| |
FRIDAY
Danny awoke with a start as if a thousand nightmares had convalesced into one gigantic crash that made him leap from his bed. He looked across at the alarm clock and realised that he was ten minutes later than he expected to be. He seemed to be waking a little later each day and he couldn't understand why. He never needed to set his alarm as his body clock was always in perfect sync, but it looked like he couldn't trust his natural ability to stir from his slumber all of a sudden. He noticed he was sweating a little, and remembered having a series of graphic and frightening dreams. He was normally a sound sleeper and rarely had nightmares, so this was even stranger.
He got up and made his breakfast as usual, mindful to hurry a little bit with each task to try and make up the ten minutes he had lost. Something wasn't right, he didn't know if he was losing his mind or not, the events of the previous day were still weighing heavily on him. He had to try and understand what was happening, the memories were so clear that it made no sense. Was he having some kind of breakdown? He pondered over it as he munched his morning cereal and made the decision to phone in sick and get an appointment with a psychiatrist. He may not be able to get in at such short notice but he would try, and whether he could or couldn't, he really didn't think he could face work today. He wasn't sure of a decent one in the area so decided to phone Samir. As a doctor he would know a reputable one, and preferably one that didn't charge too much. He made his call to work, told them he was sick with a voice as gruff as he could manage, and then flicked through his contacts to find Samir, promptly dialling. After a few rings, Samir's familiar voice greeted him.
“Hey Sam” Danny said, “apologies for bailing out so early last night, my head was kind of all over the place, well it still is, I guess. Did you have a good birthday?”
“Yeah it was great” Samir replied, “I can't remember that much by the end of the night to be honest, ha-ha. I can't remember you leaving that early, but the details are sketchy when I think back”
Danny thought that it was an odd reply as he could have sworn he'd only been at Monique's for around five minutes, but put it down to all the alcohol Samir had indulged in. It was either that or Danny's own memory was getting even more seriously screwed up, which was something he really didn't want to contemplate at that moment.
“So, well, I was wondering if you knew of or had an acquaintance who's a psychiatrist. Someone you trust who's good?” asked Danny.
“A Psychiatrist? Is everything okay?”
“Well I don't know, I'm hoping so, it's all to do with last night” Danny replied.
“Last night? Umm...okay. Well let me look, I'm thinking Steven might be the best bet, give me one second” Samir said as he thumbed through his address book. He had so many contacts in his profession that it was much better to have them written down in a good old-fashioned way “Yeah, Steven is cool; I would recommend him, Dr. Monroe”.
He relayed the number to him and Danny jotted it down.
“Thanks Sam. I hope everyone didn't find me too strange last night, I really should apologise to them” Danny said.
“I really can't remember” Samir replied.
“Well I know David and James thought I was crazy as I'd already mentioned it when I popped into the bar to see them”
“David?” replied Samir.
“Yes, and James, they were both in the bar before they met you guys” Danny informed him.
“Yeah, I remember James saying he'd stopped off on his way to us, but David? Was he someone James was with, in the bar?” Samir asked.
“David, David, you know David”, Danny said frustrated. Was Samir playing jokes with him too now?
“Sorry Danny, I don't know a David, you must be getting mixed up”
Danny swallowed hard, trying to compute all this nonsense, this couldn't be happening again.
“I'm not playing any more games Sam, I know you know David, we were all at Uni together, this is just nonsense and not funny, I can't be doing with it” Danny snapped back, “But thanks for the number, I will ring him straight away”
“Ok, look, sorry, you sound upset, I'm just saying I don't know who it is you're talking about, James arrived on his own last night”
Danny muttered something under his breath that Samir couldn't hear before thanking him again and putting the phone down. Samir was confused, Danny seemed adamant that someone called David was at the party, but Samir can't remember anyone by that name and they certainly weren't with James. It certainly sounded like Danny had some issues, perhaps seeing Dr. Monroe was the best thing for him.
