the park rangers and the chances of seeing one of them on the ever winding and expanding Trails of the forest seemed small
hey Lily want to take a trip down to The Preserve with me I asked as the bell finished tolling signaling the end of the school day the girl next to me Lily was a quiet and sweet girl she had long brunette hair that stretched just past her shoulders and gentle green eyes she was the type of person who people admired from afar beautiful but silent a passing joke or compliment would make her smile but she'd very rarely comment back to most that would make them move onto the next person to me that made me want
to be closer to her we'd been friends for a while at this point whether or not any sort of romantic intent was had between us I couldn't say we just knew that we connected on some sort of level yeah of course just tell me when she looked into my eyes with a soft smile on her face I smiled back at her I hoped this trip would turn out well a few days passed Lily and I spent our free time in stores Gathering Food Supplies and Tents together soon enough we were all packed up and ready
to head out we took my small car with our bags tied down on the roof and took the highway a few hours East by the time we got there it was mid-afternoon still plenty of time to walk but also a bad time to find parking there were plenty of people here walking their dogs setting up lunches and walking the paths I thought you said it be quiet Lily asked with a slight Snicker I rolled my eyes in response I'm sure these kids aren't planning on hiking a few days in it'll get quiet I promise I
span around and began taking our large packs off of the roof of the vehicle for as big as they were they were surprisingly easy to carry Lily slipped the straps over her shoulders and waited for me to start heading towards the park as we approached the Trail's entrance we saw a rain anger Loosely standing guard you guys heading in he asked there was no hostility or caution in his tone he was just merely asking a simple question yeah that's all right right I said questioning the fit middle-aged man of course just let me know your
names and take my card if you need anything call down to the station there's a couple of Ranger Shacks deeper in feel free to use them if you need to just make sure to clean up the ranger gave a welcoming smile and handed me a small business card for the local Ranger Station thank you oh my name's Max this is Lily Lily gave a small nod at the Ranger and he nodded back respectfully well Max and Lily you enjoy yourselves out there we'll be patrolling around so if you see us don't be scared to say
hi with those words the ranger backed away from the entrance and we began our treay we spent half of the first day slowly walking in quiet appreciation there's something so liberating about walking with no time limit it's like all of the world's stresses slide right off your back and the only thing you have to worry about is yourself in that exact moment you're all that matters no bills no studies no cares just avoid snakes and strange plants and you're all set it wasn't too long into our journey before the sun began to Nestle itself behind
the trees and the warm but steadily dropping temperature of the late afternoon's winds began sweeping under our sweaty clothes let's find a clearing to settle into Lily said her head tilting from one direction to the other looking for a place to set up I nodded in approval and saw a small opening further down the path clearly made by others who took a similar trip it only took a few minutes to set up our tents in the clearing and to start a small fire after all that walking and hard work we were finally ready to be
off our feet for a while Lily plopped herself down on the opposite side of the fire I was sitting at and pulled out a granola bar to eat I felt a rumble in my stomach and pulled out one of my own this place is really beautiful she said taking a large bite out of the bar yeah haven't seen many animals yet though I unwrapped my food and placed it on my lips ready to take a bite I quickly glanced over at Lily and froze in the increasingly darkening Forest just off the trail just behind Lily
was something about the size of half of football it was cloaked in the darkness but I assumed it had to have been some sort of small Critter I began to squint my eyes trying to focus on it but whatever it was seemed to fade out of existence going straight into the ground everything all right Lily asked I realized it must have seemed like I was staring at her with food half in my mouth I laughed and Shrugged shaking my head Softly yeah sorry I thought I saw an animal or something off in the woods it
was small could have just been a rabbit or something it must have burrowed into the ground though my friend peered over her shoulder into the silent woods and looked around I knew she wouldn't see anything whatever it was left as quickly as I caught sight of it we ended up finishing our meal extinguishing the fire and climbing into our separate tents I slept like a log all of that walking put me out like a light it wasn't until the morning that I woke up I stumbled out of the tent nearly tripping on the small fabric
ledge at the exit of my portable shelter the hot and humid Summer's Morning Sun hit me like a pile of bricks just so you know I think we need to watch out for snakes Lily said softly while I was wiping my brow I looked over at her to see her undoing the tent supports from the forest floor did you see one I asked bending down and following suits with a camp clean up I think so I heard something rubbing on the bottom of my tent last night I open my eyes and the indents on my
