Jasmine lived in the valleys of Virginia her whole life. Being near the Appalachian mountains, she was always told about the scary stories regarding the creatures that inhabit that area. For generations these stories have been passed down. The ones that used to scare her the most as a kid were the ones about skinwalkers or Bigfoot. Everyone knows Bigfoot, he’s this tall hairy guy who wanders around the woods. Skinwalkers are creatures that are known to disguise themselves as humans or animals by skinning their victims and knitting their flesh into a new identity. Not many people know about the skinwalkers though, mainly only those that live in the area.
It was a chilly day in mid october, the air was getting colder and the leaves on the trees started to fall. Jasmine’s dad told her he would be going on a hunting trip into the woods with his friends. It was his job, so he went on these expeditions pretty often. On these trips, he would bring back animals like deer, bears, boars and many others to sell their meat for a living. Not expecting much, she said her goodbyes and told him to be careful as always.
A few hours had passed, more than normal. Her dad usually left around 10 am and came back at 5 for dinner. It was around 8. Jasmine and her mother had already eaten and her fathers food was left on the table for whenever he came home. Jasmine asked her mom if her dad was coming home anytime soon, and she responded with phrases like “she wasn’t sure” and “not to worry about it too much”. As her mom always said, “He’ll be fine”.
48 hours had passed, and the police officially filed a missing report. The entire town had tried to help find her father in the deep woods of Appalachia. At some point, Jasmine thought she might never see him again. What were the chances of finding him when the woods were almost never ending? These long 48 hours had been miserable for Jasmine and her mother. Both of them could not think properly knowing that he could have been brutally murdered. Jasmine started to get mad at the police, she felt like they weren’t putting in as much effort to find him. She decided to go find him herself, so on the third night she set out to look for him.
She grabbed all the equipment needed: a flashlight, knife, food, and a spare aid kit in case she actually did find him. When Jasmine was a kid, her dad would take her hunting often. She had quickly memorized the routes, but as she got older she realized how dangerous the woods can be so she stopped going with him. “Past the pine tree and right at the red markings….” she repeated what she remembered to herself. “…and up the hill.” She was there, the spot her father would always take her. It was high up enough that you could see all the trees that make up the forest. She felt at peace knowing her fathers presence had been here before. She sat down and admired the view for a while till a rotting smell filled her nose. It was so horrible, she almost started throwing up. Looking to her left, she got a glimpse of what it could’ve been, maybe a dead squirrel. Her eyes widened in shock realizing it was her father hanging from a huge tree. His face was a deep purple and his body lifeless. Next to him stood a creature that looked exactly like him except for it was stiff and emotionless. It stood there without making a sound or even looking her way.