Danny phoned Dr. Monroe shortly after, not sure whether he would have to say what he thought was wrong with him. If he did, he had no idea how he would explain it. He managed to get an appointment for later that day and thankfully didn't have to divulge anything, although he knew that it was only delaying the inevitable. That was a lot easier than he thought, he honestly didn't expect to get in today at such short notice. He was still confused about Olivia, and Samir had only added to the confusion. He was clearly joking when he said he couldn't remember David, he was there just last night, they all spoke, they all knew each other. He was already questioning his memories and it wasn't helpful for his so-called friends to be playing tricks on him. They may find it funny, but it was only adding to Danny's paranoia and nervousness at what he felt was happening to him.
He had a few hours to relax before he needed to set off, so he decided, being a creature of habit and still unable to accept that he could be going mad, to stop off at the coffee shop and see if anyone had seen Olivia. He was also hoping that Julie might be there, she would be able to corroborate seeing Olivia, and if not then he knew that something really must be wrong with him. He would need a photograph of Olivia to show people, so searched desperately for one. He couldn't find any, yet he knew he had loads of them dotted around. He even checked on his computer and where he expected there to be pictures of the two of them or her with the rest of the group, there was nothing. He took a deep breath as he started to question his sanity even further.
He decided the best thing to do was set off for the coffee shop and see if he could find Julie, and so with that he pulled on his coat and picked up his keys. It was the usual short walk to the coffee shop, the air was fresh and crisp again, it almost made his doubts and stress fade away. As he approached the coffee shop, he thought he saw Julie walking away as if she had just visited, he looked at his watch and noticed he was another ten minutes later than he expected, to which he shook his wrist violently. His watch must be playing up now too, great, something else to deal with.
He ran towards who he thought was Julie and cried out her name. The lady turned around and he saw that it wasn't Julie at all. In fact, she looked completely different to what he thought he had just seen; different colour hair, different clothes, and a different build. He must be under so much stress and confusion he thought, that he was now seeing things. He entered the coffee shop and looked around for Julie, but she didn't seem to be there. He knew it was probably a long shot, but he didn't think it would hurt to look. He asked the lady behind the counter if she had seen Julie or Olivia and she hadn't, of course she hadn't, maybe he'd imagined Julie too.
––––––––
JARRAH’S HOUSE
James pulled up outside Jarrah's house and saw him peeping out his front window. Within a few seconds he was at the front door, swiftly closing it behind him. He darted along his path towards James and gave him a big grin and a thumbs up as he opened the passenger door.
“I really need this Jim, I appreciate it” he said, “Is Mike coming?”
“Yeah, I was going to pick him up on the way to you but I forgot I had to fill up, so we'll just swing by and pick him up on the way out of town”.
Jarrah had the day off today, he knew he was going to feel a bit woozy after one of Monique's little parties, he couldn't handle alcohol like he used to, so he felt it was a wise choice to take the day off. Jarrah took after his relatives and loved to be outside in nature, like his ancestors had lived, in the big wide-open spaces. As much as he loved his job, the countryside called to him frequently and he often roped in one of his friends to take a short weekend camping trip with. They were supposed to be setting off after James finished work, but James got tetchy so pulled a few strings and managed to get the afternoon off. He was going to have to make it up to his colleagues though, but he'd worry about that at a later date.
“I hope you're faring better than me today” Jarred laughed looking at James.
“Yeah I felt ok when I woke up, surprisingly” He replied.
“I don't know why, but I have been feeling really weird all day, I'm sure it's just the alcohol” Jarrah said.
“Weird how?” asked James.
“A bit spacey, I guess. Not really with it, I keep noticing that when I look at the time it’s always much later than I thought it was. At first it was nothing, but after about eight times it was getting really weird. I think I definitely need a break in the outdoors.”
