I used to love the outdoors. Camping, hiking, hunting, fishing, you name it I was taking an opportunity to participate in it. My girlfriend was the same. We had bonded over our mutual love of nature and the peace that it brought. Now, I'm terrified to spend any time in the woods. That thing I heard there...its voice still haunts my dreams.

We decided on a weekend trip to the Mogollon Rim of Northern Arizona. It was going to me, my girlfriend Allison, my friend Amanda and her Husband Dave, and my sister Maria with her boyfriend Gabe. The last two didn't like the idea of "roughing it" in a tent so we all went in on a nice cabin in a secluded part of the forest near a lake. The day of the drive, we all packed into my SUV and began the hours-long journey up into the mountains. After what felt like days, we came upon the turn-off given to us by the man who had rented us the cabin. It was at least another hour along uneven dirt-road into the depths of the forest before we found ourselves pulling up to our rather luxurious cabin. I couldn't hide my disappointment, I was hoping for something a little less modernized. Maybe without natural plumbing or electricity. Maria and Gabe were thrilled, and the others seemed excited, too. So, I told myself I'd enjoy this little slice of heaven out in the middle of nowhere. After all, how would I get to stay in a place like this?

We unpacked our things, found the key where the text said it would be, and went inside to find another note.

"The Septic system was emptied a few days ago, and the cabin hasn't been used since. You'll find fuel for the generator ina shed about five minutes walk from the cabin. Keep the doors locked and the lights off after ten, otherwise you might get unwanted attention. I hope you enjoy your stay!

-Ernest"

I read it out loud and laughed. "We've got indoor toilets, Power, and all the other modern amenities we could ever ask for. I hope no one thinks we're 'roughing it' out here," I teased. My sister just rolled her eyes. Dave and I finished unpacking things and gathered up fishing rods for everyone. "The lake's a twenty-minute hike from here. Anyone feel like going fishing?"

Gabe and Maria declined, but the rest of us made the journey out to the lake, and much to our surprise it was empty. "Got the whole thing to ourselves," Dave said with a slap to my back. "Hope the fish are biting."

We spent the entire day out on the lake, laughing, fishing, drinking, and having a great time. After several wonderful hours, we collected our catches and began the hike back to the cabin. By the time we had gotten back, the sun was disappearing behind the mountains, giving us just enough light to find our way back to the cabin without injury. Upon arrival, we noticed the lights were already on. "Guess they got the fuel for the generator," Allison said, amused "Didn't think they'd even leave the cabin."

That night, we fried up our fish and settled in for a pleasant evening. Even Gabe and Maria enjoyed the fish. The trip was already looking great.

We continued this way for three days. Everyone enjoying the trip in their own way, with Dave, Allison, Amanda and Myself often leaving early in the morning for a hike or to spend some time out by the lake and Gabe and Maria hanging out at the cabin. Everynight we'd kill the lights at around 9:45 to follow the wishes of our host, and every morning we'd be up bright and early for another adventure. Everything was turning up aces, we were all having a great time.

Then, the fourth night came. Most of us had spent the day on a six-hour hike through rough trails and we were beat. We had crashed early, reminding Gabe and Maria that the lights needed to go out by ten so we could avoid things like bears. They rolled their eyes, but agreed.

I woke at 2:30 in the morning to the sound of panicked knocking. Slowly, I moved to sit up, but I felt Allison's hand seize my shoulder as she looked at me and shook her head fiercely.

"Hello?" I heard a man's voice call from the front door of the cabin. "Hey, I'm sorry to bother you all so late, it's just...your light was on and I'm kinda lost. I'm trying to find my friends at the trailhead. I think I got turned around somewhere. Hello?" the knocking resumed.

I opened my mouth to speak, but Allison covered it, whispering. "We don't talk to the thing in the woods." I blinked, staring at her in shock. After a while the knocking stopped, and Allison appeared to relax a little.

Until we heard the sound of something gently tapping the window of our bedroom. As I turned my head to look, Allison seized it and kissed me passionately. The tapping continued for several long minutes, during which she held that kiss and my face so that it remained away from the window. When the tapping stopped, she let me go. Her face was ghostly white. "I knows we're here now, it won't stop. It's going to come back..."

"What is?" I asked, confused.

"The Thing inthe Forest."

"What is it?" I pressed.

She just shook her head and rolled over to go back to sleep. "We need to leave tomorrow." she muttered.

I didn't sleep much the rest of the night. The sound of the man at the door and his desperation, Allison's insistence that we ignore it, all of it seemed so strange to me. Like there was a piece of this puzzle I was missing.

