0:03

Lost in the woods was a phrase my father

0:05

used a lot. When I was young,

0:07

should we be out in the world and witness

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m to go started. And with

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0:42

I'm one acting out in a way, he'd

0:44

say, that boys lost in

0:46

the woods, shaking his head

0:48

in that parental disappointment sort

0:50

of way even if they weren't his child.

0:53

When I reached my early teens, struggling

0:55

to find my place amongst my peers.

0:58

He lost in the woods kid. He'd

1:00

say in a far more sympathetic and

1:03

compassionate manner. I

1:05

endured some hard times over the years

1:07

while I tried to find where I belonged in

1:09

the world, but my dad was

1:11

always there for me. Though

1:13

I wasn't exactly an outdoorsy type,

1:16

his words were always reassuring. Even

1:18

if I hope to never be caught dead in a

1:20

forest, let alone Austin one.

1:23

We would inevitably talk about my problems

1:25

after he would diagnose my symptoms

1:27

in his own special way. But

1:30

I learned to understand how the same

1:32

saying would read differently depending

1:34

on the situation. Even

1:36

during those last few weeks, he

1:38

battled against the cancer and devouring

1:40

him from the inside out. He

1:42

too was lost in the woods. I

1:45

like to think that when he passed, when

1:47

his suffering reached its end, he

1:49

finally saw what lay beyond the trees.

1:52

I suppose it was only fitting that it

1:54

was as I drive home from his funeral,

1:56

but I found myself in a far more

1:58

literal version of his all purpose

2:00

metaphor. Over that time,

2:02

I became certain I would be joining my old

2:04

man outside the borders of the forest

2:07

so soon after he made the trip himself.

2:09

I had chosen not to ride with my

2:11

mom and stepfather Dale as

2:13

I wanted to be alone with my thoughts. I

2:16

didn't have a problem with my mother's husband.

2:18

He had always treated me well enough.

2:21

My parents had remained close after the

2:23

divorce, as they both agreed they were

2:25

always better friends than mothers. Dad

2:28

got along with his replacement better than

2:30

most under such circumstances, but

2:32

he'd always felt like Dale tried a little

2:34

too hard when my old man was around.

2:37

It may have been nothing more than the jealousy

2:39

a man feels towards his significant other's

2:42

ex. Maybe he had some

2:44

insecurities about the situation, but

2:46

Pop and I would laugh about it when we were

2:48

alone. And I was always cool

2:50

with my dad, far more than anyone else

2:52

in my life. With him being the

2:54

one I would turn to when I needed to talk,

2:57

I wanted to be alone on this one.

2:59

I think I needed to. Had

3:01

I written with my mom, Dale would

3:03

have likely tried his damnedest to get me

3:05

to talk about how I was feeling. Which

3:07

I was not remotely ready to do.

3:10

Even when the rain began to pour down from

3:12

above, I was mostly mentally

3:14

checked out as I guided my car from

3:16

one road to the next. The

3:19

spot in which my dad wanted to be buried

3:21

was some miles into the next state over.

3:23

The one he grew up in before relocating

3:26

back in the day. While the path I

3:28

traversed that day was somewhat unfamiliar,

3:30

my subconscious was able to focus on

3:32

the road while my mind drifted beyond

3:34

the confines of my old Chevy. I

3:37

suppose that's why it took me a moment to

3:39

register the truck ahead of me, sharply

3:41

veering into the other lane, By the

3:43

time I noticed where the road had split,

3:45

opening a wide fissure in the time

3:47

act, I didn't have a chance to miss it.

3:49

The collision or lack of a better

3:52

term for skidding into a large gap

3:54

in the pavement happened so quickly

3:56

that I was only vaguely aware of what was

3:58

happening before everything went black. The

4:03

heavy rainfall we had been experiencing on

4:05

and off for weeks had led to a

4:07

few of these fissures forming across the

4:09

state. Be it from poorly

4:11

maintained roads or simply years

4:13

of water seeping between the cracks, I

4:15

couldn't say. It wasn't exactly

4:17

my area of expertise or anything.

4:20

I remember my dad saying time

4:22

over that previous month or so that

4:24

the cities would be buried beside him by

4:26

the time the dust settled. Maybe it was

4:28

the medication talking, but he feared

4:31

that hell itself may be reaching through the

4:33

cracks, stretching its tendrils

4:35

through the very foundation of reality.

