The walk home felt excruciatingly long. The world around him was lively, blooming, and beautiful, but all he could feel inside was deep numbness. 

Alex let out a loud sigh. He felt like he was so weak. He just met an asshole who was saying stupid shit, that was it,  and he allowed it to mess with him to this extent. 

Alex walked onto a dirt path leading to his house. It was located just behind a tall grove, and he lived pretty much alone. He had no close neighbors. On one hand, there was no potential ruckus or fuss, but on the other, it did feel a little scary. Especially during thunderstorms.

It rained a little in the morning, so Alex wasn't surprised when he saw a lot of mud and puddles on the road. He did his best to avoid them, but his shoes ended up dirty anyway.

A foul odor suddenly entered his nose. Ugh...  He stopped in his tracks. ...what the fuck? 

He looked around, trying to find the source of the wet, sour smell. Then, he saw it. Blocking the road, about 20 meters away, was a big brown mound. 

Alex's heartbeat got significantly louder. 

He slowly came closer.

It was really, really big. And.......there were flies all around it.

He saw furry antlers sticking out of it.

It was a giant dead moose, lying on its side. Its empty eyes blankly stared into space.

Alex looked further. He didn't see it at first, but the fur on its stomach seemed...strange. He leaned closer.

A chill ran down his spine. Its stomach was ripped open. Dark red guts mixed with the brown fur created a disgusting mess. He could see its intestines starting to spill out. 

He stood there, frozen. What....what did this...?

Something rustled behind him. He turned around fast, like never before, frantically looking through the forest, heart in his throat. His hands started shaking uncontrollably.

He slowly started walking backward. He needed to get inside the house. Right now. 

His breathing was starting to get heavier and heavier. He felt a panic attack coming. 

He almost tripped over one of the legs of the moose. I need to get out of here. I-

He heard another sound, this time coming from his right side. A tree branch snapping. 

Alex's breathing turned ragged. It was watching him. He felt its eyes boring into him, a predator hiding from its prey and waiting to attack.  

Alex didn't have another choice. He turned around and started sprinting.