WoodRot

(Hi friends! It's the first Sunday of October, so enjoy part one of my Spooky Sunday Short Story: WoodRot!)

The night was still as Florence walked along the edge of the forest with her dog. A chill breeze lifting from the nearby lake made her shiver. October's air was a mix of fallen leaves, distant bonfires, and the cold of a coming winter. The lights from the cabin behind her were warped and muted by the thick fog blanketing the earth. Above her, the stars shone with a brightness that was impossible to find back in the city. There were a lot of things out here that weren't in the city.

Untamed woodlands. Fresh air. Peace and a longing that pulled at Florence's very soul.

It was only the first night, and already a part of Florence didn't want to return to the city.

When her former college roommate had first reached out about a reunion trip, she'd been hesitant to go. A week in a cabin away from civilization with people she hadn't seen in nearly six years didn't exactly sound like fun. The only person from their original group of friends Florence even kept up with was Heather, who was apparently just as surprised as she was to receive the invite from Monica. The previously dormant group chat was peppered with flimsy excuses from the rest of their old friends, but Monica had kept pushing and pushing until she got her way.

Some things don't ever change, Heather had texted Florence with an eye-roll emoji.

Despite Monica being Monica, the trip had come together nicely. The cabin she'd found was gorgeous and had enough rooms for the six girls and their respective partners to have some privacy. The cabin's owner had already prepared enough logs for the fireplace to last them the week, and Monica had been nice enough to stock the fridge with plenty of food and drinks.

A lot of drinks.

Which, Florence had to admit, was a good call. Nothing was a better social lubricant than alcohol. After four bottles of wine and a case of beer, it wasn't nearly as awkward as Florence had feared. However, she was grateful to have the dog as an excuse to get out of the house, especially after Heather had texted them to say she wouldn't make it until the next morning.

Florence watched the silhouette of her dog bounding in the tall grass, his tail wagging back and forth at the unfamiliar freedom. Technically, the large bullmastiff was Mark's, but enough time had passed that Florence considered the dog to be hers, too. Still, it felt weird that Mark wasn't with them on the trip, even though he was the one who'd convinced her to take the dog in the first place.

"Think of Leo as my stand-in for the next two weeks," he'd said before giving her a kiss goodbye.

She wished Mark had been able to come. Then again, perhaps it was best he hadn't, or else she wouldn't have found any reason to go home.

Florence pushed the dread of returning to the city aside and looked around for Leo. The dog was no longer happily trotting along the treeline. She frowned as she spotted the large silhouette standing completely still. His ears were perked like he was listening to something as he glared into the trees.

"Leo!" Florence kept her voice hushed. She couldn't explain why, but it seemed like a bad idea to shout. "Leo! Come here, boy!"

Leo ignored the command. Instead, he took a step forward, his muscles tensed like he was moments away from charging. A low growl rumbled in his chest as he stared directly into the gloom of the forest.

"Leo, enough." Florence trudged toward him until she was close enough to grip his collar. "There's nothing out there."

The words had just left her lips when she spotted the two white orbs glowing in the darkness.

Her heart began to race with a primal fear at the eyes gazing at her and Leo. It was too dark and too far away to see what creature they belonged to, but she could tell it was big. Really, really big.

Leo's growls grew louder as Florence tugged on his collar, trying to urge him away from the woods. Her whispered pleas became more desperate as she watched the white dots suddenly move closer. The creature's steps were silent as it approached, seemingly undeterred by the ferocious dog baring its teeth and barking furiously.

"Come on!" Florence begged, yanking Leo as hard as she could.

She glanced back at the cabin that now seemed miles away. If she screamed loud enough, would the others be able to hear her? Could they even reach her in time?

Florence turned to the woods and felt her blood run cold.

The creature was gone.

Those two white dots that had rapidly grown closer and closer had disappeared. She stared into the darkness, but saw nothing. If it weren't for Leo's continued thunderous barks echoing in the air, Florence would have thought she'd imagined it.

She took a shaky breath, before giving Leo one final tug on the collar. He finally turned around, though he continued to growl back at the forest as they walked to the cabin.

"Calm down," Florence said, more to herself than to Leo. "It was probably just a bear. Lots of bears in the forests. Makes sense one of them would be out here." She hesitated on the first step leading up to the cabin and glanced at the trees again.

Nothing.

"Yeah," she said after a minute. "Just a bear."

No matter how much she repeated it, Florence knew that hadn't been a bear.