Before the Darkness

“I should have known better,” Chris said after finally being able to speak after catching his breath.

What was supposed to be a peaceful weekend camping trip with his friend Jess and some other not-so-close acquaintances from Jess’s company had turned awry soon after camp was set up.

“Yeah, yeah, you can give me the I told you so speech when we are out of here.” Jess replied as he came alongside Chris.

“Oh, this is way past I told you so; this is what were you thinking coming up here with these people!” Chris retorted, “But you’re right; we need to get out of here first.”

The company Jess worked for was a biotech brain trust committed to improving and enhancing the human mind and body. It was owned by the father of a high school friend, Steve, whom Chris had always suspected was two-faced and untrustworthy.

“Yeah, besides your reservations didn’t include a wild animal breaking Chanel in half with its giant-sized paw strike,” Jess said, looking back the way they came, “we need to figure out a plan to get back to the truck without running into whatever that thing was.”

Chanel was the office secretary that Steve had been messing around with for a few weeks. Steve had run back to the cars to get his medication he forgot when shortly after the beast leaped from the trees and smacked Chanel, bending her in an awkward shape and slinging her 10 feet away into a tree. Then, just as fast, it had disappeared back into the woods. Once glance at Chanel, and they knew she was gone.

“Unfortunately, it went in the same direction. Still, that is our best option given where we are,” Jess continued as he analyzed the area and listened for any sign of the beast or Steve. “Hopefully, Steve heard the commotion and was able to get a signal to call out for help.”

Chris looked back over his shoulder. “What was that thing? I don’t think there is any help for that sort of whatever it was…”

Suddenly, they both froze as they heard the rustle of and crack of twigs off to their right, in the direction they were going. Paralyzed with fear, neither let out a breath for what seemed like forever.

In as hushed a tone as he could muster, Jess said, “Didn’t sound loud enough to be that thing. What if it’s Steve or some hiker? We’d be better off in larger numbers. Let’s keep going and check it out.”

Chris was taking deep breaths as silently as he could. “I don’t like it, but you’re right; we have to push on this way anyway.”

The sun was setting, inching closer to the horizon, leaving little light in the dense area of trees as they moved toward the vehicles and the sound. Twice more they had heard it, but each time it convinced them it wasn’t loud enough to be caused by the same thing that stormed into the camp and rag-dolled Chanel with one swipe.

Then as they got closer, they heard the sound of dry heaves and panicked breathing. Rushing forward, they found Steve on his knees, covered in blood and some gore. His clothes were also torn and shredded.

“Steve, are you ok? What happened?” Jess said as he came up to put his hand on Steve’s shoulder to try and calm him.

“Ch…Chanel…” Steve muttered as he seemed to be having a panic attack based on his heavy, uncontrollable breathing. “No…”

“Sorry dude, that thing came out of nowhere,” Chris said, looking down at the ground. As the adrenaline subsided, he began to realize the severity of the situation.

Jess had a worried look on his face. “Man, you are burning up. Are you ok? Did that thing hurt you? Where did all this blood come from?” Jess exchanged looks with Chris, then added, “Let’s get you up and get to the truck.”

“My glasses…my meds…” Steve said almost frantically.

“Dude, we can get you some new meds and glasses,” Chris said in a calming but sarcastic tone. “We need to get the hell out of here before that thing comes back. I don’t think our luck will hold up if we stick around here any longer.”

Jess added reassuringly, “Chris is right; let’s go, and we can worry about all that when we are out of here.”

A flash of anger crossed Steve’s face, then he relinquished and nodded.

Jess helped Steve along, and Chris took point and moved on. His heart was beginning to beat hard, and he was breathing heavier. He began to rush hazardously, wanting nothing more than to get into the safety of the truck.

“Hey, Chris, slow down before you roll your ankle. It’s too dark out here; besides, we are almost there.” Jess said as they could see the last bit of light ahead in the clearing where they had parked.

As Chris began to calm and he stepped into the open area, his heart immediately sank. The truck was there, but the windshield was smashed, and the driver’s door had been ripped off.

Still moving forward as the shock hadn’t triggered him to stop, he could see the glass all over the hood. The airbag had also deployed, and a giant chunk was crushed in on the dash.

“What the hell…” Jess said as he helped Steve sit down on the ground by the truck.

“That thing must have found Steve while he was grabbing his meds. Then he must have gotten out the other side as it clawed its way in on the driver’s side.” Chris spoke with his eyes wide and fixed on the truck.

“Either way, let’s get in and get away from here. There is that visitor center we can stop and call for help down the road.” Jess said as he assessed the situation. “The keys must still be in it because I can hear the ding indicating the door is open.”

They helped put Steve in the back, and Jess jumped in the driver’s seat. Chris hopped in the passenger seat, quickly fastening his seatbelt.

Jess started up the truck, releasing a relieved breath that it started right away. “We are going to be alright; let’s roll.”

He spun the truck around, and they sped off down the gravel road that led back to the main highway. It was only a short 15-minute drive to the visitor center once they hit the main road. Jess was pushing the truck to its limits, trying to get out of the woods and leave the hell that had just transpired behind them.

“I want to get out of here just as bad, but you want to slow it down a little, buddy? I don’t want to end up crashed and having that thing out there after us while we are hurt too.” Chris said as he was finally calming down. “Never going into the wild again,” he added with a smirk, trying to lighten up the mood to calm his friend.

Suddenly, Steve started to hyperventilate again, and almost simultaneously Jess lost control, and the back end of the truck lost traction, and they were spinning. Time froze as Chris braced for impact and closed his eyes as the trees seemed to be reaching out for them.

A moment passed, and he opened them. They had stopped just short of the treeline. He looked over and made eye contact with Jess. His fear and anger subsided, and they both busted out laughing.

