 I used to be a normal person. I worked an average job in retail, I had a girlfriend and apartment, and I had a good relationship with my parents. Then it all came crashing down on me like the sky. I was laid off my job due to budget cuts, my girlfriend left me, and my parents died in a car wreck. To be honest, it all sounded like a cliche villain origin story. But I tried to stay optimistic. I was a young man with my whole life ahead of me. I wasn't going to let this ruin me. I was my parents only child, so I got their house and money in the will. But instead of moving in, I sold the house. I can't say if it was just stress or stupidity that made me do what I did next, but I'll let you choose. I decided to hike cross country. I don't know why I did or what I expected, but I guess I figured I needed some time to clear my mind, get things organized emotionally, you know? It actually went really well. I met all kinds of interesting people and got to see all kinds of amazing sights. But that changed when I went to the Appalachian Mountains. I'd been walking for so long, I thought my feet would fall off. I checked my map for the hundredth time inside. It would probably be a day or more until I made it to the next town. I looked up at the sky and realized that the clouds were so full and heavy, I thought they'd fall on my head. That definitely worried me, none of my camping gear was strong enough to survive a rainstorm. I started looking for shelter when I came across an old cabin. It was hidden in the shadows of the trees and I almost missed it. As soon as I noticed it, though, the sky let loose a massive crack of thunder that felt like it would shake the world apart. And I swore I heard another sound mixed in with it, like the screech of some kind of bird. I shook my head and chuckled a bit of the thought, all this time by myself might be getting to me. As I quickly made my way into the cabin, as if on cue, the sky let loose. Sheets of rain crashed down from the sky. The wind picked up out of nowhere and blew so hard I thought it might uproot the trees or tear the cabin to shreds. Lucky for me, though, it held. The old wood creaking and the windows rattled, but it held together. I surveyed my surroundings and quickly realized that this place couldn't have been inhabited. A thick layer of dust covered the floor and cobwebs filled the corners. I pulled the flashlight from my backpack and wandered around. Pictures hung from the wall, depicting a smiling man, woman, and young girl. There was an old kitchen and dining table, but not much of interest. I found stairs leading to the second floor and decided to check it out. I might be here a while and I didn't see the harm in exploring. Upstairs, there were three doors, two on the left and one on the right. I also noticed that one door on each side was slightly ajar. I assumed it was the parent's room, their daughter's room, and probably a guest room. I went to the one on the left and tried the door. It swung open with an ominous creak. I slowly surveyed the room and felt a chill run down my spine. It looked like a crime scene. The bed was ripped to shreds. I saw dark stains that I can only assume to be blood and there were massive claw marks on the floor. What the hell happened here? Had a bear got in and attack them. As I looked around, I saw something poking out from the other side of the bed. I went around to investigate and saw it was a rifle. I picked it up and looked it over. It was old and dusty but didn't seem damaged. I checked to see if it was loaded and was surprised to find that it was. Only one bullet was missing. I decided to take it with me. No telling if whatever did this might come back or something worse. I stepped back into the hall and made my way to the next room. I was worried what I'd find but morbid curiosity compelled me to keep going. I found that this door, unlike the parents and the third, was shut. I slowly opened the door and was surprised to find it was in much better condition. There were no claw marks on the floor or blood or anything like that. As I surveyed the area, I figured that it had to be the daughters. The walls were painted pink and there were several old dusty stuffed animals laying on the floor. I felt relieved that she seemed to evade or maybe escape whatever had taken the parents. But if she had, then what happened to her? The beam of my flashlight landed on her nightstand where I saw a book resting. I picked it up and realized it was a diary. Oddly enough, I was hesitant to read it. I didn't like invading anyone's privacy. But in this situation, I thought it was appropriate. Maybe there was a clue as to what happened or who they were. Eventually I caved in and read the last few entries. They were written in a hasty mess handwriting that was due to be expected of a child. What I gathered was that the