There’s something in the woods; something big, and dangerous; something with teeth, ready to chomp. To rip flesh open like wrapping paper on Christmas morning. Sebastian could hear it. He could hear the moans and groans—the growling. It was coming from the woods—deep within the woods. The sound was unearthly, leaving him shaken to the core the moment he heard it. It was so loud and abrupt. It jolted Sebastian from his sleep.
One peek out the window would have shown how bright the night sky was. The once navy was a deep red. Further in the distance, along the line of the towering trees, a burning orange setting fire to the horizon. The image looked like a nuclear bomb had gone off far, far away.
It didn’t take Sebastian long to realize the growling coming from inside the woods was not an animal or a creature. It was the woods. It was living . . . And breathing . . . And growling as something seemed to build inside of it. The ear piercing sound of gnarled branches growing and twisting built and built until a loud crack jolted Sebastian out of his sleep.
He woke with a gasp. Cold sweats covered his skin. His room was pitch black. Still night. Sebastian sighed as he slid out of bed for a glass of water, his throat felt suddenly parched. With his eyes still half closed, as he scratched the back of his neck, Sebastian made his way to the kitchen. The moonlight outside illuminated a little of the kitchen and living room. The blue light touched nearly everything. A yawn slipped as he grabbed a cup from the cabinet and filled it with water from the faucet. The house was eerily silent as he chugged half the water down, yet still, he began feeling the odd feeling like someone was watching him. He tried to shake it off as he filled his cup and turned to walk back to his room.
When the growing feeling of eyes on him wouldn’t subside, Sebastian glanced out the window and froze suddenly. His glass of water slipped in his shock at what he had seen, and glass shattered all over the floor. There, just on the other side of the wall, stood a large mountain lion by the pool. His threatening eyes pierced into Sebastian like he was a thick ribeye steak. His ears were perched up. In his sandy-beige fur, along the middle of his eyes, a dark line ran up.
“Jesus Christ,” Sebastian hissed under his breath with a heavily inhale. The large cat moved forward at the sight of Sebastian and stood itself directly in front of the glass. His flat tongue flicked out, and he licked his chomps.
***
“I didn’t think mountain lions lived all the way out here,” Sebastian said. He leaned against the garages backdoor frame. Staring at woods with his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed. “Or anywhere here, to be honest,” he added to Sheriff Keller would was crouched by the pool where the mountain lion once stood, trying to look for any paw prints or anything that would indicate it happened.
“They don’t.” Sheriff Keller murmured to himself from where he crouched. After Sebastian called the Sheriff, it didn’t take him long to get there since they both lived in the same woods. They were practically backdoor neighbors.
Keller exhaled heavily before he pushed on his knees and stood. He gazed at the sea of trees in the distance. When he finally turned back to Sebastian, he asked, “And you’re certain you saw what you saw? You couldn’t have been half asleep? Dreaming, maybe?”
Sebastian shook his head. “No. I’m telling you, I know what I saw.” When the unbelieving look on Keller’s face wouldn’t let up, Sebastian added, “Sheriff, if you were to see what I saw you wouldn’t be simply chopping this up as a dream, ok? It was real, and big—practically half my size.” He was beginning to get frustrated out of tiredness and confusion. Why wouldn’t Adam listen to what he was saying?
“I’m just saying, it is Halloween,” Keller explained. “Maybe some kids tried to pull a prank on you. Half asleep, a fake suit can seem real at first glance, and it can be terrifying.”
Sebastian ran a hand down his face. “You’re not listening to me, okay. I’m telling you, it was real.” Sebastian fisted his hands at his side. He knew until Keller saw the mountain lion with his own eyes he wouldn’t believe a word of what Sebastian was saying. Any who could blame him? Nothing he was saying made a lick of sense. There was no way physically possible for an animal like such to be wondering in the small woods outside of town.
“Ok, ok,” Keller said as he lifted his hands cautiously to calm Sebastian. Sebastian inhaled and pressed his lips together. His utter annoyance taking over. Keller layered added as he gazed over his shoulder at the dark woods, “Well, then, I guess I’ll alert the others first thing tomorrow. Let everybody know to keep their eyes out in case anybody sees something, especially in town.”
Sebastian quietly nodded. At this point, he was exhausted, and just wanted to go back to sleep before he had to leave for work the next day. Keller turned back to him as he held his belt.
“We’re gonna catch it, Sebastian,” he said assuringly with a nod, his sheriff’s hat tilting along with the move. “We’re gonna catch whatever it is that you saw.”
Sebastian sighed heavily. He knew it was the best he was going to get. “Thank you, Sheriff.”
Keller walked passed him into the garage and Sebastian followed with his expression impassive. They went through the garage door leading to the small hallway by the kitchen. Inside, Keller spotted the shine of the still broken glass laying on the linoleum from the gleam of the glowing moon outside.
“Uh-oh,” he murmured at the broken glass scattered along the wet floor with a chuckle.
Sebastian ran his hand over the back of his neck. “Oh, yeah. I was getting water and when I saw the damn thing I kinda freaked out for a moment.”
Keller shook his head with a smirk. It was obvious, to him at least, that Sebastian was just trying to handle the breakup. He could understand . . . A little.
Comment