章 3: Haunting Woods
~~~ Somewhere in the woods ~~~
"Jack, are you sure this is the right way? It's already dark, and we should have arrived back at the camp by now," asked a woman with a large military-looking backpack and outdoor clothes.
"Don't worry, Rose. We'll get there soon," replied her boyfriend, who was dressed similarly and carried a backpack as well.
"After I finish filming our little survival trip through the woods, it will be a big hit on TV, I promise you that," continued the young man, around 25 years old, showing his camera to Rose.
"If you say so... but it's getting pretty creepy out here, and our flashlights are terrible. We should have bought the more expensive ones..."
"Don't worry, soon we'll have the best equipment in the world. And if something appears, I'll deal with it with my 11-incher... knife," said Jack, tapping his knife on his hip with a smirk.
"Yeah, the one you bought for ten dollars..."
"It's not about how much it costs; it's about how you use it—"
*Owooooo!*
Suddenly, a nearby wolf howl interrupted Jack's boasting, and both of them began to look around.
"What the hell? It sounds like it was right near us," said the frightened Rose, while gripping Jack's arm.
"Don't worry, we have the flashlights, they won't—!" Suddenly, something grabbed Rose, dragging her away without her even managing to scream.
"No Rose!! Rose!!!" screamed Jack as she was torn from his grip, falling to the ground and losing his flashlight in the process too.
*Grrr Grrr Grrr Grrr*
He attempted to stand up, but the sudden growling sound next to him froze him in place. When he looked around, all he could see were glowing yellow eyes and silhouettes of humans appearing in the dark around him.
"What do you want from me?! Where is Rose?" groaned the frightened man.
"Ahhh!! No!!!" But all he received in response was pain as the creatures pounced on him, tearing him apart.
~~~ Interstate 80 southeastern Wyoming ~~~
"1,700 miles of driving just to reach one man... Well, at last, I can visit my old home on the way," I said with a sigh as I pulled into the Vedauwoo Campground.
After leaving the motel, the first thing I did was drive to a supermarket to get a SIM card and some supplies like food and other necessities.
With my now working phone, I wanted to call Bobby Singer to arrange a meeting. My best bet to find his number was in his notebook; perhaps he wrote his number somewhere in it.
However, when I opened the trunk to put my grocery bag in, I realized I didn't need to search for his number anymore since I discovered where he lives.
Because, as I opened it, I noticed there was no spare tire, but instead, it contained various items hidden beneath a cover. There were crosses, a sleeping bag, a backpack, water bottles labeled "holy water," a flare gun, a pistol holster, and even the missing knife sheath.
Well, maybe Aiden did listen to Bobby's advice... and lucky for me, he even had a map with markings on it. There were red circles in some places with writings over them like 'Ghost?' or 'Vampire?' and so on.
But the important thing was the red circle in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with the writing 'Old Fart Singer' on it. So I decided to drive directly to him.
Since I had a goal in mind, I ignored most of the cities and simply ate and drank my supplies while driving. After driving for nearly 700 miles, I stopped at the Vedauwoo Campground to rest and distract myself for a night.
It was a 28-hour drive, so a night wouldn't change anything, especially considering I wasn't sure if he had the information I needed or not. And this place also holds a special meaning for me since it was my home for a while...
After sailing with Columbus to America over 500 years ago, I left his crew upon noticing their greed and exploitation of the natives.
Then I traveled through the wild and dangerous landscape, meeting tribes and learning their languages on the way, until I encountered the Arapaho tribe who called this place Vedauwoo, meaning the land of earth-born spirits.
They lived and hunted here peacefully, and the shaman claimed to feel the presence of his ancestors here, but I felt nothing...
Nevertheless, I settled down in this peaceful nature and even built a small house while living among the tribe for nearly 150 years, until people seeking the natives' land arrived...
So from time to time, I come here to camp at my old place, relaxing and letting the earth move forward.
---
After arriving at the parking lot, I noticed numerous hikers and wanderers leaving for their mountain journeys. Despite the late afternoon, campers and outdoor enthusiasts were heading into the woods too.
So I took out the sleeping bag and military-style backpack, which had a 40-liter capacity. Then I stuffed the notebook and sleeping bag inside, instead of attaching the sleeping bag to the outside as usual. Without any other equipment, it was faster and more comfortable this way.
Next, I left behind my pistol and took the knife. However, when I grabbed it and examined it closely, I noticed something strange.
While the handle was made of mahogany wood, which was fine, and most of the blade consisted of stainless D2 steel, which was also acceptable, the silver edge and tip were a problem... Silver is too soft and would require a lot of maintenance to keep the knife sharp.
I let out a sigh, realizing that this knife was probably the least practical choice for hunting or bushcraft. However, since I didn't have any other knives at hand, I sheathed it on my hip and began walking away from the car.
"Wait! Where is your reservation? You need one to park here and enter this area!" Suddenly, the voice of a teenage girl interrupted my walk.
I turned around and saw a fourteen-year-old girl—or was she even a girl? She emanated a feral aura, as if a wild animal was standing in front of me.
"Hello, I'm speaking to you. Are you there?" The girl waved her hands when she noticed me staring at her.
"Oh yeah, sorry, I forgot about the reservation..." I said after collecting myself.
