The moth sat carelessly upon the broken twig that was hanging down from the bush. Its wings sprawled out like a bird about to take flight, sensing the disaster that was about to come.  As the clouds began to roll in, the air began to thicken making it harder to breath, as if it wasn’t already hard enough. Aaron puckered in his lips sure not to make any noise. Although, he could not control his rapid breathing and fast-paced heartbeat. Beads of sweat rolled down his recently sunburned face sending chills up his spine. It was hard to think that just yesterday his best friend was still alive and well, having a normal day out on the river. Those days were over. If Aaron was going to survive he needed to start thinking like the hunter instead of the hunted.
  Aaron pulled off to the side of the highway and put his car in park. “Welp. This is it Ven. Are you sure that you wanna do this? This trip I mean, I know you aren’t really a nature guy. I’ll understand it if you wanna leave.” He smirked at his friend teasingly. “Aaron how long have we had this three day camping trip planned out? Since like the sixth grade right? We’re going.” Ven declared, shoving the car door open and slamming it promptly behind him making Aaron’s glasses bounce slightly down the bridge of his pudgy nose.
    Aaron stared after him. “He hasn’t changed a bit”, he thought chuckling. He had showed up for the middle school football tryouts when he had first met him. Ven had chicken legs and a scraggly Mohawk that only added to the look. Aaron hadn’t even made it to the actual tryouts yet when he was sat out due to the fact that he couldn’t run a full mile like the other boys without puking. Ven was later sat out for taking a tumble on the football field when he tripped over his own foot. Both boys were as bad at football as their grandmothers. After the loss of not making the team, they became a dynamic duo. Ven and Aaron. Aaron and Ven. Best buds since they could remember.
  Ven rapidly knocked on the window signaling him to get out of the car. Climbing out, the sun’s glare instantly met his puffy cheeks making him feel hot and sticky while Ven looked like he was as cool as a cucumber. “Common’ Aaron we got to start walkin’ if we’re gonna set up camp before nightfall.” They grabbed their gear and set off in the direction of the woods. It was a few miles away from the road when they came upon a river. They decided to take a break and enjoy themselves.
  Aaron dipped his head down into the cool, refreshing water and bobbed it back up to the surface again. He watched his friend wondering what he was thinking at that very moment. Ven was so alert and upright. “What is he staring at?” he thought. Aaron turned to see what had alerted him. “Oh my god.” He whispered. “Don’t move a muscle.”Ven whispered back harshly. The creature had locked its orange catlike eyes tightly onto his. Its glare could cut down trees. A twig snapped somewhere behind the animal making both of them jump. It took one last glance at the boys, and darted off into the woods behind them.
  “Hello! Somebody out there?” A raspy voice called out, making them jump once more. A tall man emerged from the trees in front of them. “Oh well hello there. I didn’t know anyone else was out here.” He said glancing around a bit. “I-I think you may have just saved our lives” Ven stuttered. “Yeah there was a mountain lion and it looked mad as a hatter.” Aaron murmured looking the man up and down. “It’s a good thing I got here then” He chuckled with a smile. “Well I really must be off now.” “Wait!” Ven huffed, finally letting out a breath. “Um, do you by chance know of any good camping spots we could set up at? We’re new at this.” “Sure. Just go over that hill”, he pointed. “And a little ways north you’ll find a nice flat area where you can set up camp. I just got back from there so it shouldn’t be too hard to find.” He winked, setting off in the direction of the road.
  They followed the man’s directions and sure enough there was a flat area where tents could be pitched and a fire still smoldering to the left of that. “Huh. Nice dude was tellin’ the truth.” Ven chirped. After setting up their tents, they sat by the fire until nightfall. “I’m really glad we’re actually doing this. I mean we’ve always talked about this trip but now it’s really happenin’.” Aaron announced. “You are way to sentimental you know that right?” Ven laughed slapping him on the back. “I know. It’s just that it’s hard to believe we’ve been friends this long and I’m proud to call you my best friend.” “Bro, seriously you need some sleep. I’ll see ya in the morning.” His friend teased.
  Both friends laid in their tents fast asleep. Aaron’s eyes flipped open and instantly filled with darkness. He listened for a minute wondering what had awoke him. He heard a muffled snarling noise coming from outside of his tent. Reaching for his flashlight he unzipped his tent slowly, trying to make little sound. The wet leaves were like goo squishing between his toes. Shining the flashlight around his tent he saw nothing. “I better check on Ven.” He thought. Stumbling his way over to his friend’s tent, he shone the flashlight on the entrance.
  Frozen. Aaron was frozen with fear as a creatures eyes beamed back in the darkness. It smiled at him. Its snout was dripping with flesh and blood, standing over a now faceless body, wearing the same clothes that Ven had been wearing. The flashlight slipped out of Aaron’s fingers and hit the dewy ground with a thud. He ran. His feet slipped a bit with every step. He didn’t, no he couldn’t look back. It was like running into a black abyss. “Ahh!” he screamed. The bottom of his left foot scorched as it hit the recently put out fire. He managed to half run half limp his way deeper into the night before hitting the ground and passing out.
