Every night until the age of six or seven, my mom or my dad would read me a bedtime story. And I mean every single night, or I would protest fiercely. My favorite stories were those about fairies, which are hard working, tiny but kind mysterious beings, who help mother nature in all kinds of unimaginable, seemingly magical ways.

Back then I was blissfully unaware of the fact that equally mysterious beings existed out there...right at that moment... very far away from the safety of my bed...and yet so nearby. "Ignorance is bliss" they rightly say, because nobody could have known...that the universe was already planning something special for me to experience.

It may not surprise you that in my youthful, innocent imagination back then, my beloved dolls were in fact real life fairies...only holding perfectly still....pretending to be dolls....when seen by others.

When my mom asked me on a rainy Saturday afternoon if I could please choose a few favorite ones, I sulked for most of the day. How can I possibly choose favorites, when all of them have been my friends since forever?

When she surprised me and bought me a sizable fluffy furry fox plushie, it instantly became my new favorite one. After that day however, my fairy friends mysteriously started to disappear....as if by magic...one at a time. Mom told me they were needed back home...and I believed her. In my defense, I couldn't have been more than six years old at the time.

When I grew up, most plushies and dolls ended up in the attic, in a big brown storage box, destined to be gathering dust seemingly forever. Even now, when thinking about the box, I see the printed letters "Five Star Movers" together with those colored five twinkling stars in my mind's eye.

My friends are sleeping there even now, dreaming of times long gone when we used to cuddle every night. Of course I added a fluffy towel at the bottom of the box back then, just to keep them happy. I mean, who would want to have quietly sulking unhappy dolls sleeping upstairs, right?

Oh, and I found the fairies "who went home." Yeah, that brought back some memories, but I can understand now. My collection was a bit...too much for my bedroom, so I can't really blame her. Blame my family for buying so many of them! But yes, I had a wonderful time growing up.

Many years have passed since storing them into that box, and my innocent, wonderful worlds of imagination were slowly replaced with thoughts about everyday life.

There's one thing I have to admit though...I put all but one plushie in that storage box. Even today, Alice, my favorite big furry fluffy plushie, still proudly guards my bedroom from her place on the bookshelf near the window. Of course I rarely give her the loving attention she once received, but she knows she's still dear to me. She has withstood lots of hugging and cuddling, and still looks every bit as fluffy as the day I got her.

Well...that brings me to today. Finally...my first ever annual leave starts today. I've been working as a hotel receptionist for about a year now, learning the job on the go. The previous receptionist left before I started, and they initially only wanted me to fill the void for a few weeks, until they could hire someone with experience in the hotel business. And yet...here I am...still working for them.

Since they seem to be reasonably happy with me, the hotel's manager recently decided that now would be a good time for me to take two weeks off. One of my colleagues is covering for me, so things should be fine for a while. He didn't look all that happy to see me leave, but I'll take that as a good omen.

Is this my dream job? No, definitely not, but it pays the bills and it's still pretty interesting work. I finished high school and then took a few IT classes, hoping to find a company willing to sponsor my career...but alas....no luck with that so far. At this point I'm seriously thinking about giving up on IT jobs, and focussing on doing something more...realistic with my life, whatever that may be.

Anyway...it's now September 2nd, Monday morning around 5 am, and I just left a motel in Purcellville, a quiet town about 50 miles north west from Washington DC. 

I've always wanted to visit the nation's capital and combine it with the great outdoors in one go. When I found this gem of a motel, courtesy of my connections at work, I instantly booked a room. It's near a nice, modestly sized forest which is big enough to stretch my legs without the need to walk the same trails every day.

Yup, exploring both the wilds and the capital is what I'm looking forward to. I'll take plenty of snapshots with my phone to show my parents that I'm having lots of fun. My room is only booked for five days, so I'll be driving back home on the weekend, visiting some friends along the way who I've neglected to see for far too long.

This week however is all about relaxing as much as possible. No watching the news, not playing any games, just being as lazy as possible, while also enjoying some of my hobbies. At night I'm used to meditating, so I'll continue doing that too.