walls looked like a pretty thick snake trying to wle its way in she didn't seem bothered by the potential late night visitor so I kept her warning in my mind but continued on as our journey went on we realized that every step we took there was another blotch in the sky somehow a storm was brewing overhead that none of the forecasts we' watched warned us of how much longer until it rained Lily was interrupted by a large thunder clap nearby in the clouds I felt the Earth Tremor below us before a few raindrops began falling
from the dimly lit sky thanks Lily I said arching my head towards her Direction she scoffed and I laughed the rain was little more than a small drizzle at that point but it was clear it was going to get worse let's hurry and find a place to set up I watched as she began to increase her Pace slowly moving from a walk into a jog heading deeper down the trail I followed suits right next to her for for a while it seemed like we weren't going to find a clearing anytime soon we were already on
the verge of being considered undoubtedly drenched and to our luck at that exact moment of thought another strong explosion of Thunder erupted from above this time the floodgates were opened rain began to fall with a purpose and with enough Force to erupt on impact splashing everything nearby with the drop watery contents hey right over there I heard Lily yell out just barely audible through the thunderous rain she was running off of a main path down a small side Trail nearby I looked at where she was heading and saw a small cabin I ran off the
path with her with each step more and more mud thrust itself against my legs I increased my speed hoping to catch up to my light-footed friend but something caught me off guard the tip of my foot slid underneath something and my momentum carried me downwards face first into a mud bath for a few seconds I was Dazed just lying down in the runny muuk pit I eventually looked down to my feet and saw what looked like a thin tree root also caked in dirt erupting out of the ground but as my eyes kept on the
route those initial assumptions fell to the Wayside the shimmering of the mud is what made me realize that whatever this object was it was moving just beneath the mud then it clicked in my head the snakes Lilia brought up I just tripped over one of them I felt a shiver AC cross over my back and I jolted back up to my feet and continued on my path abandoning that snake behind without another incident I made it to the cabin doors and busted inside finally free from the hurricane likee storm wow A Familiar voice rang out
in the shack I looked over to see a drenched but otherwise clean Lily staring at me with an amused smile on her face decide to have a wrestling match out there h ah ha funny I said looking down at myself mud was dripping off of just about every por of my body I think I met one of your snakes you mentioned out there they decided to give me a little trip oh really Lily said as she grabbed me and turned me around searching the pack on my back for something to help me clean up you
are right they're pretty thick I wonder what kind they are I can't imagine them being venomous being that wide I felt the hands of my companion yanking out fabric from my pack I took some time to look around the cabin as Lily pulled the towels free it was wooden old and completely empty there was a cooking stove off to one side but other than that it looked very sparse clearly it was only meant for a quick one night stay here get yourself cleaned up I turned back around and Lily handed me a bundle of towels
I immediately wiped off my face and brow the dirt was already starting to dry and stick to my skin thanks I replied to her as she began setting up her things I put my pack down against the door and walked over to a window still wiping myself down I watched as the rain continued its assault on the Earth the dirt running like Rivers down the valleys and trails both natural and man-made it looks terrible outside I remarked I heard a small groan of acknowledgement come from behind me I let my eyes Trail over the forested
Wetland over to the path we took to get up here my body locked up when I saw something right where I tripped something was protruding from the ground like a small pillar I rubbed the inside of the window fruitlessly to clear off the fog and obstructing rain I could barely make out what looked like a thick partially submerged Branch broken off on one end with small Twigs splintering off Skyward hey come and look at this I called out to Lily who was still funneling around with her bags is it the snake she asked rising to
her feet I don't think so it looks weird though I watched the mud coated object get hammered by rain as Lily approached and peered outside is that a broken tree route she suggested I could only shrug whatever it was it wasn't moving wait Lily chined in again look at the color as more and more of the rain ran its way down the object the less obstructed by mud the objects became I narrowed my eyes pushing past the raindrops on the window and noticed exactly what Lily was talking about whatever was under that mud was a