When I finally woke from my restless slumber, Amanda and Dave were already up and making coffee. As I arrived, Dave turned to me and handed me a mug. "You tell Allie a scary story last night or something? She's spooked. White as a sheet. Never seen her like that." I blinked, staring at my coffee and looking up at Dave. He seemed chipper as ever, as though nothing strange had happened the evening prior.

"You didn't hear all that knocking last night? The guy who got lost?" I asked, baffled.

"Nah, Mandy and I were out like lights. Must've slept well past dawn, too. Man, that hike took a lot out of us. We were thinking of taking it easy tonight, you know? Maybe just head out to the lake and spend some time together."

I nodded, looking back down at my cup. "Allie said she wants to go home." I murmured.

"Well that's no good!" Amanda called from behind. "I just got done talking to her. She said you guys had a bit of a fright last night. That there was a bear or something trying to get in."

"Or something." I replied, shaking my head. "Look, I think it's a good idea. We should head back into town maybe just go home."

Dave frowned, "We paid a lot of money to stay here for a week, man. We've only stayed four nights. Can weat least stay one more so it feels like we gained something? I know you've got the car and all, but I think maybe Allie just got spooked. We shouldn't rush to leave."

I sighed, there was no way I was convincing these two to leave, but maybe Maria and Gabe would be willing to listen.

"Just because your little girlfriend had a bad dream doesn't mean we should all pack up and run away." Maria stated flatly. "We're having a great time out here."

When I found Allison, she was still very shaken, her eyes locked in the middle distance staring deep into the treeline at something that wasn't there.

"Hey," I murmured, causing her to jump. "Sorry, can we talk?"

She turned to face me full on "No one wants to leave, do they? They all believe it's nothing. That I'm overreacting to a bear or something." I nodded, and she sighed dejectedly, finding a seat on one of the chairs on the porch. "I'm not crazy." she said darkly. "I've heard about this thing. My grandad and dad used to me stories about the Thing in the Forest. They told me to never say anything to it. Never acknowledge it or look at it, because if I did and it recognized me, it would take me away. It would take me away and steal everything about me." she shivered. "The way they told the stories, it was like they had seen something like that happen." she looked to me, tears forming in her eyes. "Remember how I told you my dad died when I was young? That he was mauled by a bear?" I nodded. "He wasn't. That Thing got him. It got him and took everything that made my dad himself away. It left only what it didn't need."

I blinked asshe told me this story. "How do you know that? How can you be sure it wasn't a bear or something?" I pressed.

"Because I heard him. The night after the search teams found what was left of him. I heard my dad calling to us. We all did." she whispered. "And my Grandpa held me close, and he told me 'We don't talk to the Thing in the Woods. We need to leave." she stated again. "We can't stay here."

I sighed, nodding. "How about I get us a motel back in town? It's only a three hour drive, and I can come back for the others tomorrow."

She shook her head desperately. "They won't be here tomorrow, don't you see? It's going to take them, they won't listen!"

"Allie, look, I...I get what you're saying. You're scared, and it sounds like whatever happened was very traumatic. I can take you away from here, but I can't just force the others to leave, too."

She nodded in defeat and looked to me. "I'll stay tonight...but I want you to stay with me, and I want you to listen to everything I tell you." I offered a reassuring nod and took her hand.

"You have my word."

We spent the day at the cabin, Allison spent time reinforcing the bedroom door with planks of wood, much to the amusement of everyone else. I followed along with her, providing her whatever help I could, and by the time night fell, our room was a veritable fortress.

"Don't talk to the Thing in the Woods." she told everyone before we killed the lights and went to bed.

2:30 am. The door thundered with desperate knocking. "Hello!? Please! I need help! Hello! Come on! I know you're in there! I saw the car outside! Please!" the knocking rattled the front windowsof the house.

"The fuck!?" I heard Gabe scream. I heard him stomping toward the door. I rose to help, to stop, to do something, but Allison kept an iron grip on my shoulder, shaking her head fervently.

"Hello!? Is someone there? I heard a voice! Please!" it was a different voice, feminine this time.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming. How the hell did you people find this place anyway!?" I heard the door unlock and fly open.

"You left the light on for me."

"The fu-" I heard Gabe cry out, but it was cut short. There were pained gurgles, the sounds of flesh being torn into. Then I heard Maria scream in terror. There was a crash, as if something massive had collided with the furniture in the living room of the cabin.

"Help me! Oh my god! Gabe! It got him! Help!"