“Sounds like it yeah; It'll just be the alcohol doing its next day thing. Nothing some fresh air in the wilderness won't fix” James replied, “There's Mike”
They had turned the corner into Mike's street to find him stood at the end of his driveway waiting patiently with his backpack slung over his shoulder. Mike had the most unusual vocation of all of them and wasn't tied to nine to five working. He did lots of courses in the summer, showing kids how to survive in different outdoor environments, and the rest of the year he took groups of business men into the wilderness and did the same thing, taught them how to catch their own food, make their own shelters and so on. The business men called it team building, Mike called it basic life skills. He was currently writing a book on survival techniques and was hoping to get it published, but the call of the outdoors was always there, so any chance to be immersed in it again he would take. The writing could wait until Monday. James and Jarrah invited Mike as he was always interesting to have with you. He could point out all the interesting plants and explain the benefits that they had to the human body, plus if anything went pear-shaped in the forest, Mike was the one you wanted there. He had encountered most wildlife and knew how to deal with them all. They knew they would be in safe hands with him around.
Mike jumped in the back behind the driver's seat and flung his backpack behind Jarrah.
“Afternoon Gents” He said authoritatively.
They both greeted him back and James set the car back in motion. They hadn't decided exactly what part of the forest they were going to be camping in, they guessed they would leave that up to Mike's recommendation. They turned out of the town and on to the main highway to the National Forest, debating where to drive to. They eventually settled on an area to the North of the Forest. There were dramatic lakes and picturesque cliffs as well as some great mountain hikes they could do to take in the valley below them, which sounded perfect. They meandered round bends as they ascended higher into the forest, the roads lined with lush rows of trees and blossoming bushes. It only took ten minutes to feel like they had completely left the city behind as the signs of civilisation dispersed into just the odd remote outpost, before long there were no buildings in sight at all. It took an hour to get to their final destination and they pulled the car over to a small clearing after taking a slow rambling dirt track for a mile, before finally taking a deep relaxing sigh. It was good to be out in the forest, they could feel all the stress of the city melting away the second the engine was turned off.
They gathered their gear and started the short trek to set up their camp for the next few nights. Mike knew this area well and knew a good place to set their tents up. They decided to do this straight away and then take a hike up to a viewpoint afterwards, planning to get back to the camp before sunset. Mike set his tent up in less than two minutes while both Jarrah and James fiddled with a number of items that seemed to bemuse each one of them. They had both bought new tents recently. They were the latest design and were supposedly easy to assemble. It was a great idea James told Jarrah at the time. Of course, they would have been easy to assemble if you knew what all these random oddly shaped items were, for all they knew they could be parts to a spaceship. Mike took pity on them and helped both of them out, making all the odd-looking paraphernalia converge into something coherently tent-like. They hadn't seen this high-tech design before so James was still convinced it was actually a spaceship. They had a short rest, pouring themselves a cup of tea each from their flasks and sitting on their collapsible chairs, smelling the alluring fragrance of the greenery around them and inhaling the energizing air. It was definitely good to be back here.
After a short while they decided to start their hike. It was nearing three in the afternoon and it took a good hour to get to the viewpoint, and with the sun setting around six they wanted to give themselves enough time to appreciate the splendour from the vantage point when they got there. So off they went, backpacks on, water bottles filled, hiking poles grasped firmly. It was a fairly strenuous walk to the top, the ground below them was deceiving and the forest floor hid all sorts of undulating rocks and random craters. It was an enjoyable hike, they laughed about some of the crazy situations they had got themselves into at University, like the time Mike was playing a trick on Brandon. They had organised a blind date for him and Mike turned up wearing a gimp suit, pretending to be his date. The restaurant staff were all let in on the practical joke. Jarrah and James had stayed out of sight at the restaurant to watch and to see how Brandon would react. Brandon knew the restaurant staff though and had already been tipped off. So instead of him arriving for the date, he had arranged for Mike's newly divorced mum to turn up, thinking she was on a real blind date with someone else. It was difficult to make out who was most mortified, Mike sitting there on a date with his mum or his mum thinking her beautiful son was into kinky things and had no shame about it.
