Read Charmed :: 3 Dead | Tapas Community

The walk home felt excruciatingly long. The trees were blooming all around and the warm sun rays were hitting Alex's skin but.....it all felt so numb. So irrelevant.

He felt so dirty. Somehow, just by listening to the group's conversation earlier, even by just being there, he felt like he contributed to it in some way.

Alex let out a loud sigh. His dried-up tears had become just little trails on his cheeks. He was sure he looked awful.

Let's just go home quickly......

Alex stepped onto the little path that led to his house. His house was just behind this patch of forest area, and he lived pretty much alone. No close neighbors and unnecessary fuss, which he greatly appreciated. It sometimes felt a little scary though. Like, when there's a big thunderstorm outside and the power goes out, there were always a lot of intrusive and scary thoughts running through his mind.

There was a lot of dew in the morning, and it rained a little during the night, so when Alex saw the muddy path, he wasn't that surprised. There were little puddles here and there, but it was survivable, he just had to be a bit careful when crossing them.

Big droplets of water dropped on his head from time to time, all from the hanging branches atop the path.

Alex suddenly smelled something foul. Ugh... He paused in confusion. What the fuck is that?? He looked up, and there was something, a few meters away from him, on the ground.

???

Alex's heartbeat got significantly louder. He was able to hear the blood running in his veins in his ears. It looked...big. Like really big. It was all black, and there were flies all around and standing on it. Alex could even hear them buzzing.

I-is it some dead animal??? However, Alex hasn't seen anything like it before. He started slowly walking towards it, clutching his fists together as he did. Every time Alex noticed some kind of movement around him, he flinched hard. Even a random insect flying around him made him gasp.

After a few shaky steps, he was able to identify it. A chill ran down his spine. There was a massive dead reindeer right in front of Alex, and its empty eyes were blindly looking his way.

It was lying on its side, and it had a huge hole in its stomach. There were all sorts of bugs and larvae digging in the flesh. Alex had to avert his gaze. It made him want to throw up.

But...what was able to kill this thing?? He still saw the long legs it had, the animal could easily reach up to his height.

Is there something even bigger and scarier around here? He looked around. Dark trees and mud, with branches on the ground. There was nothing out of the ordinary around.

Dude...that's too fucking much. Alex quickly walked around the carcass and didn't look back. His head was starting to hurt. The urge to just go and lock himself up in his house was getting bigger and bigger. His breath was getting ragged.

He couldn't tell if he was just paranoid or not, but....it felt like he was being watched. Watched by the thing that killed that animal. He looked around again. Nothing.

This thing was just looking for an opportunity to slaughter him, he convinced himself. Just waiting somewhere in the shadows. Fuck...

Alex started running, starving for the safety of his home.