Even in today's modern world, of high tech electronics, and the domination of man, secret horrors still exist. The horrors live in the deep places, the remaining few still around, dark woods, empty unvisited caves, and the cold still lakes. The places forgotten about or still unreached by development and civilization. But sometimes these places even exist just outside the spaces heavily occupied by modern man, overlooked, brushed off, looked at daily, but unexplored, lost in the arrogance of technology. It is one of these places, which I happened upon, one of these places, so close to all we know, one of these places I will send you my warning about, perhaps in vain.

It was just last year, but seeming like yesterday, that I and my lovely wife moved into one of the local upscale complexes occupying the edge of expanding city of Tampa, Fl. It was beautiful, newly built, palm trees, and swimming pools, a place that many young business men and women were moving to, trying to escape the slow decay of an old and dying city. It was at this apartment, with its new carpet and cold white counter tops, that this story begins, and I will tell you in the best of my ability, and leave it up to your judgement to determine what exactly happened. The apartment building was typical for the area, grouped into four or eight units in a two story rectangular shape, often painted with flat two-tone earthy colors to blend into the surrounding trees of a nature reserve that the complex bordered. This was one of the main reasons we had picked our particular unit, it was on the ground floor and had a screened in patio that overlooked the pine forest that made up part of the large nature reserve. It was the best of both worlds, modern living, on the edge of a large forest; it seemed an ideal place to live.

The first few months were uneventful, just the idea of what you would think it to be for any modern working couple. We would work in the day; come home and my wife would cook dinner. Then perhaps walk the dog in the evening, and as the weather cooled, we would often sit on the porch enjoying the sight and sounds of the pine forest just outside the patio. It was perfectly normal until around the fourth month, that was when I started noticing things, small stuff at first, but noticing none the less. The smell was the first thing, faint at first, a mild scent of mold, or decay, coming from the forest on days with a light breeze. It seemed normal the first week or so, often and old area of trees will produce that faint scent of decay, but then it started getting stronger. It seemed to permeate the entire area, to the point that being outside for any period of time had become entirely unpleasant. One evening, I encountered my neighbor who lived across the hall coming home work and questioned him about the smell, and if he had noticed it. His response was quick, and slightly aggravated in nature, "That's just a dead animal or something, pay it no mind" his eyes unconsciously glancing toward the trees as he said it. I was surprised a bit and stood silent, watching as his door slammed behind him. Needless to say, our days of sitting on the porch were over, we only went outside now to leave, or to take the dog for a needed walk, but this neither would last much longer.

During the next few weeks as the stench from the trees got worse, my dog seemed to get rather jumpy. First the dog would stare out through the glass door for hours on end, this was quite unnerving, since it wasn't a lazy lay down stare of a dog, but a full standing tense stare, directly at the trees outside. This would not stop, the only thing we could was to drag the dog away and close the large hanging blinds, and obstruct the dogs view of the trees entirely. Then the barking began, it would start about 11:30 each night, constant and non-stop. The dog would bark and bark, standing in the same tense startled look facing the direction of the forest. One night during this cascade of barking, which was now keeping me awake throughout most of the night; I heard a strange deep growl from outside the patio window. Shocked for a moment, I moved over to the patio light and turned it on but found nothing unusual near the patio. The next morning, the dog refused to leave the house, and that night didn't make a sound, the dog just curled up in the far corner of the house, eyes wide and staring.

I was glad the barking had stopped but now found I could only sleep in short spans, which were occupied by odd dreams and sometimes-violent nightmares. My wife on the other hand slept heavy, to the point that waking her was almost impossible. It was during this time that I also noticed myself ever increasingly moving to the patio and staring out into the woods. It seemed I could see a faint light just beyond my vision, I would strain to see it, I couldn't tell if it was there or not. Other times I would scan the edge of the woods, seeing small glowing eyes peering out, I would grab a flashlight, but then they would just disappear. These all night sessions were now really affecting me.

The mornings and days seemed now to pass quickly, almost dreamlike, I had stopped going to work, as had my wife. She would drift in and out of sleep all day, and would often start making odd mumbling sounds in her sleep, or speaking in what seemed to be a strange language. These mumbling were fairly quiet during the day at first, but as time wore on and the night came she would get louder, her chanting was rhythmic, and all this time I was staring into the forest. I was now sure something was out there, beckoning and calling to me, I was sure something was waiting, but I still sat drifting in and out of my reality, I drifted in and out of sleep. A cool breeze brushing my face made me wake up with quickly. I jumped up startled and disoriented. The door was open to the apartment, leading out into the darkness, to the woods. I instinctively ran to my wife's room, she was gone, to the forest, I knew she was out there, I could smell the stench stronger than ever. I could see the faint distant light, and tonight, I could here the rhythmic chanting of many voices. I ran to the kitchen and grabbed a long bladed knife, charged out the door and into the trees. The branches were catching me as I ran, pulling at my clothes, cutting small gashes into my arms and face. It seemed as if the forest were trying to stop me.

As I ran the light I had been searching for was growing brighter and the chanting louder, I was approaching my fate, whatever this was I would finally find it. I would have the knowledge of what had been consuming me for weeks now. I moved closer, in a madman's daze, bleeding and clothes torn, I rushed forward to the edge of a large clearing filled with people. No one noticed me; they were consumed in a spinning circular dance, that moved in beat to the slow chanting that they were all making. This dance circled a large glowing monolithic stone carved with symbols and geometries that seemed to move with the sounds around it. To the left of this were 4 robed figures, each writhing to and fro in front of a black slab that was laid out before them. In my horror I saw my wife, laying on the slab, clothed entirely in white, but with mystical runes painted on her flesh, she seemed unconscious of all around her. The faces I recognized of al my neighbors, people I had passed while getting the mail, all were sinister and lustful, moving in a frenzied circular motion around this monolith and altar. The chanting was now rising and getting louder, the glowing stone seemed to crack and let forth a large roar as chunk fell to the ground, with that a fissure opened near the stone that held my wife. Fire erupted from it, the people were now in a screaming frenzy, swirling and dancing, chanting and writhing on the ground. The fissure again grabbed my attention, from which a long grey tentacle was coming forth, it was octopus like with suckers, but had long dark spines along its back. This was moving towards my wife, and as it seemed it was juts about to reach her, I sprung forth in a mad dash, fire burning, reflecting in my eyes. I made the stone, and plunged the knife deep into the rubbery tissue of the tentacle. A horrible nightmarish scream erupted. The throng of people were now scattering and yelling, in disarray. I grabbed up my wife and once again found myself fighting the trees, but this time to escape.

I could hear many running behind me, howling and chasing me, I could hear the roars and bellows come from the beast. The forest seemed so deep now, holding us within, the dark forces that worked within it were chasing us, almost gaining. I shielded my wife's face from the branches as I ran. It was then I could feel the cold behind me, it was about to stretch that slimy grip upon me, when my dog snarling and ferocious jumped from ahead of us and grappled with the thing that was behind. I burst from the woods, and made for the car, the engine starting as I heard the horrible cry of my dog, then nothing. We flew from that place, and drove fast and far, far away.

So you see, even in today's modern world, there are places, dark places, surrounded by all that we know, but containing things we should not see. These places exist, just next to where we think its safe, not even hiding, but hidden, hidden by mans modern arrogance of the dominance of science. These places, these things I have experienced, judge for yourself if it were true or not. Judge for yourself, if that small section of trees is empty, if that person you know so well, is who they say they are. If your technology, is the answer.