pale shade of gray oh my God Lily gasped and grabbed her mouth what is it I turned and looked at her my eyebrow upturned in confusion look at the end of it she said holding her breath I turned my gaze back outward and focused in I felt my heart Dro fingertips it was an arm reaching out of the ground still as the grave oh my God my voice wavered slightly we should call the Rangers and get them out here where's their card she asked hand extended towards me I reached into my my pocket and pulled
out a wet but legible business card without hesitation Lily snatched it out of my hand and began dialing the number hello I'd like to report something on one of the trails she paced back and forth on the squeaky cabin floors I turned and kept my Gaze on the hand it looked petrified in place fingers eagerly reaching Towards the Sky letting the water rush over it we're at she began to stutter we're at uh I heard the voice on the other side of the phone chirp up and Lily nodded hey Max can you take a step
outside and tell me what numberers next to the door I peeled my eyes away from the hand I felt an increasingly oppressive air pressing its way inside the cabin I shook my intuition away and walked to the door I open opened it up and stepped outside I peered towards the arm and could see it more clearly without the blurry window between us it was hairless smooth and the fingernails seemed clean and trimmed the water that gushed over it almost seemed to vanish on impact as if it was some sort of sponge I had to force
my eyes away from it to view the number on the wall 17 I took a deep breath repeating the number in my head before the sound of a loud clap echoed off behind me I jumped slightly on edge I turned back towards the direction of the arm and saw nothing in its place just the mud quickly running down the trail I swallowed hard and rushed back inside the number's 17 but I think the arm fell back into the mud it's not there anymore Lily's Eyes went wide as she relayed that information over to the dispatcher
it wasn't too long until she pulled the phone away from her ear and hung up they told us to stay put and that this storm's not going to pass anytime soon they said they've got a ranger on the way and the police have been informed but it might take them a while to reach us out here I bit my lip and looked back outside towards the empty path I hope it didn't get dragged Away by the current I mumbled Lily came up right beside me joining me at the window I'm sure they'll be able to
follow that mud slick down to wherever it goes on the bright side that rain cleaned you up a bit she gave a reassuring smile and I looked down at myself my clothes were still riddled with mud but the rain on my skin seemed to have washed away most of the dirt I guess that's always a plus I said stoically come on Max let's make ourselves at home at least I'll just lock the door in case well you know her voice trailed off in case there's a killer out there I mumbled at her as she walked
over to the door flipped the lock she turned around and averted her eyes from my gaze choosing instead to continue her mission of getting set up after after a few minutes of silence we had our food laid out in front of us we'd agreed that once the ranger got here our little expedition was over we'd seen more than enough in just the past two days than we could have in a lifetime let's eat and try to get some sleep I said chering down on some extra rations Lily nodded and joined in on the feast with
full stomachs we set up for bed I noticed my friend kept looking out towards the darkened windows I could feel tension in the air everything all right I asked Lily shook her head dismissively I just feel weird like I'm being watched I'm sure it's nothing but just to be safe she ripped off her pillowcase and then mine before walking over to the windows and draping them over the glass as makeshift curtains I just don't want anything looking in at us while we sleep I don't blame you I made my way to my bed roll and
caseless pillow before lying down trying to get comfortable Lily did the same it was a few hours into the night before I heard Lily's hushed voice Max Max wake up do you hear that I opened my eyes less groggy than I expected and met Lily's gaze she was staring at the wooden door of the cabin I spent a few seconds watching the door before I lightly saw the handle jiggle someone was trying to get in what do we do Lily asked I was speechless maybe it's the our whispered conversation was interrupted by a loud knocking
coming from the other side of the wooden door I jumped to my my feet it's got to be the cops I began my slow meticulous walk to the door who's out there silence hello I yelled again abruptly the banging started again loud enough to drown out my voice I took a step back from the door and kneel close to the ground each impact on the door rocked the wooden frames of the small cabin I watched as one of the pillowcase curtains began to slowly slip off the window no Lily whispered Tears In Her Eyes I
rushed over to the window just as the fabric fell and was met face to face with the darkness outside the banging on the door stopped suddenly I very carefully kneeled down and grabbed the f Fabric in my hands to toss back over the window thud appearing out of the darkness was the palm of a hand it slapped the window with a heavy Force I could only see the pale Palm in the shroud of Blackness outside I quickly threw the pillowcase back on the window and backed up to Lily she was shivering her eyes wide with