  “This is a dream.” He thought. “No. It can’t be. I’m in too much pain for this to be a dream.” Aaron’s eyes squinted open and were blinded by sunlight. “How long have I been laying here?” he muttered to himself. “Ven’s dead... That mountain lion killed him! It’s probably after me too! Oh my god I’ve gotta get out of here!” He scaled his foot to see the damage. The arch was bright red covered with white heat blisters while the ball and heel of his foot were seared, charcoal black. “Great. I’m gonna die out here. I need to find the river and follow it. Hopefully it will eventually guide me out of this place.”
  A shot rang off in the distance. Aaron sat up against the tree, more alert now. “Someone is out here! Yes! I’m saved, I’m saved! Thank god.” He laughed hysterically. It had been about six days of wandering around in the woods in search of the river that had not yet been found. The madness was slowly eating away at him. He pulled himself up and began limping in the direction of where the shot was produced. “Help! Please help me!” he tried to shout, but his attempts were failing. His voice was as light as a cloud.
  Finally he had made his way back to the clearing were he and Ven had first pitched the tents. This smell instantly smacked him in the face. “Oh my god… Ven” His body was still sprawled across the leaves but some of his bones were scattered across the ground here and there. His best friend, his only friend. Dead. “I’m so sorry I got you into this Ven, I’m so so sorry. Please forgive me friend.” Aaron sobbed, but no tears appeared. A whimpering noise was protruding behind Ven’s tent. Whatever it was sounded hurt. Aaron stumbled towards the sound.
  The mountain lion laid on the ground, a puddle of blood encircled its head. A bullet was lodged deep into its neck, it was choking on its own blood. A man was crouched over the creature’s body. “Please you have to help me!” Aaron managed to spout out, grabbing onto the man’s arm. He looked up at him with soft, weariless eyes, “Of course I will son. I’m so sorry this happened to you, it wasn’t supposed to happen this way.” It was the same man that had helped them before.
  “Ha-Happen this way?” Aaron stuttered taking a step back. “Well yes. That pesky mountain lion scared you off.  And now well, he knew you weren’t his to catch. He knew that!” He shouted. “I mean I was glad he was around to help clean up the mess, the cleanup is the worst part but when he started tracking you down I knew I had to stop him.” “Oh my God… You. You killed Ven didn’t you?” whispered Aaron. “That mountain lion was just a crazy coincidence” the man chuckled. Aaron looked like a deer caught in the headlights.
  He turned to run. A shot rang out. It was over. The hunter had collected this year’s final trophy. “Oh, they’re going to be very pleased with this one.”                   
  The moth sat carelessly upon the broken twig that was hanging down from the bush. Its wings sprawled out like a bird about to take flight, sensing the disaster that was about to come.  As the clouds began to roll in, the air began to thicken making it harder to breath, as if it wasn’t already hard enough. Aaron puckered in his lips sure not to make any noise. Although, he could not control his rapid breathing and fast-paced heartbeat. Beads of sweat rolled down his recently sunburned face sending chills up his spine. It was hard to think that just yesterday his best friend was still alive and well, having a normal day out on the river. Those days were over. If Aaron was going to survive he needed to start thinking like the hunter instead of the hunted.
  Aaron pulled off to the side of the highway and put his car in park. “Welp. This is it Ven. Are you sure that you wanna do this? This trip I mean, I know you aren’t really a nature guy. I’ll understand it if you wanna leave.” He smirked at his friend teasingly. “Aaron how long have we had this three day camping trip planned out? Since like the sixth grade right? We’re going.” Ven declared, shoving the car door open and slamming it promptly behind him making Aaron’s glasses bounce slightly down the bridge of his pudgy nose.
    Aaron stared after him. “He hasn’t changed a bit”, he thought chuckling. He had showed up for the middle school football tryouts when he had first met him. Ven had chicken legs and a scraggly Mohawk that only added to the look. Aaron hadn’t even made it to the actual tryouts yet when he was sat out due to the fact that he couldn’t run a full mile like the other boys without puking. Ven was later sat out for taking a tumble on the football field when he tripped over his own foot. Both boys were as bad at football as their grandmothers. After the loss of not making the team, they became a dynamic duo. Ven and Aaron. Aaron and Ven. Best buds since they could remember.
  Ven rapidly knocked on the window signaling him to get out of the car. Climbing out, the sun’s glare instantly met his puffy cheeks making him feel hot and sticky while Ven looked like he was as cool as a cucumber. “Common’ Aaron we got to start walkin’ if we’re gonna set up camp before nightfall.” They grabbed their gear and set off in the direction of the woods. It was a few miles away from the road when they came upon a river. They decided to take a break and enjoy themselves.
  Aaron dipped his head down into the cool, refreshing water and bobbed it back up to the surface again. He watched his friend wondering what he was thinking at that very moment. Ven was so alert and upright. “What is he staring at?” he thought. Aaron turned to see what had alerted him. “Oh my god.” He whispered. “Don’t move a muscle.”Ven whispered back harshly. The creature had locked its orange catlike eyes tightly onto his. Its glare could cut down trees. A twig snapped somewhere behind the animal making both of them jump. It took one last glance at the boys, and darted off into the woods behind them.
