The moon was shining brighter than the stars. It was full, illuminating the whole sky. On this dark and peaceful night all that could be heard was the sound of crickets humming in the distance. I was with my parents and little brother on a camping trip. That was the night my whole world fell apart.

Alone in my comfy tent I was reading a book about a bitter-sweet love story between two lovers. I was trying to pass the time, but it was only 11:00 pm. I started to feel qualm. The night became eerie and I was more restless than ever. Then a vicious scream of a woman hit me like a smack in the face. My pupils dilated into huge black circles. I knew the sound of that scream came from my mother. Could she have been hurt? I didn’t know. All I knew was that my heart was pounding too loud for me to think and my brain wouldn’t let me process anything at the moment. In a frantic effort to do something, I instantly grabbed my pocket knife out from under my pillow.


Unzipping the tent door, I swiftly tried maneuvering over everything that would make noise. I had anticipated sounding like a ninja, but in reality every crackling stick and dried leaf sounded like an explosion. I peered around the camp ground and surprisingly found nothing suspicious. Deciding what my next move was going to be, I stumbled upon some evidence. A piece of ripped cloth struck me. It was a plaid pattern to the pajamas my mother was wearing. Before I had a chance to react, I heard heavy breathing down my neck. I was too afraid to turn around, but an echoing roar came out of the creature’s mouth forcing me to look back. I was utterly frozen. I tried taking a step and clumsily fell to the ground. Scrambling to get up, I became face to face with my attacker. It was pitch black outside, but I saw the outline of the creature. He was at least ten feet tall and seemed oddly hairy. The enormous big footed beast towered above me. His paws emerged from his body, sticking out like branches of a tree. A brown blur came at me. All I could feel was the sting burning in my cheek. As I reached up to touch my cheek, the beast couldn’t contain its anger any longer. Its meaty paws grasped my head and slammed me into the bark of a tree. Slowly blackness took over, clouding my sight. I lied there motionless, waiting for help that would never come.