They carried on laughing, joking and reminiscing as they gradually climbed higher. They were having so much fun that it took their minds off how brutally steep it was in places and before they knew it, they had reached the top where the viewpoint was. They looked out over the view as the forest cascaded away from them in each direction, the canopy shimmering with the breeze in the rippling late afternoon sunlight. It was a breath-taking sight, almost too beautiful for words. They took turns taking pictures of the startling view, and then of each other with the startling view behind them, and then an ambitious attempt to take a picture of all of them with the view behind, but due to forgetting a selfie-stick they were mainly obscured by Mike's big arm.
“Well its four thirty, we should maybe start heading back” said Jarrah.
Mike and James agreed and they turned back to descend the steep track they had just struggled up.
“I'm glad you brought us here Mike, I wasn't aware of this place existing” Said Jarrah.
“Yeah it's wonderful isn't it” Mike replied, “You should see the view from the top of the peak slightly south, the one you could just make out in the distance from back there. We should do that tomorrow; it's a much longer hike so I'd say we'll need about eight hours to get there and back”.
They all agreed it was a good idea. The view from here had whetted their appetite and they were keen to see more. It was a slow journey back down; parts were so steep that they really had to take their time. Except Mike of course, who was like a mountain goat, and could probably walk up the side of a wall if he had to. Mike gradually got further and further in front of them. They told him to go at his own pace, the route back to the camp was easy and straight, it was just the steep decline that they had to traverse, and they’d see him back at camp. They were about two thirds of the way down when Jarrah said he heard something. He looked round to where he thought he heard rustling and thought he saw something moving in the bushes.
“There's something just over there, I saw the bushes move” He said.
“Probably just a rodent or something, let's keep going, come on”
They continued on briefly before James stopped dead in his tracks. He thought he saw something moving to the left of him, but when he glanced around there was nothing there.
“Did you see something too?” asked Jarrah.
“I'm not sure, I thought I did but there's nothing there”
They both brushed it off as their overactive imaginations due to being tired, it had been an exhausting hike up and they just wanted to get down, so figured that their minds were playing tricks on them. They still got a sense of unease though and decided to hurry up. Another fifty metres further and they heard what they thought was a growling sound, but almost mechanical, somewhere between a mix of gears grinding and an unearthly low grunt. They were now convinced that something was near, something tracking them, a bear maybe? Both of their minds started working overtime as their imaginations ran wild as to what could be following them, each of them now completely silent as their panicked minds went into flight mode. Their quickened pace made them short of breath, but they figured that having a heart attack was less painful than being mauled by a wild creature, so were determined to get to the bottom. They continued on, faster and faster, the ethereal grunts splintering the silence around them like hammer blows, bushes and trees shaking randomly from different directions and what felt like low rumbles bouncing at them from one side and then another. This was now getting really strange and they were in full flight mode, desperately trying to outrun whatever it was that was chasing them. They finally reached the bottom and turned their desperation into a sprint. They were hoping to catch up with Mike, but he was still nowhere in sight along the track.
There was suddenly a body-shaking roar as if a hundred trees had dropped to the floor and this made them both look around, terrified but curious as they had never encountered anything like it. There in front of them was what looked like a green pulsing morphing lattice-like figure, as if the forest itself was bending itself into a creature. It seemed to have no eyes, no mouth but was unmistakeably in the shape of something that seemed alive, the green pulses flashing like blood pumping through veins. The green pulses gradually started to change into a light blue. They flashed with more and more intensity, before whatever the creature was seemed to lurch forward, accompanied by what sounded like the forest floor tearing itself apart.
James turned back to the direction of the camp and began to run, terrified and confused. He shouted to Jarrah to run too, but when he glanced back round, he found Jarrah routed to the spot, unable to move, his limbs frozen, his eyes getting wider and wider. The forest creature got closer and closer to him and Jarrah slowly began to lift off the ground as if levitating. He began to scream, and James shouted him once more, not sure what to do, as the entity seemed to wrap around Jarrah, it's pulsing blue veins rippling through Jarrah's torso before suddenly letting out a magnificent ethereal roar as if the entire fabric of the forest was being torn in two. Within a few seconds Jarrah's body splintered into a thousand parts and disappeared deep into the blue pulses, as a screeching sound echoed around James.
