Squalo Forest
To the unfortunate soul who reads this,
Please run. Don’t even read this letter until you get out. Please run as far away as you can from here.
I don’t know why anyone would ever dare come here again, but leave before it’s too late. It isn’t safe here. If only I had known, I would’ve never set foot in this forsaken forest.
I came to this town after I heard the rumors. Supposedly, the bordering forest had some sort of secret lying within it. I wasn’t one to believe in rumors, but as a struggling journalist on the brink of being fired, I was desperate for a good story.
With a group of some colleagues and myself, we set out to uncover the mystery of Squalo Forest. We didn’t expect to find much; our plan was to come down, check things out, write a little column for the magazine, and move on to the next scoop - a report on a giant wasp infestation in a local school. That was the plan.
When our crew arrived at the little town by the Delaware River, we asked around if any of the locals were willing to give their input on the contents of the forest. But, no one would say anything. Every time we mentioned Squalo Forest, their eyes would go dark and their bodies stiff.
They did, however, offer us one piece of advice:
“We can’t stop you from entering, but beware of the monsters. You’ve been warned. The rest is up to you.”
We should’ve taken this as a hint to steer clear from the forest. We were so stupid.
It seemed like they were all scared of something in the woods. But a monster? We thought that the locals were merely being superstitious. Living out in the boonies does lead to some weird tall tales. Even if there was something like a bear, we could always scare it away by making a lot of noise. Even if that wasn’t enough, Todd brought along a tranquilizer gun in case of any aggressive wild animals.
We hiked through the woods prepared to encounter a bear. In the case this was the “secret” of the forest, I could at least write about coming face-to-face with a bear.
After several minutes of maneuvering through the trees, we came to an unbelievable sight.
There were fish. In the air.
One second, we stood in a clearing in the forest, and in the next, we found ourselves underneath a school of blue and yellow fish swimming through the trees. It was an absolutely incredible sight. Jenny had already begun to take pictures.
I was elated. With this kind of story, my job was saved. It’s not everyday that you get to see magical fish, after all.
As we stood dumbfounded by this impossible scene, a swordfish appeared. Before we could even react to it, it swooped down and impaled Todd.
No one moved as we were filled with disbelief at what just happened. It wasn’t until the swordfish added Jessica to its human shish kebab did we move.
We ran and ran and ran. The sun was nearly past the horizon and an eery fog had creeped into the forest. It was just Corey, Frank, and myself left. We had been split up from Jenny and the others in the confusion. We didn’t dare look for her, however. The fear of the swordfish paralyzed us.
Frank had fallen and hurt his ankle, which had rendered him immobile, so we decided to set up camp and wait until we were sure that the swordfish was definitely gone.
We didn’t start a fire out of fear that the swordfish would find us. It was almost night now, and we were freezing. We couldn’t sleep either since we were too afraid of being impaled in our sleep.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted something swimming through the air. I immediately broke out into a cold sweat. It was dark, so I thought it hopefully wouldn’t see us if we stayed still.
My fears were confirmed as the figure approached us. I swear I could hear the Jaws theme song as it crept into view. It was a giant shark.
Corey, who was consumed by his fear, got up and started screaming as he tried to escape. The shark was faster. He fell to his knees and collapsed. That is, the bottom half of him. The other half was already in the shark’s stomach.
I helped Frank to his feet as we began to flee. Then, it dawned on me. I realized how much of an idiot I am. Sharks can smell blood; every elementary school kid would know that. The cuts Frank git when he fell attracted the shark.
I let go of Frank’s hands and he fell to the ground.
A clueless look fell upon the helpless Frank. I was an absolute piece of scum.
“I’m sorry,” was the only reconciliation I could give him. And then I ran. I figured Frank would keep the shark occupied long enough for me to escape.
I ran until I heard a scream. It was undoubtedly the voice of Jenny. It sounded like she was being chased by something. I heard a large amount of rustling in the branches that followed her voice. Then, they stopped. Both Jenny’s cries and the sounds of the branches ceased.
I continued running until I could no longer run. Then, I walked until morning. I was completely lost.
As I trekked on lifelessly, I stumbled over something. It was a camera, and attached to it was a human arm. The camera belonged to Jenny.
No longer able to hold it in, I threw up. But I hadn’t eaten anything in a day, so I simply kneeled in pain.
Then I continued walking in hopes that I could find a way out of this hell. Every now and then I find a swordfish or one of the demonic sharks, and I wait hours before I move again to make sure they are completely gone.
I was completely alone in this sea of trees surrounded by monsters. I should’ve listen to the locals when they warned us. I am the idiot that caused the deaths of several people. I will have been responsible for my own death as well if I never get out of here.
We thought it was just a bear. How stupid am I? I would pick meeting bears over this a thousand times over if I could go back.
If you’re here in Squalo Forest, you’re just as much of a fool as I am. Run while you can. My strength has already left me. This is where I am going to die. Please don’t end up like me.
Signed,
Pau-----------------------------