 I looked up at the rock shelter and smiled. I'd arrived at my place of solace, my little escape from the stresses of life, just big enough for me and my dog, Lolly, to curl up with the small fire and melt into the forest around us. The wood sounds and sights were like a drug to me and sitting amongst nature was my meditation form. I felt at home there, at peace with myself and the world, and I look forward to that feeling again on this early fall night. After all, I needed the time to myself. This year had been an awful one so far. I graduated from college and moved back home with my family while searching for jobs. The search had yet to produce meaningful employment, but in honesty, I hadn't been looking too hard. My aunt passed away right after graduation. I was close with her more so than I was with my mom and her death left a hole in my heart. My aunt was that person that introduced me to the wonders of nature and taught me the basics of backpacking. My excursions only increased in frequency after her death as I tried to fill the hole, although I now often went alone, only accompanied by my dog and my aunt's memory. I found my little campsite the weekend of her funeral and took its discovery as a sign from above, a final gift to help me through this challenging period. I knelt down and placed my backpack and sleeping bag on the sandy ground beneath the overhang. This place was nothing exceptional to anyone else, just an eroded niche in a vein of sandstone, halfway up a steep hill. However, the warmth that took in from the fire kept me comfortable throughout the chilly nights and the overhang protected me from the elements. This meant I camped without a tent as it did little but serve as a barrier between myself and the nature around me. My campsite was a couple of miles outside of town, just remote enough that I knew it was unlikely to be bothered, although the road was nearby and I could hike to my car in a couple of minutes if needed. Both of these factors contributed to why I frequented this site so much. I looked over the area and stopped Lolly from digging in the remains of my last excursion's fire. The idea of snuggling up to a toasty fire in the woods seemed to excite my dog just as much as it did me. I bent down to clear the old ash from the pit in preparation for a new fire while Lolly stood by and watched. Being an Australian shepherd mix, she loved to join me backpacking. I got Lolly from the shelter a few months before my aunt passed and I wanted to change her name, but my aunt felt it was cruel to change the name of a middle-aged dog, so I kept it. I soon got a fire going with supplies collected nearby and sat down to admire the view from my hillside perch while my dinner cooked. Beneath me laid a valley covered by a dense forest and when the crickets chirping lulled in short periods, I could hear a stream rambling somewhere unseen. The only unnatural sounds around me were the crackle of the fire and my small pot of water coming to a boil. I remember a feeling of peace flooding over me as I took the first bite of my meal which consisted of only boiled chicken and rice. It was simple, but satisfying. I sat by the fire while I ate and watched the stillness of the forest with my dog curled up at my side. I fed the scraps to Lolly, rolled out my sleeping pad, and grabbed my flask. I figured a few whiskey swigs would help me unwind even more, but I ended up drinking it all. It numbed my lingering thoughts of grief and I soon found myself dozing off to the crickets hum and the crackling fire. Lolly laid next to me and I quickly fell into a deep sleep with my arm wrapped around her. I woke up after the fire burned down to embers. Lolly still huddled against me, but she'd started to growl. I could feel her chest rumbling. That was what woke me up. I pulled her in to provide comfort, but the growl continued. This went on for several more minutes before Lolly stood up and deepened her growl. I rushed to stoke the remains of the fire, and as the flames grew, I watched the fur on Lolly's back rise. Something deeply bothered her, and I threw the rest of my wood onto the fire, hoping the extra light would calm us both. To this point, I thought Lolly was growling at maybe a deer or a fox, but then I heard it. A nearby voice. Hello? I listened to a woman's voice call out from the woods. It was too late for other hikers to pass by. Something was wrong. Hello? Who's out there? I called out. There was no response. Instead, all of the wildlife went silent around me. The forest became uncannily, quiet. The silence was soon interrupted by sticks and other foliage cracking somewhere off to my left. I scooted back against the rock shelter's wall and tried to pull Lolly back too, but she stayed put, continuing her deep growl and maintaining guard over me. Lolly. The unseen voice called out, somehow knowing my dog's name. Lolly. Come here, girl. It beckoned from the darkness. I started to get really scared. I was locked in place by fear and chills ran up my arms and down my spine as I recognized the voice. It sounded like that of my aunt, the one who had just died, my former backpacking companion, but there was no way in hell that was possible. Who? Who's there? I asked again, growing more terrified by the second. Tell me, who's out there? This joke isn't funny. I didn't get an answer, but the voice did respond, again calling out to my dog. Lolly, good baby. Come here, girl. Lolly tilted