The Trail

Falling backwards isn't as fun as one would think, even with a sky full of glittering stars. Falling backwards is actually quite terrifying. Especially when you trip over something in the dark. All these thoughts rushed through Jeremiah's mind as he lay on his back, pain rolling through his body in pounding waves.

He lay still for a moment, mentally taking inventory of his body. Everything seemed okay, as in nothing was broken too badly. He focused on the moon above and pushed through the pain, raising himself to a sitting position. This is no less than he deserved for trying to run through the forest in the dark. Even though he had hiked this trail twenty times, it was still a treacherous trail. He brushed his hands against his shorts, knocking the debris lose from his palms. His eyes scanned the ground looking for his flashlight.

A faint glow just off the trail indicated his light had rolled over there. He carefully walked over and picked it up, shining it on his hands and then on the ground. A large root was in the middle of the trail, which he probably tripped over. He stretched slightly, making sure his back was ready to go, and began walking again, slower this time, but still at a good pace. He had about an hour to go to reach the campsite. As late as he was running, it wouldn't be surprising to meet someone one looking for him on the trail.

He looked up again, as if the moon could tell him the time, and realized it truly was a beautiful sky. He could make out constellations, planets, even the brilliant colors of the milky way. He wondered how amazing it would look without the moon.

Shaking his head in wonder, he looked back down at the trail. Or rather he looked back down, and realized he had wandered off the trail. Feeling angry at himself for yet another mistake on this hike he began looking around. He couldn't be far off the trail could he? How long did he walk and look up? Why in the world, in the middle of a forest, didn't he walk into a tree? As he scanned the ground with the flashlight, he noticed something even more depressing. His flashlight was dead. He knew he should have changed the batteries, but he was in too much of a hurry.

He forced himself to stand still and not fidget and to just think. He glanced up at the sky and looked at the moon. Of course! The moon! He had been looking at the moon and it was over there in the sky. All he had to do was put the moon at his back and walk and surely he would run back into the trail.

Pleased with himself he spun around, putting the moon at his back. This would work perfectly he thought. The moon even gave a little light so he could see in front of him.

Twenty minutes later he realized it wasn't working, he should have crossed the trail at some point. Shouldn't he? He sat down, weary, and drank a sip of water from the bottle clipped to his belt. Now his options were limited. He could be five feet from the trail or fifty. He leaned back against a tree and closed his eyes, trying to think.

Would any of his friends come looking for him? Probably he figured. He was way later than he said he would be. He looked back up at the sky, and scooted around the tree until he was facing the moon. There, at least if he was facing the same way he was going, he might catch a glimpse of the campfire, or a flashlight of somebody looking for him.

After what felt like hours, he felt himself starting to drift off to sleep. He stood up, shaking himself off, trying to stimulate blood flow again. Glancing up he saw the moon was down below the tree line. He began scanning the horizon, looking for a glow of a campfire, or a flashlight, or lantern, or any indication that he was not horribly lost and alone in the woods.

A branch snapped in the woods behind him, and he spun around quickly, eyes scanning. The darkness was absolute now, the moon's guiding light gone down. A shadow broke free to his right, detaching itself from the mass of darkness. No, it was just the wind moving that small tree. Another branch crackled behind him. He knelt down, hands frantically searching for a branch or a stick, or anything he could use for defense.

His fingers wrapped around a decent sized branch and he pulled it in front of him, like a shield. Crouching low, trying to make himself as small as possible, his eyes skipped all around him, looking for movement, looking for anything. His heart began skipping, faster and faster. His breath become faster, shallower. His eyes twitched at every shadow. Then, silence. No wind, no leaves, no crickets, no frogs.

What did it mean? Oh right, he remembered now. Something he was told as a kid, when everything went silent, a predator was near. Off to his left, a shadow moved. Slowly. It didn't go back and forth as there was no wind blowing. It moved very slowly out of the dense bush, stopping just a few feet away. He heard a light snorting sound. Frozen with fear he tried desperately to stop the trembling. It took another step out swinging its head back and forth. He could almost make out the shape of a large boar or small bear.

"Jeremiah!" called a voice from behind him. He desperately wanted to call back, to move, to let them know where he was, to see where they were, but he was immobilized with fear. The shadow had turned and was looking in his direction, the direction his friend had called from. It snorted again and turned to walk away.

"Jeremiah!" they called again. Slowly he stood and turned, eyes scanning the forest quickly. There! He saw the light bobbing back and forth, not 20ft away. "Hey! Its me!" he hollered out, dashing forward. In a few steps he was on the missed trail, cursing with how close he had been.

"Man, its good to see you, we were getting worried," exclaimed Brett, his best friend.

"You know me" Jeremiah laughed, head turned up to the sky. "Just admiring the stars."