4:37

To claim this world for its own,

4:40

one stretch of road at a time. When

4:42

my eyes blink back to awareness, my

4:45

dramatic shift in surroundings caught me

4:47

off guard after While I

4:49

had been at the helm of my old Chevy when

4:51

I blacked out, the fact I found

4:53

myself laying, splayed out on the ground of

4:55

an unfamiliar forest took me a

4:57

moment to fully grasp. The

4:59

rain had stopped leading me to believe I

5:01

must have been out there for a while. But

5:04

when I pressed my palms to the ground, I

5:06

found it wasn't even damp. I

5:08

began to question my own sanity.

5:10

You lost in the woods kid. I

5:12

heard echoing from the back of my mind

5:14

as I hesitantly raised from the dirt

5:16

into trembling, weakened legs.

5:19

Attempting to rationalize my relocation

5:21

while I slept, I assumed that

5:23

someone must have pulled me out from my likely

5:26

crumpled car before dragging me into

5:28

the middle of the woods and that stood beside the

5:30

road I was traversing. Why

5:32

anyone would do this, but I couldn't

5:34

fathom. Maybe

5:36

I thought more cracks

5:38

opened up, so someone carried me in here.

5:41

Perhaps they thought the road wasn't safe. So

5:43

they dropped me off before going for help.

5:45

Not the most likely rationalization, but

5:48

it was something While

5:50

I gazed around my newfound surroundings,

5:52

seeking out any indication of which

5:54

direction would lead me back to the road,

5:57

I became more aware of the unsettling

5:59

silence. Being the middle of winter,

6:02

the bears, skeletal trees, and

6:04

dead leaves lining the forest floor

6:06

didn't feel out of place. But I

6:08

could find no evidence of anything else

6:10

alive out there. Glancing

6:12

upward, the blank and gray sky

6:14

appeared as lifeless as the world around

6:16

me. I couldn't even feel a

6:18

breeze. While I still wore

6:20

the suit I donned for my father's funeral,

6:23

one that wasn't exactly made for winter

6:25

weather, It wasn't as chilly as I would

6:27

have expected. It wasn't warm

6:29

either mind you, but everything felt

6:32

wrong somehow. The

6:34

colors looked muted in a way, The

6:36

bark of the trees was an almost

6:38

sickly, grayish brown. The

6:40

discarded leaves scattered across the ground

6:42

were more yellowed and diseased looking

6:44

than what I would have expected. Even

6:47

the drab sky felt more like a

6:49

ceiling over the woods than a vast emptiness,

6:51

adding a strange sense of class fovia

6:54

to my already scattered senses.

6:56

While all I could hear was my heartbeat

6:58

against the inner walls of my ears, The

7:00

crunching beneath my feet when I finally

7:03

took a step almost caused me to recoil.

7:05

Being out in the wilderness surrounded

7:07

by such emptiness and quiet was

7:09

far more unsettling to me than how

7:11

I ended up here in the first place.

7:13

I was in a days when I trudged

7:16

upward in no particular direction.

7:18

With only more stripped down

7:20

trees being all I could make out in any

7:22

direction. I had no way of knowing

7:24

which potential path would be the right

7:26

one. Regardless of my uncertainty,

7:29

I knew I had to keep moving. I

7:31

couldn't put my finger on it, but I

7:33

had the strangest sense of urgency

7:35

Assuring me that I must reach the border

7:37

of this forest as quickly as possible.

7:40

The scenery remained unchanged

7:42

even after walking for what felt like a few

7:44

hours. At the beginning of

7:46

my stroll, I'd fished my phone out

7:48

of my pocket, only to see the

7:50

broken screen and absence of

7:52

any backlight, more life behind the

7:54

shattered glass. But given that

7:56

the last thing I remembered before waking

7:58

up in this place, was crashing into

8:00

a hole, it wasn't the hardest to

8:02

accept that my advice had not survived.

8:05

Even if my body was somehow unscathed,

8:07

I had no idea how much time passed

8:09

when the humming sound began. That's

8:12

about the best way I can describe it.

8:14

A that started soft growing

8:16

steadily louder as if something

8:18

was approaching. Had it

8:20

not been for the almost suffocating quiet

8:22

of my surroundings I likely

8:25

wouldn't even have noticed it until it engulfed

8:27

me if that was indeed its

8:29

intent. For all I knew, the

8:31

unsettling vibration that a company it

8:33

with something good, with something I

8:35

should approach rather than run from.

