“Danni, what’s –” Immediately, a hand slapped over her mouth. The other woman was silent, but her threat was clear.
Don’t make a sound.
They waited in the undergrowth. Danni’s body was crouched over her, and her eyes had been wide. The expression on her face…
Still, Jade had difficulty believing the danger. It was silent. No movement caught her eye. There was nothing that could have triggered such a reaction. Nevertheless, her friend was frozen above her, tense and barely breathing. Jade could feel the warmth of Danni’s hand pressed to her chest, pinning her to the forest floor. She couldn’t make out her friend’s face in the dark, but she seemed to be staring intently into the night. Nothing was there.
But Jade had always thought of herself as a patient person. Beyond that, she trusted her friend. Danni was panicking, and Jade would be still and silent if it helped her calm down. And while there didn’t seem to be a presence hanging over them, there was… Jade could admit that something did feel wrong. So they waited.
It was in this in-between moment that she realised what was wrong. There had been noise before. The forest had not been quiet. Beyond that, there was the drone of the highway in the distance.
Now there was nothing. It was the type of quiet that sucked in everything else until it was immense and all-consuming. Heavy.
They should only be five minutes away from the car. There was a cliff here that they liked to hike to, popular enough that there was a worn, stamped-out path to lead the way (it was popular with couples). They shouldn’t have been able to get lost.
It was her fault. Jade’s leg cramped suddenly, then spasmed once, scuffing the dirt. It was a quiet sound, but the first since her friend tackled her to the ground.
The hand in her shirt gripped tighter, and then–
Jade’s shirt tore. She couldn’t help but gasp out. But her friend was silent, and she was gone.
She was gone?
Between one second and the next, Jade became alone. She scrambled up, dirt under her nails, and ran. The forest seemed impenetrable - had been since things went wrong - and Jade was crashing through the undergrowth. She didn’t know where she was going.
[FIND ME]
“JADE!” A shout from behind her. She had never heard her friend sound like that. It was so agonised and raw that Jade immediately turned back around.
Again she ran, now tearing through bush and bramble in her friend’s direction. A breathless “Danni..?” left her lips. Her head was pulsing, her heart echoing in her ears. She couldn’t stop.
[CLOSER]
“Jade!” Her hands stung and wept. Surely she was leaving a trail behind her, of blood and fear. But her mind was no longer on the thing they had been so afraid of. She ignored the shadows she passed, the movement in the corner of her eyes. Jade could only hear her friend.
Then she was there, bursting into a clearing. The moon suddenly shined, a spotlight on the body, and what was above it.
She stopped so suddenly that her legs flew out from under her. It didn’t make sense. Her eyes seemed to skip over what was in front of her. But the body was there. And there was something else. Its fingers were emerging. There was blood. Was it looking at her? Did it know she was there?
[HELLO]
There was silence again. Jade was stuck uselessly on the ground. She had to do something. There was a shadow above her.
[ANOTHER // FALLS]
Her hand flew to her throat, and Jade realised she had stopped breathing. The body was in front of her. She was choking, now. Something dripped from her nose.
“Jade?” It didn’t come from the body.
“Look up, Jade.” She couldn’t move.
There it was, inches away. There was no eyes. But there was something there, nonetheless. There was a yawning hole too, taking up much of its face. The rest was smooth. She felt like she shouldn’t be able to see it. It didn’t make sense.
[“Jade? It’s us.”]
All at once, she felt like a fool. She opened her mouth to scream, and
Friends of the victims had been quick to raise alarm. A team flooded the forest, ground and air units alike. Blood samples were taken, remains bagged. Forensics were very interested in the latter.
It leaked to the media almost immediately. Frontpages excitedly touting titles like Killer Unknown Following Two Murders and Gruesome Remains Found - Families Unable to Identify Bodies. Conspiracy theories emerged, and crime documentaries were written. New case studies for darkly fascinated students. Life went on, without them.
Like with the others, no trial could go forward. No suspect had enough evidence against them. The culprit was long gone.
It ambled now, somewhere else. Fed, it had no reason to reveal itself. It was content with its prizes, still struggling inside it.