Zed in the Adirondacks

During a hot summer day, when I was a bored, hormonal 18 year old, three friends and I drove all the way to the Adirondacks. Jack, my closest friend, had heard stories of wild nights spent camping in the darkness of the pine trees. Of how, even if you don't plan to party, it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience. So, that hot July day, just as we planned, we packed up Jack's weathered minivan and headed towards the mountains.

Tim had heard all kinds of ghost stories. Surely, with forests older than the lot of us, there would be no shortage of ghosts and spirits. "They're all harmless, of course." Tim said, sipping his Arizona Tea we had picked up at a gas station a few miles back. "Except one…it's called Zed. I can't find anything about it, except that if you hear a scream in the middle of the night, don't go looking for the source."

A dense silence filled the car.

"Bullshit." Jack said, breaking the silence.

As soon as we passed the sign signaling our arrival into the Adirondacks, I was instantly struck by the sheer expansiveness of it all and the grand scale of the peaks that I had severely underestimated. Rolling down the passenger side window, I could smell the fresh air filled with pine and sap.

The hike in was surprisingly easy. It was a bright and sunny summer day, but Jack looked lost in thought.

"What's up, cowboy?" I asked sidling up to him.

"Hm? Oh, just thinking about that thing Tim was going on about."

"Zed? It's like you said, it's bullshit."

"Hm."

"C'mon, we're almost to the camp site."

Like a summer breeze, the rest of the day was uneventful. We drank beer and went skinny-dipping. As the velvet night swallowed the pines whole, we made a campfire and roasted some hot dogs and marshmallows.

It was quiet. The chirping crickets helped settle any worries Jack had. We all drifted off to sleep around the warm orange glow of the campfire.

And suddenly I was awake.

I had no clue what time it was and the fire had died out long ago. I grabbed my phone and checked the time. 2:45 AM.

Something was off. What woke me up? Switching on my phone flashlight, I panned around our campfire. Tim was asleep in his chair, beer in hand. Jack wasn't in his. Darting over to Tim, I shook him awake. He dropped his beer and I jumped at the explosive sound.

"Tim! Where's Jack?!"

"Whu…?"

"Jack! He's not in his chair!"

"…did you check the tent?"

"…no."

"Hm."

Tim settled back down into his chair and quickly resumed sleeping.

Rushing over to the tent, I practically ripped off the zipper to get into the tent. Jack wasn't there either.

A cough made me spin around. It was Jack.

"Oh my God, Jack! Where did you wander off to?"

As the sentence tumbled out of my mouth, I could tell, something was very off about Jack. His eyes were rolled so far back into his head, you couldn't even see his eyes at all. His left hand covered his right side of his chest. In his right hand, he tightly gripped his hunting knife that he brought along, "just in case". There was someone behind him, just out of reach of my flashlight.

He opened his mouth and whispered to me.

"Ooooooh Effie. I've been bad. I've been real bad. I have sinned beyond reason. I have done immoral things. Oh, Effie. Please, forgive me."

With that, he spun around quickly and ran towards the fire pit, screaming and howling. The thing behind him followed slowly. It didn't even seem to touch the ground.

All I could do is stand there. I was beyond scared.

Jack raised the knife high above his head and plunged it into Tim. Again. And again.

He paused, breathing deeply. And then he became quiet.

"I know what I must do."

He stalked slowly towards a medium sized boulder and hoisted if far above his head.

"I have seen the great beauty."

With that, he brought the rock down on his head.

Blood exploded from his skull.

The being simply watched.

Jack fell to the ground, blood everywhere. And then the thing turned to me and began to come closer. And, for a split second, I could truly see what the being looked like. Rough, skeletal. Barely a shred of resemblance to a human being. It had no eyes and just a few wisps of hair. It's skin was mottled grey.

I didn't care I didn't have any shoes, I didn't care that I was half dressed. I ran.

I ran and didn't look back.

I ran until my feet bled and my breath caught in my lungs like hot embers. And then I ran some more.

I ran until I reached the parking lot. Then, I sat down and leaned on Jack's car and cried.

The next day was a bustle of activity. I called the police. I made up some story of a crazy bearded guy holding an axe. I didn't want to sound crazy myself, but I knew what I saw. I knew what that was.

I had met Zed.