8:38

Ultimately, I wasted no time

8:40

deliberating the options, opting to

8:42

transform my stroll into an outright

8:44

sprint for my life. With the

8:46

noise originating from behind me, I

8:48

could only hope that speeding away from it was right

8:50

call. To fully illustrate where

8:52

my head was at the time, I think

8:54

I assumed that I had landed in some sort

8:56

of purgatory somewhere between

8:58

life and death after the accident. Being

9:01

that I saw no sign of the road I had

9:03

quite literally crashed into, it seemed

9:05

a reasonable assumption. With

9:07

working theory that I must escape these

9:09

woods to reclaim my mortal shell.

9:12

My immediate fear was that the sound

9:14

belonged to that which would send me to

9:16

whatever afterlife awaited me.

9:18

That or it was something far more

9:20

sinister, perhaps intent on leading

9:22

me to the gates of hell itself When

9:24

a subtle mist joined the ambient

9:26

and elevating gently

9:28

caressing the forest floor beneath my

9:30

quickly tiring legs, I grew far

9:32

more certain I had escape

9:34

whatever was happening. While I

9:36

ached from head to toe, something

9:38

that somewhat contradicted my

9:40

theory of being absent of living flesh

9:42

at the time, my frenzied thoughts were

9:44

interrupted by the ground shifting

9:46

to a steep downward slant.

9:48

For the briefest moment, I

9:50

felt weightless as my feet found nothing to

9:52

land on slipping on the dried

9:54

leaves when they finally did make

9:56

contact, I was so caught off guard

9:58

and having been otherwise occupied by

10:00

both my surroundings and the oncoming

10:03

storm, my mind fought as much as

10:05

my flailing limbs while I stumbled

10:07

towards more uncertainty. If

10:09

nothing else, when my fall came to an end

10:11

with my body splayed out,

10:13

faced down on another unfamiliar

10:15

bed of dried leaves, The humming

10:17

vibrations felt further off

10:19

again. My mind fought to remain

10:21

conscious as the dizziness of my

10:23

quickly paced descent caused the world

10:25

to spin around me but I cannot

10:27

allow myself to pass out here,

10:29

not with whatever was pursuing

10:31

me. As I pushed my palms against

10:33

the ground, struggling to get

10:35

somewhat upright before the darkness could

10:37

swallow me whole. Something

10:39

happened that most certainly brought my

10:41

wavering consciousness back to my dire

10:43

circumstances. Stay down friend.

10:45

The stranger who seemingly

10:48

appeared out of nowhere said pushing me

10:50

back down by the shoulder Regardless of

10:52

his encouragement, I landed hard

10:54

having completely lost my footing

10:56

being surprised by the unexpected touch

10:59

What? Who the he said,

11:01

crouching down beside where I now sat.

11:03

Just let it drift on by.

11:05

I followed his gaze back up the steep hill

11:07

I had tumbled down to see that

11:10

dense white fog lining the woods

11:12

above like cloud. While I

11:14

had assumed the unusual mist was

11:16

something chasing after me,

11:18

the full weight of that irrational thought

11:20

didn't sink in until I watched

11:22

it show directions, some thirty feet

11:24

above. While it was so

11:26

thick, it almost resembled an

11:28

enormous sentient cotton ball

11:30

It had ripples throughout, like

11:32

waves running against the direction of a

11:34

stream, spiraling endlessly as it

11:36

hovered in place. It was somewhat

11:38

confusing to look upon the way

11:40

it jerked one way with the

11:42

bizarre rapids flowing backwards, but

11:44

it was clear that some sort of

11:46

consciousness guided it. After

11:48

it pulled to the left and right,

11:51

swaying this way in that, it

11:53

finally came to a halt. Spinning

11:55

around and around as if waiting

11:57

for something or someone in

11:59

this case. While I didn't know

12:01

whether or not I should trust my new

12:03

companion, his reassuring grip

12:05

on my shoulder helped me more than I could

12:07

understand at the time. Though

12:09

I hadn't looked at him yet, just having

12:11

someone by my side after hours of

12:13

solitude, trudging through this

12:15

seemingly never ending forest, encouraged

12:17

me to remain as still as possible.

12:20

We both continued to glare upwards,

12:22

even after the fog began to dissipate before

12:25

drifting back the way it came. For

12:27

some moments after its retreat, I

12:29

was scared to move a muscle

12:31

even after the stranger let his grip on my

12:33

shoulder slip free, should be okay.

12:36

For now anyway, he said

12:38

lifting himself back from the ground

12:40

What was that? I asked getting

12:42

to my feet. Finally, having the

12:44

opportunity to take in the appearance of

12:46

this man I felt a little more

12:48

at ease noticing the uniform he

12:50

was wearing. It was similar to

12:52

a police outfit, but one I

12:54

recognized as more of a park

12:56

ranger guard I hadn't spent a lot of

12:58

time in such places over the years, but

13:00

I was certain that's what it was,

13:03

plus it fit, considering our

13:05

location, He looked a little

13:07

older than me, but in decent shape.