It's what mom is always talking about...mindfulness....meditation....chakras...those kinds of esoteric, new age kind of things. I'm willing to meditate, but only because it feels super relaxing, but that is as far as I'm willing to go with her weird ideas.

She even has a cozy little shop near our home in Wilson, NC, where she sells esoteric books and other trinkets. It's 200-something miles south from here, by the way, and it's more of a hobby for her than a job. At least it's no money pit, or dad would definitely have asked her to give it up already. He's an accountant, so she knows he'll keep an eye on the finances for her.

As for my hobbies, I made sure to plan some time for those as well. I brought a few hard copy isekai novels along, which I just love to read. Real books, touching the pages with my fingers makes for a great relaxing experience, better than reading stories on a tablet....at least that's how I feel about it.

Stories in which ordinary people explore exotic fantasy worlds, or meet mystical and powerful goddesses, are my favorite. Perhaps leaving Earth in a spaceship as if it were as normal as taking a bus home. Anything that ignites the fantasy cravings inside me is welcome. Perhaps I'll go for a swim too, but only if I'm in the mood for that.

Come hell or high water....next week I'll take a few days to indulge myself in some nice games, without feeling guilty one bit. Just putting my mind to zero and playing space shooters and sniper games all day long to get the adrenaline flowing. The few days remaining after that are just for spending time at home with my parents. I'm thinking about moving out, but that's for next year to worry about. Yeah, so that's basically the planning. Sounds about perfect, right?

"Achoo." It's a bit chilly outside, and that means I really should start walking soon or I'll catch a cold. Note to self for tomorrow morning: pick my warmer jeans to wear.

The motel's spacious parking lot is surprisingly empty around this time. The sun has yet to rise and a few street lights keep the place safe for the guests. Four well-trimmed tall trees are standing proudly in the middle, dividing the parking lot between cars and trucks. One of the truck's air conditioning units just activated, making quite the noise. Glad I didn't book my room on that side of the motel.

My fluffy white coat keeps most of my body nice and warm while I take a look around, making a mental note of this place. Last thing I want to happen is for me to get lost on my first day exploring the place.

In the parking spot farthest away from me I see my car, an aging Ford Fiesta, patiently waiting for my return. Not now buddy, I'm going for a walk. Maybe later, or tomorrow, I'll visit Washington by public transport. I definitely won't be driving on those busy highways..nuh-uh...that's not for me.

What my colleague called a forest, is actually called a park on the motel's map, and it's a bit less than 2 miles away from the motel. So for the sake of correctness, I'll call it a park from now on, or the people in this town will think I'm nuts.

My watch shows that it's now 05.12 am, and I estimate that I should arrive at Franklin Park around 6 am. And 6 am is the time when people are allowed to legally enter the place so we won't be disturbing the animals living there.

It's amazing to see so little traffic on a Monday morning, but perhaps this is not the town's main road, who knows? Not about to find out, though.

After crossing a few streets, I finally see the park's green outline in the distance....and it looks perfect. It's almost autumn, but there is still lots of green all around me.

As strange as it may sound, autumn, or fall if you were raised calling it that, is my favorite season of the year. Not the cold, windy, rainy days of course, but those days when you can walk through the park and enjoy the changing colors of the leaves.

It's the season when all those red and orange colored leaves give the trees a whole different look, and the fallen leaves decompose to make that particular herbal smell that I enjoy so much. I love wearing a warm fluffy coat and seeing the small clouds of air leaving my mouth when I'm one of the first people walking in the nearby park, right after sunrise. It's a feeling of being in nature, part of something more important than working at a hotel. Perhaps it's the true feeling of freedom......or maybe it's just me.

Once more I tug a bit on my coat, trying to keep my ears warm. It's pretty chilly but today's forecast is promising. Sunny and dry, that's all I want to hear.

