Mating Call of the Wild

The wind howled amongst the trees as the snow came down in droves. I looked out the window of my cabin, the fire in the hearth barely able to keep up with the frigid winter air that seemed to invade this space. It had been 12 hours since I had ventured out here, into the woods and up the mountain. I have not been able to shake the feeling of being watched.

As I peer outside, I see something that shakes me to my core. Footprints in the snow, fresh, yet to be covered by the snowfall, what bothers me the most is that these prints look almost human...

I'm making sure to keep my name off of this record but for context, I'm a mountaineer of fifteen years. I was a marine on two tours and I've been a search and rescue officer ever since. I would not hesitate to say the mountain and the woods around it were where I felt most at home. I've seen stories of this or that about my profession being passed around and while I can't validate the authenticity of those tales, I can say that while I have seen some strange things in my years, things I couldn't explain. I didn't let it shake me.

I'm not a religious man, but I accept that there are things in this world that I may never understand. Though none of it was as odd as the stories I've heard others tell, until today.

I was off duty, looking to spend a month up in my cabin on the mountainside. It was early January, first days of the new year. This was a yearly ritual for me, to re-align myself after a long year of work, the only time I ever really took a vacation.

I had parked my truck at the base of the mountain, just outside the tree line, half a mile from the highway. I climbed out of the truck and pulled my pack from the backseat. It was heavy on my back, it was a comfort. I had two weeks of supplies and beyond that I was to forage and hunt for myself. I kept a hunting rifle with me and there were deer and elk in the area, rabbits and other smaller critters to trap if need be. There were also bears and wolves in the area but the former should be hibernating by now and the latter I already knew to stay away from.

Aside from a satellite phone that was only for emergencies, there was no technology and no electricity. Just me and the natural world.

I locked my truck and started my half a day's hike. It was still early in the day, the sun was still blocked by the mountain ridges. There was some snowfall on the ground, but not much. It had been about two weeks since the last snowfall. As I hiked the usual trail, it did not take me long to notice the silence.

In the winter, it's usually quiet. Most birds had flown south and insects had either frozen or died off. Quiet is normal, but this was something else. A kind of bizarre silence that seemed to eat all other sounds. Even my footfalls on the snow were dampened more than usual. The more I notice it, the more a sense of panic suddenly rises in my chest but I push it down. Shake it off. You're better than this, I tell myself.

I shouldn't be spooked so easily. I kept on. I ignore the silence but what I can't ignore is the feeling of being watched. I have an odd 'sixth sense' about that and when I was in the military I learned to notice that feeling real quick, eyes on you usually came with a gun and you don't want to be caught standing with your dick in your hand, (figuratively speaking).

Every so often I pause to scan the trees, thinking a stray wolf or a mountain lion had gone hunting. I was normally able to see the signs, tracks, droppings ect. But every time I looked, nothing. I call out, "Hello!" Maybe a hunter or hiker is nearby, I was already wearing a bright orange vest over my coat just in case. But if someone saw me from behind, at a distance they might mistake me for a bear or something.

I did a full 360 turn, "Hello!" I called. That damn silence eats up my voice. I see nothing, I hear nothing but I feel like something is following me, watching me, hunting me.

I carried the ritual unloaded, but now I was pausing to feed bullets into it. It was mostly for my own security. I didn't want an animal to jump me and not be prepared, but nothing came. After a moment I picked up the pace, it was a few hours in by now and dark grey clouds were rolling overhead. The forecast didn't call for snow today but Mother Nature had other plans.

It was another hour in when the snow starts to come down, slow at first. And as I walk I start to notice something, deep marks carved into the truck of trees. I knew bears marked their territory this way, but upon inspection, these marks were deep. Deeper than any bear marks than I'd ever seen, and they looked fresh. If this was a bear, it would have been huge to have claws this long and to be able to reach as high as these were. Maybe it climbed the tree? But bears were not commonly found in this area, usually deeper into the woods, further than where I would normally venture on my own.

