What Walks in These Woods: Part 3
Morning had come with a bitter reveal. Keith had gone back to look for any evidence of what he had shot at the night before. Aside from wounded trees, there was nothing at all. No footprints, no claw marks, no blood.
Keith stood in the cold fall air, looking into the wall of trees that persisted before him. Something was out there, tormenting him. Something evil. Something unnatural. Keith felt deep within himself that whatever it was, it was also responsible for Morgan's disappearance.
Quietly, as the silent woods offered no condolences for the mood, Keith declared war.
Keith's truck skidded to a halt outside of Marvin's store once more. With no reluctance this time, Keith headed in. The door bell jangled loudly. Marvin looked to the door with a start, and then sighed in relief.
"Damn Keith! Scared me to death for a second there!" Marvin exclaimed with a laugh. Keith did not return the smile.
"Marv. I need trap cameras. You got any of those?" Marvin nodded and directed him to the right aisle. They were in a locked cabinet, and Marvin fumbled with the keys as he unlocked it.
Keith looked over the selection. He reached in and grabbed eight cameras.
"All of these." Keith said and handed them over. Marvin chuckled nervously as he balanced them all in his arms.
"Gonna be a big bill. You sure you need this many?" Marvin asked.
"I've got the money. Ring me up." Keith said. They went to the counter and Keith took out cash fresh from the bank to pay. Marvin rang up the cameras and scratched his head as he gave Keith the total.
"So that will be, um, nine hundred and sixty four dollars. And, um, thirty-two cents." Marvin said. Keith counted his cash and handed Marvin a thousand dollars in hundred dollar bills.
"Keep the change." Keith said as he left with the cameras. Marvin shook his head as he left. He put the money in the register and then stood in thought for a moment. He heard Keith's truck peel out of the parking lot and drive off. Wrestling with his thoughts, Marvin reached for the phone and began to dial.
"Hello, Wolcott? Hey, it's Marvin. Yeah, listen, I'm getting a little worried about Keith..."
Keith arrived home and quickly went to work while there was still daylight.
He marched deeper into the woods, placing trap cameras on trees in spots where something large could pass by. He used the trees he had shot at earlier as a starting point, and fanned out as he went further into the woods.
After some time, all the trap cameras were set up and running. Keith made the long trek back to his house just as the sun began to set.
Keith had his rifle loaded, and had brought a chair outside. He sat in the waning light, his eyes keeping vigilant watch of the tree line as the night crept forward.
Hours passed. Keith shivered in the cold, his vengeful and tired stare casting off into the dark. Nothing had come that night. Eventually the cold won and Keith lumbered inside. He sat near the window and waited for the lights to flash on, but sleep took him eventually.
Keith saw the glowing orange eyes in a blanket of darkness looking back at him. He tried to scream out in rage, but he could not make a sound. The eyes simply grew in size until they towered over him. Keith raised his gun and went to pull the trigger.
A loud knocking at the door woke Keith, who fell to the ground as his dream dissolved around him. The rifle clattered to the floor. Keith scrambled to get his wits about himself and he gathered up his gun and aimed it at the door.
Four more loud bangs. Keith stood still, readying himself. His finger was on the trigger now for real, and he began to squeeze.
A muffled voice called out from the other side of the door.
"Keith? You in there? It's Sheriff Wolcott." Keith let out a huge exhale as his finger released off of the trigger. He reached up to wipe the nervous sweat from his brow as he set down the rifle and regained his composure.
Keith opened the door and standing in front of him was a startled Wolcott. A tense silence persisted for just a moment until Wolcott relaxed his stance a bit.
"Good Lord, I've been knocking for a while out here Keith." Wolcott said. Keith didn't react at all.
"What do you want?" Keith asked bluntly.
"Listen, Keith, is everything alright with you?" Wolcott responded.
"Is everything alright? Is that some sort of sick joke, Wolcott?" Keith asked, his temper beginning to breach the surface of his demeanor.
"Hey, I've seen you down at Marvin's shop. Spending a lot of cash pretty quick. Something seems off, and I just want to help." Wolcott said, his hands out placatingly.
"All of sudden you want to help? Where was this hero mentality when Morgan went missing, huh?" Keith spat. Wolcott's face grew cold as he replied.
"I did what I could. We scoured these woods. Not all missing people end up found, Keith." Wolcott let the last words come out quicker than he would have liked, but he did not show any regret. Keith let the sting of Wolcott's statement pass.
"Get off my property. Stay out of my business” he hissed.
"Ok. I'll do that. But I've got my eye on you Keith. One slip up and then it becomes my business, you hear me?" Wolcott said. He took a few steps away and Keith slammed the door behind. Wolcott looked back, and for the first time noticed the claw marks on the door. Wolcott scratched his head, wondering how he had missed it when he first came up. As he walked to his squad car he also looked towards the forest, and his eyes trailed back to see the flood light setup that Keith had put up.
Wolcott felt his stomach turn. Something was very wrong with this place. Something was wrong with Keith. He was going to have to be vigilant. Damned town was falling apart around him, and Wolcott did not want to be at the forefront of a national tragedy.
STAY TUNED FOR PART FOUR TOMORROW
