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The original was posted on /r/nosleep by /u/TumbleWeedPasses on 2024-09-23 13:58:28+00:00.

My 9 year old daughter, Abi, has had a weird fear of mythical creatures for a while now.

I blame her mother, my ex, for giving her unrestricted access to the internet at a young age.

I began to grow tired of constantly having to ‘check under her bed and in her wardrobe for monsters’ every time she stayed at mine for the weekend, and even had to invest in a nightlight to help her sleep.

When she was younger, I was understanding. Lots of kids are afraid of the dark and things that go bump in the night. But as the years went on, this started to irritate me. It had gotten to the point where she didn’t want to sleep by herself, couldn’t sleep in the dark and absolutely refused to step outside at night.

Two weekends ago, Abi and I fell out because she point blank refused to take the trash out after dinner because it was dark. This led to me growing frustrated, as she only had to take five steps out the door, but she dug her heels in.

During that week I decided enough was enough and planned to take her camping in the forest for the weekend, to get her away from all the nonsense online and face her fears.

I ordered Abi some walking shoes, hiking trousers, a thermal jumper and some cheap t-shirts to pack for our weekend (Abi basically has an entire wardrobe of clothes she keeps here, but I didn’t want her to complain if her clothes got dirty or damaged.)

I left work a bit earlier on Friday to prepare, packing a bag for myself and my daughter for our trip. I loaded up the car and made my way to my exes house to collect Abi.

Abi greeted me at the door and I held out a carrier bag full of hiking clothes.

‘Hey you, go and put these on.’ I smile handing her the bag.

‘What is it?’ She asks, peeking into the bag.

‘Walking gear,’ I tell her. ‘We’re going on an adventure.’

As Abi ran upstairs to get changed, my ex Martha sauntered to the door, her new partner Steve following behind.

‘Hello Paul, hope you’re well.’ Martha smiled half-heartedly, with Steve offering me a nod of hello.

We engage in pleasantries for a while, when Martha asked me what our plans were for the weekend.

‘Camping,’ I tell her in a low voice. ‘Under the guise of a brisk hike.’

‘Oh Paul, no.’ Martha frowns, shaking her head. ‘You know what she’s like with the dark.’

‘Ah, leave him be Marth,’ Steve chimed in, giving me a nod of approval. ‘It’ll bloody do the girl some good. My father would’ve done the same.’

Martha pursed her lips, as if thinking of a counter argument, before her shoulders dropped in defeat.

‘Well, I guess. Just look after her, Paul.’ She told me sternly.

‘She’ll be alright,’ Steve assured her before I could respond, rubbing her shoulder. ‘Don’t you fret.’

Abi returned to the door not long after.

‘How’s it fit?’ I asked her.

‘Well, the shoes fit fine,’ she replied, lifting her foot out in front of her. ‘But the trousers are a little long, and the fleece is kinda big.’

She wasn’t wrong, but I put it down to the unpredictability of online shopping.

‘Looks alright to me.’ Steve said, giving me a final nod farewell before my daughter and I retreated to the car.

…

'Dad, this hikes taking ages!’ Abi whined, her arms swinging by her sides.

‘It’s only been a couple of hours, usually you’re full of energy.’ I chuckle.

We carried on walking until we reached a large clearing.

‘Here will do.’ I announced, sliding the backpack from my shoulders.

Abi looked at me perplexed. ‘For what?’

‘The campsite.’ I smiled.

Abi’s eyes widened.

'What!?’ She snapped. ‘Tell me you’re joking.’

‘Oh don’t be dramatic,’ I told her. ‘Didn’t you catch on when I got this huge bag out of the car?’

Abi began to panic, explaining to me how it will be dark soon and we need to leave.

‘Hey now, calm down,’ I assured her gently. ‘We won’t make it back to the car before dark anyways. Let’s set up camp and we’ll get a big fire going, I’ve bought marshmallows.’

…

The tent was up, baked beans and hot dogs were eaten and we sat around the campfire with marshmallows on sticks.

‘See,’ I smiled at her. ‘This isn’t so bad. Isn’t it nice to be away from screens and pollution?’

‘I guess.’

‘Want a soda?’ I asked, pulling two cans of sugary drink from my bag.

Abi raised an eyebrow. ‘After 7? You and mum never let me have soda after 7.’

I nodded. ‘Yeah, I guess you’re right. I thought you might want one as a treat, but like you said…’

‘No!’ Abi yelled playfully as I pretended to put the sodas away.

I handed her a can and we both resumed our places at opposite ends of the fire, our sodas letting out a hiss as we pulled the tabs.

