Something is at the door...

I heard laughter.

Not, however, the gleeful laughter of two friends out for a walk in the woods. There was no joy to this sound, no mirth in that god awful chortle which echoed from every direction at once. It was more like the chattering giggle of a hyena come upon a fresh carcass. And where on earth was it coming from? As each infernal chuckle ended, a new one took its place. It had to be multiple…people? No. That was not a human sound. It was devoid of any emotion.

I reached for my bag. I stowed a couple of very high powered flashlights in there at all times, just in case. We hadn’t brought any weapons with us, aside from a hatchet and our pocket knives. I dug around in the backpack, eventually feeling my knuckles brush against my camping lantern. My hands naturally found the switch, but before I could turn it on, the laughter came to an abrupt halt. Had they seen me moving? Did they sense that I was awake somehow? It dawned on me that turning the lamp on could be a bad plan. What if they didn’t know my exact position?

“Todd?” Someone called from somewhere far away. The instinct to reply nearly forced sound from my body before I could catch it. My hand flew to my mouth, stifling any words. I waited. If that were Carter or Anna, they’d call out again. Sure enough, within seconds, there was another call. “Todd…?” The end of the word trailed off partially, with an odd, guttural clicking accompanying the end of the name. Whatever was calling my name, it wasn’t Carter. And it definitely wasn’t Anna. The unease I had felt since waking up to that horrible screeching turned from icy terror to nauseating apprehension. It occurred to me now that the laughter - if you could really even call it that - had stopped. In fact, all noise had ceased. I heard no chattering of insects, nor rush of bat’s wings, not a single sound of life.

“Todd…?” I jumped. The voice came from much closer this time, perhaps just outside my tent. My body froze. With whatever was uttering my name now so near to me, I could pick up on the nuances of the word. It was absolutely my name, but it was not spoken in any way I’d ever heard it. Even when speaking to friends from other countries, my name always sounded mostly the same. It was one syllable, after all. How complicated could it be? And yet…it was as if the word was being formed by a mouth that was not accustomed to speech. No, not that. It was something else. I couldn’t place it.

I heard sticks crack in front of the door. I had my tent facing our fire, which had certainly burned quite low. Still, the coals burned hot enough to provide some illumination. As if watching shadow puppets, I gazed at the nylon wall which separated me from whatever lurked beyond. Slowly, ever so slowly, a shape appeared before me. It was not a full figure. First, a clawed hand slid into view. The arm it was attached to went on much too long, far beyond the normal length of any man. Perhaps it was just the shadows playing tricks, but it just seemed so real. Next, something I couldn’t comprehend. Jagged, intricate shapes entered my field of vision. Tall and pointed…antlers?