The Rake: My Experience

Panting and sweating, I ran through the damp brushes under the moon, checking every hiding spot I'd ever used. I was playing hide and seek with my friends after dusk. With the taste of steak in the back of my throat, I ran faster frantically trying to find my friends before I ran out of time. My breath was so thick that night, and the way I was breathing I could see my breath exit my mouth exceedingly fast like a train floating into the cool autumn night. I jumped on the stationary pontoon boat in the pond to see if I could get a better view of the darkness around me.

I hopped off hoping that someone was near by. Despite my hunting skills and instincts I had no luck. I stopped breathing for about 5 seconds to listen for anyone else. My eyes grew tired and dry. I needed to blink. After I blinked I saw a few bushes move. I ran to see what it was. I couldn't hear much more than frogs calling and crickets rubbing their legs. I peeked around a few trees, and reached into my trench coat pocket. My flashlight! I had hope that I would find them all now. I turned it on and looked through a dead tree's split column. I saw someone duck just before I centered the light. Mitch got up. "Okay John, you got me. Now lets go find the others." Mitch said while he staggered over to me. "Are you ok Mitch?" I said. "Yeah man, I'm fine. Now lets get going." He replied. I noticed immediately he looked very tense. I didn't question him because I was too focused on finding the other people before time was out. "Lets split up," I said. "Got it," Mitch said while running up the cobblestone path with a small flashlight. I traveled deeper into the light forest brush. Now the flashlight was working the best.

Everything was dead in here so I could see right through it. I wasn't going to go much farther because I didn't remember where the ravine in the forest was. I moved a few more yards in, while licking my lips to keep my mouth from drying up. I felt unsafe now. I felt a very deep sense of embodiment all around me. Everything was getting eerie. By now my head was pounding and my hands were shaking. I could feel my heartbeat through my head. My sanity was slowly dwindling. The three minutes I sat frozen in place felt like an eternity in my head. I started scanning the area with my flashlight so I could get out as quick as I could. Two glares caught my attention immediately. "I know its you Tod. Now come on, we don't have much time left!" I said to the eyes. No response. I shined the light on its face. That "thing" wasn't Tod. Its face was pale white and it lacked a facial expression. It didn't get up.

I was moving closer but it was short. As it exited the bushes I noticed that it was crawling towards me. I wanted to scream but instead I ran. I felt adrenaline pump into my systems as I ran as fast as I could. I stormed into the house to tell everyone who was found about what I saw. Only Mitch believed me. He said he heard it moving behind him. We called off the game and got everyone inside. I spent a few days matching what I saw to what the Internet had archived. I saw what others refer to as "The Rake". That might have been the last time I'll ever see him. But after that I knew it wasn't the first.

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