I looked for any other signs and there were tracks in the snow, equally fresh. Judging by the shape, they were almost human. The shape was a little too long, and the toes ended in a point.

"Very funny," I muttered. Someone was fucking with me, probably trying to work up a Bigfoot hoax or some internet creepypasta bullshit. I was kicking myself for falling for such nonsense when I heard it.

It wasn't a scream, more like a roar, unlike anything I've ever heard. The sound cut through that silence and rattled my eardrums, shaking me to my bones. I've never heard anything in my life. I knew what a mountain lion sounded like, and this wasn't it. If I had to compare it to anything, it damn near almost sounded human but louder, more guttural.

I didn't want to find out what it was and I turned and continued on the trail. By now I was closer to the cabin than the base of the mountain. Not only that, but that sound came from where I had already been. If I wanted to avoid its territory, I'd have to keep going.

As I reach the cabin, the snow is coming down harder, damn near blizzard conditions. I unlocked the door to the cabin and rushed inside, closing the door behind me. Finally I'm sheltered from the wind and that damn silence. I can hear my own breath again.

I pull my pack off and set it. Down, lay my rifle against the wall. From my bag I pull one of those insta-light fire logs and place it in the fireplace, lighting it and letting the warmth fill the room. I give a relieved sigh. As if the fire somehow made me safe from whatever was outside.

But that safe feeling didn't last. Despite my best attempts to relax, unpack and rest. But no matter what I did I could not shake the feeling of being watched. I found myself constantly checking over my shoulder, looking out the windows. I never saw anything, until I did.

Footprints in the snow that weren't there earlier, the same shape as the ones I saw earlier. It was moments later I hear something heavy hit the roof, and I hear that scream again, just above me.

I scramble, panicking for my rifle. Picking it up I look up, still hearing footsteps on the roof. I go for the door, stepping outside into the cold dark. The wind howled and the snow made visibility shit. I get a few steps away and turn, aiming up at the roof of the cabin.

It was hard to see but I could make out a shape. Mostly human, but too tall and had what looked like antlers on its head. It looked back at me with bright glowing eyes, like it looked right through me. It sent a chill down my spine colder than the snow or wind around me.

We stared each other down before it gave off another shriek, I fired but I don't think I hit it. I ran back into the cabin, closing the door and trying to barricade the door, the window, any entrances it could use to get in.

A hard gust of wind hit the cabin and the fire went out. I was plunged into cold darkness. All was silent, until it hit the door. It shook the whole cabin before it hit the door again, and again. Finally with one last strike the door bust open, breaking down the small barricade I had hastily put together.

I backed away, taking aim and firing again. This time I knew I hit it dead on, but it didn't move. It didn't even flinch, it howled at me, loud enough to shatter the windows. Then it came at me. It was fast, on me before I could even react.

I didn't even have time to fight as it hit me and I black out.

When I come to, it's dark, a single beam of light coming down from high above. I groaned as I sat up, regretting it instantly. The nausea almost knocked me back down as my head pounded. I took a few deep breaths to refocus myself and sat up again.

With th little amount of light, I could tell I was in a cave of some kind. The cavern was large and in the center was what appeared to be the remains of a fire. Whatever this thing was, it was intelligent.

The thought occurred to me to get up and try to escape, but I didn't know where I was or how deep into this cave system it had dragged me. It would be very easy for me to get lost, trip and fall into some larger cavern and break my neck, or worse get stuck somewhere.

I stayed put, if it bothered to keep me alive I assumed it would come back for me eventually. I waited, for what felt like hours before I started to hear footsteps echoing off the walls. It emerged from a connected cavern across from me. It stepped into the circle of light in the center and I finally got a good look at it.

It was tall, at least a foot taller than me, not including the antlers sticking out of its head. It looked mostly human, female. Long dark hair, rudimentary clothes made of animal furs wrapped around its body. What little exposed skin it had was covered by what I could only assume was blood and dirt. Its fingers ended in long talons. But what bothered me the most was its face. The mouth was much too wide, like you took a normal human's head and forced the jaws open until the cheeks tore. I could see the shape of sharpened teeth filling that mouth.