13:09

He pulled his wide brim hat

13:11

from his short brown hair wiping

13:13

his sweating brow with the back of his

13:15

forearm. He had a neatly trimmed

13:17

beard and a few shades darker than

13:19

his hair and stood a couple of

13:21

inches taller than

13:22

me.

13:22

Nothing you wanna get caught up in. He

13:25

said, placing my hat back in

13:27

place. That's a fact. He looked

13:29

back at me giving me a small smile.

13:31

It was then that I noticed that his

13:33

eyes were an almost translucent sky

13:36

blue. Though I assumed

13:38

he was likely wearing some sort of

13:40

novelty contacts or something, they

13:42

were still almost mesmerizing. Of

13:44

course, given the fact that everything around

13:46

us was so lifeless, drowned

13:48

in mute, depressing colors, it may

13:51

have been nothing more than the stark

13:53

contrast of something so lively

13:55

amid everything else appearing so

13:57

lifeless and

13:57

cold. Maxwell

13:58

Tucker, he

14:00

said holding out a hand,

14:01

Ranger talk around these parts.

14:04

Nathan Solomon. Well, I'm Nate.

14:06

I replied shaking his hand.

14:08

Nice to meet you, Nate. Let's get

14:10

moving. Yeah. Yeah.

14:12

The more we talked as we

14:14

walked onward, continuing in the direction

14:17

I was going, something I wasn't

14:19

entirely sure of, considering that my

14:21

tumble had potentially altered my

14:23

trajectory, the more I felt comfortable with

14:25

the guy. His voice had a

14:27

friendly tone, There was

14:29

something warm and inviting about it, like

14:31

I was chatting with an old friend

14:33

rather than someone I had only just met.

14:35

He spoke of strange occurrences in

14:37

these woods, Woods I had apparently

14:39

been alongside when the roads

14:41

swallowed my color. While I didn't

14:43

want to get into said strange

14:45

occurrences, being that I was already

14:47

freaked out by everything, I still

14:49

couldn't figure out how I ended up here

14:51

so far away from my likely

14:53

totaled

14:53

Chevy. Likely. Ranger

14:56

Tucker said it

14:56

dragged you in here deep in the heart of

14:59

it wouldn't be the first

15:01

time.

15:01

It? What do you mean? Folks

15:04

around here just call it the gray.

15:06

Seems to enjoy messing with folks.

15:08

The ones that don't finish off right

15:10

away anyway.

15:12

Wait. I said stopping in place.

15:14

So some guy screws with

15:16

people, leaves them for dead, or just straight out

15:18

kills them? He just tilted his head

15:20

with a shrug. And that's okay.

15:22

Like, the police won't do anything about

15:24

it? You rangers just let

15:26

it continue? Some sick bastard

15:28

is loose out here and you guys never said

15:30

it was a man. It ain't

15:32

exactly something that fits in the normal

15:34

conversation, you

15:35

know. No, friend. This ain't nothing

15:37

natural sneaking through the cracks. Can't

15:40

say what it is, but it ain't bound by

15:42

our

15:42

laws. Okay. I

15:45

said, attempting to push aside my

15:47

disbelief for the time. While

15:49

this then Why drag

15:50

me? God knows how far into this

15:53

damn place only to leave me to

15:55

wander around? It likes games for

15:57

whatever reason. It enjoys the

15:59

hunt, the chase. We've

16:01

been able to save some, but

16:03

most end up the same way.

16:05

Whether it does it right off the bat or after making

16:07

them think they got a chance. Suppose

16:09

it

16:09

depends on what kind of mood it's in at

16:12

the time. Could be you

16:14

just got lucky. Lucky. A huge

16:16

serious. I crashed my car, ended

16:18

up in the middle of the dismal freaking

16:20

forest, and Daniel broke my legs running

16:22

from a cloud. Which I can't even

16:24

believe I'm saying with a straight face.

16:26

What the hell should I feel lucky about?

16:28

You found me. He said

16:30

with a smirk and a wink. So

16:32

You ready to get out of here or what?

