WEBVTT
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During a day, the forest can be one of the
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most beautiful and relaxing places anyone could ever hope to be.
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But as the sun goes down and the moon comes up,
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things begin to take a turn, as there's something out
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there in the brush watching you, seeing your every move,
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and waiting to attack.
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What's that you want to be scared to? Come with me.
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You will experience tales over opera, ghosts, and death. It
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is not recommended for.
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A week at hard Tart.
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Listen as in the dark it's more fun at that
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way way.
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This is Weekly Speaking. Hello, my Spooky's It's Wednesday, and
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you know what that means. It's time for a little
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spooky in your weekly. I'm your host and narrator, Enrique Kuto,
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and tonight we have quite the terror tale to titillate you.
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We've just passed the midpoint of summer, so I thought
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a tale about the great outdoors would be appropriate for
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those of you who love a good camping trip. Well,
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this one is for you. But before we get to
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the story, I want to say a big, fat thank
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you to all of you who listen, especially in the
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summer months when many people aren't in the headspace of Halloween,
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but of course you are as spooky just like me,
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and every day should be as good as Halloween. And
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please make sure you're so described on your favorite podcasting
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app because things are only going to get more spooky
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as October approaches. In fact, we're going to do thirty
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one shows in thirty one days in October, So whether
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you're on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or any other podcasting app,
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please make sure you are subscribed. And while you're there,
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if you want to help the show out in a
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very direct way that won't cost you a single penny,
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just leave us a five star rating on Apple Podcasts
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or Spotify. We sure do appreciate it. Also, we sure
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do love to read your comments over on Spotify, so
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don't be afraid to leave us a little something to read.
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I promise I won't bite. Well, now, my friends, it's
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about time we head into the story. So a quick reminder.
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At Weeklyspooky dot com, you can find out everything you
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could ever want to know about the show, including how
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to sign up for our Patreon and help keep the
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Spooky going, going, and going. But now it's about time
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we go on a camping trip. I hear the weather
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is killer we'll get to that right after these quick words.
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Camping alone can be terrified, especially when something's hunting you.
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By Michael Kelso. The screams echoed through the trees. I
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couldn't tell if they were human or animal. All I
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knew was they were loud, which meant they were close.
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As I listened to the high pitched shrieks, it almost
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sounded like a couple of people having a shouting match.
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If I had been at my apartment in town, That's
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exactly what I would have thought the sound was. But
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then the pitch changed and it took on a faeral quality.
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I knew whoever or whatever was making the sound, I
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wanted nothing to do with them. Thinking you're alone in
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the wilderness is one thing. It gives a certain freeing
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feeling like you're so close to nature. But knowing you're
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alone and hearing the terrifying, nearly indescribable sound sent chills
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down my spine. I quickly questioned how much longer I
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would be alone or alive? Did those things know I
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was here? Were they planning their attack or was it
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just a gathering of something like a harmless chill session
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in the woods in the dead of night. Survival instinct
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was screaming for me to get out of there as
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quickly as possible, to hell with the tent in my supplies,
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just leave. For a brief moment, I nearly listened. Later,
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I would wish I had. Fortunately, I hadn't made a
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fire yet and decided against one.
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Now.
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If by some miracle, those things didn't know I was here,
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a fire would draw them in like flies to well
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something I didn't want to be in. Even though the
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screaming was all going at a fever pitch, I quietly
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snuck into my tent and zipped it shut, as if
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some flimsy material would magically keep at bay whatever beasts
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were raging out there. Searching through my pack, I found
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my Swiss army knife and kept it firm in my
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grasp as I lay down on my sleeping bag. I
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didn't dare settle in for the night. Sleeping through being
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attacked by wild whatevers and torn to shreds can be
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bad for my health. As I lay there, eyes wide,
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listening to the horrible shrieks that seemed to come from everywhere,
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they suddenly stopped. At first, this was a relief, but
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when the sound stopped so did all other noises in
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the forest. It was as if someone had hit the
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mute button on all of nature. I heard a loud,
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thumping sound that sounded like drums beating faster and faster,
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until I realized it was my heart. Trying to calm
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myself so I didn't have a heart attack on the
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spot was a challenge. I tried to think of calm,
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blue oceans and sunrises, of beautiful things that had nothing
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to do with the situation I was in. Apparently I
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did my job too well. I don't remember falling asleep,
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but I do remember waking up in a panic. Jumping up,
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I looked all around for the beasts that were coming
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to get me. When all that stared back at me
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were the contents of my backpack and the four walls
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of the tent, I allowed myself to take a few
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deep breaths. It was morning, the sun was up, and
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the birds were singing. I took both of those as
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good signs. Being alive was a bonus as well. It
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was decision time. Do I pack up and cut my
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trip short by two days, or do I write off
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last night's incident as a rare occurrence and not worry
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about it. Today in the daylight, as the sun's rays
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bathed me in warmth. It's funny how fear manifests itself
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so much stronger at night. Last night, the forest seemed
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like the most horrifying place I'd ever been. Today, it
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looks like all the beauty of nature is spread out
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before me. I couldn't imagine anything bad happening in such
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a picturesque place. As I looked out over the clearing
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in the woods, I saw a large dark spot that
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was moving towards me. I dove into my tent and
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emerged with a pair of binoculars. Peering through them, I
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saw the spot was a bear, and it was headed
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my way. So much for nothing bad happening in nature.
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My plan of action was to hide and hope it
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went away or turned down another path before it got here.
