Real Encounters

*Lost Puppy*

When I was 6 years old, my favorite thing to do was explore the woods by my house. I never went into the thicket alone, my friend Ethan liked to join me, but sometimes it would just be me and my neighbor Katrina, who was 7 at the time. To get to the woodsy area you had to first cross a large tree fallen over a small ravine, something I would never do now, but at that age I was fearless. My friends and I spent many days daring each other to cross back and forth over the tree without using our arms for balance.

One particularly dreary summer day, I asked Ethan and Katrina to explore with me, but Ethan wasn't feeling too well so he stayed home. Katrina and I set off to the obscure path that lead to the fallen tree and spent a couple hours in the woods. I remember the smell of the woods and the damp, slippery feel of the leaves beneath my feet. It had rained the night before and the woods were electric with the sounds of birds chirping and water rushing through the ravine.

We were so entranced. I guess that's why we didn't hear the man approach us..

My first thought was to get the hell out of there.. I knew all about stranger danger and I just had this weird feeling about the middle-aged man. Before I could tell Katrina what I was thinking, the man told us we looked like we were great explorers and that he could really use our help. He said his puppy ran off into the woods and she wouldn't be able to take care of herself so it was really important to find her soon. I hesitated, but Katrina had always had a weakness for puppies so she agreed to help him look.

We set out to look for the missing puppy, but I just kept getting this weird feeling.. every time we walked towards the direction the man came from, he would tell us that he had already looked over there and that we should keep to the other side. By that time, I was done. I was ready to nope the fuck out of there, but Katrina wouldn't budge. I told her I was leaving and she said she was going to stay. I wanted to beg her to come with me but I decided to leave without her because I couldn't stand being in there any longer.

I jogged back through the woods, careful not to slip on any damp leaves, but the fallen tree was covered in them so I had to tiptoe my way across. Halfway across, a chill went through my body, leaving a trail of goosebumps on my skin and I ran. I ran so fast I forgot how slippery the log was, so I didn't even realize I was falling into the ravine until I had already hit the rocky bottom. I had heard a loud crack and I looked down to see that my femur was broken and sticking through my skin. Things got foggy after that but I guess I screamed loud enough for the closest neighbors to call 911. I'm just happy I screamed loud enough to save Katrina.

The police and EMT's found me lying in the ravine crying and grasping at my broken leg. The last thing I remember was pointing towards the woods and telling them to look for Katrina. I woke up the next day with my leg hooked up to the ceiling in traction in a world of pain. My mom was holding my hand and she said that when I was ready, the police would like to talk to me. I asked if I was in trouble, but she said it was nothing like that, they just needed to ask me a few questions.

A policeman came in and asked me if I had seen a man in the woods before I broke my leg. I recounted the events that happened and asked if they found Katrina. They had.

When I left, the man started asking Katrina about her family and if she had any big, scary brothers that would come looking for her if she was out too late. Their conversation was cut short by my screams and Katrina immediately ran towards the sound. Luckily, the man's reflexes weren't as fast and even though he tried, he never caught up with her. She said when she looked around at the end of the woods he was running back into them. She thought that maybe he was going to get help. Turns out there was no lost puppy. The police never found the creepy man, but they did find a bag hidden in the bushes by where we first spotted him. Inside the bag there was some rope, duct tape, and a pair of binoculars.

Sometimes I have nightmares about what could have happened that day. And even now, I get chills when I go into the woods.

Credits: Reddit, nachos_are_lyfe