THE HOWL

The hostile winds of the winter season had subsided. The beauty of the sun was slowly becoming conspicuous as its rays danced seductively on the skin of the city’s inhabitants. The glow on people’s faces was evident, stemming from the heightened expectation of the excitement that accompanied the advent of the summer season.

It was 6:05am when the alarm went off. Scot grudgingly put it off as he got up from bed. Stealing a quick glance at his wife, he paused for a while and just stared, admiring her innocent beauty as she slept peacefully like a child. He mimicked the crescendo and diminuendo of her breathing pattern for a while, burst into a quiet laughter, before heading off to the washroom to answer to the call of nature.

“Thank God its Saturday!” Startled by Jane’s voice, Scot nearly peed on himself. He looked through the mirror and saw her stretching like a cat, and with a mischievous smile on her lips.

“Next time, give me a heads-up before you scream like that. I almost messed myself up here.” Scot said, with a grin on his face.

“I’m sorry baby, didn’t mean to do that. Anyways, even if you mess yourself up, I’ll gladly clean you up. After all, ain’t you my baby?” Jane playfully teased him as she sashayed down the hallway to the kitchen.

The camping trip planned for the long weekend was already building up so much excitement in the home of the Chamberlains.

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By 8am that same day, Scot and Jane were on their way to the home of Mark and Tricia. They gleefully sang along with the upbeat song playing in the van’s stereo.

The Grants were fully ready and had their bags and camping items packed by the time Scot and Jane arrived their home. Since it was just the four of them, the couples had decided to take just one van.

In less than thirty minutes, Mark and Scot had loaded all the camping items into the van. Grabbing some water bottles, they set out for the 1 hour drive to the camping site.

“Boy O Boy! We are surely going to have the time of our lives this long weekend. I can’t wait to soak in the serenity of the lake, the green grass and our tents!” Tricia giggled as she mentally and verbally rehearsed the fun-filled time they were going to experience.

“Yes Trish! We are surely going to have the time of our lives. What’s more, the kids are safe with their grannies, and won’t be disrupting our serenity. We surely deserve a break from the hustle and bustle of this crazy world. Honestly, I can’t wait to gossip with you!” Jane echoed Tricia’s thoughts and words.

While the women giggled, the men smiled and kept clearing their throats, knowing that there was no way they could match the verbal prowess of their wives.

It was exactly 9:30am when the four adventurers arrived at “The Outdoor Camp of the Anthills”, a very beautiful epitome of nature, with an idyllic atmosphere that could do either of two things - lull you into a deep and peaceful sleep or energize you into chaotic excitement – depending on the mood of the adventurer.

They were in for the experience of a lifetime.

After unpacking, the men proceeded to set up the tents and utilities that would be needed for the duration of the camping, while the ladies helped with tidying up the environment.

Two hours later, all four were snoring away in their respective tents (as couples). Their spirits had been willing to stay awake and chat late into the evening, but their flesh was weak and bowed to the demands of nature.

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A howling sound woke Jane up. With sleepy eyes, she reached out for her husband but felt nothing. Opening her eyes fully, she realized he wasn’t there. Thinking he may have gone out to ease himself, she quickly dozed off, although not completely.

She was jolted out of her slumber again by the same howling sound, and this time, it lasted for about a minute. Realizing that Scot wasn’t yet back, she feared that the worst might have happened to him.

“What if he…”

She shuddered at the gory thoughts that just crossed her mind and refrained immediately from verbalizing it.

Grabbing a torchlight, she quickly went to check on Tricia and Mark. Their tent was open and empty. Jane began to tremble. Her heart began to beat so fast that she gasped for breath for a few seconds.

Then came the howling sound again. This time, it sounded so far away and lingered for two minutes.

Jane was beyond frightened now. Here she was, torn between the devil (remaining in the camp and waiting for the others to come back) and the deep blue sea (going out into the woods to search for them). She chose the latter.

Armed with a baseball bat and her torchlight, she ventured into thick darkness.

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The silence in the woods made her skin crawl. Goosebumps had found a home on Jane’s beautiful skin as she struggled to hold on to the torchlight, walk “ready” with the baseball bat while fighting off some annoying insects that kept falling on her body from the trees.

Again, that howling sound. It sounded so near this time. Scared to death, she dropped the torchlight. Frozen, she was expecting the unknown.

After two minutes of another painful silence, she bent down to pick up the torchlight. In a flash, she felt a strong hand push her forward. Her legs stepped on an empty space, and so began her fall into a bottomless pit, an abyss filled with the worst horrors she had ever imagined.

She could hear familiar voices as she fell.

“Mum, help me! I am falling for two days already into this pit.” Jane’s teenage son, Mike cried out. She could see his face clearly but the outline of his body was blurry as they both fell.

Suddenly, she heard her daughter’s voice behind her. “Help me Mummmyyy!

Jane was now falling timelessly into a bottomless pit with her kids, unaware of the whereabouts of her husband and fellow campers.

After what seemed like ages, the three of them landed on very moist land.

Dark, moist land, filled with thousands of human skulls.