her head to the side and stopped growling, seeming to consider the command. My blood was running cold. Lolly, want a biscuit? The voice called out in a tone more excited than before. I shrieked as my dog took off in the direction of the disembodied voice. Grabbing my backpack, I rummaged around for my flashlight and clicked it on to search the tree line for my dog. I located her beside some brush about a hundred feet away. Lolly, get back over here. I demanded. She looked back at me for a second, but didn't return when I called. Her attention was on the voice. Lolly, biscuits. The voice called out once more. My dog took off further into the darkened woods. I grabbed my utility knife and I chased after her. This was not a nasty prank. This was something more whoever had called after my dog did not have good intentions and I needed to arm myself. The flashlight beam bounced ahead of me as I stumbled down the hillside into the thick brush. Lolly, I called out again. I heard her bark and I took off in that direction, running a couple of hundred feet or so further. My heart sank into the ground as I entered a marshy clearing on the edge of a stream, but I still couldn't see my dog or the person calling her. Lolly, get back over here. I pleaded. Lolly barked from nearby and I scanned the area with my flashlight. The blue tinted beam came to rest on a pair of antlers peeking out from behind some brush and I thought I'd come across arresting moose. However, as the animal connected to the antlers slowly stepped out from behind its cover, I realized it was most definitely not a moose. This creature was something I'd never seen before and I wish never to come across it again. I followed the antlers down to a gaunt face covered by taut and shiny skin pulled so tight that the bone structure looked ready to push through from beneath. The distorted face appeared uncannily human save for a grotesquely elongated snout and eyes sunken so far back that its sockets seemed empty. I could smell its stench of piss and death from feet away drool dripped from its snout as it stepped out from behind the brush revealing the rest of its body. The flashlight beam shook like crazy but I could see that the creature had the emaciated body of a man with long thin arms and even ganglier fingers. I followed the body down to its legs which unlike the rest of the creature were undeniably unhuman covered in ripped, bloody fur and terminated at a pair of cloven hooves. I stood still paralyzed by fear and disbelief. The creature must have realized this and began to sulk closer. I watched its mouth open as it produced several low wails before starting to speak. Lolly. It called out in a voice that now sounded like my own. I stumbled back and started to run back to my campsite. A loud whooshing noise came from behind me and I looked over my shoulder but the creature had disappeared. I ran faster, disturbed that whatever I'd seen slipped back into the darkness. The light of my campfire started to poke through the brush and I clamored up the hill toward it, hoping that my dog would be there to join me. I felt lucky when I saw Lolly next to the fire pit with her back to me, growling. I thought she was alerting me to the creature's hiding place and I hurried to grab my car keys while she still pointed towards the woods, snarling. Come on, let's go. I said, stomping out the fire. Looking over at my backpack and other supplies, I decided to come back later for them. Lolly must have caught on because as soon as the fire went out, she darted off in the direction of the car. My adrenaline had taken over by this point and we made it to the roadside in barely two minutes. The creature seemed to be nowhere in sight as I looked around my car but I soon heard whimpering off a short distance away. I panicked, thinking the creature would sneak up on me and I rushed to unlock my doors. Just as I was about to open the door for Lolly, another dog emerged from the shadows, another Australian shepherd, identical to Lolly. I then realized this other dog was Lolly. I looked down at the dog I'd followed to the car and confirmed it was not the real Lolly. When I pointed my flashlight up at its face, I screamed in a way I never thought possible. This animal looked just like my dog, but its eyes were sunken just like the creature. It had somehow transfigured itself into a copy of Lolly. Thankfully, my real dog ran to my side and put herself between me and the creature. It backed off and started to transform once again, stretching and growing in height. Its antlers began to pierce through the skin as it shed the fur used to disguise itself. I screamed again as it bared its mangled teeth and I flung open the car door before it could come at me. I jumped in right behind my dog and drove home. I didn't exit the vehicle until my garage door closed behind me. I remember sitting in my car and crying, trying to figure out what had happened. I still don't know what I saw, but I feel it may have been a while ago after researching it. I never believed in legends like that, but I have no other way to explain what I experienced. I don't want to imagine what would have happened if I'd gotten into the car with that thing. If Lolly hadn't saved me, I probably wouldn't be here to share this story. And as much as I want to, I have yet to go back for my belongings. I'll need a few more backpacking buddies and a hunting rifle before I'll venture out into the woods again.