Why I'm never going camping again

Michael, James and I had been friends since elementary school. We?d always find time to hang out, despite the increasingly busy schedule and discovery of the opposite sex. We had been particularly busy with work lately and hung out less and less often, so Michael suggested we go camping for the weekend. James and I agreed without even giving it a second thought. We loved camping and this was a good opportunity to get drunk together again without interruptions.
I picked them up on Friday afternoon and when I asked Michael where we are going to camp, he said that it was the same place his granddad used to camp in and that it was highly secluded, meaning no one would be bothering us. Took us a few hours to get there, but when we did, we took our stuff and followed Michael deeper into the woods. We walked for about an hour and it had started to get dark. James and I were a little agitated having to walk for so long to Michael?s special spot, but just as we were about to tell him that this was as good a spot as any, he told us we?re here.
It was a big clearing, giving us a lot of visibility and room to set up our tents. After unpacking, we cooked some food and drank beer, reminiscing of the old days and exchanging news. James talked about how he wanted to become a police officer and we ridiculed him a little bit for kicks, but after we?ve had our laughs telling him he?ll need to arrest himself first for everything he?s done in the past, we expressed our support for him.
Michael shrugged, not knowing what he wanted in life. Right now he was happy with a 9-5 job and just didn?t care about anything more than stability. They were about to ask me about my plans when we heard a high-pitched scream echo in the distance. We instinctively turned our heads in the direction of the sound, but saw nothing. I asked Michael, who was a more experienced camper what that was, but he said he didn?t know. We brainstormed what kind of animal it could be, but after a while let it go. We continued talking for a while around the campfire, getting ready to call it a day.
Just then, I saw movement in the trees with my peripheral vision. I thought it must've been my imagination, because when I turned my head there I saw only rows of trees. I shrugged it off and continued to listen to James? story. Both he and Michael seemed to not notice anything.
A few minutes went by and I had a nagging feeling, something I just couldn?t shake away. I looked at the row of trees to my right again and still, there was nothing. Still, looking there made me feel uneasy. I decided to ignore my gut, dismissing it as my own paranoia. Not 5 minutes go by and the feeling of dread only intensified. I looked to my right again and stopped in bafflement. A few feet in front of the row of trees stood a lone, very thin tree, separated from the rest in the clearing. I squinted my eyes, trying to figure if my brain was playing tricks on me from excessive beer consumption. Was that tree there all along?
Wait. Holy ****.
That?s not a tree. It just moved slightly. I blinked and continued staring, transfixed at whatever stood there. The longer I stared the more apparent it became that it was no tree I was looking at. It was someone, or rather something. Something too thin to be human and too tall to be an animal. I grabbed Michael?s attention and when he looked at the figure, he went pale instantly. He silently muttered 'oh ****' to himself.
?Don?t look at it!? ? he said ? ?Guys, listen to me. Do not look at it. If it comes near us, don?t acknowledge it, don?t talk to it, just keep your eyes on each other. Got it?!?
To say I was scared ****less is an understatement.
?Michael, what the hell is that?? ? I asked.
?Quiet. Just look at me and don?t move your eyes away, alright?? ? he said with a trembling voice.
I looked over to James, who was silently staring at the campfire. Everything was quiet. In fact it was too quiet and I only realized it just now. No sounds came at all, save for the crackling of the fire. We stared like that in silence for what felt like ages, when suddenly another sound appeared in the distance. A branch cracked, as if someone had stepped on it. From there we heard the thuds of very slow footsteps, followed by the rustling of leaves on the ground, coming from my right side.
In seconds, I saw something emerge in the corner of my eye, but I couldn?t make out what it was. Michael motioned with his index finger for us to look at him and so we did. The figure slowly stepped behind Michael and I could see with my limited line of sight that the creature was extremely thin, not even fit for the word emaciated. It looked like a real-life stick figure. It was tall, easily towering over Michael and probably even more than I anticipated, but I wouldn?t dare look up. It looked like its body had been made from roots and branches. Slowly, the creature bent down with a creaking noise and put its head next to Michael?s. I felt its penetrating gaze on me, but I stared right into Michael?s eyes, who was tearing up by this point. I could see the creature smiling with my peripheral vision and it was almost irresistible to glance at the creature just for a second, but I managed not to do it.
The figure stood up, creaking equally and stayed behind Michael for a few seconds, completely still, before it turned around and went the other way around. It was coming in my direction and I felt like I was about to **** my pants. It came behind me and I heard its footsteps stop. Then, the creaking sound followed and I knew it was bending down. I closed my eyes and breathed out quietly, trembling like a leaf on wind. And then all of a sudden, I heard a frantic set of footsteps to my left. I opened my eyes and glanced to the left, seeing James running away.
There was a high-pitched scream behind me and then the creature ran after James, its footsteps impossibly quick.
?On me!? ? Michael reminded me during the commotion.
I looked back at him and listened as the creature caught up to James, who managed to let out a short scream before he was silenced. What ensued was the sound of loud screeching, bashing, slamming and mauling to my left, while Michael and I stared at each other. It lasted for a whole minute before it abated and the blood-curdling screaming stopped completely. Silence once again filled the air around us and I heard the slow and soft footsteps to my left. They gradually faded and then completely disappeared.
Michael and I continued glaring at each other, too paralyzed with fear to avert our gaze. Only when we started to hear the wildlife in the forest again, Michael suggested we get the **** out of there. He told me not to look to my left, not because I might see James? body, but because he didn?t wanna risk the creature still being around.
We left all our **** in the camp and bolted out of there. The creature left in the opposite direction, so we hoped we wouldn?t run into it, but we didn?t care about ignoring it at this point. We heard a loud shriek in the distance, which indicated the monster was far away from us, which put us at lease momentarily. Still though, that scream was enough to freeze the marrow of the bone. We reached the car much faster than we got to the campsite and once we got in, I clumsily pulled out my keys, almost dropping them on the floor while trying to put them in the ignition. We drove out of there with a cloud of dust behind us, both of us shaking.
?Michael, what the **** was that thing? ? ? I asked while going as fast as the road allowed me to.
?I? I don?t know.? ? he muttered, still pale - "My grandfather told me about it a few times but... I thought those were just stories... He said that the creature can only hurt you if you let it know you see it."
?Poor James?? ? I said, glancing in the rearview mirror every few seconds, half-expecting that thing to appear in the reflection.
Luckily, it never did and Michael and I made it out safely. We went straight to the police and reported the whole thing, to their skepticism. I can?t blame them, a couple of drunk guys barge in in the middle of the night, telling them about a ****ing stick figure that killed their friend in the woods. After some convincing, they decided to send a patrol to the spot. An investigation was started when the police quickly found James? body. They said he had been mauled so badly that
they couldn?t identify him. They concluded it was a bear attack, dismissing our story of the stick figure, threatening that we weren't suspects right now, but that it could change very quickly, so Michael and I dropped it.
I don?t go camping anymore. And if you do, make sure you know where you?re going, or else you might end up like James. Or worse.


Source.