The Lady in the Woods

      The man pulled into the state park off of the highway he'd been driving on for the last several hours. He drove down the narrow one-way road that lead into the park. Eventually he passed a sign confirming that he was in the right place, Lostwynd State Park. His car bumped along the road for a few miles until he came across the ranger station where visitors checked in. He fumbled around the papers and folders that occupied the passenger seat until he came across his pass. He took out the pass and showed it to the ranger, the ranger glanced it over.

     “Kenneth Bradley?” The ranger asked.

     “That's right.” Kenneth replied.
     “Your campsite is number 42.” The ranger said handing back Kenneth's pass.

     “Thanks.” Kenneth mumbled.

     He proceeded through some more winding roads until he found his campsite. He unloaded his car, set up his tent, and collapsed in a folding chair. Kenneth was in his late twenties, he wore a long sleeved flannel shirt, a pair of blue jeans, and a heavy pair of hiking boots. He had short hair from a bad haircut that he liked to cover with a Yellowstone baseball cap, and he had a stubbly beard that covered most of his face. He looked around the wilderness and let out a sigh of disdain.

      Why was he here? That's right, Paranormal Parks. Paranormal fucking Parks. Paranormal Parks was Kenneth's one man show where he traveled to state and national parks around the country exploring urban legends. When he started three years ago, it was his dream job. He got to do his favorite thing, travel. As time went on, he began to realize something. Most of the time the urban legends he would explore would turn up nothing. When he first started, he was extremely naïve, this was when he believed in the paranormal. He thought that the urban legends he was investigating had truth to them and that's what kept him going. Now it's three years later, and he hasn't turned up anything paranormal. He goes off to whatever park the network sends him to, films the footage, reads off of a script, and submits it to the editors. He felt like less of a paranormal investigator and more of an actor. All because of the stupid network.

      He worked for the Associated Broadcasting Network (ABN). Despite the fact that Kenneth is the one who films all of the footage, he has no creative control over his own show. He really wanted to quit but where would he go? He dropped out of film school and became a self-proclaimed paranormal investigator. Hell, how he even got here was a total fluke. About four years ago he was hiking in the woods looking for bigfoot with his video camera. He saw something tall and hairy walking through the nearby bushes. He caught it on film but it was in the shadows. He showed it to his friends who believed it. They suggested that exploring parks and their urban legends would be a great idea for a TV show and he should pitch it to a network. It was completely far fetched but he got an appointment with the network executives at ABN and he pitched the idea. Through pure coincidence they approved it. The reason they approved it was his bigfoot footage which was apparently convincing. They genuinely thought it was bigfoot and couldn't tell that it was just a bear. After being approved he had no idea that they would take such liberties with the idea. Three years later, here he was, doing everything the network desired of him just for a paycheck.

      “Ugh.” Kenneth sighed. “The sun is going down, I need to film the first segment.” He said getting up to grab his camera, tripod, and script from his car.

      “What sort of bullshit legend am I investigating this time?” Kenneth said looking at the script.

      “Oh, this is rich!” He said as he finished reading and set the camera up to record. He put the script in a position that he could just read off of it; he didn't bother memorizing anymore. He walked to the camera, pushed record, and sat down in his seat.

      “Greetings ladies and gentlemen! This is your host, Kenneth Bradley with another episode of Paranormal Parks! Tonight's episode brings us to Lostwynd State park where I will be investigating the legend of the lady in the woods. Rumor has it that there is a trail in this park where no one is allowed to go because people never return. It's also rumored that there's a beautiful woman who lives in these woods. Is she the reason people go missing? Maybe I'll meet this beautiful woman! Will I go into these woods never to return? Find out on tonight's Paranormal Parks!” Kenneth said rushing through the script in one take. It was good enough.

      “Lady in the woods? What a crock of shit.” Kenneth said under his breath going to turn the camera off.

