Prompts: Eyes and torch.
A/N: I knew immediately what I wanted to do for this prompt. This is a very dark take for these prompts, and is inspired by the song In The Woods Somewhere by Hozier. A trigger warning applies for violence, gore, dead bodies, and animal death.
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He awoke sweat-soaked. His head ached, but he could not remember why. His head felt vaguely warm, as though some unknown fever had just broke. He could not remember. Had he been sick? Why else would he be tucked so carefully in bed? He allowed his eyes to wander, attempt to discern any distinguishable landmark within the room he found himself, but none came. Why was he here? This certainly not what his room; nor did it look like any hotel room, not any that he had ever seen before, at least.
He tried to remember what had happened before awaking, before he had discovered his current predicament. But nothing came. It was like staring into static, trying to discern some picture from the meaningless squiggles. Where was he?
Who was he?
He froze as the realization flashed through his brain, but before he could even consider the thought, it was gone. Replaced, by another realization, a more pressing one.
The door knob to the room he found himself in was turning.
He braced himself against this new, potentially dangerous onslaught, but relaxed once more when he saw it was nothing more than a trick of the light. The door did not push inward, there were no squeaking hinges or hands slowly reaching around the frame.
There was just him, a stranger even in his own mind, alone.
He slowly rose to a sitting position, and then stood. His body was weak, and it took a few tries to be able to stand without falling backwards onto the bed. He walked shakily to the window. A full moon hung, somehow ominous against the darkness of the night. The blackness of night seemed to hang and hum, like a strange living monstrosity, obscuring whatever lay beyond the cabin behind a curtain of darkness.
He shivered, a feeling of unease settling over him like some familiar friend. A vague memory fought its way to the forefront of his mind. Had he been screaming? Not now, his lips were sealed... But before, when the fever still clung to his body and faded his sensibilities. Nothing made sense, and he could not be sure, but he could just make out an awareness of himself, yelling for someone...
Someone named Tyler?
Who was this Tyler? Why was he important? He could not remember. What had happened to him?
He could not stand this helplessness. Could not stand the not knowing. It was worse than the weakness that plagued his body, the warmth that lingered in his head and muddled his brain.
He looked around the room once more. It was a cabin, fairly normal by all accounts. Bed, bedside table, lamp, dresser and desk. A door to what was likely a hallway. He walked over to the dresser, opening the drawers one by one. There was nothing in them, not even a dust mite. He slowly walked over to the bedside table, taking each step carefully as the world spun around him. Pulling out the single drawer, he observed its contents.97Please respect copyright.PENANAweFwledlt1
Or, it's single content.
A flashlight. He frowned, picking it up and clicking the switch to turn it on. It flared to life, and he was struck by a particular thought. Didn't the British call flashlights torches?
It was an odd thought, but most of the thoughts he had had since waking were quite odd, so he didn't give it much bother.
He hesitantly walked towards the door, opening it carefully (and was relieved to find it not locked). A quick look around the rest of the cabin told him no one else was here. No one to give him answers. He sighed, about to turn to head back towards the front of the cabin when something caught his eye. A piece of paper lay carefully folded on the table.
He walked over, examining it. A name was scrawled across the page. Josh. Was that him? Surely it had to be, he was the only one here. People left notes when they left, didn't they? This was likely the case here. Someone had written him a note, in case he had woken up before they had returned.
He smiled. Josh. It was a good name. He was glad it was his, even if he didn't know if he had a middle, or even a last name. He unfolded the note, reading it softly aloud.
Josh,97Please respect copyright.PENANA8tJRiqKcDz
Gone out to get more Tylenol. If you wake up before I'm back, I hope you at least find this note. Josh chuckled, the last sentence had been scratched out by whoever had written it. The doctor says you'll be fine; you'll just need a few hours rest. You should be good to go by tomorrow. I told you not to eat those berries. Did you listen? No! Of course not. And of course the cabin wasn't stocked with Tylenol, though I suppose that one was my fault.97Please respect copyright.PENANAlGWXrfjFHy
Just, if you're reading this, do me a favor and go back to bed. You scared me half to death, and you need more rest. I'll be back soon.97Please respect copyright.PENANAyoWprqoGKh
Your friend,97Please respect copyright.PENANAinBF6PAniv
Tyler.97Please respect copyright.PENANAOx6KbmoLMq
Tyler. That was the name he'd thought he had yelled while asleep. They were friends. Josh liked that, too.97Please respect copyright.PENANA1eFJqM1yKa
He began to head back to the room, per Tyler's orders, when he heard a noise. An awful sound, ripping through the silence. He stood there a moment, listening for it again, but nothing came. Still, the echo of the sound rang through Josh's head, causing his blood to freeze. It sounded like...97Please respect copyright.PENANAf3PwX3x69Y
It sounded like a woman's scream.
It couldn't be. He should just return to bed, like Tyler said in his note. He was still feverish, and for all he knew he could have imagined the noise. He knew he should return to bed, but his feet propelled him towards the door leading out of the cabin, and onto the porch. He stared out into the woods, but could not see anything beyond the cabin's porch light. It didn't go very far.
He took a deep breath, steadying himself, and clicked on the flashlight. He could still go back inside, go back to bed. He could...
No, he couldn't.
He stepped off the porch, heading into the woods. The flashlight provided light, but not enough, and he soon found himself stumbling through the thick undergrowth. It was like the woods themselves were alive, trying to sabotage his efforts.