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That plan didn't work out so well. Within fifteen minutes,
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I could hear it snuffling around the camp site looking
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for something to eat. I hoped it wouldn't be eating
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a fresh camper. The can of bear spray was firmly
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in my hand, with my white knuckles clenching it. Having
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it was one thing. Using it was another. That was
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my last resort, spray and run. The sniffing got louder,
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and I could see the bottom edges of tent being
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pushed in by a large nose. My knuckles grew a
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little wider as I followed its progress along the edge
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and around the tent. And then there was a pause,
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a dreadful pause, the kind of pause that horrible decisions
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are born from. I was contemplating my own horrible decision
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when the sniffing started again, this time leading away from
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the tent. Breathing a cautiously optimistic sigh of relief, I
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opened the tent flap just enough to see the bear
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lumbering off into the woods again. I held a silent vote,
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just like the song said, should I stay or should
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I go? I'd only been camping up here once before,
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but I didn't remember it being this dangerous. Maybe I
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just got lucky last time. Not wanting my luck to
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run out, I packed up my tent and got ready
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to leave. The sun was already high in the sky,
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leaving me just a few hours to high out what
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took me a full day to hike in. I looked
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for bear tracks to see which way it had left,
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but the ground was so dry there was nothing to see.
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Crossing my fingers, I had it out on the trail,
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hoping it had gone some other way. It was easy going,
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making the terror of last night fade even more. I
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still kept a wary eye for the bear, though no
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use in getting so caught up in nature that I
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ignore her dangers. After around an hour of walking, I
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found a large rock on the side of the trail
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and decided to take a break. Pulling out a granola
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bar in a bottle of water, I looked around as
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I snacked. There was a clearing in the woods and
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a rough path leading to it. It wasn't any official path,
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just one that happens when a lot of feet go
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the same way and tramp down the foliage. There was
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a faint whiff of smoke coming from the clearing, but
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I couldn't see exactly what was causing it. My curiosity
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wanted to see what was there, but my common sense
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said no way. In the end, curiosity fought dirty and
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said the smoke meant there had been a fire, and
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the ashes could blow into the trees if the wind
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picked up and cause a wildfire. It was a good point,
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even though the wind was uncannily still at that moment.
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I took a quick look around to make sure the
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bear wasn't sneaking up on me, then started down the
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narrow path. The trees blocked out some of the light
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as I headed down the path toward the clearing, making
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me literally descend into darkness. It wasn't a good feeling.
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My eyes darted around, looking for anything out of the ordinary,
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and I slowed my pace. Then suddenly the trees opened
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up in daylight shone brightly on the clearing, and the
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remnants of a fire with a wisp of smoke still rising.
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Whoever had made it had been dangerously uncaring about the
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safety of the woods. The fire sat right in the
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middle of a patch of grass, with no ring of
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stones surrounding it. My eye rose at the carelessness of
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this person. I found myself wishing very bad things on them.
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When I noticed something else. There were splotches of red
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all around the fire. It was like someone had spilled
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red paint all around. It was strange. Why would someone
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bring paint out here in the middle of the woods.
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I stalked around the other side of the fire, looking
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for the answer to this mystery. Unfortunately, I found it.
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There was something pale sitting just outside the burnt grass
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of the fire. It was next to a splotch of red.
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I bent down and moved the grass to see more clearly.
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Picking it up, I saw it was a severed human
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te I dropped it and stood up like a shot.
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The red splotches made sense to me now they weren't paint,
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they were blood. A chill ran down my spine. I
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suddenly felt very alone and surrounded. My eyes darted all
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around the clearing and into the trees as I did
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a slow circle, searching for whatever was about to attack.
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As I searched, I saw the red splotches led off
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into the woods in the opposite direction of the trail.
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Curiosity tried to get me to follow, but I told
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it to shut the hell up, and HI tailed it
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out of there, my head on a swivel, searching for threats.
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Just as I was about to reach the main trail,
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I literally ran into the bear. I'd been so busy
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watching behind me for whatever might be chasing me that
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I didn't see what was right in front of me.
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It turned to face, showing its red teeth. Then it
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stood on its hind legs dwarfing me and roared. I
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wish I'd worn brown pants because I soiled myself in fear.
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I was so terrified. I didn't move. I couldn't. I
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was paralyzed. It dropped back down onto its front legs
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and approached me teeth bared. I knew right then it
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was responsible for the screams and the dismembered toe. The
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only thing I couldn't figure out was the fire. I'd
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never heard of bears being able to start a fire.
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This was, unfortunately, the last thought going through my head
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before being eaten. It sniffed and took a step back.
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If I'd known dropping a load in my pants would
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save me, I would have done it last night. As
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I looked into the eyes of my death, it wasn't
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looking back at me. It was looking past me. I
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wasn't sure what kind of trick this this bear was pulling.
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It wasn't like it had to fool me or anything.
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It had me dead to rights. Curiosity made me turn
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and follow the bear's gaze. I instantly regretted it standing
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near the clearing was a monster. It was like nothing
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I'd ever seen before. It stood on hind legs at
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least eight feet tall. It had the horns of a deer,
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but the face looked like a deer's skull with no
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skin on it. Its shoulders were covered in what looked
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like a cloak made of another animal's skin. The bear
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let out a deep growl full of menace. I took
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the opportunity to back away and allow the bear a
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clear path to its adversary. It glanced at me for
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a moment, then started toward the monster. As soon as
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it was past me, I dropped my pack and ran
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down the trail with every ounce of speed I could muster.
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It didn't matter that my car was miles away. It
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didn't matter that there was no way I could sprint