“Man, I guess our luck did hold out. I will take it easy from here.” Jess said after he wiped the tears from his eyes.

Chris wiped the tears from his eyes too and looked back to find Steve passed out. “Looks like Steve is stable and finally crashed out; that’s good. Need to get him somewhere and get him checked out for sure.” As he finished, he noticed what looked like a watch, but a bit larger, lying on the floorboard. He picked it up and examined it. “What is this? It looks like a large watch, but it just has a flashing light where the face should be.”

Jess looked over and added, “Beats me, maybe a part of the truck’s alarm or tracker that got broken in the commotion when that thing was after Steve.”

Just then, a helicopter buzzed over, flying low and along the road where they had come from.

“Man, what is going on around here? Let’s get moving.” Jess said as he righted the truck and proceeded down the road, this time at a safe speed.

“Maybe someone else got word there is a wild animal attacking people. Good, less worry for us to deal with once we get Steve some help.” Chris said as he tossed the item into the back.

Jess could see the main road up ahead. It had grown dark, and with only one headlight, it was difficult to navigate, but the sight of the road gave them both more ease.

“There is the road; we made it. As soon as Steve is good, I am ready to get home and get some…” Jess was cut short as a loud rumble from the back and a large arm swung with a blur, hitting him in the neck and sending him out of the truck.

The last thing Chris remembered was looking back and seeing the large dark outline in the backseat. The momentum of the truck carried them over the main road and off the embankment on the other side. The truck rolled several times before coming to a stop at the bottom. The thud of rotors grew louder before silence and darkness overtook him.

Several days later, Chris began to come to. A little here and there. He could sense someone looking over him and talking with another person. When he finally fully awoke, he realized he was in a hospital bed in what looked like a high-tech medical lab. A nurse walked by, realized he was awake, and ran off. A few moments later, a doctor came in, and behind him was Steve.

As the doctor looked him over, checking his breathing and heartbeat, Steve sat down and said, “Chris, so glad you’re finally awake. How do you feel? Considering everything, it’s a miracle we both survived.”

“What happened? Where is Jess?” Chris said groggily. His mouth was dry, and it hurt to swallow.

“I’ll get the nurse to get him some water before we do any more testing,” the doctor said as he left the room, giving them some privacy.

Steve waited for the door to close, then turned back to Chris. “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but Jess didn’t survive the crash. He was in a rush to get us out of there, and with it being dark, he misjudged, and we went off the embankment. He died instantly.”

Tears began building up in Chris’s eyes, and the shock of losing his friend hit him. “I…I thought…no.” He said, bursting into tears.

Steve didn’t say anything else. He just put his hand on Chris’s shoulder and let him finish.

There was a knock at the door, and the doctor came in with a nurse. She was carrying a cup with pills and a large container with a straw, filled with water.

“Here you go, sir. Sorry for the loss, but you should take these and drink up now.” The nurse said, then stepped out of the room nervously before Chris could say thank you. He took the pills, popped them into his mouth, then took a big swig of water to wash them down. The pain was still there, but the water was easing it as he continued to sip.

“You’re lucky Steve’s dad works in medicine. We were able to get you here to his lab in record time. Just in time to save you from any major incapacitating injuries,” the doctor said as he checked more vitals on some screens attached to the bed. “This is a high-tech bio facility, so we always have top-notch doctors on call. The only lasting effect you may have is some headaches, but we have you covered with our top-of-the-line pain management plan, at no cost to you.”

Chris began to sit up, but Steve stopped him. “No, you rest and don’t worry. This is the least I can do, as you guys got me out of there and saved my life.” He stood and walked out, nodding to the doctor as he did.

Chris didn’t know whether to feel lucky or heartbroken at the loss of his friend. He lay back and tried to relax. Wiggling his legs to try and get the stiffness out, he felt something near his foot. Lifting the cover, he saw that it was a band around his ankle and on the face, a solid green light.

“Oh, that is one of our monitoring devices we are testing that communicates with all this high-tech fancy stuff behind you. I hope you don’t mind, but I can tighten it a little to make it more unnoticeable.”

Chris just stared at the device for a long moment, but couldn’t place why he felt a familiar tingle and irritation building in his mind; but just like that, it was gone, and he lay back. “Yeah, that’s… that’s fine. Thanks. I think I’ll try to rest a bit more.”

“That’s probably for the best,” the doctor said as he walked to the door. The nurse was standing by it, looking worried. He nodded to her and shut the door.

Chris lay there thinking about everything that had transpired. He started to feel groggy again, thinking it was probably the head injury the doctor alluded to him having. As he laid his head back, he remembered the conversation with Jess the day before they were supposed to go on the camping trip.

“Camping? With him? Isn’t his family on trial for performing weird medical tests or something?” Chris had said.

Jess laughed, “Man, you can believe everything you hear in the news. It’ll be fine. He is bringing Chanel, the cute secretary from work. Maybe we can get her to bring some friends.”

Just then it hit Chris. Finding the tracker on the floor and that dark figure in the back seat. “No…” he muttered just before passing out.

Steve and the doctor sat in an office down the hall, watching the screens closely. “You did well to cover this up, and he will be an excellent subject for our next batch of testing,” the doctor said into Steve’s cellphone that he had placed on speaker.

“Steve, we need to prep you for the conference. The final piece of this is for you to play the part. You did lose your girlfriend and two good friends since high school.” Before Steve could reply, the phone went dead.

“Your dad is right; get out of here before we lock it down for the night,” the doctor said as he stood up and they both walked out of the room. Steve took one last look at the monitors, hitting the light switch as the room went dark, an evil smirk growing across his face as he walked away.