16:34

While I can't say this especially

16:36

put me at ease, his carefree

16:38

expression did make me feel a bit better

16:40

about things. Yes, it

16:42

would seem I was only one of many

16:44

to fall victim to the gray,

16:47

whatever the hell that was. But

16:49

Ranger Tuck had seemingly witnessed what

16:51

this thing was capable of and lived to

16:53

tell the tale. I had to

16:55

believe I was in good hands. I

16:57

still didn't speak much as we plundered

16:59

onward, but I did feel hopeful that I would see

17:01

the other side of this. Given that

17:03

neither the accident nor the tumble down the

17:05

hill left me as beaten and bruised as

17:07

they could have, Maybe my wandering

17:10

companion was right, perhaps I

17:12

was lucky. That was when I

17:14

began to believe

17:15

anyway. Right before the fear took

17:17

hold of me once more.

17:19

Run. Chuck

17:20

said, having noticed the approaching fog

17:22

before I did, When I grew

17:25

aware of that humming sound once

17:27

more, my heart beat quickened faster than my

17:29

feet at first. Though we did

17:31

as he demanded, both of us sprinting as hard as our legs

17:33

were capable of, those smoky

17:35

tendrils began to wrap around our

17:37

surroundings, weaving between and around the

17:39

trees on both sides. It

17:41

almost felt as though it was attempting to flank

17:43

us, to force us forward rather

17:45

than allowing us to veer separate. Don't

17:48

slow down. The ranger called out,

17:50

noticing the power behind mystrides

17:53

dwindling. I was doing everything I could to

17:55

force one leg in front of the

17:57

other but when the sound of thick bark cracking

17:59

and splitting reached my ears, it took

18:01

everything I had to remain upright, let

18:03

alone continue charging forward

18:06

I felt the fingers of my companion

18:08

wrapping around my wrist as he pulled me

18:10

alongside him, how he still has so

18:12

much strength in his extremities. I had

18:14

no clue, but His encouragement and

18:17

support succeeded filling me with more

18:19

purpose and drive to keep charging

18:21

toward the hope of

18:21

freedom. Don't let up. He

18:24

said not as much as glancing from

18:26

the path ahead. We can

18:27

make it just keep pushing it. You can

18:29

rest when we get out a year. Regardless

18:31

of his determination, The side of

18:33

those wispy tendrils now weaving themselves

18:36

around the trees ahead assured me that

18:38

our options were running out. As

18:40

the misty fingers entwined before us, sealing the

18:42

path ahead shut, we both practically

18:45

skidded to a halt following back to the

18:47

forest floor. The white

18:49

smog formed dense, misty wall

18:51

in a circle around where we lay,

18:53

leaving only the ground and sky

18:55

free of its grass. It

18:57

was over Whatever game it had been

18:59

playing had reached its conclusion,

19:01

the time had come for it to claim its prize.

19:03

There was nowhere to go,

19:06

no unless the ranger who already saved me

19:08

once had a set of wings or a

19:10

fast acting shovel he hadn't informed

19:12

me about. I'm sorry

19:14

friend. He said, Glen

19:16

back at me as we lifted ourselves from the ground,

19:18

preparing to meet our shared fate.

19:20

As the flowing rapids within

19:22

that ivory smoke continued to

19:24

spile around us, I felt my heart

19:27

racing so quickly, I feared I

19:29

may pass out any second. While

19:31

the idea of not

19:33

being conscious to experience whatever was to happen

19:35

next did seem an almost welcome

19:37

sensation. My mind and

19:39

body was scattered to the forewinds

19:41

at that point. It's

19:43

not your fault tucker. I said,

19:45

attempting to fend off the trembling in

19:47

my voice. If it wasn't for you,

19:49

I'd be dead already. The cylinder

19:51

of dense fog began to shrink, closing

19:54

in on us from every angle, stopping

19:56

its approach only feet from where we stood.

19:58

You're not following me. He said,

20:01

slowly drifting his head all

20:03

around. It looked as though

20:05

wispy feet were stepping from the

20:07

fog as though a ghostly army was

20:09

hidden away within. More

20:11

mist flooded upwards forming some

20:13

sort of spider web dome above us

20:15

As legs began to trail

20:18

out, followed by almost translucent

20:20

bodies, the smoke peeled away between

20:22

each one, like cotton candy being

20:25

separated as betting what I'm sorry about.

20:27

As the arms reached from each

20:29

misty torso, every one of them

20:31

with elongated fingers ready to

20:33

snatch us up from where we

20:34

stood. companion moved so quickly, my

20:37

mind hadn't a chance to understand what

20:39

was happening. I'm sorry

20:40

I can't go no further with you.

20:42

He said, gripping my shoulder in his hands.

