Heads Up!
This story contains blood and murder.
Please take care of yourself and don't read this if it will bother you.
Happy reading!
***
It was okay. It really was. It wasn't like I was expecting anything different. I abandoned the bloodied club like branch and shoved my hands into the icy river water without a second thought. Despite my best efforts the knees of my jeans began to soak through the water from the damp sand that lined the banks. I felt like crying, or at least I think I did.
The water slowly seeped up the fabric of my long sleeve t-shirt and sent a chill down my spine. At least cold water was good for getting blood stains out. I knew I should probably run my hands together, if not to keep them warm then at least to get the excess blood off my hands. But in that moment I was frozen. Staring at my hands as the river ran around them I watched them turn blue as the water.
Finally, I pulled my hands from the water and slowly moved my stiff fingers. I couldn't feel them now, but I knew I would later. I shoved them into my pockets, which proved rather difficult as I couldn't quite tell how far they went in.
I began to walk. The forest was quiet but familiar. My feet knew the way as my mind wandered towards the nothingness it desired. Night was falling, which meant less curious eyes watching my descent from the forest to my home. My neighbors were much too nosey for their own good, but even I knew they prioritized a family dinner over neighborhood gossip.
I walked in the back door and flicked the lock shut. Sighing as I settled into the silent darkness of my home. I stripped out of my wet clothes and threw them in the trash, covering them with a takeout meal I had been to lazy to throw away the previous night. Another perfectly good outfit ruined. I threw on a pair of sweat pants and jacket before returning to the back door.
My fingers bent stiffly around it's frame as I looked out the small window that overlooked the forest. There was no movement... but then again it wasn't exactly known for its diverse wildlife. An uneasy feeling settled in my stomach and I gripped the door frame tighter, sending sharp pins and needles through my fingers as they began to de-thaw.
So much happened that I couldn't see. Eyes played tricks on you. Just because there's no body doesn't mean there isn't a murder. That wasn't the first time I had found myself alone with someone in the woods. Of course it wasn't. I had a sinking feeling that it wouldn't be the last either.
My house was surrounded by people, people with eyes that played tricks on them. I glanced at the house next to mine, with bright lights emanating from inside. It was a little bit of a shock after being in the dark for so long. Someone passed in front of the window, but it was too quick to tell who it was. Probably one of the Glenn kids. That window had always made me uneasy. If I could see them, then they could see me.
My head turned back to the forest as a soft breeze wove its way through the trees. A voice was carried with it. It was somewhere... somewhere deep within the forest. I released the door frame and plugged my ears. I didn't want to go out again tonight, but it was too late. I considered pulling my previous outfit out from the trash, but decided against it. I wasn't too fond of these sweat pants anyway.
I had to be careful now. People would notice my parting if I wasn't careful. I was glad I hadn't turned on the lights in my home as my eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness of the woods, save for the bright patch of light left over from looking into my neighbors window. I was wary of their eyes, but it was the voice of the forest that scared me. The voice that drew me in and put my feet one in front of the other. At least until I reached my destination.
Tonight, it was Mr. Larson that the forest led me to. He wasn't that far off the highway and stumbled around the forest. He didn't notice me at first. It was a shame really. He had two beautiful children who thought the world of him and a loving wife who had been the only one who could hold a stable job after the stock market crash.
His eyes finally made out my silhouette in the dim half-moon light. His eyes glinting in an all too familiar way. He didn't approach me... I don't know if that was because he knew better or because he didn't quite know what to make of me.
"Mr. Larson, you should know better than to wander these woods alone," I called to him. He didn't move. Didn't open his mouth. Didn't speak. It was a final confirmation I always made. They were silent once they had been taken over. I slowly bent over to pick up a large rock on the forest floor. It was always prepared to arm me against these unnatural beings. As soon as he realized what I was doing, he rushed me.
Knocking me off my feet he tried to get a second swipe at me but missed as I kicked his chest, pushing him back. A rock now firmly grasped in both hands, I threw the one in my dominant hand at his head. It was a direct hit, and I watched as his head snapped back.
His cheek was caved in, and I reminded myself that he couldn't feel any of it... at least not anymore. The second time he rushed me was his last. It was all too easy to take hi down and use the second rock I had picked up to smash his face in again... and again, and again, and again. He didn't scream, they never did. It made me feel better. His voice stolen by the forest itself.
He stopped trying to push me away at one point... and then his hands dropped to the ground, and then his body stopped moving all together. It was done... and once again I was covered in blood that was not my own... at least I didn't think it was my own.
I stood up, and took a deep breath. Two in one night was unusual, and I needed to sleep. Or at least pretend to sleep. It wasn't exactly something that came easy anymore. I went to walk away when Mr. Larson gurgled behind me. I froze, and gripped the still dripping rock I had forgotten to drop in my hand as I turned around.
He still wasn't moving, save for some ever so small quivers of this mouth. I didn't react... until:
"Sara... Maya..."
I threw the rock at his face, a sheer knee jerk reaction. He didn't say anything else, but those two names, the names of his daughters, was enough to send me careening through the forest with no care for the roots that tripped me up or the branches that pulled at my clothes and skin. They kept pulling me down but I kept dragging myself back up.
I didn't stop until I was standing inside my home, unsure of how I had managed to make it back and dripping blood on the hardwood. I forced myself to take deep breaths as I pulled myself out of my clothes and forced my feet to make the short trip to the shower. It was scalding, but it took my mind off of...
The water ran pink for a while, and it was only once it was clear that I dared to step out. The room was clod and my skin perked up with thousands of goosebumps as I wrapped my thin towel around myself. There was a knock on the door, and my world came crashing down around me as I scrambled to find a clean pair of underwear and outfit to throw on. I would need to go shopping again soon.
The doorbell kept ringing and I slipped towards the door, throwing it open to reveal Mrs. Larson standing outside.
"Sorry, what can I help you with?" I asked. I wondered how my voice sounded. It if sounded as haunted as I felt.
"Oh, Leslie..." She sounded as if she was surprised that it was me who answered the door despite this being my house. "I-I was just wondering if you'd heard anything from Jed. He was on the phone with me when he said he saw something in the woods. He was with the girls and-""Why would Mr. Larson contact me?" I asked bluntly.
"I... Oh, I guess you have a point... I'm just worried and I saw your light on..." She trailed off, looking away for a moment. "It sounded like he was going to pull over and go into the woods and I'm concerned that something might have happen-" I cut her off.
"Mr. Larson should know better than to go into the woods by himself. And so should you." I shut the door. This neighborhood knows too much. I sighed and set the deadbolt on the door. I pulled myself into bed, not bothering to brush my teeth or change into proper pajamas.
There was always the chance that if I turned the fan onto the highest setting and put in ear plugs I wouldn't hear it. That I could make it through the night without being called back into action. But it was too late. I could hear its whisperers even now as I watched Mrs. Larson walk through my back yard into the forest.
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