fear that that was the hand Max that was the hand that was outside earlier I felt my heart drop into my stomach I wrapped my arms around Lily for as much my comfort as hers the wet palm of the hand kept slapping against the glass I could hear ripples of cracks spreading along the window pane I squeezed on to Lily as she bowled up and kept my eyes focused on the pillow face covering the glass hoping it wouldn't fall and expose that lifeless arm again with one last thud it stopped a light Shone through the
fabric of the window mere seconds after the attack halted I could hear the struggling sounds of Wheels rolling up towards the cabin I let out a sigh in a prayer that the Rangers had finally made it with the sounds of the wheels stopping just a few yards away I finally heard a voice call out from the void outside Lily Max you in there the voice sounded familiar it was the Ranger from the day prior I slid to my feet dragging Lily with me yeah we're inside but someone's out there I yelled I rushed over to
the door and opened it to see the ranger standing stiff off in the middle of the small opening in front of the cabin he was facing us but the lights from his Rover coupled with his hat covered his body in intense Shadows his body seemed rigid come out of that box and we'll get you home the ranger said his voice seemed different this time disjointed from his body I stayed quiet something was very wrong here step out of there now the voice grumbled unrecognizable from earlier are you all right I called out a little more
than a whisper of course I am can't you see my smile the ranger tilted his neck backwards his hat slipped from his skull which allowed the light from behind him to illuminate his face his eyes were wide and full of both pain and fear his lips were quivering in shock I backed up more into the doorway and watched as two impossibly long fingers trailed their way from behind the Ranger's head and made their way across his cheeks to his mouth they slid inside with Little Resistance and began pulling his lips outward in a mockingly gruesome
smile then they kept prying I watched as his lips strained with the force of the fingers inside of his mouth his lips became White with the stress placed against them before a shower of red erupted from his mouth parting the centers of his lips like sliced meat I'm so perfectly happy a voice called out from just behind the ranger its voice thick and unnatural I looked for the source and froze there right next to the Ranger's feet was a half submerged human face dug deeply into the mud its black cold eyes Shone from some unknown
source whatever this was was a monster of the strictest definition its gaze was so vastly separated from Humanity that there was no Common Ground between us as I locked eyes with this thing human in shape and deviled in eyes I saw the ranger fall into the mud just behind his head was a long spider-like arm stretching out of the ground seemingly changing its size and shape as if it only faintly followed the laws of this reality the Rangers body twitched and spasmed on the ground as more and more lifeless hands began to Slither out from
the mud wrapping their hands around his body I was so thirsty but now I'm so very hungry the submerged head called out unblinkingly towards me without another warning the Ranger's body was ripped under the Earth and devoured by the mud the ground where he was shifted and bubbled over like a small eruption the creature's eyes stared at me with a deadening gaze it was observing me I let out a small chirp from my mouth without changing expression the head effortlessly started gliding through the Earth towards the cabin fingers and arms popping out from the Earth
around it like fins from a shark I'd stored enough courage to slam the door shut and lock it before running back over to Lily who saw the whole thing what is that she asked her voice trembling I shook my head and slumped down next to her I don't know we sat in silence until the sounds of scratching Came From Below the floorboards hundreds of fingers tearing away flesh to the Bone trying to burrow their way upward Wards all we could do was sit in the corner furthest away from the windows and pray they didn't get
to us that night we watched as the floors pulsated upwards and downwards as the foundation began to crumble those arms were going to drag us and our wooden coffin downwards into the Earth I didn't know what to do I sat there as the floor cracked open and mud crept up through the seams of the boards like blood flowing from a vein I sat waiting to die but Lily had other plans she grabbed my hand and yanked me up to my feet she stared at the door for a split second before sprinting off with me in
toe she burst open the door and ran towards the Rangers vehicle Lu for us the ranger never shut it off before the Earth took him down we both hopped on its seat and zipped off the path back from where we came I hazarded a glance back towards the cabin to see it crumbling into the ground but there was something else there still half submerged on the path mere yards away from us was that unblinking head its black eyes Shone dead set and emotionless on our Escape we kept driving and driving for God knows how long
until we hit some other rangers who were on a scouting Mission up to us and their missing comrade we told them everything we could but the looks of disbelief said enough to us we were labeled as emotionally distressed and unreliable Witnesses the powers that be listed The Disappearance of the ranger in the cabin as accidental by case of mudslide now every time it rains I wonder if somewhere out in the woods a single head peers out on the trails waiting for someone to pass by a million hands waiting just below the surface to drag them
down into the Earth