20:44

Just keep running and don't

20:46

look back. Before I had a chance

20:49

to protest, or otherwise argue

20:51

against it, I felt my feet

20:53

lifting from the dried leaves. As

20:55

my body was launched through the gap ahead,

20:58

tearing through the already twin drips

21:00

of dense stringy fog. I

21:02

heard screaming out from the strange

21:04

ball of wispy energy as a light

21:06

began to illuminate from within. While

21:08

I wanted to fight back to free the one who

21:10

had thrown me to freedom, I wouldn't

21:12

even know where to start. While the

21:15

ripples of smoke encased him by

21:17

high pitched shriel squeak that

21:19

accompanied the vibrant glow, damn near

21:21

turned my hair white. His

21:23

now almost tortured voice

21:25

shrieked once more, sounding as though

21:27

he was experiencing a pain I could

21:29

barely fathom whether it was

21:31

simply my desire to escape that

21:33

inspired me to do as he command, to

21:35

get off my ass and run even

21:37

harder than had before or just

21:39

that I knew there was nothing I could do to

21:41

help him. I can't say, but I

21:43

was ashamed of my actions nonetheless.

21:45

Not only had he saved me twice by

21:47

that point, but I had to believe he was

21:50

sacrificing himself to save me,

21:52

given the tortured howl that wailed out

21:54

from behind me as I sped onward in search of

21:56

safety, I was certain this was the

21:58

fate met by those other poor

22:00

souls who encountered the gray.

22:02

When the agonized scream bled into an

22:04

explosion, sounding as though it fragmented

22:06

those trees surrounding where the Ranger

22:08

made his final stand,

22:10

The Shockwave tossed me back to

22:12

the forced floor like a ragdoll. As

22:15

I lay there, feeling my consciousness

22:17

slipping back into the black I couldn't tell

22:19

what sort of condition I was in.

22:21

My mind slipping, I tried

22:23

to push from the dirt and dead leaves,

22:26

but that concussion had drained every ounce of

22:28

strength I had left. Before

22:30

my eyes closed, dropping me

22:32

back into almost blissful darkness,

22:34

I heard a familiar

22:35

voice. One that was almost

22:38

surprising enough to keep me from

22:40

drifting away. You're

22:40

gonna be all right now. See you

22:43

around, friend. The

22:47

hospital bed I awoken felt heavenly

22:49

after passing out in the woods

22:50

or so I thought anyway When

22:53

my mom came running up to my

22:55

bedside with Dale smiling down at me by

22:57

her

22:57

side, I was still out of it.

22:59

Be it

22:59

from whatever they fed into my

23:02

veins to take the edge off the pounding in my

23:04

head or simply whatever damage

23:06

lay beneath the gauze around my scalp

23:08

and forehead. I had no clue.

23:10

We talked a little while while we awaited

23:12

the doctor. My mom trying to fight back

23:14

the tears that streamed down her face

23:16

and my stepfather's arm wrapped around

23:18

her mid section. Though what

23:20

she told me didn't quite match up with

23:22

my recollection of things, that it

23:24

took the firefighters in paramedics some time to pull

23:27

me from the wrecked car halfway

23:29

swallowed up by the fissure in

23:31

the road. I didn't fully register

23:33

the implications at the time.

23:35

When my doctor arrived, stating he was

23:37

confident the surgery performed on my

23:39

cracked skull had been a success still

23:41

assumed the injury had been caused by

23:43

the shockwave throwing me to the forest floor.

23:46

The cast around my left leg well

23:48

as the bandages around my left wrist

23:50

in both hands would take less time to

23:52

heal than my fractured dome,

23:54

but he felt certain I would make a full

23:56

recovery in due time. the

23:58

months that followed my short stay in the hospital,

24:00

I went through a good deal of work to

24:02

retrain my broken body and mind

24:04

once I had healed enough to

24:07

do so. Before long, I was

24:09

cleared to return to work having made a full

24:11

recovery from my injuries. The

24:13

three inch scar across my

24:15

hairline isn't too noticeable and neither are those

24:17

across my wrist, but the marks on my

24:19

hand from the mincemeat left in the

24:21

wake of my windshield crashing down

24:23

on it stand out like a

24:25

literal sore bum. Still,

24:27

some battle scars are a small price to pay

24:29

on things considered. Once

24:31

life returned to normal, I took a short trip

24:33

one weekend, back to the woods I had

24:35

crashed alongside. It took me a

24:38

while to locate the Ranger station,

24:40

but I had to find out if Maxwell Tucker was real or

24:42

just a figment of my fractured

24:45

mind. While I hoped this could

24:47

provide some answers about what

24:49

I truly experience that day,

24:51

I also wanted to be able to thank him for what

24:53

he did for me. When I pulled

24:55

up beside the quiet and lovely cabin that

24:57

it here to house this slice of the forest.

