its eyes on me. I practically ran to my car, slammed the door, and got out of there as fast as I could. I made sure my attention was focused on the road even though my eyes kept darting to the sides of the road.

The following day I came to work a few minutes early and stopped at the ranger station on the way in. I told them what was happening, and they laughed me out of the building. The professor had told me to expect it but it was still hard seeing people I’d talked to and had grown to trust turn their back on me like that.

I saw the creature again that day in the trees glaring at me but did my best to ignore it. When I got home, I was mentally and physically exhausted. My stress level was through the roof. I’d started taking pills to help me sleep because this...

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