The last thing I remembered before I got to Scott’s house was the phone call I got as I stepped into my car. He was in a panic but he wouldn’t tell me why. All he would say was “you need to come over here.” I explained to him that I had to go meet my girlfriend at her house but he didn’t care. He continued asking, so I eventually gave in—like the good friend I am.
I waited in front of Scott’s house in my idling car fifteen minutes later. Scott’s house was in the woodsy mountains—the only neighbours he had was at least ten miles. The path leading up to his house had deep forests going for miles on both sides of the road.
An animal cried out from the woods, a sound that reminded me of a loon. Would they even be out here? I thought, still looking out the windshield. Inside the house, a figure rushed past the window inside the dining room. A dark figure. The same sound echoed out from the woods, the same loon sound—it sounded like it came from behind me, further back down the path. I looked away from the house for a second to look behind me through the rear windshield. There was nothing there, just the trees. In the treeline at the side of the road, fireflies buzzed around the treeline. At least I thought they were fireflies.
“Trent!” A voice yelled out, coming from the house.
I recognized it as Scott’s voice. I turned around and looked through the windshield. He was standing on the house’s front porch. I could make out his silhouette, including the Colorado Avalanche cap he always wore. I rolled down the window and stuck my head out, still looking at Scott.
“What’s wrong!?”
“You have to come look at this!”
Scott turned around and walked back into the house, leaving the door open, not letting me say anything else. I put my head back into the car, rolled up the window, shut off the car, got out of the car, and shut the car door behind me. I walked closer to the front door but stopped. Inside the house, through the opened front door, I could see the living room. At the back wall of the living room was a window, a window that covered the entire wall. Scott was standing next to a lamp, lighting the corner of the room. He just stared at me. He motioned with his hand for me to come closer, so I did. I jogged the rest of the way into his house—leaving the door open. When I was finally in the living room, I stopped in the doorway to catch my breath, all the while Scott looked at me.
When I stopped panting, I walked closer to Scott. “What do you want to show me?”
“This thing,” Scott pointed out the window into the backyard.
I leaned over and looked through the glass. In the backyard, lit by two floodlights that Scott had turned, something stood at the treeline in the back. They looked like deer but were taller, with what looked like claws instead of hooves. In the center of the backyard was the body. From what I could tell, someone had been skinned and what was inside of them lay out on the grass. I turned and looked away from the window, trying to forget what I had just seen—trying not to throw up.
“What was that thing?” I asked, still avoiding the sight through the window. I looked through the front door, at my car.
“I don’t know, it looked like a deer but if it was it couldn’t have done that. Maybe it’s a bear.” Scott said.
I turned and looked at him, he was still looking out the window. At whatever that thing had done. “Do you know whose body that is?”
“It’s my brother,”
“Where are your parents?”
“They’re off for a date night and left me in charge of him. He went outside to go get a closer look at the animal and it got him. I didn’t know what happened, I was in here reading.” Scott started to cry, tears flowing down his heat-flushed cheeks.
I patted him on the back. “It’s alright, I understand. It’s not your fault, you would have stopped it if you could have.”
From the backyard came another noise. A fast whoosh sound. Like something moving. We both turned, almost in sync, and looked out the window. The animal that was once on the treeline was now gone. My eyes darted around the backyard. The body—or what remained of the body—was still there, but the creature was nowhere to be found.
“Do you see the thing?” Scott asked.
“No, no I don’t.”
Another noise came from behind us. A growl. We both turned and looked at the opened front door. The animal stood there. It’s haunches back. Its spit-shined teeth were exposed. The animal charged at Scott. Before he could escape, the animal bit into his neck. Scott fell to the floor, shaking, bleeding from his neck. The creature continued chewing on his neck before finally stopping. I ran to the front door, relieved from the shock I was once in. The animal followed quickly after me. Eventually stopping me by biting into my ankle. I fell face-first onto the hardwood floor as the animal started to bite into my calf. All I could feel were warm teeth sinking into my flesh as well as warm blood flowing out from the wound. The pain hadn’t come yet. Yet.
The animal eventually pulled their fangs out from my calf and walked out of the house. It walked past me, still laying on the floor. The animal’s nails hit the floor as it walked out of the house.
I watched as it walked off from the porch and down the path. It continued walking, walking and walking. Eventually, it disappeared on the path.
It was heading for town.