24:59

While I thought about beginning with small

25:01

talk, because I climbed out of my dad's old

25:03

truck to approach the two wearing

25:06

friendly smiles, I thought it best to just get

25:08

right to the point. Hey,

25:10

I said, tipping the brim of my baseball

25:12

cap, would you happen to know if Ranger

25:14

Tucker is around? At Tucker.

25:17

The tall broad shouldered guy

25:19

asked glancing at his associate.

25:21

The woman who looked to be in

25:23

her mid thirties or early forties

25:25

with her dark hair tied into a

25:27

ponytail beneath her wide brimmed

25:29

hat, formed a strange sword of a skull

25:31

as she blinked from her colleague to

25:33

me.

25:33

Only tucker we had around these parts ain't

25:36

around anymore. She

25:38

said, squinting her eyes as she studied me,

25:41

Oh, Maxwell Tucker. Is that

25:43

him? Ranger Tucker?

25:44

Uh-huh. She

25:45

said, giving me a very strange

25:48

look. He used

25:48

to work with us. Some fifteen

25:51

years back. Though, wow,

25:53

I could have sworn he was around my

25:55

age, I said with an awkward laugh,

25:57

Do you know where he is now? Same

26:00

place he's been for a decade and a

26:02

half son. She said, gesturing

26:04

to the left with a tilt of the head.

26:06

When I turned to see the small cemetery up the

26:08

hill, I felt all the blood drained

26:11

from my face, my legs

26:13

giving out beneath me.

26:14

Whoa now. The woman called out,

26:17

she and her partner catching me before I hit

26:19

the ground. After they

26:21

carried me inside, laying me on a

26:23

lumpy, yet comfortable couch, the tall man fetched me

26:25

some water, while the others

26:27

laid a wet towel across my

26:29

brow. After my heart beat

26:31

regulated, Range your Angie Temple who

26:33

would help me inside accompanied

26:35

me on a stroll up to the old boneyard.

26:37

We talked a good deal over

26:39

the hours that followed, While

26:41

I was hesitant to tell her how I met Ranger Tucker,

26:44

she told me a good deal about the man who consequently

26:47

saved both our lives. She

26:49

was still green around the hills back then

26:51

with tuck being her trainer.

26:53

One day, some six months

26:55

after she joined the Rangers, they

26:57

responded to a call about an attack out in the

27:00

woods, those that ran alongside the

27:02

road that swallowed my car. Assuming

27:05

it to be a bear or some other wildlife

27:07

having jumped some innocent

27:08

campers, they headed out to a scene

27:11

armed

27:11

and prepared. I felt like my damn heart was about to burst

27:14

through my chest. But Chuck

27:16

looked just as calms if he was walking to the

27:18

kitchen to fetch a snack.

27:20

And she said with a chuckle running her

27:22

hand across the tombstone bearing his

27:24

name. When they arrived to

27:26

see a large of shaggy haired man with a pistol trained on

27:29

the crying teenage girl he held

27:31

and a butane torch in the hand

27:33

wrapped around her She was

27:35

uncertain if this was something they could

27:37

handle. The boy around her age laying

27:39

on the ground, bleeding upon the

27:41

leaves looked like he was long

27:43

gone, but all of this was enough for the fear to almost

27:45

paralyze her when she stood.

27:47

Again, Chuck still wore that carefree

27:49

smile as he tried to calm the

27:51

situation. Attempting

27:53

to convince the disturbed man to release

27:55

his hostage.

27:56

For a second there, I thought he was

27:58

gonna pull it

27:59

off. And

27:59

she said a tear leaking from the

28:02

right eye. But when the big guy

28:04

raised the gun, pointing it right at

28:06

me, pushing the girly

28:08

held to the

28:09

ground, I knew I was done

28:10

for. She lowered her head, still

28:13

caressing the gravestone like a dear

28:15

friend. The sadness etched into her

28:17

gaze almost inspired my

28:19

own eyes to leak as hers

28:20

did, but I tried to fight them

28:22

back. As soon as

28:23

he raised that pistol in me.

28:26

Tuck jumped right in front of me knocking me out

28:28

of the

28:28

way. How he knew he didn't have

28:31

time to get a shot off before the gun

28:33

on me discharged?

28:35

I'll never know, but it

28:36

all played out

28:37

in seconds right in front of

28:40

me

28:40

when the bullet

28:41

dropped onto the ground, beside me. I'd already

28:44

fired off the rounds myself. At

28:46

least one of the shots hit the

28:49

canister, bastard held. Blowing

28:51

it apart and lighten him up like Joan

28:53

of Arc in

28:54

seconds. He still tried

28:56

to fire off the shots he had left.

