The Scream in the Pines | Forest Horror Story | Audio Horror Story

Audio Version:

The Scream in the Pines | Forest Horror Story

It was a normal summer night. Not too warm. No wind. The sky was so clear you could see every star. The moon was glowing bright and strong. After your eyes adjusted to the dark you could make out shapes and shadows as if the whole world was gently lit by some invisible lantern. It felt like the kind of night meant for exploring. For doing something a little bold. A little stupid. A little unforgettable. That’s probably why I did what I always did back then. I waited until my dad was asleep and then I snuck out of the house.

I had it down to a routine. Slip on my shoes. Grab my flashlight. Climb out the window. Jog quietly down the street and out past the edge of the neighborhood. Then I made my way past the golf course. I was heading somewhere new that night. Down a dry creek bed into a valley I had never explored. That was the plan. That was the adventure. And at first everything went just fine. The rush of sneaking out. The excitement of being alone under the stars. The thrill of going somewhere completely unknown. I wasn’t scared. I was buzzing.

But not long after I got into the woods something changed. It started with silence. And not just the normal kind of silence. This was a thick heavy emptiness. I stopped walking. It hit me all at once. The crickets had stopped. The frogs. The insects. Everything that usually made the night so noisy had vanished. The only sound left was the soft hush of wind moving through the pine trees. It was so strange I just stood there. Waiting. Listening. Trying to understand why it felt so wrong.

And then that feeling hit me. It didn’t come slowly. It surged into me like cold water spilling over my head. Every tiny hair on my arms and neck stood up. I felt like something terrible had just woken up. Like something I wasn’t supposed to feel had found me. It was a kind of dread I can’t explain with words. My skin was burning and my heart felt like it wanted to climb out of my chest. I remember whispering to myself just to make sure I could still hear my own voice. And then I heard the scream.

It was right above me. So loud. So sharp. So close that I actually ducked and covered my ears. I had heard wild animals scream before. I had heard cougars. Foxes. Birds. But this wasn’t like anything I had ever heard. It wasn’t just loud. It was full of something I don’t even want to describe. Rage. Hate. Pain. Something dark and angry that felt like it had been buried for a long time and had just clawed its way out. It was the worst sound I’ve ever heard. The kind of sound that makes your bones feel soft.

I froze. I didn’t even run. I just stood there staring at the shadows between the trees. That’s when I saw it. Something moving just ahead. Big enough to be a person. Low to the ground. Moving on all fours but not like a dog or a bear. The way it shifted looked wrong. Like it was broken inside but still trying to move like it remembered being human. I tried to back away but my legs wouldn’t listen. I just stood there watching it move closer. My mind screaming while my body refused to move.

Then it stopped making noise. No footsteps. No breathing. Just silence again. But it was still coming. I knew it was. The dread only got worse. It felt like my heart was being squeezed. Like something was pressing down on my chest. I wanted to run but it was like being trapped in a nightmare where your body is heavy and slow and nothing works. I don’t even remember deciding to run. I just remember suddenly moving. My arms flailing. My feet digging into the dirt. The world blurring around me as I ran faster than I’ve ever run before.

Everything was quiet except for the sound of my feet pounding the ground. I couldn’t even hear my own breath. Just movement. Roots. Pine needles. Dirt. I fell. Face first. The air knocked out of me. I lay there for a second waiting to feel teeth or claws or something cold grab my ankle. Nothing came. Just more silence. More stillness. And then a coldness like I’ve never felt before. Like all the warmth had been sucked from the earth. I felt my body lose control. I felt myself cry without even knowing it. My arms wrapped around my chest. My face buried in the dirt. And then everything went black.

When I opened my eyes again the sky was pale. The sun was starting to rise. Birds were chirping again. The normal sounds had returned. But something inside me had changed. I didn’t feel like myself. I didn’t feel safe. I didn’t feel real. I didn’t know how long I had been lying there. I didn’t want to think about it. All I knew was I had to get home before my dad found out I was gone. So I ran. I ran for miles. I ran with legs that felt like they didn’t belong to me.

When I finally reached the house I climbed over the back fence and dropped into the yard like I always did. But my dogs were there. My best friends. They saw me and they didn’t run over to say hello. They didn’t wag their tails or lick my face. They snarled. They growled. They snapped at my heels like I was a stranger. Like they didn’t recognize me. I didn’t have time to think about it. My dad was up. I had to get inside. I slipped through the window into my room. Changed my clothes. Tried to breathe. Tried to feel normal again.

I went to school that day. I don’t know why. Maybe I just didn’t want to be alone. But they sent me home before lunch. Said I had a fever. I didn’t argue. I didn’t care. Everything felt wrong. My skin. My heartbeat. My thoughts. I couldn’t focus. Couldn’t speak. I didn’t tell anyone what had happened. Not for a long time. I barely spoke at all after that. I went from being loud and social to being quiet and hidden. I avoided people. I avoided light. I failed classes. I almost didn’t graduate. It was like nothing mattered anymore. Like nothing could ever matter again.

My dogs never treated me the same way again. They stopped sleeping near my room. They avoided me. They barked if I got too close. It broke my heart. I had grown up with them. They were my family. But whatever came back from that field that night it wasn’t something they trusted. And maybe they were right.

I don’t know what I saw. I don’t know what screamed above me. I don’t know why I lost time or how I ended up lying face down in the dirt as the sun came up. But I know something happened. Something I can’t explain. Something I don’t want to remember but can never forget. That night ended the part of me that believed the world was simple. That night ended the part of me that believed monsters weren’t real.