While approaching the park's entrance, I check if my driver's license is still in my coat's pocket. "Essie Whitfield." Yup, that's my name. 23 years of age, and somehow I ended up with one heck of an ugly picture on my driver's license. I need to wear glasses while driving, so they make me look like a total nerd...but it's what it is. I only need them to read far away signs, so I could technically drive without them. When people ask for my ID, I always notice a short period of them staring at it....yes, that really is me. Maybe I should get contact lenses next time?

Finally I enter the forest, or rather park, and am relieved to see that it's indeed free for all to use, so without having to pay an admission fee. Being a receptionist doesn't pay all that well, so no expensive holidays for me. Not that I'm complaining...this kind of holiday is just perfectly fine for me.

Luckily I brought a few tissues to wipe my nose with, because I always get a runny nose when temperatures are a bit chilly. The tissues have been in my pockets since last week when I used one to test a new perfume at the mall. It instantly brings back fun memories, since my best friend Laura joined me that day. She's never been the serious type, so fun is guaranteed when we're together. Can't believe she's getting married soon...and that makes me feel...lonely.

I inhale deeply and slowly let the air out, making small clouds leaving my mouth. The area close to the entrance has a dozen parking spots and some street lights too, but the area ahead is still mostly pitchblack. Yup, I'm too early...way too early. Please don't blame me for waking so early, it's normal for me to get ready for work around 6 am.

Two white vans with the USGS logo are parked next to each other, opposite of a dark green imitation military-like van with those typical Army camouflage colors. I wonder what the USGS people are doing here....aren't they scientists or something?

I decide to ignore those vans and slowly walk towards the densely packed trees in front of me and am relieved to find that my eyes are adjusting to the slowly lessening darkness pretty fast. All the way from the motel to where I am now, I walked as slowly as I could to wait for the sun to rise. And now...it finally has....more or less, so I can finally go for a brisk walk.

The unpaved path between the trees ahead is now clearly visible, but the trees are still a bit shrouded in some early morning fog. It's almost eerily quiet here, I haven't even heard a single bird sing. So imagine my surprise when I just passed a man in a training suit, on his morning run, heading for the exit. So much for "no entry before 6 am." He even ignored my friendly "morning" greeting, the jerk. He probably has a lot on his mind, whatever.

"Ahh!!" Suddenly a deer jumps over the trail, from the bushes to my right and disappearing into the bushes to my left, startling me in the process. It seemed in quite the hurry, and didn't even notice me walking here. But that doesn't mean it didn't manage to startle me!

It's so very quiet here and the air smells fresh, like the pine trees were freshly washed last night, but it definitely didn't rain. I'm not planning to enter a muddy park, no way. The way this place is now....is just the way I like it. But I'm not sure I'll be walking all the way here every morning. Walking for almost two miles, then enjoying the park, and finally walking back to the motel? A bit too much if you ask me. Perhaps I'll take the car here tomorrow, yeah, sounds like a plan.

Suddenly I hear a loud sound in the distance, echoing all around me.  "BANG!"  

"What the heck?" I said out loud, startled once more. I feel the adrenaline rushing through my veins for a brief moment, until I realize that I'm safe. Is someone shooting? A poacher perhaps? Is that why the deer ran away? The sound originated from dead ahead, but the echo tells me it's far away.

Then 3 more shots follow, all in quick succession. "Bang, bang, bang!" 

"Okay...fuck this...I'm going back, right now!" I suddenly have a really bad feeling about this place. It has a four out of five star rating on Google, so why didn't anyone bother telling me that they shoot wildlife here? Oh, and pardon the language, but it just happened. Can you blame me?

Again I hear gunshots, this time like a machine gun from my games. A continuous firing of bullets for two or three seconds. Again the echo is all around me, this time scaring away a few pigeons.

Instantly I decide to crouch, not having any other choice than waiting this one out. No way I can run towards the exit now...if they think I'm game....I'm dead. What kind of poachers use machine guns anyway? I swallowed a few times, trying to stay calm and trying to pinpoint the source of the sounds.

