A Short Story:

He could feel the eerieness in the air around him. The hair on his back stood up and he began to get goosebumps. Something was definately not right here. " Damn it,i should have never taken this shortcut in the first place", he thought. There was forest cover on both his sides and he couldn't see another person or vehicle for miles on either end. Suddenely he stopped! He had heard something swish past behind him. Heart racing,he slowly turned around while praying to god at the same time. But there was no one to be seen. "Just my imagination playing stupid tricks on me", he said to himself. " I need to get a grip on my nerves and get out of here as soon as possible".

He increased his pace but he could still sense that eerie feeling as if someone was watching him. Every few mins he turned back to see if someone was following him. But like always,there was no one there. And then he heard it again. And this time he was sure it was no imagination. He could hear footsteps in the forest and leaves rustling as if there was someone whistling through them. Perspiration moped his brow and he broke into a run. But he had hardly gone 50 yards when something grabbed his leg...

He screamed and fell to the muddy ground. He turned around only to find a blood-drenched hand sticking out of the ground holding him tight around his ankles. Screaming in horror,he kicked out but the hand had a death-grip on him and was slowly dragging him into the woods! With a last-gasp effort he kicked out with all his strength and felt the tightness around his ankles loosen. He pulled himself up quickly and began running as fast as his legs could carry him;the adrenaline pumping through his veins. Every now and then he could feel something brush against his legs but this spurred him on even more. Suddenly he found his way blocked by a large tree and boulders. To his left was a small country road which led into the woods. Now he was truly trapped!!

Suddenly he heard cries of " Help,Help! " emnating from the woods. Finding himself in a quandary,he had to take a split-second decision.He couldn't turn back but going into the woods,too, was not an appealing choice at all. Moreover the cries of help could be a trap in itself. Finding himself with no other alternative, he made a dash into the woods. The shouts grew louder and louder as he ventured deeper into the forest and soon enough he found himself in a small clearing staring at a tottering one room house from where the voice was coming.

" Who's there? ",he shouted. " God bless your soul,its a human voice after all. Get me out of here please,i've been trapped here for the past two days ",came back the pleading reply. Glad to hear another man's voice,he broke open the door to find a ragged old man tied to a chair and bound with a strait-jacket." Help me please,i was brought here by some robbers and have been in this state for the past two days",said the old man. His saviour quickly untied the cords binding the old man and began working on loosening the strait-jacket while at same time narrating his story. "Thats odd,i've been here two days and nights and i haven't felt or seen anything out of the ordinary. It must be your imagination young man!". "Here you're free now. Now lets get out of this god forsaken place. I am Jack by the way", he said extending his hand towards the old man who did the same in return.

With a shock Jack saw that the man's right hand was missing and bleeding at the stump.The last thing he ever heard was the old man's hysterical laughter and the last thing he ever saw was his own blood splattering the room!.