      He relaxed for a few more hours and then settled in his tent. He wasn't looking forward to the next day because of course he wouldn't find anything. A part of him ignored his cynical attitude and wondered, what if he found something? It was that part that kept him going, it was the only reason he didn't quit at the end of his second season. It was that child-like wonder of finding something that couldn't be explained. Deep down under his cyncism and detest for his job, he still believed that one of these urban legends would have some validity. Kenneth lay awake lay awake remembering all of the urban legends that sounded cool but turned up nothing. After some more thinking, he decided that this would be his farewell episode of sorts. He would disregard the script the network made for him. He would try his best to find something and it would be completely unscripted. As ridiculous as the legend seems, he can play it up a hell of a lot better than the network can. The editors will still butcher whatever he films but he didn't care, if there was something in those woods, he would find it. He fell asleep with a new sense of vigor inspiring him.

      He woke up early the next morning and packed up his backpack. He grabbed some food, water, his camera, an extra battery pack, a small first-aid kit, a flashlight, and some matches. He drove out into the park, he was looking for the Lostwynd trailhead. This closed trail is the park's namesake, how ironic Kenneth thought. Eventually he found a sign pointing him in the correct direction. It said: 'Lostwynd trailhead' with a big yellow 'Closed' sign across it. He was going in the right direction. As he got closer he came across a locked gate that barred the road. That wouldn't stop him from getting to this trail. He pulled the car down into the forest next to the gate and struggled with the car to get it around the gate. After some effort, he did and was able to get back onto the road. As he drove, it looked like the road was getting narrower and narrower. It wasn't, the trees and plantlife were creeping onto the road. This part of the park was completely unmaintained. He got to where the road ends at a parking lot where the trailhead loomed in front of him.

      He got out of his car and looked up to see a massive maw of trees forming a cavernous opening to the forest. A slight chill ran down his spine, he liked it. He opened up his car and grabbed his backpack and camera. He strapped the camera to his hand so he could film anything he needed to. The script was also sitting in the passenger side of his car, he glanced over it and promptly crumpled it up. The network wrote these for him after only seeing a picture of the area. It pales in compariso to actually being there. He turned on the camera and checked the battery, he pointed it to the light consuming opening of the forest and hit record.

      “Ladies and gentlemen, I am outside of the Lostwynd trailhead and it is truly a humbling experience. That forest is gigantic and intimidating. Who knows what lurks in there? Could be something, could be nothing! Now, let's begin our journey in exploring this legend.” Kenneth said.

He left the camera on and pointed it forward as he approached the trailhead. As he got closer, he immediately noticed how small he felt. He craned his neck up to film a better angle of the trees, they were gigantic compared to him. Kenneth walked towards a moss covered sign that stood outside of the trail. It read 'Lostwynd Loop', he tried moving some of the moss away to see how long the trail was. It appeared to be relatively short, only about five miles going deep into the woods and coming back. There was nothing else noteworthy about the sign except that it showed the area was in disrepair. Even if the trail was closed to the public, wouldn't the park staff at least maintain it in case it opened again? He thought. He stepped into the gaping mouth of the forest and began to hike. No sooner had he stepped thirty feet into the forest did he hear a loud shout behind him.
      “Hey!” The voice yelled. “What do you think you're doing?” The voice demanded.

      “I'm exploring this trail!” Kenneth protested as he saw the voice was coming from a park ranger who was now running towards him.

      The ranger ran towards Kenneth but stopped dead in his tracks at the opening of the forest and proceeded to glare at him. Kenneth looked at the ranger quizzically, it appeared that he would not set foot into the trail. Did everyone around here truly believe this legend? The ranger was panting because he had been running to catch up with Kenneth, he eventually caught his breath and continued to speak.

      “You know this trail is closed because of her right?” The ranger asked, still not taking another step into the forest.

      “What do you think I'm investigating?” Kenneth asked. “I'm with Paranormal Parks.” He said.

      “Paranormal Parks?” The ranger asked. “Oh! Mr. Bradley, I didn't recognize you. I'm a big fan but I implore you, please don't go into those woods.” The ranger pleaded.

      “I'm still going.” Kenneth said. “It's kind of gone to shit hasn't it?” Kenneth asked looking at the trail around him. The trail was so overgrown with weeds and vines that it was barely visible.

     “Yeah, it has.” The ranger said. “You know why don't you?” He asked.