What should I do? Should I shout at them? Deer don't talk, so it should be a no-brainer for them, right?

Hearing police sirens in the distance instantly makes me feel relieved...help is on the way. Something's fishy here and the police are on their way, so I need to reveal myself and show them that I'm not a part of whatever is going on over there.

I ever so slowly stand up and take a deep breath and shout "Hellooooo!!! Don't shoot me!" 

But my shout had a very unexpected result, causing my adrenaline to work overtime, almost giving me a heart attack. The bushes around me rustle and out of nowhere I see 5 people surrounding me. 
"Ahhh!!!! Please don't shoot!" I shouted in a reflex, gesturing wildly, afraid to die.

One of them says, almost whispering "Shhh!!! Quiet! DOWN! We're with the Air Force."

I do as instructed and only then notice their camouflage uniforms....definitely military. I guess the van in the parking lot is a genuine military one afterall.

All the soldiers are hiding next to me. But just before I finally find the courage to ask what's going on, one of them says in a loud whispering voice "what the hell are you even doing here? The park is supposed to be closed!"

"It's open, I promise! No police, no nothing! Only two USGS vans and what I thought to be a fake military van. I swear, I didn't know." I whispered to him.

"There were no police to hold you back?" He asked me, with surprise clearly audible in his voice.

"No, I swear! But I heard a police car a few moments ago?"

He nods, then looks at one of the others. "Richards, this is turning into a Charlie Foxtrot. Stay here, keep them safe and more importantly...quiet. Radio silence."

"Yes, sir. Radio silence."

The man who appears to be their leader then walks away, while saying "Hurst...check for civilians and keep a lock on our RF signal. Marks, you and I are going after it."

The others gestured something, in their military sign language, then the group split up.

Did he really say "it" just now? What are they after? What kind of animal could possibly live in these woods to make them send marines or whatever they're called after it?

The three of them rush off into the woods, and one of their teammates remains next to me. Now that I have the time to take another look around me, I see that the other person staying here with me seems to be a woman wearing a dress. Perhaps another hiker who got caught up in the commotion like I did?

But now that the sunlight is slowly getting stronger, I can see more details. This lady is looking a bit unusual to put it mildly. She's a cosplayer, no doubt about it. Furry ears, furry tail. But hey, I'm not judging, okay? To each their own.

When I keep staring at her, she must feel that it's safe to speak now.

"Painful....feeling....afraid...umata...neh....katamara." The cosplaying lady next to me said while looking at the soldier. She's sitting on the grass between 2 trees. Her English is mixed with words from a foreign language, and she's speaking in broken sentences.

The soldier takes a closer look at her leg, then replies "yes, I know, you're bleeding, seems only superficial. What happened?"

She blinks, then stares at her leg as well.
"..touched...plant...maybe....ahhhh...yunima ki..running?"

He continues to whisper. "Ah, probably hit a branch. Don't worry, it's only a graze. Gimme a moment, I'll disinfect it. For now stay quiet, both of you." He glanced at me, making sure I was listening.

We both nodded, then she and I studied each other's clothes for a moment.

The police sirens now seem stationary, but the sound is drowned out by a helicopter flying over our heads towards the park's entrance, assuming there is only one entrance. They are flying low, just above the treetops and appear to be landing. The strong winds it caused a moment ago blew some sand in my face, but I'm fine.

"Essie, what fine mess did you get yourself into this time?" That's one of the questions floating in my otherwise surprisingly blank mind right now.

I hear men's voices shouting in the distance, followed by another few shots. "There! Fire!" "Bang, bang!" Again the echo, but it sounded closer this time.

The lady next to me seems worried about her graze. "Hurts....shanatura....wrong?" She's holding her right hand on her injury, but seems surprised that it's still there when she removes the hand.

She looks at me, but the soldier replies before I can.
"Okay, see this? Good, I will disinfect your wound now, but it will sting for a few seconds. Whatever you do....do not shout, do you understand?" When he glances at me again, I can tell that he's really serious and wants me to say something to support him.