She had something in each hand, one was wrapped around the neck of a dead elk, the other carried a log that I wouldn't even have been able to carry with two hands. She dropped the elk and turned her attention to the log. With both hands she broke it down into smaller pieces with terrifying efficiency.

When the task was done she gathered the pieces into a pile in the center of the cavern, she did some kind of gesture to it and suddenly a flame erupted, catching the wood ablaze. It startled me, if she could do that there was no telling what else she was capable of. I stayed where I was, hoping she hadn't noticed I was awake yet as she turned her attention to the body of the elk.

With her claws she cut into it, using them to skin the animal. It was a task I've done myself and I could tell she knew what she was doing as she carefully worked. The more I watched her, the less I understood about her. There was no doubt of her intelligence. I started to come to the conclusion that this thing used to be human at one time. However long ago that was I'll probably never know.

When finished with her task, she used crude tanning racks that had been aligned on the far wall to hang the skin to dry. She returned to the carcass and began cutting away any usable meat. Some of the bones were kept, likely to be made into tools later. But the smaller ones or ones she either had no use or interest in was left behind.

She began taking the meat and impaling it on sharpened sticks or bone, cooking it over the fire. I was reminded that I don't know how long it's been since I last ate as the smell of cooking meat filled the cavern. That was when she looked over to me, likely already knowing I was awake as gestured me to come over. I hesitated but she growled at me, so I complied.

I was slow as I approached, which wasn't hard considering how weak my body felt, but slowly I approached. I settled in by the fire, a few feet still separating us. I watched cautiously, but I knew she was watching me in return. "What do you want with me?" I tried to communicate.

Shelooked to me and responded with some kind of noise I still struggle to describe. Not quite a growl, not loud enough to be a roar. It seemed like some rudimentary form of communication that I didn't understand.

I didn't ask any more questions and after a while she removed some of the meat from the fire and offered it to me. I couldn't deny I was hungry so I reluctantly took it. As I ate she took the remainder of the cooked meat and disappeared with it. If this cave system was her home she likely used different caverns for different things. It wouldn't surprise me if she kept a food stockpile somewhere.

But if she wasn't going to eat me, what was I here for?

My answer came when she returned some time later. I heard her footsteps approaching from behind. I didn't dare turn to face her as I waited to see what she'd do. She bothered to feed me so I doubted she wanted to kill me.

Her large, taloned hands slid over my shoulders and down my torso. I felt her body pressed against mine as she nuzzled me like an animal. I felt her tongue along my neck and cheek.

I realized now what she wanted. I was her plaything, a pet.

I was going to resist her when she suddenly tore into my jacket with her claws. She got it off with little effort. The rest didn't last much longer and soon I was left in nothing but my boots. I fell back, looking up at her as she slipped off her crude clothes, exposing her body.

Her body was tight, muscular, no wonder she was so strong as she pushed me to the ground. She straddled me, it became very obvious she was looking to mate and I wasn't sure what she'd do if I didn't comply. Though I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get it up under the circumstances as she started to rub herself against me.

To my own surprise, it seemed to work. Maybe it was the adrenaline, maybe the knowledge I probably wouldn't live long if I didn't perform for her. Maybe both but either way, I could feel myself stiffen as she teased me until I was fully stiff.

She shifted and pressed the head of my shaft against the opening between her legs. She let out a groan as I slid into her, it was warm and was eerily familiar. Maybe because this thing was human at one time, there was little difference in this regard.

She slid all the way down my shaft, groaning with each inch. The way she rolled her head back in savory pleasure made me think it had probably been a while. But soon she began to move, up and down, up and down. Each time she came down on me I grunted, a mix of fear and pleasure rushing through my system. I hated to admit that last part, that some part of me enjoyed this.

I tried to reason with myself that I was just trying to make the best of a bad situation, to find something in this to enjoy. But even now, as I'm recalling that night and putting those memories down for the first time. I find the memory exciting.