"Don't run so fast Maria..." I heard Gabe's voice call out.

"I can barely keep up."

"What?" I think she stopped running, because all I heard was a scream. There was a click, and a loud BANG.

Dave had brought his hunting rifle with him.

I heard a shriek, inhuman and unearthly. Another BANG, followed by another shriek. "I don't know what the hell you are. But you aren't leaving alive!" another shot.

"Why not? We could all be friends here." Maria's voice chided. "Silly boy, silly silly boy." BANG. "Silly boy" Gabe's voice mocked.

The gunshots stopped. I heard a grunt and cry of pain. Then I heard Amanda. "Dave! Oh my god!"

A crash. Then the house fell eerily silent. Allison clenched my shoulder like a vice. Footsteps resounded. Heavy and purposeful. There was knock at our door. "Hey man, we're ready to go..." I heard Dave's voice call out before another knock resounded. "Come on, silly." Maria called. "It's early enough for us to get ahead start on the day!" exclaimed Amanda. This thing was using my friend's voices. I felt the bile creep into my throat, I could barely choke back vomiting as Allison looked desperately at me. "Allie, baby girl, why don't you be a good little ranger and open the door for daddy, eh? I've got so many things to show you..." the color in her face drained completely. I stared at the door in horror as the voice continued. "Daddy doesn't like all this hide and seek...I'm gonna come in."

The knocking went from gentle to furious, violent banging. I saw the wood begin to splinter between the planks reinforcing it. Allison looked me dead in the face. "We don't talk to the Thing in the Woods." she murmured. "Understand?" I nodded.

The door exploded and Allie threw the covers over our heads, shielding us from the brunt of the splintering door. Then the calm befell everything again. I could hear it more clearly now, every step it took sounded like the creaking of ancient branches. "Where are you baby? Talk to daddy." the Thing called as it moved deeper into the room. Suddenly, I felt a pressure on the bed. Powerful, spindly branchlike objects wrapped around my form. "What's this? Anything to say?" Dave's voice cooed. I felt a sharp, stinging pain in my thigh, and as I glanced down, what looked like a collection of gnarled branches woven together to form a claw was driving itself deep into flesh. Allison's hand shot over my mouth. I wanted to scream out in agony, but I bit my tongue. I bit so hard the coppery taste of blood flooded my senses. The world was spinning, the pain was excruciating. "No crying? No pain? Something raked across my back, my eyes bulged as Ifelt warmth trickled from my back and begin to cool on the sheets beneath me. "Awe...that's no fucking fun!" Gabe cried out, and then I heard something else. A mixture of animals roaring in unison: bear, mountain lion, wolf, deer, boar. It was a cacophony of beasts, and they were pissed. I heard slamming against the shelves, wood splintering and glass shattering. "Nothing!? Nothing!?" many voices cried in unison. "TALK TO ME!"

I said nothing. The Thing in our room violently slammed itself into the walls and the decor. It raged for what felt like agonizing hours, and I lay there bleeding. Finally, the noise stopped. "Fine." came a voice neither of us recognized. "Fine." I heard the thing stomp away and the front door was torn from its hinges. "FINE!" I heard a scream outside. We lay there for a while longer, and I felt myself growing lightheaded, the pain was excruciating.

When Allison pulled the covers back, I spared a glance at clock. 3:45. A little over an hour. That's all it had been. I wanted to laugh, but as soon as the cool air of the outside hit me, I passed out.

I woke at the hospital, evidently I had been unconscious for a little over a day. Allison was sitting in a chair next to my bed, bandages covering many small cuts and scrapes. She told me that it took her some effort, but she was able to haul me into the car and get us into town, and that she was sorry for a few bruises on my body that I had likely sustained during our flight from the cabin. She told me that she had gone up with the Sheriffs in the morning to show them what had happened. There were no bodies, just a few piecesof gore and plenty of blood. She showed me pictures she had taken of everything that had happened. The cabin was wrecked, the floors, the shelves, the furniture, everything was destroyed. It looked like she tried to avoid it, but I saw the streaks of where my friends had died, too.

It has been two years. I haven't gone into the woods, or camping, or fishing since then. Allison and I are married now, I guess a shared trauma like that brought us together. We stay in the desert now, away from the trees, but there have been some nights where I swear I could hear Dave calling for me. Allie assured me that it was just bad dreams, that it didn't come down from the woods, but it didn't help to ease my fears. If this doesn't convince anyone to avoid the woods, then I have only one piece of advice. We don't talk to the Thing in the Woods.