The Forest Turned Black

                The beauty of the forest faded with the sun. Greens and reds shifted to black. Ferocious howls replaced the birds’ chirps.  Jen and Scott sat with their backs against a large oak tree. Lost in the Mississippi woods was the last place they thought they would be tonight. Tonight was supposed to be best fifteenth anniversary any married couple had experienced.

         “Don’t worry, baby. They’ll find us soon,” Scott said.

         “I can’t help it. What was that?”

         “Just a raccoon or something. These animals are as scared of us as we are of them,” Scott said.

         “I don’t think they are.”

         A loud crash brought their attention to their left. Too dark to see, they stared for an eternity into the black. Scott was motionless, but Jen was trembling. Her body had begun to shake in response to the cold November air. The fright made the tremors much worse.

         “Remember the beautiful nest and the eggs you found this morning? How could anything dangerous be in the same woods? We’ll be ok,” Scott said.

         “Yes. I remember. I’m not thinking about those little birds. I’m worried about that sound. It sounded like something has plans to put us in its dinner bowl.”

         A louder crash followed by a yelp sounded off too close to them. Both Scott and Jen jumped to their feet. They held each other tight and tried again to scream for help. The forest became silent. No animals, bugs or any signs of life could be heard. Jen’s tremors passed to Scott. Noticing his shake, Jen released a tear from her fear.

         “Hand me your cell phone,” Scott said.

         He opened the flip phone and shed a blue light on the woods. Several large eyes reflected the light back.  Jen screamed and someone screamed back.