Despite the smoke that one would find at any campground, the view of the stars was absolutely amazing. Nobody could ever see anything that came close to the amount of stars I could see in the sky that night. The view I get in the city pales in comparison the beautiful dome of stars overhead, the milky stream of the center of the galaxy pouring out across the sky above. It was a truly black sky with no interference from city lights with thousands of visible little white specks, from stars trillions of miles away.
I was about halfway to the restrooms or so, although it was hard to tell due to my stargazing, when the flashlight went out. It just stopped shining. I was plunged into complete darkness for a couple of seconds, until my eyes adjusted to the faint, distant glow of campfires, casting dancing shadows over the nearby trees, interspersed with yellow and orange.
I peered down at my flashlight, questioningly. Why did it go out? The switch was still switched in the ‘on’ position. I attempted to slide the switch down, then back up again. Nothing. I did it again. Nothing. I even tried unscrewing the back, extracting the batteries, then placing them in again to no avail. I looked back. I could no longer see my campsite, and I debated heading back there. However, as I considered my options, and the fact that I really did have to go to the bathroom, I decided to continue on my journey to the bathroom hut. This was possibly the worst decision of my life.
I huddled my arms closer to my body as I walked, now submerged in near-complete darkness. The temperature had plummeted once the sun had gone down, and now that it was dark, it left me shivering in the t-shirt and shorts I wore. I should have brought a hoodie or something. I didn’t expect it to feel this cold.
And suddenly it struck me. That feeling of dread that had overcome me earlier that day, it returned. I stopped dead in my tracks. What was it? Was it truly just my imagination? It must be, I thought. After contemplating my situation for a little while longer, logic overtook me, I decided to continue walking. It was just a feeling, nothing real, or so I thought.
I had only made it a few more steps into darkness, guided only by the meek campfire light, before I heard something in the bushes to my right, away from the main campground. Again, I stopped dead in my tracks. All was silent, except for the faint rustle of leaves from the wind. I conceded it must be an animal or something such as the wind, so I continued.
As soon as I started walking, I heard it again. I stopped once more. The sound abruptly stopped once again. I took another step forward, and heard the sound. Was I going mad? Was the sound only there when I moved? Why did the sound always sound like it was in the same place, as if it was following me? These were all questions that I had no answer for, at that moment.
The feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach was becoming increasingly stronger. I didn’t know what to do. Fear was quickly taking over my senses, my rationality. I had a strong hunch that whatever I was experiencing had to do with what was making the sound, that it had everything to do with what was making the sound. I was paralyzed with fear, standing erect in the midst of a silent breeze.