28:59

While he screamed out from the well deserved

29:02

pain. I jumped towards

29:04

the girl to pull her away before she got caught

29:06

up in the flames or the gunfire.

29:09

But it was too late for tuck. He

29:11

was

29:11

gone before he hit the grass.

29:13

We stood in silence for a

29:16

moment both of us staring down at the headstone. When

29:18

she spoke again, I once more

29:20

found myself lost for words but

29:22

wielded by everything she shared with

29:24

me. The man we took

29:25

down that day turned out to be one

29:28

foul son of a bitch. Seems

29:30

he'd been

29:31

killing folks for years until Chuck and I

29:33

put an end to him.

29:35

With nothing else, I take

29:37

some solace and no one that took was

29:39

the last victim of Jeremiah Grey.

29:43

Gray.

29:43

I said almost more to

29:46

myself. Yep.

29:47

She said, crouching down to wipe some

29:49

dirt from the tombstone. I won't see no

29:51

gray for him though. Don't know

29:53

what they did with what was left of him

29:56

after the fire died

29:57

down. Don't

29:58

give too

29:58

much of a dam either.

30:01

He took tuck

30:01

away from us, and he deserved that

30:04

agonizing end.

30:05

When the law arrived, All

30:09

that was left was a crispy frame,

30:11

billowing plumes of thick white

30:12

smoke. According

30:15

to Stacey, the girl we saved

30:17

that day, Gray had kidnapped her about a week

30:20

before. He tortured her

30:22

son over that time. Finally,

30:24

setting her loose in those woods.

30:27

He told her he'd let her go free if she

30:29

got to

30:29

safety. But

30:30

if he caught up to her, he

30:33

put her through how. The

30:36

boy bleeding on the grass was the one

30:38

who called it

30:38

in. Haven't witnessed

30:41

what was happening while he was taking a

30:43

hike. Poor kid

30:44

didn't know what had him when Greg got there

30:46

before we did. I

30:48

never told her the

30:50

full story about how I came to meet

30:52

Maxwell Tucker nor the implications

30:54

of what or who we perhaps

30:56

both face between those trees.

30:58

When we talk a lot since I joined

31:00

the Rangers soon after that meeting,

31:03

still talk about tuck as

31:05

well. While I may have never had the

31:07

opportunity to really get to know the man who

31:09

saved me from a potentially grim

31:11

fate that day, Those who knew him in

31:13

life have shared with me a great deal about

31:15

him. Over the years that

31:17

followed the deaths of both Maxwell

31:19

Tucker and Jeremiah Grey, there

31:21

had apparently been strange occurrences out in

31:23

that forest. Someone would go missing from time

31:25

to time. Others would turn

31:28

up dead. then though, one

31:30

of those presumed dead would turn back

31:32

up, confused about what

31:34

happened. Even after they closed that

31:36

section of the woods to the public, It

31:38

wasn't easy to keep those curious enough to

31:40

enter from sneaking in. A

31:42

forest isn't something easily blocked

31:44

off completely, but they did what

31:46

they could. those who survived

31:48

these strange occurrences had no

31:50

recollection of how they made it out

31:52

alive, I know how they reached

31:54

safety or who led them to

31:56

it anyway. Whatever the

31:58

case, ever since my encounter with the

32:00

Grey, these unsettling events

32:02

seem to have come to an end. I

32:04

like to think that Chuck finally finished him

32:06

off for good that day. While

32:08

I want to believe that this may have allowed

32:10

him to move on to whatever lies

32:12

beyond this world, I have a feeling he's still

32:14

out there watching out for

32:16

us. I spend a lot of time out in those

32:18

woods. It's a strange sensation.

32:20

How vibrant and alive everything appears to

32:23

be on this side of the looking

32:25

glass. Still, should I

32:27

ever have the opportunity to thank Maxwell

32:29

Tucker for what he did for me? My

32:31

best chance would be out there.

32:33

Plus, if he is still out there, it's only

32:35

fair that I keep an eye on this side just

32:37

in case our old friend returns.

32:40

still miss my dad. I suppose

32:42

I likely always will. That's the

32:44

nature of loss after all.

32:46

Now that I feel like I finally found a

32:48

place in this world I just wish I could tell

32:50

him, you know? I wish I could let

32:52

him know that his son is no longer lost

32:54

in the woods, but found

32:56

where he belongs within them.

32:58

I doubt that either of us could have

33:00

predicted that one.