I have never written a story before, so I would really appreciate any feedback. thank you! So heres the story...

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A trek through a forest is a serene experience, filled with copious amounts of greenery, harmonious bird songs, and wild beauty. Or at least its supposed to be. Today was different. As I sat on an aged tree stump, I took in all the changes. The birds were silent, the deer too edgy, the normally dauntless birds of prey nowhere to be seen. Even the vegetation seemed to be cringing. Having grown up in a small town a few miles from this forest, the Coeur d'Alene National Forest, I knew that even the largest predator couldn't bring about these changes.

Along with the unusual stillness, something else was bothering me. Something not quite tangible, but undeniably present. It was almost as if I could feel what was causing the forest unease, a sense of hatred and corruption.

I was getting more nervous by the second, when I heard something crashing through the bushes to my right. I whirled toward the sound, not knowing what to expect.

After a few moments, three figures with hiking gear on stepped out of the brush laughing and talking casually. I relaxed, recognizing them as Nick Handley, the president of the student body at my high school, Fauntain High, and his two friends Brian Forge and Matthew Hilje. I waved to them, staring to wonder if it was just my imagination that was making me so nervous, but they didn't seem to notice me. Suddenly, Brian stopped, jaw dropped open, and pointed to the ground.

"Holy shit!" he exclaimed in an astonished voice.

I came closer to see what he was so surprised about, and strangely they still didn't appear to see me. As I approached the spot on the ground he was pointing at, I looked down. What I saw stopped me in my tracks. It was a huge mountain lion pawprint, perhaps three times the normal size. It looked fresh, as if the animal had been there only a few minutes ago. I began to doubt my theory that a predator counldn't cause the disruption in the forest. Nick pointed to where the tracks leaded, into the brush a few feet to the left.

"I'm gonna go check it out," he said in a whisper to his companions.

"Are you insane?" Matthew demanded in his thick French accent. "Nick, something that size could swallow you in two gulps!"

Nick made a motion with his hand for silence.

"Shut up! Do you want it to know we're here?" he whispered angrily. "And I'm not gonna try to find it," he continued, clearly exasperated. "I'm not quite that crazy, I just want to see where the tracks lead. The forest rangers are going to want to know where to find it. They can't have a monster like that prowling around!"

"Well, we're staying here," Brian told him. He turned to Matthew.

"Right, Matt?"

Matt shook his head. "There's no way you're getting me to go after a cat that size, Nick."

Nick grumbled something about being back in a few minutes, and headed toward the brush the mountain lion's prints led into.

Matthew turned to Brian.

"You think we should stop him?" he asked, worry clear in his voice.

Brian, the more experienced hiker, shook his head. "The cats probably long gone by now, they travel pretty quickly when they aren't in their home territory. Nick should be fine."

"Should?" Matt responded, still nervous.

"Will be fine," Brian corrected himself. "Besides, you know Nick when he sets his mind to something."

Matthew gave a hesitant chuckle. "True, you just cant stop that guy."

I smiled at this comment. Nick was a well liked president among the students at Fauntain High because of this trait. When he set his mind to changing something, it happened, and it happened fast.

Suddenly, I heard voices coming from the area where Nick had gone deeper into the forest. Matt turned toward Brian, confused.

Brian shrugged.

"Just another hiker. Probably looking for the cat too."

Matthew nodded.

"Either that or a park ranger trying to trap it," I added. They still didn't acknowledge me.

I frowned. I knew these guys, and they weren't the kind of people to ignore others. They were always ready to have a friendly conversation, even with students younger than them, like me. Something just wasn’t right here.

"Brian? Matt?"

Again, I got no response.

"HEY!" I shouted, at this point more worried about my sanity than attracting the mountain lion.

They still didn't respond. I ran up to Brian and waved my hand in front of his face. Not noticing me, he turned to his hiking buddy.

"Get the pepper spray out of your pack just in case that thing does come back here."

Matt nodded and began to fish around in his backpack.

I shouted at them a few more times, not receiving the slightest response.

Then something hit me. It was the same sense of hatred I had felt earlier. But it wasn't quite the same. It was stronger, more dangerous than before, and it seemed to be coming from the area of forest Nick had gone into.

Something inside of me told me I had to find Nick. I raced into the brush where I had seen him dissapear into, and followed the mountain lion's tracks, knowing they would lead me to him. After a few seconds of running, I burst out into a small meadow. Nick stood in the middle of it, staring curiously at a man on the opposite side of the meadow from me.

The man was tall, with sleek black hair that flowed to his thin shoulders. His clothes were old, dirty, and worn, but he looked to be quite the opposite. And the sense of evil seemed to be emanating off him, along with unrightful power.

I felt a burning sensation on my wrist, and looked down at the familiar birthmark there. It was a triangle comprised of three circles, all perfectly symmetrical. Right now, the circle closest to my palm seemed to be darker than usual, and a strange mark made up of four vertical lines appeared inside of it. The two lines on the outside were shorter, with the two inside longer. They reminded me of something, but I couldn't quite place it.

"Sir, can you please answer my question?" Nick asked with his usual politeness. Hw was clearly confused by the man's presence and appearance. It seemed as though I had walked into a conversation, which explained the voices I had heard earlier with Brian and Matthew.

The man laughed, sending shivers down my spine.

"Have I seen a mountain lion?" he said, answering Nick's question with his own. His voice was soft, almost a purr. But despite its sweetness it was extremely disturbing. It made me want to get as far away from him as possible, and judging from the way Nick had started to back up it was having the same effect on him.

The man smiled, exposing razor sharp teeth. Nick began backing away faster at this sight.

The stranger followed him calmly, moving with impossible grace. He was clearly enjoying the unease he was causing.

Not bothering to give a legitimate answer to Nick's question, the man started his own converstaion, all the while smiling.

"Your people always say 'Curiosity killed the cat,'" he said as he slinked toward Nick.

"But in this case," he continued, his sickly sweet voice filled with amusement, "it feeds it."

Another blast of evil hit me.

"Nick!" I screamed. "Run!"

Following my own advice, I took off running into the forest. Seconds later, I heard two sounds that would haunt me forever. The first was the triumphant snarl of a mountain lion. The second, an agonized scream.