Micah
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
I unzipped the tent, grabbed my headlamp, and stepped into the dark.
The air was colder than I'd expected.
My breath puffed out in small clouds.
I walked maybe fifteen feet from the tent.
Even the insects had gone quiet.
No crickets, no rustling leaves.
Just a heavy, pressed-in silence, like the forest was bracing for something.
I waited a long minute, heart pounding.
I barely slept the rest of the night.
In the morning, I found tracks ten feet from my tent.
Not boot prints.
Not paw prints either.
They looked human, sort of, but stretched.
One.
Like someone crawling on all fours, dragging long fingers through the dirt.
I told myself raccoons.
Maybe two, maybe they fought.
Whatever.
I packed fast and hit the trail without eating.
That day I pushed harder than planned.