Daniel hoped a weekend in the woods would mend his strained relationship with his son, Caleb. But after an argument, Caleb stormed off—and didn’t return.

Daniel searched as night fell, finding only footsteps that stopped without a trace.

He called into the woods. “Caleb!”

A voice echoed back—wrong, distorted.

Heart pounding, he followed Caleb’s tracks, finding him at the bottom of a gully, shaken but unharmed. “Something chased me,” Caleb whispered. “I heard you call, but it wasn’t you.”

Daniel dismissed it as echoes, but when his flashlight caught a deer nearby, something felt… off. It stepped forward, movements unnatural, limbs bending the wrong way.

“Dad…” Caleb murmured. “It’s not right.”

A wet, slithering sound echoed through the trees.

Daniel grabbed Caleb and ran. The sound followed, growing faster, closing in. Just as they reached the firelit safety of their campsite, Caleb stumbled. Daniel hoisted him up and lunged toward the flames. Silence fell.

Nothing followed them into the light.

Breathing hard, they sat by the fire. Caleb pulled his knees to his chest. “I didn’t mean what I said before.”

Daniel sighed. “Yeah, you did. And you were right. But you still belong with me. Always.”

Caleb hesitated, then nodded. They sat together, watching the flames.

“What do you think was out there?” Caleb asked.

Daniel glanced at the darkness. “I don’t know. But we’re safe here.”

As they settled into the tent, a distant, guttural bark echoed through the trees.

Neither of them slept easily that night.