He could only look on in horror before he turned and ran as fast as he could, he didn't know what else to do. He ran and ran, careful not to fall, his mind in full concentration, focused solely on getting back to the camp. He couldn't hear anything following him anymore, but it was difficult to hear much over his own heartbeat, that felt like his heart was going to explode out of his chest. He could see the camp up ahead and screamed Mike's name desperately. Mike appeared out of his tent as James reached the makeshift fireplace set up in the centre of the campsite, choking for breath.
“Where's Jarrah?” Mike asked.
James didn't know what to say, it didn't make any sense, any of it.
“He just broke apart, he -”
“What?”
“I couldn't do anything, it's impossible” shrieked James, “Something followed us down the mountain, it was, I don't know what the fuck it was; it just appeared. I've never seen anything like it”
Mike was understandably confused, they had encountered a wild animal of some type, but this description made no sense.
“Come and show me” said Mike as he started walking out of camp holding his shotgun that he brought in case of an emergency.
“No, wait, we can't go back there, the thing will still be out there somewhere”
“I'm not leaving Jarrah out there with whatever the creature is, can you give me a better description of it? What you said, well, think hard and try and describe it” Mike said.
James was still trying to get his breath back and shook his head.
“I know it sounds crazy, it's hard to describe, but it's what the forest would look like if it decided to grow a body. Sorry I know it sounds insane, it had blue veins, it made the weirdest noises. I don't know what more to say” James said still shaking his head.
Mike beckoned James to follow him, to which he reluctantly did.
“You're right, it does sound crazy, you're probably just imaging things due to the shock. Trauma can do funny things to a man you know” Mike said not believing the strange events James was relaying.
They frantically retraced their steps back along the track, Mike trying to explain the creature away as some kind of bear or perhaps a big cat; they were both known to roam these forests but rarely attacked humans. James wildly denied it, sounding crazed but adamant that he saw what he saw.
––––––––
DR. MONROE’S
Danny sat back in the psychiatrist's chair, looking around the office adorned with the clichéd wall of certificates. Dr. Monroe was not what he typically expected a psychiatrist to be, he was younger than him, and dressed from head to toe in designer gear. Danny was expecting tweed and thick rimmed glasses.
“So, Sam recommended me to you” Dr. Monroe said, “That's why I slotted you in so quickly, he phoned me and explained how you two were good friends so I promised him I'd see you as soon as I could. He seemed pretty worried about you”
“Did he tell you about it all?” Danny asked.
“Of course not, as doctors we all have confidentiality to contend with” he laughed, “he just explained that he really thought you could do with my help. So, do you want to tell me what the problem is?”
Danny cleared his throat; this was going to be difficult but he had to do it. He started from the beginning. Olivia going missing, her house being empty, no one remembering her and her disappearing from old photos. The way he had full memories of her and the things they had done. Dr. Monroe listened carefully, and seemed to find it all very interesting.
“Has anything like this happened before” He asked.
Danny told him that this was the first time. He then explained how earlier that morning Samir was also doubting the existence of his other friend David, but Danny thought he must have been playing games with him, perhaps to make sure he came to see Dr. Monroe. He couldn’t think of any other explanation, as David was his friend.
“Ok, apart from missing friends, is there anything else unusual that has been happening?”
Danny thought about it for a moment. He mentioned his sudden lack of sticking to times, that the clocks always showed a later time than he was expecting, as well as seeing someone as Julie, when it clearly wasn't. He also mentioned that he was noticing small things changing, like the colour of a wall, the make of a car on a neighbour's drive; just small details that hadn't alarmed him until he was relaying them all in the context of this conversation. Dr. Monroe took a copious amount of notes and asked lots of other questions about his childhood, his work, any stress he was under and if he was self-medicating. After about thirty minutes of this Dr. Monroe jotted some points down on his computer and scratched his chin for a moment.