Her voice echoed through the cavern, seeming to get louder and louder with each drop onto me. It was damn near hypnotic, and soon I was complying with her more. I grabbed her body and pulled her down onto me. My body sweat, my heart racing as her body bounced off of me again and again.

But soon, in what seemed both like an eternity and an instant. I felt a pressure growing in me, one I could not stop as soon I was climaxing inside her. She must have felt it as she gave a deep, guttural, animal like growl as my shaft throbbed.

When it was over, she stayed like that, looking down at me for the first time since we started this. Her clawed hand reaching down and I feared she would dispose of me now that she got what she wanted.

Instead she caressed me softly, cooing with affection like an animal. It was impossible to tell but I damn near think she was smiling.

We would repeat this act a few more times that night, a few different positions but each time I did as she wanted. Because deep down something in me wanted it too. I had gotten a taste and I craved more.

When I was physically incapable of continuing, I collapsed in a heap in one corner of the cavern. To my surprise there was a pile of straw and grass there, a makeshift bed. I was again surprised to have her lay with me, covering us with the furs that she was wearing earlier.

It wasn't the most comfortable but I had slept on worse, I was too exhausted to care.

When I woke, she was gone. The light from above was dim, it was either dawn or dusk outside. I wrapped myself in the furs that were left behind to keep myself warm. I looked around the cavern, there were a few corridors that extended from this cavern. Where they went I didn't know.

I still didn't want to risk exploring too far, for all I knew this thing was still watching. So I waited, for what felt like hours until she would eventually return. What she was out doing I may never know. But she usually brought back supplies of some kind. Some scavenged from the wilderness, like wood for fire, others looked like they were stolen from somewhere, other times it was animals for food and fur when the reserves ran low.

But from there our routine would repeat, eat, mate, sleep, wake, wait. Day after day this repeated. I think after some time Stockholm syndrome set in. I would look forward to her eventual return, no matter how long it took her. I would greet her like a loyal and loving pet, eager for our routine again.

Until one day, she didn't come back. I had no idea how long I had been in the cave, but I watched the light from overhead grow dark, then light again, and still she did not return. After another day, I grew desperate, hungry. I had to venture out from this cavern. Slowly and cautiously I stepped into one of the several corridors that branched off from the cavern.

I kept my hand along one wall, following it slowly in pitch blackness. All I had was hope that it would lead somewhere. Thankfully, after what felt like hours, I saw a light. I followed it and shielded my eyes as I emerged in bright sunlight. I thanked God and any other deity that could hear me as I tried to find where I was. Nothing looked familiar. I would wander for another day and a half in the deep snow, only the crude fur she had given me for warmth. I was afraid I'd catch frostbite when suddenly, I heard voices.

They were calling for me, a search party! I ran towards them, calling for them. I was beyond elated to see another person again.

They got me out of that forest and to a hospital where they asked what had happened. I knew they would never believe me so I made up a story about getting lost in the blizzard, stumbling into a cave for shelter and becoming lost in a maze of caverns.

I told them I stumbled on a hibernating bear and barely escaped with my life, stumbling on an old abandoned hunter's lodge where I took the fur for warmth. I'm not sure how much of my story the believed but they could write it off as delirium. That I may have hit my head somewhere and don't remember all the details correctly.

I had learned that I had been missing for two months. It felt longer. I never told a soul about what actually happened out there.

I spent two weeks in the hospital, but once I recovered and passed a psych evaluation, I went back to work. A lot of my colleagues were surprised to see me, I insisted that I was fine. I told them this was the only job for me and I wouldn't let some mishap turn me away.

I think part of me was hoping to find some trace of her, and sometimes when I was out in the woods I would feel that familiar feeling of being watched. Hear that deafening silence of her presence. But whenever I tried to find her it would disappear. Sometimes at night I would hear a call of something that sounded like no animal I'd ever heard, save for one.

As I'm writing this, it's closing in on the new year. As per my tradition, I will be making my hike into the mountains. I am not afraid of what I might find there. If anything, I think she will be waiting for me. These past few weeks I have been feeling a longing to return to that place where we first met.