I try to help her. "It will only hurt for a few seconds, then you'll be fine. Just don't shout, please."

She smiles for a second, then nods at the soldier who proceeds by opening a bottle, probably the disinfectant. His gun is lying next to him on the grass so he has his hands free to clean her wound.

When he applies the disinfectant to the wound, I see her wince. But she doesn't make a sound.

I'm feeling a bit nervous, and I don't want to end up getting shot today, so I'm fishing for some answers. "Em....I didn't know medics carried guns?"

"It's a P90, a rifle, not a gun. And no, I'm not a medic. This is just some basic first aid, nothing more. Now please stay quiet, ma'am."

Ma'am? "Oh...okay." I give up...no talking...gotcha.

Then we hear his radio. "Bravo 2-4, this is Bravo 2-1, radio silence lifted, over."

"Bravo 2-1, copy, over." The soldier replied to his team mate.

"We have spotted 2 Phantoms, hold your position. Air support incoming. Acknowledge, over." 

"Copy that, holding position, waiting for air support, over."

"Roger. Rodriguez out."

I then heard their other teammate say something similar on the radio. He's probably the one looking for more civilians.

The soldier next to me says, while looking at the cleaned wound, "we're all done. Does it feel better?"

But before she can reply, her eyes go wide, her mouth agape. She raises her arm for some reason, pointing at something behind us. "Yanekaaa!!!!!!" She shouted..really loudly.

When the soldier and I turn around to see what she's pointing at.........I see terror...horror.  It's a beast unlike any I've ever seen before. My mind races, analyzing the situation in only a split second.

The first thing that comes to mind...is it a rhino? Mostly gray, somewhat furry, but still with a horn on its nose. The eyes are glowing red, but those teeth are straight from a horror movie....Jaws....or perhaps Alien. But this is real...not a movie.

"Grrrrrrrrrr......"  it growls at us...showing its teeth...definitely planning on using them.

In a reflex, the soldier drops his medical supplies and grabs his rifle, but it was all the time the beast needed to incapacitate him by smacking him against the tree behind us, by using its powerful looking paws.

At the same time the lady near me shouts "ahhh!!!!!" from fear, raising her hands, but I don't think they'll help much against this monster. I'm paralyzed.....trying to predict its moves.

Now it's looking at me...studying me....looking at my head....my throat.....while I can't do anything. It's like being frozen.......this is it......I'm going to die.

"Grrrrrrrr" once more I see its teeth....until..... from the corner of my eyes.....I see the rifle the soldier dropped a few moments ago. It's the only way....it's either that...or death.

In a reflex I let myself drop to my knees, anticipating a paw movement, then take the rifle with both hands and ....fire without taking the time to focus on where I should fire.....simply hoping for the best.

"PRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR'"

Due to me holding the trigger, the bullets keep spewing out, hitting the beast directly in the face.

The sound of many bullets being fired, like a machine gun, echoes through the woods...hurting my ears.

"iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.........sshhhhh....grrrrrrrrrr."  It cries loudly from pain, then falls down. I immediately stop firing.

My god.....it's dead.....am I....still alive? Did it work? I'm shaking from the adrenaline which is surging through my veins. I can feel my heart beating in my throat, I'm fully focused on the...thing...in front of me. My ears are still ringing from the loud rifle sound....but it's a small price to pay for surviving.

When I feel confident that it's dead, I release my left hand from the rifle and let the rifle point towards the grass. I slowly turn to look at the lady, and see that she appears to be in total shock. Can't say I can blame her, for I feel exactly the same. At this point I'm still not sure if I really shot that thing...or if I'm actually having a nightmare right now.

"Ahh!!" She shouts again, her eyes going wide once more.

Suddenly I feel a sensation on the back of my head, and all I see from then on......is total darkness.

Moriko

Welcome to a new fluffy story!

Moriko

Glossary
-Charlie Foxtrot: a situation where everything has gone wrong
-RF signal: radio signal
-Copy that: message understood
-Roger: message received/understood