"Another one! How many more signs do we need to put up for you guys to learn? You're the fourth person today!"
I glanced around and noticed about fifteen red signs put up by the Amorak family, clearly stating "No parking or entry without a reservation."
"Yeah, my bad..."
I reached for my wallet, took out a hundred dollars, and handed it to her with a smile. "That should be enough to conjure up a reservation, right?"
She rolled her eyes but accepted the money, then handed me a permission. "Yeah, just for today. But never do it again!"
Then she looked down at me, clicked her tongue, and turned around, muttering, "Fucking amateur, not even wearing the right shoes..." and walked towards a truck where three individuals dressed in hunting attire were standing.
Sensing their feral aura as well, I was certain they were hunters in more than one way.
---
Ignoring the 'hunters' who stared at me as I walked into the woods, I initially followed the man-made path before venturing off and finding my way to my old house.
After approximately forty minutes, I reached a clearing that had clearly been used as a campsite before. There were signs of a campfire and even two makeshift shelters that appeared amateurish but served their purpose if one didn't mind the wind and rain at night.
Disregarding the two shelters, I began gathering wood and soil to construct a small yet sturdy shelter, covering it with leaves and placing my sleeping bag inside.
Next, I collected stones, sticks, and fire-starting materials that were plentiful in the area, and built a campfire. Once it was lit, I sat down, enjoying the encroaching darkness while sharpening the impractical knife with my belt.
Noticing some people lurking in the woods, I sighed and said, "... Are you guys planning to stay hidden all night, or will you come out and talk?"
Following some rustling leaves and footsteps, three ordinary people emerged from the dark forest. There was a blonde woman in her fifties, a young man with brown hair who appeared to be in his twenties and of Italian descent, and a grey-haired man in his sixties carrying a rifle.
The woman and the young man were dressed in expensive outdoor clothing, while the grey-haired man wore hunting attire.
The woman stepped forward and apologized, "I'm sorry if it seemed like we were spying on you, but we're searching for someone, and their last known signal was here. We roamed around and when we came here, we found you here. Have you perhaps seen anyone?"
I shook my head and replied, "No, I also arrived only an hour ago, and apart from these two shelters, there was nothing."
"Is that so? It seems like you've been quite busy building this shelter and fire in just an hour... Are you sure you saw nothing? We're looking for a young couple who were wearing clothes similar to those two. The girl has red hair, and the man has blond hair with a baby face," asked the rifel wilding man, after inspecting my campfire and shelter.
"Nope, nothing. I genuinely arrived only an hour ago, so I'm afraid I can't help you," I replied, relaxed and not getting intimidated by the man.
The grey-haired man sighed and turned to the other two, saying, "We can't search in the dark. Let's set up camp here and resume our search tomorrow."
"But Mr. Argent, we can't stop searching! We must find them. Who knows what horrors they may be facing," protested the blonde woman, clutching Mr. Argent's clothes.
"Ms. Calvert, the man is right. We can't effectively search for them in the dark, or we'll end up getting lost as well," added the Italian to calm the blonde woman down and placing a hand on her shoulder. She calms down a bit and let's go of Argent.
Afterwards he walks towards me and asks, "Mr. If it's alright with you, may we also set up camp here? I'm Fabrizio Derossi, by the way," then extends his hand towards me.
I shook his hand and replied, "Aiden Cross is the name. I don't think we'll be stumbling over each other here, so I have no objections."
It's good to encounter someone who is polite at least...
Fabrizio and Elizabeth proceeded to set up their tents before sitting down next to me by the fire, unpacking some canned food.
Meanwhile, Mr. Argent wandered around, checking for something, before settling down against a nearby tree, still holding his rifle.
"I apologize for not introducing myself earlier. My name is Elizabeth Calvert, but my daughter went missing with her boyfriend here a week ago, and I can't think of anything else since then," said Elizabeth with concern in her voice.
I nodded, offering her a smile. "Don't worry about it. I'll forgive you if I get some canned food too."
She chuckled softly and handed me a can of spaghetti Bolognese, which I placed near the fire. Then, I picked up a branch and skillfully fashioned a makeshift fork from it.
Argent arched an eyebrow at my creation and remarked, "What kind of camper are you? You have a decent shelter, but you seem to lack the appropriate attire and supplies for this place."
I shrugged and replied, "I'm only here for the night to unwind a bit, so it's fine."
"Sure you are..." mumbled Argent, then fell silent.
Does he not believe me? Well, it doesn't really matter.
Using the knife, which had become dull again... I opened the can and started eating the pasta.
After an hour or so, Elizabeth and Fabrizio retired to their tents, while Mr. Argent appeared to be sleeping against the tree. Deciding it was time to rest for the night, I made my way to my shelter as well.
However, as I approached it, I suddenly felt the feral aura once more. This time, there was hardly any trace of humanity left in it.
I halted in front of my shelter and retrieved my knife when... *Owooooo!*
クリエイターの想い 
RetMod
RetMod Hey guys, and welcome to the next chapter! This some some feral foes ;)
Also the character names are stolen from Titanic and Teen Wolf ;) (Titanic were random the Teen Wolf name was not.)
In every few chapters, we will delve into the MC's past exploits until we discover the truth about who or what he really is.
P.S. After ever monster arc I will make a poll for the next monster our MC should face off.
Stay tuned for more!
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