  “Hello! Somebody out there?” A raspy voice called out, making them jump once more. A tall man emerged from the trees in front of them. “Oh well hello there. I didn’t know anyone else was out here.” He said glancing around a bit. “I-I think you may have just saved our lives” Ven stuttered. “Yeah there was a mountain lion and it looked mad as a hatter.” Aaron murmured looking the man up and down. “It’s a good thing I got here then” He chuckled with a smile. “Well I really must be off now.” “Wait!” Ven huffed, finally letting out a breath. “Um, do you by chance know of any good camping spots we could set up at? We’re new at this.” “Sure. Just go over that hill”, he pointed. “And a little ways north you’ll find a nice flat area where you can set up camp. I just got back from there so it shouldn’t be too hard to find.” He winked, setting off in the direction of the road.
  They followed the man’s directions and sure enough there was a flat area where tents could be pitched and a fire still smoldering to the left of that. “Huh. Nice dude was tellin’ the truth.” Ven chirped. After setting up their tents, they sat by the fire until nightfall. “I’m really glad we’re actually doing this. I mean we’ve always talked about this trip but now it’s really happenin’.” Aaron announced. “You are way to sentimental you know that right?” Ven laughed slapping him on the back. “I know. It’s just that it’s hard to believe we’ve been friends this long and I’m proud to call you my best friend.” “Bro, seriously you need some sleep. I’ll see ya in the morning.” His friend teased.
  Both friends laid in their tents fast asleep. Aaron’s eyes flipped open and instantly filled with darkness. He listened for a minute wondering what had awoke him. He heard a muffled snarling noise coming from outside of his tent. Reaching for his flashlight he unzipped his tent slowly, trying to make little sound. The wet leaves were like goo squishing between his toes. Shining the flashlight around his tent he saw nothing. “I better check on Ven.” He thought. Stumbling his way over to his friend’s tent, he shone the flashlight on the entrance.
  Frozen. Aaron was frozen with fear as a creatures eyes beamed back in the darkness. It smiled at him. Its snout was dripping with flesh and blood, standing over a now faceless body, wearing the same clothes that Ven had been wearing. The flashlight slipped out of Aaron’s fingers and hit the dewy ground with a thud. He ran. His feet slipped a bit with every step. He didn’t, no he couldn’t look back. It was like running into a black abyss. “Ahh!” he screamed. The bottom of his left foot scorched as it hit the recently put out fire. He managed to half run half limp his way deeper into the night before hitting the ground and passing out.
  “This is a dream.” He thought. “No. It can’t be. I’m in too much pain for this to be a dream.” Aaron’s eyes squinted open and were blinded by sunlight. “How long have I been laying here?” he muttered to himself. “Ven’s dead... That mountain lion killed him! It’s probably after me too! Oh my god I’ve gotta get out of here!” He scaled his foot to see the damage. The arch was bright red covered with white heat blisters while the ball and heel of his foot were seared, charcoal black. “Great. I’m gonna die out here. I need to find the river and follow it. Hopefully it will eventually guide me out of this place.”
  A shot rang off in the distance. Aaron sat up against the tree, more alert now. “Someone is out here! Yes! I’m saved, I’m saved! Thank god.” He laughed hysterically. It had been about six days of wandering around in the woods in search of the river that had not yet been found. The madness was slowly eating away at him. He pulled himself up and began limping in the direction of where the shot was produced. “Help! Please help me!” he tried to shout, but his attempts were failing. His voice was as light as a cloud.
  Finally he had made his way back to the clearing were he and Ven had first pitched the tents. This smell instantly smacked him in the face. “Oh my god… Ven” His body was still sprawled across the leaves but some of his bones were scattered across the ground here and there. His best friend, his only friend. Dead. “I’m so sorry I got you into this Ven, I’m so so sorry. Please forgive me friend.” Aaron sobbed, but no tears appeared. A whimpering noise was protruding behind Ven’s tent. Whatever it was sounded hurt. Aaron stumbled towards the sound.
  The mountain lion laid on the ground, a puddle of blood encircled its head. A bullet was lodged deep into its neck, it was choking on its own blood. A man was crouched over the creature’s body. “Please you have to help me!” Aaron managed to spout out, grabbing onto the man’s arm. He looked up at him with soft, weariless eyes, “Of course I will son. I’m so sorry this happened to you, it wasn’t supposed to happen this way.” It was the same man that had helped them before.
  “Ha-Happen this way?” Aaron stuttered taking a step back. “Well yes. That pesky mountain lion scared you off.  And now well, he knew you weren’t his to catch. He knew that!” He shouted. “I mean I was glad he was around to help clean up the mess, the cleanup is the worst part but when he started tracking you down I knew I had to stop him.” “Oh my God… You. You killed Ven didn’t you?” whispered Aaron. “That mountain lion was just a crazy coincidence” the man chuckled. Aaron looked like a deer caught in the headlights.
  He turned to run. A shot rang out. It was over. The hunter had collected this year’s final trophy. “Oh, they’re going to be very pleased with this one.”