“So, am I crazy?” Danny asked.
“Ha, well we don't use that word” Dr. Monroe replied, "It's hard to determine at this stage. Well I have to be honest, as why else would you be here other than for me to help you, so I would say it appears you are exhibiting early signs of a delusional disorder. Typically, sufferers do encounter the same experiences you have described. They are unable to tell what is real and what isn't real. I don't think you're having full-blown psychosis, but I think you may have some triggers that are causing it buried deep in your mind somewhere. I think the best course of action for now is some cognitive behavioural therapy and some psychotherapy sessions, so I'd like to have an appointment with you twice a week.”
“So, no magic pills?” Laughed Danny.
“Not at such an early stage no, I believe that you are treatable at this stage. If you were exhibiting more severe symptoms and signs then I'd prescribe anti-psychotics, but I don't think that's necessary. The only medication I would recommend is some Valerian, which you can take if the stress starts to gnaw at you, but you don't need me to prescribe that you can just pick it up yourself” Dr. Monroe replied.
“Okay, well you're the Doc”
Danny thanked him for his time and Dr. Monroe told him to make an appointment with his secretary for his first session. It was good to possibly have an end in sight to his confusion. Danny still thought that it all sounded just too neat though, he still had the clear memories, and it was a struggle to convince himself that none of those things ever happened. He made the appointment for the following Tuesday, hopeful that it would at least begin to solve things. He just had to hope that nothing else strange would happen between now and then that would cause any problems with his friendships. It was only now that he was starting to feel embarrassed, as he thought about what his friends must have been thinking about him. Despite this, he still couldn't shake off how real his memories were. If false memories could seem this real then it could be easy to question anything. That unnerved Danny and he decided not to think about it any longer.
––––––––
THE FOREST
James pointed to the ground a few metres away, there was little to see other than some leaves disturbed.
“That's where he was, he was lifted off of the ground and then just broke into pieces” He said with tears welling in his eyes, “Then the thing seemed to suck him up or absorb him or something”
Mike still didn't believe the story, it was too impossible to be true, James was suffering some kind of traumatic stress from what happened here. Mike was determined to find whatever creature was out here, he knew it must have carried Jarrah off somewhere. There was no blood anywhere to give him a clue as to where he might have been dragged. He took a close look at the ground for any prints, but drew a blank.
“So, it came from up the track?” He asked to which James nodded, “Okay, well I'm going to have a look up there, Jarrah must be around here somewhere”
“I told you, he was eaten or whatever the fuck it was, by that thing”
“Yeah you said that already” Mike replied dismissively as he started creeping towards the foot of the mountain. James followed him nervously, making sure he was far enough behind Mike to be able to make a quick getaway. He didn't want to see that creature again, and if he did, he wasn't going to hang around.
They took steady precise steps up the track, their heads searching from side to side for any sign of movement, their ears ready to hear a pin drop. All of a sudden there was that strange sound again in the distance, a mix of what Mike could only describe as an analogue roar, something in between organic and synthetic.
“What the fuck?” Mike exclaimed; he had never heard a sound quite like it before.
“That's it, shit, shit.... we're turning back and we're getting out of here, come on” shouted James fearfully.
“Wait will you, I need to find out what it is”
Then there was a ground-thumping movement that caught them both off guard and the trees and leaves in front of them suddenly took on a swirling pattern. It began to arrange itself into a pulsating mass of green and blue, faceless but recognisable enough to make it out as some kind of figure. James turned and ran and shouted Mike to do the same. Mike was transfixed by this entity, thoughts racing through his mind, barely any of them sitting in a synapse long enough to cause him to move. What the hell was this thing? It then began moving towards him, which snapped Mike out of his terrified trance and he held up his shot gun towards it.
“Stay back for fucks sake” He shouted, like this thing could understand English.