‘So, how comes you’re so scared of the dark?’ I asked her, pulling my packet of cigarettes from my pocket and lighting one.

Abi ran her finger around the rim of her can. ‘You know why.’

‘Monsters.’ I reply. Abi nodded without looking up.

‘Do you believe in monsters?’ She asked me.

I shook my head. ‘Nah, well I mean I don’t believe in the kinda monsters you do with the claws and horns. I believe some bad people can be monsters though.’

‘I don’t believe in those kinds of things.’ Abi told me.

I raised an eyebrow. ‘Uh, so what sorts do you believe in?’

Abi looked down at her can again, prodding the tab with her finger.

‘Have you ever heard of the hermits?’

‘The what?’ I asked, a slight chuckle escaping my lips.

‘The hermits.’ my daughter repeated.

‘Can’t say I have.’

Abi pulled her phone from her bag, opening a folder in her picture gallery and handing me the phone.

I put my can down next to me and begin flicking through.

The first image was a drawing of a humanoid creature, but its ears were slightly pointed and its eyes were a pale white with pupils like a snake. It had locks of thin, white, greasy hair. It looked as though its nose had been removed and it was drawn wearing only a white shred of cloth around its groin.

The second was a realistic looking image similar to the drawing. It had long, sharp fingernails and was grinning with pointy yellow teeth. It was thin and seemed to hunch over, with greyish skin and a hairless body. This image didn’t show it wearing the shredded white cloth, instead it appeared to have a small bulging pouch similar to a kangaroo where a human would have their reproductive parts.

I scrolled to the next image, which was mostly text with two different sketches of the creature. One looked more male and the other female, with a slightly fattier chest, a ‘pouch’ that went sideways and a more flexible, hunched over stance.

I flick my finger across the screen to the next image, which showed local statistics of missing children and hikers who vanished without a trace, with some locations and images of victims.

What followed this image was a screenshot of a written text.

"The hermits generally reside in woodlands and farmland where they can easily acquire food.

The hermits usual source of food is bone marrow of larger mammals such as livestock (mainly cattle), horses, deer and humans.

The hermits are attracted to the smell of blood, some say they can smell it from up to a mile away, although this hasn’t yet been proven.

The hermits are social predators, which follow similar pack rankings as we give to wolves.

The hermits don’t tent to follow the usual pack gender roles, with both males and females engaging in similar activities and ranks for both sexes. "

I continued flicking through the album, which showed more sketches, pictures and grainy camera footage.

‘Huh, they are pretty creepy,’ I admitted. ‘But they’re not real. There’s been all kinds folklore around since I was a kid. Used to scare me a bit too, but it’s just make believe.’

Abi frowned at me as I handed her phone back. ‘It’s not fake, dad. I’ve seen them. They roam the woods at the back of the house.’

I chuckled. ‘That so?’ As I moved my arm, a pointy branch from the log I was sitting on snagged the sleeve of my fleece, pulling some of the thread out.

'Dammit.’ I hissed, raising my arm to inspect the damage. Abi suddenly jumped up.

‘Did you cut yourself?’ She squealed.

‘No, no. I just got my fleece caught on a stick.’ I told her.

Abi went into a tirade about checking my arm for cuts to ensure it’s not bleeding.

‘They can smell blood. They target the wounded for an easy kill.’

I looked at her and sighed.

‘Kid, let’s just get ready for bed…’

…

I turned in my sleeping bag, trying to get comfortable. The dim yellow beam from the flashlight which Abi had insisted we hang from the roof of the tent was all that illuminated our shelter.

I was about to drift off, when I felt my shoulder being poked.

‘Dad, I need a wee.’

I turned and sat up in my warm sleeping bag. ‘OK, go ahead and take the light. Don’t go too far.’

‘Can you come with me?’ Abi asked awkwardly.

‘You’re plenty old enough to do these things by yourself.’ I told her, already unzipping my sleeping bag knowing my fate was sealed.

I grabbed the flashlight and climbed out of the tent, aiming the light at a large tree.

‘Here, you take the light, just go behind that tree over there.’

I turned around and took a deep, tired breath, feeling the crisp air caress my face.

My daughter returned, her face pale.

‘Dad, something’s wrong…’

‘What’s wrong?’

‘I think, I think I’m bleeding.’

‘What, where? Did you get a scratch? I’ve got a first aid kit if it’s bad and-’

Abi cut me off by pointing to her lap. ‘There.’ She looked at me, visibly upset and uncomfortable.

It took me a moment before it …

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