family that lived here got snowed in during a blizzard. They were low on food and one day a stranger appeared at the door. Then the entry stopped. The strange man been responsible. Did he kill the parents and kidnap the girl? I stepped back into the hallway and looked at the final door. I'm not sure what I expected to find. But I took a deep breath and pushed it open. I let out a sharp gasp at what I saw. This room was just as bad as the parents. Inside stained the floors and torn bed, there were clear signs of a struggle as well. But two things stuck out to me. The first being that unlike the parents room, there were no claw marks gouged into the floors and wall of this room. The second was a large rusty butcher's knife laying on the floor near the bed. I quickly walked out and made my way downstairs. I was deeply unsettled by what I'd found and unsure of what to do. I could leave the cabin, yet the storm was still raging hard and it was nearly night. I made my way to the kitchen and decided to sit on the floor against the wall. My eyes began to grow heavy. I figured I'd take a quick nap and rethink things when I woke up. Maybe by then the storm would dissipate and I could make my way to town and tell them what I found. I slowly drifted into sleep, the sound of the wind and rain, which I almost thought sounded like the wingbeats of some massive bird slowly lulled me into unconsciousness. In my dreams, I was running through the woods. I was being chased by something, something dark and evil and old. I was running to safety, but I didn't know what that safety was. The storm still raged overhead. The rage so hard I thought I'd blow the world to pieces and force it all back together. I felt that evil thing grow closer. I couldn't let it catch me. I had to run faster. As I ran, suddenly the forest around me opened to a clearing and at the edge, I saw a cliff. I don't know how or why I knew, but I could somehow tell that that cliff dropped off into the storm, into the same clouds that hung heavy and dark overhead. I knew that those clouds were the only way to escape whatever was chasing me. When I made it to the cliff, I felt the claws of that dark thing brush my back just as I flung myself off the cliff. I felt myself jolt awake. I quickly sat up and surveyed my surroundings. It took a moment, but eventually I recalled where I was. I considered checking to see if the storm had subsided when another massive crack of thunder shattered the thought. I suppose I didn't need to check. I laid back against the wall and considered trying to doze back off when suddenly another noise caught my attention. I wasn't sure what it was until I heard it again, a low scraping noise outside. Was it a tree branch brushing against the house? I heard the sound again and quickly dismissed the idea. It was long and drawn out and sounded like it was circling the house. I slowly got to my feet and lifted the rifle. Whatever it was, I didn't want to take any chances. I crept over to a window and peeked outside. It was too dark to make anything out and I was about to turn away when I thought I saw something in the darkness. I slowly leaned in and tried to get a better look. When a sudden flash of lightning illuminated a sight that has haunted my mind ever since that day, a face stared back at me, but I hesitate to call it human. It was pale, with sunken cheeks and eyes as though whatever they belonged to was suffering from the worst kind of starvation. The eyes were yellow and bloodshot. They stared at me with such hunger that I felt like a steak in front of a lion. A few tufts of dirty hair clung to its head and its nose was practically gone with nothing but bone remaining. But the mouth? The mouth is what froze the blood in my veins and assured me that this thing was not human. Its mouth was devoid of lips as though they'd been chewed off and its teeth were long and jagged. They looked yellow and rotted and I was sure I saw bits of meat stuck to them. I only saw that thing for a fraction of a second before the flash of lightning faded and I was plunged into darkness and silence once more. I slowly stepped away from the window, afraid that thing would leap through when the door suddenly shattered inward and the creature entered. And I got a good look at the rest of it. Its body was emaciated like skin draped across a skeleton, scraps of what had likely once been clothing clung to its body and I saw no marker of the creature's gender. Its limbs and whole body looked stretched and elongated and its massive hands ended in claws where fingers had once been. The thing focused its gaze on me, letting out a screech that nearly drowned out the sound of the storm outside. I winced and immediately aimed my rifle at it and pulled the trigger. The monster shriek was cut off by the sound of the gunshot and the bullet caught it in the