     “Because of the lady in the woods, right?” Kenneth asked sarcastically. “I know the story, there's a lady in those woods who makes people disappear right?” He asked.

     “That's only half of the story.” The ranger said. “What you didn't hear is we did find the people who disappeared. Only they were dead.” The ranger said solemnly. “And the bodies...” The ranger continued. “They were covered in bite marks. Chunks of flesh removed from them, and the bite marks weren't human or animal. Something different.” He explained. “The last thing was that the bodies seemed to be delivered right to the ranger station. Like she or it was sending a message. And we received that message, two years ago when we closed the trail. If you have a death wish, go right ahead, I won't stop you but be warned. Whatever is out there, is still out there, and it will try to find you.” The ranger said pointing a finger right at Kenneth before walking away.

      Kenneth was a bit rattled by the ranger's story. All he had heard was the vague story the network had given him. Leading him to believe that they must have just skimmed a newspaper article and not done any actual research. That disgusted Kenneth a bit. He checked his camera, he recorded everything that the ranger had said and it sounded okay. He loved his camera, it could record for hours as long as he had the memory and battery life for it. He estimated that he could film for about twelve more hours before the camera would need its battery pack changed. He looked back towards the parking lot, the ranger had left, he was alone now.

      He walked along the path trying not to stumble on vines that had grown into the trail. He kept looking down making sure he was actually on the trail. It was so overgrown that it was hard to tell. It was also dark and kind of difficult to see. He looked over at his camera and it wasn't picking up anything, just blackness. He reached into his backpack and pulled out his flashlight. He sandwiched the flashlight between the camera and his fingers to try to provide a makeshift spotlight. He checked the camera again, it looked a bit better and the editing crew can enhance the quality. With his film setup, he began to hike into the woods.

      After hiking for a while, the beacon of light that was the exit to the parking lot had long disappeared. Using the bit of light provided by his flashlight, Kenneth examined his surroundings. The trail at his feet was incredibly narrow and plants threatened to consume his hiking boots. All of the trees seemed to be leaning towards the trail, as if they were whispering a secret language to one another. Kenneth was feeling moderately unsettled, he decided that he needed a trail marker. He rifled around in his pockets, he should have a Swiss army knife somewhere. He found it and walked over to a nearby tree that was visible from the path. He carved a crude arrow pointing back the way he came with the word 'exit' under it. He shined his flashlight on it and it was perfectly visible. Feeling satisfied with his handiwork, he moved on.

      The forest seemed endless, it felt like he'd walked five miles by this point but everything looked the same. The trees stretched upwards forming a black canopy that was out of sight. It was a forest, a lot of things are supposed to look the same. He shone his flashlight around and the light caught something that made Kenneth's heart sink. An arrow etched into a tree with the word exit pointing behind him. Had he been going wrong way? This entire time he had been walking forwards. He never turned around for any reason. Maybe he turned around and didn't know it, it can happen. He decided that he would turn around to follow his sign and go back to the parking lot That way he couldn't possibly get lost. He turned around and began to follow the arrow he had made for himself. Eventually he'd hiked for about thirty minutes more and he noticed that it had only taken about twenty minutes for him to get to his trail marker. What gives? He thought. He pulled out his water bottle and drank some water. He shone his flashlight around again and saw his crudely drawn exit sign on a tree, the same tree from before. Still holding the camera, Kenneth held his shaking hand and pointed the camera towards his sign.

      “Ladies and gentlemen, I am deep in this forest and something genuinely unsettling has happened. What you see before you is a trail marker I made for myself. About thirty minutes ago I walked in the direction of that arrow there.” Kenneth said shakily placing his finger on the arrow he drew. “Now, I'm here again, I have no explanation for this. I didn't turn around, I keept walking in that direction.” Kenneth said, his voice showing audible fear. “St-st-stay tuned, when Paranormal Parks returns, maybe I can explain this.” Kenneth said swallowing a lump in his throat.