A few quick saves later and his luck finally ran out. He tripped over a particularly gnarled root, laying sprawled out on the forest floor. His breath came out in puffs, and he scrambled to his feet. Quickly the realization that he had lost his flashlight hit him, and he swore.
Another scream broke through the woods, this time far closer. The concern for finding the flashlight was gone, and he quickly raced through the forest, empty-handed. He prayed the moonlight would provide enough light to at least make it to his destination alive, if not unscathed.
He stumbled out into a clearing a while later. He could not be certain for how long he had run, but the moon was lower in the sky now. It was well past midnight. He scanned the clearing, his eyes finally landing on a lone fox.
It lay by the opposite line of trees, shaking, afraid. Josh took a careful breath, slowly making his way towards the fox. Once he was a few yards away he knelt, staring with wide eyes at the beautiful creature. It had not made a single sound the entire time, no more screams of pain came forth. He could see it was still alive, still struggling to regain it's footing. It was clear, however, that the fox would not be able to stand, let alone escape.97Please respect copyright.PENANA9FZ92qHiPW
Josh didn't speak, but could see the creature eyeing him. Shaking still, it's ears twitched. Now that Josh was closer, he could see the damage that had been wrought. The hind leg was lame, the flesh torn away so that the bone was exposed. He stared at the wound, fighting the nausea that threatened to overwhelm him. How could the fox still be alive? Surely it should have died, the wound.. It was terrible.
He slowly picked up a stone, grasping it tightly in a shaking hand. Josh closed his eyes as he brought the rock down. Once. Twice. He could not let the animal suffer anymore. There would be no way to save it, so he had to put it out of its pain.
Once he was done, he dropped the rock, stumbling back. A sob chocked its way out of his mouth, and he stared down at his hand, now covered in a maroon coating.
Oh, God, what had he done?
He looked once more at the poor animal before him. He wondered once more what could have made a wound such as that, wondered how large the teeth were of such a beast. Josh, just as the fox, began to shake, a slow trickle of terror sliding its way across his spine. The hairs on the back of his neck stood straight on end, and he could not shake the feeling of being watched. Something else was here. Something else was stalking him.
He froze, his shaking seized, as his gaze fell on new eyes staring at him, hidden in the trees.
He began to slowly back away, and though he could not see the creature, he could tell by its shadow that something had shifted. He turned, racing back through the woods as the thing lunged after him. He could hardly see, and the roots continued to trip him up, but he did not stop. He could not stop. If he fell, he would surely be dead. He could hear it behind him, thrashing through the undergrowth and cracking low hanging branches. He imagined he could smell death, wafting off the thing like a twisted perfume. He choked on the stench, tears clouding his vision.
He didn't want to die. Not like this.97Please respect copyright.PENANA0pb5LJvlkl
Where was Tyler?
The thought was sudden, like a mental gut-punch to the brain. It scared him, even the vague insinuation of this thing out in the woods with Tyler. But he had taken the car, hadn't he? He was safe, he had to be. Josh could not think of anything - not of this. Not of the fate of his friend. He had to keep moving.
A flash of light ahead almost made him fall. He righted himself at the last second, fear flooding his veins with adrenaline, ice-cold. He kept moving. He had to keep moving.
The light was closer now, and suddenly he was breaking through the last of the branches, stumbling out onto the roadway. It was the forest road. He remembered now. He and Tyler had driven down this very road to get to Tyler's parent's cabin. They were going to have a camping trip, just for a weekend. But the weekend had lounged on, until it had been Wednesday and they had decided to rough it out in the wilderness for the night.
It had been fine until he'd tried those damned berries. He could have sworn they were perfectly fine. He'd even brought a book, specifically for this camping trip. Tyler had told him not to risk it, and he should have listened. Why hadn't he listened? Because he'd been so sure he was right, because they looked just like blueberries. Because he had wanted to show off to Tyler. Because he was his friend, and they both liked competing, and this had just been one more competition.
The next day was a blur. He knew now he had fallen ill, had had a bad fever. Tyler had taken care of him. Tyler had gone out to get Tylenol for him. Tyler had told him not to eat those berries.
Tyler had been right.
Josh closed his eyes, turning away from the car and listening. The sounds of carnage behind him had faded to a rustling of leaves. Nothing stirred, not even a stick crack to alert him to his possible demise. He took a shaky breath, opening his eyes once more and blinking in surprise when he realized he was no longer alone.
A man and woman stood by the car. He didn't want to walk over to it. Didn't want to look inside. Didn't want to see the damage that had been done, or see the grocery bag torn and the bottle of Tylenol spilled open. He didn't want to see it again. He didn't want to see Tyler, the look of horror on his face still obvious, even with how disfigured both he and the car now looked.
Josh didn't want to die. He had no desire to join his friend, he was not finished, not yet. He wanted to live. It was selfish, yes, but it was honest.
He walked shakily over to the man and woman, pleading with them for their help. They took one last look at the wrecked car, realizing that their call to... to who? The police? An ambulance? Josh did not know, but he could see the realization dawn across their faces. It was useless.
They walked him back over to their car, and they took off, driving away from the thing in the woods. Away from the devastation it had wrought. Away from the cabin, where it had all began. Silence fell over the vehicle and its inhabitants, each preoccupied with their own thoughts, with the own attempts to reconcile what they had witnessed.
Josh closed his eyes. He did not know how long he would carry this burden. Did not know how long he would live. How long he would be haunted by the horrific thing he had found in the woods somewhere.
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