Michael Hunter: Come Get Me

This is a dream

The group popped from the fog so suddenly it looked as if they’d been spit. They were so full of energy they were bouncing. They were many reasons for being happy but mostly it was because they were finally out. Not stuffed in their houses under the watchful eyes of their parents anymore. But it wasn’t just being out that had them so excited, it was the reason that had them all jazzed.

They were on a mission. Something they’d been trying to do for as long as any of them could remember. Now it was just minutes away from becoming a reality. If they were honest with themselves it was more of a hunt. But not just any hunt. Oh no, it was THE HUNT. This thing had been in the works ever since the first time they’d gone camping with their fathers and heard the spooky story about the creature. What else would men talk about out in the middle of the woods with no women around. They always wondered if the legends they were told were true. Their fathers made it sound as if it was but hey, what did they know. They were just kids. Now, though, now, after what seemed an eternity of waiting, it was time to find out if the legend was true.

It all started with the words ‘There was once a man who was not just a man. He was also a goat…” Not that scary in and of itself but for them, they were hooked. The story went that this thing roamed the deserted back roads and byways, the quiet place normal humans dared not to tread not to mention the quiet woods surrounding the little town they called home. No one really knew what it was after but it was guessed to be looking for unsuspecting persons to play its devious tricks on. He would prowl around until he found a weary traveler then jump from the bushes scaring them half to death. The frightened people would then run screaming through the woods until they finally reached a safe haven. That is if they were lucky. If not, well, they were never heard from again. The Goatman, for that’s what it came to be known as, rarely hurt anyone but whenever a child or animal went missing he was always to blame.

The thing about the legend that captivated the boys so much was that none of it had ever been proven. Sure, there were supposed eye witness accounts of what happened, but the boys suspected these accounts were tainted. They figured the witnesses most likely had just spooked themselves or been drunk and then made up a story so they wouldn’t look foolish. The creature that haunted the woods where they grew up was like Bigfoot. There were plenty of people that said they’d seen him but there was no actual proof.

That was all going to change after tonight’s adventure though. The boys were going to find the proof the world had been denied so long. At least they were going to try.

The four soon to be men making up the hunting party were all well past the age when believing in monsters and things that went bump in the night was considered cool. They knew they were too old for it but just didn’t really care. It was as if they knew they couldn’t let one more second of their lives continue without at least trying to find out if the creature were truly real. So after many a whispered conversation at school it was decided that tonight was the night.

The summer was over after tonight.

It had to be this night.

School was in a few more days and they knew, in that strange way boys knew things, that they would most likely end up being to busy for each other anymore. On some unspoken level they knew this was going to be one of the last things if not the last thing they did before drifting apart. They thought of it as their last hurrah for lack of anything better to call it. After this it was off to the wonderful world that waited for them as freshmen in high school.

So, here they were, four soon to be men who had been damn near inseparable almost since birth. Tommy, Rob, Jim, and Pete, together, in their short lives they’d taken on anything and everything thrown at them so chasing a mythical creature in the dead of night would just about be the icing on the cake. They’d spent many hours discussing the most likely place they might find their quarry until finally deciding on a patch of woods that lay not more than a ten minute walk from Tommy’s bedroom window. They knew this because they’d walked it earlier before the sun set. Nothing like being prepared. Tommy didn’t like thinking he might live so close to the creature and tried to argue that it couldn’t possibly be so close, but the others were adamant in their decision. His arguments fell on deaf ears. He didn’t like it but he guessed he could live with it. It didn’t matter anyways. He kinda liked monsters.

With the major decision of where to start taken care of, they only needed to wait until the right time to begin their journey. To take up that time they came up with a plan.

The boys told all their parents they were having a sleepover at Tommy’s. They’d done it a million times. The parents suspected nothing. Little did they know that after tonight their sons would be famous for catching the mythical beast known as the Goatman. After the lights were out and Tommy’s parents were finally snoring the night away, one by one, each boy climbed out Tommy’s window.

That in itself was an adventure. They had to make sure they were extremely quiet, one little noise might wake Tommy’s dad and bring his wrath down on them. Tommy’s dad wasn’t really anyone to be afraid of but it just made the adventure sound better in their heads if they thought of him that way if only for a minute.

Once outside with Tommy’s parents none the wiser, they quickly darted from shadow to shadow across the backyard until they reached the path that would lead them to their eventual destination. Stepping from the underbrush onto the wide dirt road they were greeted by an almost impenetrable blackness.

What only minutes before was a perfect moonlit night with plenty of light to see by had inexplicably turned to something altogether different. The overhanging trees didn’t allow any light to pass through their branches. Shadows clung to every possible surface they could find. A regular tree suddenly looked like a dreaded monster ready to pounce. The creak of a branch sounded like the scream of banshee.

If that‘d been all their was they would’ve been ok. But it wasn’t. They hadn’t counted on the fog. It had risen like a long dead corpse from the ground after the sun went down and grown thicker as the night cooled. They hadn’t noticed it in the backyard when they’d left but now it just made everything seem that much spookier. They tried ignoring it but coupled with the already eerie darkness, found it more than a little difficult. None of them could figure out why they hadn’t thought of it before and brought along flashlights. After some whispered argument they decided instead of turning around they would continue on. They edged their way closer and closer to their confrontation with the Goatman.

Before they knew it they found themselves turning down one of the numerous back roads that ran around the little town. They were secure in the knowledge that the legend of the Goatman was nothing but a story used to scare kids. There was no such thing so there was no reason to be afraid of anything. Even if something strange did happen they knew the area like the back of their hands. They’d be able to easily escape whatever the surrounding woods could throw at them, without missing a beat.

Soon, they were approaching the stomping grounds of their quarry. The lair of the mythical beast was all around them. At first they started in a whisper, first one then joined by another and another and another until they were all saying it, they began reciting the words that would pull the creature from whatever hole or crevice he was hiding in and make him appear before them. After the first time through with no results the boys’ grew which showed up in their voice. What had been at first only a loud whisper was growing. The second time through you might have thought they were only talking to each other but they still had one more sentence to go and they were going to give it their all. The third and final time they were so loud it seemed almost as if they were daring the night to bring forth its evil servant and prove to them that it really existed. Having finished the call the boys stood waiting. None moved. Four sets of eyes and ears were staining for any sight or sound that might signal the dark creature’s arrival. All they heard was the echo of their voices. After a few minute the silence was broken but not by the beast.