What's the scariest encounter you've had with a total stranger?

I grew up in a small military town by the lake, river and forest. I was 14-16 and me and my friends had started smoking. Of course our parents were against it so we would hang out in the forest, because no one would see us and it’s just beautiful. We had several spots coded 1,2 ,3 and would call each other to arrange a meeting place. Once we did it and I was the first to come over. Before entering the forest I noticed a group of military guys with a grown up leader. Since it was a normal thing to see I didn’t pay any attention to it. But right when I entered a forest the man yelled at me and I saw him running towards me with a belt wrapped around his fist. And I just stood there with full acknowledgement that I would fight but loose a big time. Yeah, and back then fighting still was very famous and sometimes pretty brutal. Turned one of the soldiers had deserted and they were looking for him. The man told it to me when he suddenly stopped and politely started asking questions while I was wondering whether I shit myself. It was very scary.

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