      He squatted down, ignoring where the camera was facing and shut his eyes. He did not want to panic, he wanted to make sense of the situation. He couldn't, logic wouldn't help him here. Realizing this, he noticed that he was both terrified and exhilerated. This was what he was looking for, something genuinely paranormal. It gave him a new sense of adventure. He stood up, turned around and was about ready to keep walking when he heard something. Cutting through the silence of the woods was what sounded like a flute. It rang loud and clear through the silence of the forest. It was an unusual tune that made Kenneth feel at ease and uneasy at the same time. It had a hint of malevolence to it which made Kenneth's hair stand on end.

      Just as he noticed this, his legs appeared to have a mind of their own. They began to unconsciously carry Kenneth towards the music. Every impulse in his mind was telling his legs to stop, to turn around, to not go to where this music was coming from. He was running at this point, and eventually his legs listened to his brain and stopped moving. He pulled out the camera and pointed it to himself.
      “Folks, this is your host Kenneth Bradley.” Kenneth said panting. “I find myself deep inside of the Lostwynd trail. I appear to have been lured here by this mysterious music going through the forest. Give it a listen.” He said turning the camera around and fiddling with the microphone sensitivity. “I'm not sure why I'm here, it's almost like my legs carried me here with out me telling them to.” He explained to the camera. “I believe that this is a genuine paranormal park. There are things that can't be explained and...” He stopped suddenly and looked down the trail to see a figure.

      “What the hell?” He muttered as he looked down the trail to see that the figure was a woman.

The woman looked directly at him with large, full green eyes that were as vibrant as emeralds. She wore a long flowing dress and appeared to be barefoot. She had incredibly long brown hair that she wore down to her hips. She had almost a heavenly glow about her, making her stand out amongst the infinite darkness of the forest. She maintained eye contact with Kenneth and without a word produced a flute from behind her. She played that tune that had been echoing throughout the forest. Kenneth was simultaneously frightened and attracted to her. She was stunningly beautiful and her flute playing began to draw him closer. Slowly, Kenneth began to walk towards her almost hypnotized. The woman kept playing the flute and walking backwards deeper into the forest. The two walked into the depths of the woods, eyes locked the entire time. Kenneth felt himself lose complete control of his body, his brain was telling the rest of his body to stop but to no avail. His hand holding the camera lay relaxed at his side with the camera pointing behind him. His mind was panicking, he couldn't break eye contact with the woman. She was leading him off of the path and he couldn't stop following her!

      She lead Kenneth into what looked like the deepest darkest part of the forest. She stopped playing her flute and set it down on the ground. She still kept her eyes locked with Kenneth and with one hand, gestured him to come over to her. Kenneth was still under her spell and he approached her and embraced her. The two spun around in a silent dance, it all seemed right to Kenneth. He felt incredibly happy, the woman bent down to kiss his neck. Instead of a kiss, he felt a sharp bite come down on his flesh. The woman had bitten a chunk out of his neck! He recoiled in pain and tried to escape her embrace. He looked at her face and instead of the beautiful woman was a hideous face of pure malice. The beautiful woman had been replaced by a ferocious creature that was tall and human like. Hands were replaced by long slender claws with streaks of red staining them. It had long, agile legs and a mouth with long sharp fangs. Fangs that had a piece of Kenneth's flesh dangling from them. He was still keeping eye contact with it, it had bright red eyes that burned with hate and a lust for blood. Without a sound, it opened its mouth wide, inhumanly wide, wide enough that it could swallo Kenneth whole if he didn't get out of there.

      It lunged at him, Kenneth narrowly dodged it and he began to run. Where was he running? He didn't know, he didn't care if he got hopelessly lost. All he knew was he was alone in the forest with it. He didn't care about filming, he cared about surviving. He was vaguely aware that the camera was on during all of this but it was irrelevant to him. He darted through the forest, he had no idea if it was behind him or not. It seemed to have the ability to silently stalk him. He was breathing hard at this point, he didn't want to stop, it could be inches behind him. He kept running and something awful happened, he tripped. He stumbled on a rock somewhere below him and was sent flying forwards. He hit his head on something hard and he felt his consciousness fading. The last thing he could see before being knocked out was the face of the woman, smiling.