shoulder. It flung its body back against the wall with a spray of black blood. I quickly turned and ran past the creature and into the waiting storm outside. I was unsure if my shot had killed it or just wounded it and I didn't want to be here to find out, though I got my answer a moment later when I heard that demonic shriek once again. I didn't bother to turn and instead just ran faster. The wind tore at my clothing and the rain pelted my face as I blindly charged forward. I'm not sure how long I ran before I felt my foot catch something and I fell face first to the ground and felt the wind get knocked out of me when I landed. I managed to roll over, gasping for air and trying to see through the rain when my eyes fell on the creature chasing me still. It stopped when it saw I'd fallen and began to slowly creep towards me. I desperately fired at it blindly, two shots getting it in the chest and the third missing. The creature lurched back and more black blood flowed from the wound, but it didn't stop. It let out an enraged hiss and prepared to lunge at me when suddenly the world was consumed by a blinding light. I blinked my eyes and managed to see what had happened. Lightning had struck the creature. It lay on the ground unmoving, smoke coming out of its blackened body. I almost smiled as I slowly made my way to my feet and considered what to do next when it let out a heaving gasp and began to move. I'd shot that thing twice and it had been struck by freaking lightning and it was still alive? What chance did I have? I desperately searched for anything nearby that would help my situation as the creature painfully moved each limb individually as if testing that they all still worked. My eyes soon came to a cliff and I remembered my dream. I recalled how I'd escaped that dark thing chasing me. Had it been a message? A prophecy. Before I could talk myself out of it, the creature shrieked once more and focused its yellow eyes on me. My body switched to autopilot and I immediately ran to the cliff. Even if I couldn't escape that thing, I didn't want to give it the satisfaction of tearing me apart. At least this way, it'll hopefully be quick. The creature chased close behind me but was luckily still recovering or else I have no doubt it would have caught me. I hesitated for a moment at the edge of the cliff wondering if what I was about to do was a good idea in any capacity when suddenly the creature shrieked and my fear made up my mind for me. Closing my eyes and swallowing hard, I stepped off the ledge and into the darkness below. I heard three things before I lost consciousness, a screech from the creature, the sound of thunder, and what sounded like a bird with massive wings. I awoke in a completely different environment than where I was. I seemed to be in the middle of an empty plane. I was soaked to the bone and wandered in a daze until I found a road and luckily I made it to one almost at the same time as a truck was passing by. I waved them down and they pulled over. A woman rolled down the window and she asked where I was heading. I must say she was very polite for someone speaking to a soaking wet man with a dazed look in his eyes. I asked if she could give me a lift to the nearest town and she happily agreed to do so. Once I got in, it struck me that I had no idea where I was. I asked the woman who introduced herself as Amber and she let out a laugh that brought a smile to my face. The smile quickly faded when she informed me I was in Colorado. That was clear on the other side of the state and I seemed to make it there in a single night. I calmed myself and did my best to simply chat with Amber, telling her I'd gotten rained on last night and was just out of it because of the heat. She seemed to accept that and we talked more until we reached a nearby town. It took me a while to recover from that day. I'm still not sure what happened or how much of it was a dream or reality. Believe it or not, I still travel, although now I carry a handgun with me at all times. I even bought a small silver knife just to be safe. I did some research on the internet, trying to find clues as to what happened. Of course, I suspected that the thing which attacked me was a windigo. I've heard enough stories to figure that out. But what about the thing that saved me? Have you ever heard of a thunderbird? Beings that are storms made sentient, thunder and lightning given life forces of nature personified into protectors with their own sense of justice. I think that's what could have saved me that day, though I do wonder why. Maybe I just got lucky and the thunderbird took pity on me or maybe there's something else that's too great for me to understand. Either way, I always find myself looking up into the storm clouds wondering if I'll see a shape soaring among them and hear the flapping of wings among the thunder.