The Tall Ones

The sun burned rosy as it sunk into the tree line. Flecks of red and gold light glimmered through branches and splashed on the forest floor. James looked at the little pools of sunlight, watching a team of ants scurrying to carry a last scavenged morsel to the nest before nightfall.

It was his second day camping in the woods. He still wasn’t used to the quiet. The only sounds were bird calls and his own voice echoing off the trees and rocks surrounding his modest camp.

Ever since he was laid off, he felt like the forest was calling to him. It was unusual to be drawn here because he thought of himself as a city kid and was not inclined to venture out into nature. James recalled memories of his grandparents dragging him to a campsite and himself sulking in the tent, playing with matchbox cars until the trip was over. But things were different at Blue Rock Forest. He was content to just be still. To just be, or to allow his mind to wonder what if he was nothing at all.

As he gazed out at the last rays of sunlight something in the branches he hadn’t realized had been right in front of him shifted and turned. Then the rest of its long body moved, and James stopped breathing. The thing was at least ten feet tall, its body was nearly as skinny as the trees around it.

The hair on James’ body stood on end as his nervous system reacted to what he was seeing.

It took an easy step forward, walking like a man, further into the darkening woods. By the time James could draw breath again, he quelled the instinct to scream. A thought bubbled from the bottom of his mind and popped to the surface. That first movement was its head. Was it watching me?

The night passed slowly. James didn’t undress, opting to stay in his clothes, shoes, and jacket. He slept very little and instead laid quietly in the dark listening for any sound that might signal approach.

The next morning, he packed up camp and began the trek back to the main road where he parked his car. Along the way, he realized that the bird calls he had been listening to the past few days had fallen silent.

James’ familiar blue compact car was right where he left it. Not losing another moment, he made a U-turn and started driving back the way he came. As he drove along the endless stretch of forested road, he tried to recall what he saw the previous night. The thing had been human-like, if not for being so tall and thin. He wished he hadn’t been too far away to see if it had a face.

He scanned the edges of the forest looking for anything moving. Nothing moved. In fact, nothing changed. Mile after mile of identical scenery with no turn-offs, or road signs to distinguish it. Something wasn’t right. James had been driving for hours, watching the needle on his gas gauge sink bit by bit.

The sun peaked in the sky, and he felt a cold dread creep up his spine. Soon it would be getting dark again, and he would need to refill his gas tank. Still, somehow, he had gotten hopelessly lost in a sea of green. Nothing about it made sense. Driving to the campsite he passed road signs, and saw rest stops, rustic homes, and dilapidated barns. Signs of life.

He pulled over to check his phone. It was outside of service, and thus unable to find his current location. Until last night James had wanted just that. To get away from it all. Away from the city, the fallout from losing his job, and his impending poverty. So, he drove to a place he had never been to but longed to be. Somewhere beyond the reach of ex-employers, bill collectors, and concerned friends.

He closed his eyes and tipped his head back to touch the headrest. Sighing a curse under his breath, James tried to recall what he knew about Blue Rock Forest. There were urban legends about campers going missing, but that wasn’t too shocking. Most places have a few ghost stories.

When he opened his eyes again, he wasn’t alone. At first, it looked like some of the trees had come closer, but in the next heartbeat, he saw movement. In the midday light, he could see the tall ones fully. There were maybe thirty emerging from the woods to the left and right of him. Their bodies were a mottled grey and bare of fur or hair. One of them turned to face him and James cried out and covered his mouth. The face was flat, lacking definition. The skin was stretched tightly over three sockets, two where their eyes should be, and the third socket placed lower, giving the impression of a mouth open in a scream. They were moving. Walking slowly, trickling through the trees, out into the open with nothing to conceal them.

James smashed his foot on the gas pedal and sped off. As his car accelerated, the tall things appeared to melt back into the forest, maybe repelled by the sudden locomotion. His brain screamed questions for which he had no answer. What were those things? Why were they coming for me? What the hell is going on? One more thought silenced all the others like a heavy lid slamming shut. You’re almost out of gas.

He drove as far as his reserve of gas would take him before abandoning the car, grabbing his pack, and continuing to walk the road to nowhere. His eye darted from side to side, tracking any slight movement in the green. While nothing emerged, he could see the trees beginning to stir as the sun once again began to drip down the sky and set on the horizon. James didn’t know how long he could go without stopping to rest. He would find his limit.