Excerpt from my novel "The Evil Within"

The cobblestone street abruptly turned to a dirt road leading into the woods. Passing under a streetlight I realized that it was the last one on the edge of town. An uneasy feeling swept over me and grew worse as I continued down the darkened pathway into the forest. Feeling the anxiety welling up inside. I forced myself, to continue on. All of my instincts seemed to light up simultaneously. “This is nothing more than another night recon patrol,” I told myself, “This is what I do. If someone is crazy enough to jump me in the woods at night they’re on their own.” My bravado returned temporarily. Reaching deep into my pocket I wrapped my right hand firmly around the knife that I carried there. Pulling out the knife my right thumb automatically pressed the button on the handle disengaging the lock, the blade snapped out making a loud metallic click as it locked into place. A feeling of walking into an impending ambush enveloped me. The alarms were going off in my head. Listening, feeling, searching with my very being, something or someone was here I could feel it. The snap of a twig echoed through the still night air, followed by dead silence. Stopping, I turned my head slowly from side to side straining to see into the darkness. Looking back, the glow of the distant streetlight still etched its’ way cautiously beyond the bend in the road behind me. Side, stepping to the right from the middle of the road and squatting down beside a tree, I felt safer in the shadow, the darkness concealing me. If someone were following me this would give him the opportunity to catch up or pass me by. I clutched the knife firmly in my hand waiting listening and trying to control my breathing, while a trickle of sweat slowly worked its way down my back. Something moved to the right of me only a few feet away then it was in front of me, stopped. Slowly a large shadow on my left moved to the center of the road. I held my breath while straining to see what it was. Behind me I heard the sound of heavy breathing like a bull, through flared nostrils, preparing to charge. A God awful smell of rotted eggs filled the air. I tried not to breathe forcing back the vomit that was trying to erupt from my throat. The hair on my neck tingled and made me shudder. My left hand instinctively reached to my chest. I could feel the cross hanging around my neck. Slowly I reached up and pulled on the chain freeing the cross from under my shirt and into my hand. Whatever was there began circling me slowly, quietly like a cat. My heart was pounding in my ears like a bass drum. Out and out fear enveloped me and I fought the need to urinate.