      He woke up some time later, he was surprised to be alive. It had gotten him but would it let him go? He figured he was in its lair. He was still holding the camera, the little red light indicated it was filming. He rewound the footage and saw what happened to him. It had found him and dragged him here. He didn't have any clear footage of what it looked like but he could hear his body being dragged through the woods. It also sounded like it took a few more bites out of him, that explained why his arms and legs were in pain. He decided to keep the camera rolling even though he didn't have his flashlight. It must have fallen out of his hand when it was dragging him. He looked around and the forest was pitch black, more so than usual. He couldn't see his hand in front of his face, which lead him to think that filming now was kind of pointless but he left the camera on anyway. He was alone in pure darkness and the thing that had been hunting him could be anywhere. Coming to terms with this, he tried to calm down but that didn't last long because he heard something that rattled him to his core.

      The flute, he heard the flute playing again. It was the same tune only this time it wasn't peaceful, it was malicious, discordant, evil. It was coming from behind him, he turned around, now it was to his left, his right, in front of him. Where was it coming from? It was coming from all directions. Kenneth was spinning around now, feeling around for a branch or something to defend himself with. He reached into his backpack and found the box of matches he'd brought. He opened it up in a panic, probaly dropping several on the ground. He found one and quickly tried to light it. It took a few attempts but eventually he saw the spark and then light. What he saw next made him scream. Inches from his face was that demonic face he had seen earlier. It was looking directly at him, and it grinned, a toothy grin with sharp fangs coated in blood.

      Kenneth froze, he dropped the match in a panic and it was setting the surrounding underbrush on fire. Light gradually enveloped the forest as the fire spread. Kenneth had to run, but it was blocking his path. He ran anyway, he charged straight forward into it but he didn't hit anything, it was gone. The fire was spreading very quickly. With light in the forest now, he surveyed the smokey environment and saw a road just under a nearby cliff. He ran straight for it and tumbled down the hill into the road. Oddly enough it was the road leading to the parking lot, he was only a little ways away from it. He ran as fast as he could back to his car and got in. He put turned the camera off and put it in his backpack. He hit the gas and tried to leave the park. On his way out of the parking lot, fire trucks came in to fight the fire. He drove as fast as he could to the park exit but he was stopped by a ranger. The same ranger that warned him about the dangers of the trail.

      “I know you started that fire.” The ranger said. “You were the only one in there.” He said crossly.

      “No...I...” Kenneth stuttered. “Camera.” He said weakly. “My camera, I have it on film, it was an accident, I dropped a match.” He managed to explain.

      “Alright, show me.” Said the ranger. “Film doesn't lie.” He said.

      Kenneth pulled his backpack out and reached for the camera, he rewound the footage about to where he lit the match. There was static. There wasn't even a black screen, crappy audio, or anything. Just static. There was nothing there. Kenneth was dumbfounded, the ranger wasn't amused. He rewound all the way back to the beginning of his recording, back to his introduction. Nothing.

“I filmed everything!” Kenneth shouted. “It's gone! How the fuck does that happen? You have to believe me, I didn't start that fire! Something messed with my camera! It was the lady in the woods!” Kenneth claimed.

     “Mister Bradley.” The ranger started. “I'd like to believe you but your only bit of solid evidence is gone. You were the only one in those woods, you started that fire. I'm gonna have to call the sheriff.” The ranger explained gesturing towards a sheriff that had come with the fire trucks. The sheriff walked over to where the ranger and Kenneth were.

      “Kenneth Bradley.” The sheriff said indicating Kenneth to get out of the car. “Kenneth Bradley, you are under arrest for arson. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have a right to an attorney...” The sheriff continued to read Kenneth his Miranda rights but he'd tuned out.

      He got in the sheriff's car and the sheriff took him to a county jail where he'd be held until he got a trial. At least he was safe and out of those woods. He'd have a lot of explaining to do to the network. He glanced around the small cell he was in and reflected on how he came to be here. He still couldn't explain it. All of his film was gone, did he really see that woman? If not, what bit him? He couldn't answer these questions but the lack of evidence on his camera lead him to believe the woman wasn't real. At least that's what he wanted because at that moment a flute refrain echoed across the small jail.