Sirens

Today marks a week since my friends had gone missing. The events that resulted in their sudden disappearance was one that I would never forget. After months of grueling work, we decided to disavow civilized life for a week by heading into the woods to live off the land. Reception was slightly mixed naturally as some of my friends were cautious of insects and other potentially deadly animals out in the wilderness. Slowly but surely, we came to an agreement against all odds and we decided on the time to go.
On Monday, we met together at the entrance to the woods and parked our cars. After setting up camp, I was tasked with gathering the logs for the fire. Upon being a good walk's length of the campsite, I pillaged through the trees to collect the lumber. The dry leaves and sticks crunched underneath my feet as I walked further and further away. Eventually, my journey led me to the perfect tree: a large, burly oak tree. From the sheer majesty of the tree, I had the feeling that it was well over centuries old. As I raised my ax in the air, it almost pained me having to sacrifice such a beautiful tree for firewood. The first swing echoed throughout the woods. Curiously, aside from the sounds of my ax connecting with the tree and the occasional chirping of a bird, it was deathly quiet. I shook my head to evict the notion of being watched and resumed my task.
After a while, the tree fell with a large crash. The rings of the tree confirmed my suspicions. I further began cutting the bark into smaller, more manageable pieces. I was so deep into doing this that I nearly didn't hear someone calling out to me.
"An enemy missile has been launched against this country."
I dropped the ax in alarm. Enemy? Missile? Launch? What in blazes was this nonsense I had just heard? My mind thought back on the news detailing recent events. Nowhere did the notion of there being a nuclear war brewing was ever mentioned. But what I heard next made me question myself further: loud blares of sirens filled the air drowning out my thoughts. The noises sounded too close for comfort. But I couldn't see any signs of flames. My eyes darted around; I instantly saw one tree that was farther away from the oak tree I had cut down. But something felt wrong about the tree. Horribly so. It was a gnarled abomination bereft of leaves and mummified. Its branches were like thin, emaciated arms laced with lanky fingers. But this tree...I knew through observation that it was the source of the sounds.
I regret walking to it.
The tree reacted violently when it sensed my approaching footsteps. That gnarly appearance was appropriate for it took the form of an embalmed rib cage. The very top of the tree shifted and from the top of the tree came two...sirens? Long strands of wire were attached to the sirens and connected with its shoulders. The contrast of the metallic parts and the "organic" body of the creature greatly unsettled me. Hot saliva sprinkled from the creature's mouth. It turned its head in my direction to observe me contemplatively. After what felt like an excruciating eternity of looking into my soul, it blared again.
I was frozen in shock and awe but when I saw it lifting itself up and shaking the loose earth free from it. I ran but I was accompanied by the loud blares of the creature's sirens. I feared looking back, but every time I see if it was advancing in its pursuit, but it wasn't there. For a monster that large, it moved about gracefully. Not wanting to let my guard down, I relentlessly ran until I returned to my campsite. My friends looked at me with curiosity as to why I was so short of breath.
"Richard, dear?"
Another voice called out. One of my friends, aptly named Richard, stood in shock. "Mother?"
No. It couldn't be his mother; she was dead for ten years. No, this had to be that thing playing a trick. I tried to tell my friend not to give in for he knew the truth. But...he was allured by the sound of his sweet mother. In a hypnotic state, he started to walk out of the campsite. I yelled at him to reject what he heard, but he hadn't heard the voice of his mother for so long, he couldn't resist.
I went with three of my pals after Richard. He had suddenly disappeared without a trace. We went further into the brushes to see if he stopped there for a moment. Nothing. When we decided to take an alternative route, Richard's voice shouted out.
"Guys....Help me...it....!" followed by garbled moaning in the sound of blood filling his lungs.
Against our better judgment we raced to see where he was at currently. Instead of Richard, there was that same creature, that siren-headed anomaly. It was hunched over. Richard's bloodcurdling screams echoed from deep within the monster's mummified body. It was mimicking his voice replaying the last painful moments Richard had before it did whatever with him.
We darted away before it picked itself up. Whatever this thing was, it was luring us by sounding like our loved ones. Even though several of them had been dead for years. How the hell could it mimic their voices to such perfection? Two of my friends stopped in their tracks deciding to throw rocks at the creature to slow it down. It was a fruitless endeavor, but they told me and my remaining friend to hurry to our cars and bolt it.
Our legs were aching us, but we were near the opening. The blaring of the sirens had deadened. Perhaps the monster had grown bored of chasing us. We were in the clear, until we heard a violent shaking from the trees. One of the two friends we left behind plummeted onto the ground as a mangled mess. Even forming a simple "O" was hard for him because his body was in an immense amount of pain. "I-It's..."
The creature erupted from the trees and made a grab for my remaining friend. It caught him by his leg and sunk its razor-sharp claws into the tender flesh of it. He was screaming now. I tried as best as I could to pry my friend free of the creature's grasp, but as I pulled on his body, I could hear his bones breaking and splintering. A slimy tear filled my ears before I saw the monster's other hand swing at me; the air snapped around me and I blacked out.
I came to some hours later. I almost had forgotten about my encounter if not for my friend's leg laying sprawled across from me. I approached it tentatively and saw that flies were already engorging themselves on it. I called out for my friends asking them if they were alright, but I received no response. I suffered only a few slight injuries from the beast, but ever since that day, I feared returning to the woods for answers. I sense that the monster is still there. It could be anything...a tree; a telephone or light post; whatever it may be, I dread the thought of being reunited with the creature. I barely escaped with my life and I take it that it won't be as merciful next time it sees me.
Category:Memes
Category:Dismemberment