He quickly pulled the trigger with the gun pointed in the creature's direction. The bullets seemed to split apart and disappear into a black void that had emerged to swallow them up, a void which then instantly disappeared.
“What the...?” He screamed.
James was now fifty metres away, his legs moving wildly, trying to get him as far away as they could, all the while shouting at Mike to follow. Mike tried to fire more bullets, but his hand locked up and started to tingle. The creature began to dissipate into a blue pulsing fog and started to envelope Mike. The Shotgun appeared to melt as if being rubbed from reality with an eraser. He looked up at the entity that was now mere feet away from him and panic now took over. With all his might he tried pulling away from it, but his body was being drawn towards it, his legs starting to pulse as if in communication with the misty forest creature that was getting ever closer. He felt a sudden tear and let out a scream as the entity engulfed him and he gasped in astonishment at a deep never-ending void of blue pulsing veins, rippling all around him and pulling him apart. With one last exhalation of air, Mike found he could fight it no more and his mind seemed to explode into countless fragments of pulsing blue ripples.
James had heard the final desperate screams from Mike and had watched in complete horror as his friend was shrouded by the blue veined forest creature and then sucked into some kind of vacuum, his last breath seemingly echoing out from the void hopelessly. The only option James had was to run, to run and not look back. Luckily, he still had his car keys in his pocket so didn't have to waste any time searching through his backpack. He left the campsite and all their belongings behind as he sprinted ferociously along the track they had come in on, to get to his car. His adrenalin was the only thing stopping him from collapsing; the urge to keep going and to survive was all that mattered at this moment. Everything in his whole life, every second meant nothing without him obeying what his adrenalin was telling him to do. He raced through the forest convinced he could hear the entity gathering pace, thumping behind him, almost taunting him. Every time he glanced around, he couldn't tell if he could see it or not, the creature seemed to be made of the forest so looking back quickly for a few seconds made it impossible to make out anything distinctive.
He finally reached a clearing and saw his car parked a short distance away. He ran towards it, panting so hard he thought he was going to have a heart attack, unlocked the driver's door and jumped in. He looked back at the track he ran down, he could see something in the distance, something pulsing, getting closer, followed by that same ethereal half-mechanical growl that sent shivers through his entire body, not just down his spine. He turned the key, started the engine and took off as quickly as he could back towards the city. He took long deep breaths as he checked his rear-view mirror to see if it was following him. He couldn't see anything and breathed a huge sigh of relief. He still had no idea what was happening, and kept praying that he would wake up, but he never did. He put his foot on the pedal to go faster, the only way he would feel safe would be to get as far away from here as he could. He had another quick glance in his rear-view mirror and his heart tried to jump free from his body. There in the back seat of his car was something pulsing, something blue, something swirling. As he took another deep nervous breath, he saw the blue ripples looking back at him with what looked like two eyes, but they were actually more like cracks in reality, to the void that this creature came from. Just as quickly as he had glanced in his rear-view mirror he glanced back at the road and there in front of him was some kind of swirling mass eating up the road ahead of him.
He had little time to think, he was heading towards a swirling vortex and he had the eyes from an endless void staring at him from behind. He instinctively swerved away from the path of the vortex, seemingly the only option, and the car left the road, toppling down an embankment. It reached the bottom and collided with two trees, branches crashing through the windscreen hitting James straight on. He took a few final breaths, blood dripping down from his chest where one of the branches had struck him. As he closed his eyes, he saw the blue pulses emerging from the 'eyes to the void' in his rear-view mirror, and then they slowly engulfed him. The car was sat at the bottom of the embankment, on its side, as the vortex from the road quickly and mercilessly swallowed the car, and with what appeared to be a blink of an eye, the car vanished. The road glitched from side to side and then switched back to how it was before, the area swallowed by the vortex completely back to normal. The embankment was clear of any obstruction as if nothing had ever happened. Back at the campsite the ground shook and pulsated blue before the tents and their belongings flickered like a flame and then dissolved away leaving the forest floor undisturbed.