You see a lot of shit as a bum on the street.
Yeah, sure, you can encounter nice and generous people here and there, but for the most part? They don’t care. People walk by you, maybe give you a pitying look, and then move on. They don’t think about you ever again.
I’m someone most people wouldn’t even notice if I went missing, and considering the town I live in? Disappearances aren’t exactly uncommon.
Now, besides people either being generous angels or dismissive assholes, you can find some… interesting things in this town. Again, I’ve seen some shit. Just to list a few of the frankly batshit things I’ve witnessed:
But everyone is used to these. I’m used to these things happening. The Chaser taking a bite out of the girl’s arm was actually pretty unusual, but besides that? Nothing anybody hasn’t already heard and/or seen in these parts.
What I haven’t mentioned is the thing that came from the forest.
When you can’t find shelter in a town like this it can be dangerous. Most of the worst experiences I’ve had were when I was hiding from something. But I’ve learned how to survive. I’ll pass out somewhere in an alley and nobody will be the wiser, including the weird things that stalk us. Again, nobody notices people like me.
So one night, after nursing a few bottles of some cheap, disgusting beer, I was wandering the streets. There’s a curfew here, and I’d been wandering way past it. I hadn’t managed to find a place to sleep before I heard the screams from the forest. In my drunken sad state, they sounded like wild dogs or coyotes, so I paid them no mind.
The town I live in is in a valley, surrounded by mountains on all sides, and the forest covered all of that land. I ended up wandering a bit too close to the forest for comfort. The tree line was only a few paces ahead of me, but there was no movement. There was a slight autumn wind, and I could feel that, but the trees did not sway or move. It was deathly silent.
I’m not one to fear easily, but at that moment, I had never heard my heartbeat so clearly. It was so quiet and nothing moved. And the darkness beyond the tree line? I saw nothing there, but got the distinct impression that there was something there, watching me. I felt like I was staring at someone, and they were staring back at me, though I couldn’t see them.
And then I heard it again. The screams.
Though as I was starting to quickly sober up, I realised that the sounds which I thought belonged to an animal sounded distinctly human. Like a human screaming for help…
I sprinted. I didn’t know where I was going, but it was anywhere but the forest. My brain was telling me to run back and try to find who was in trouble in the woods, but my gut told me to run. So I did. I ran and ran until I was safe within the town.
And then I saw it and was frozen in place.
It looked like a human, but it wasn’t. Its black beady eyes were too large for its face, and the mouth was too big. It shambled towards me, with a smile too wide for its face, and a blank look in its eyes. But what especially freaked me out was the way it screamed. I don’t know how I knew it spoke because its mouth didn’t move, but it did! It sounded exactly like the screams coming from the forest.
“Help!”
I ran from it, breaking away from my terror. I looked behind me a few times, only to see it somehow keeping up with me despite never breaking out into a full run. And it kept repeating the word “help” over and over. I didn’t stop.
I ran until I realised that I wasn’t alone, and banged on the door of a neighbor, screaming to be let inside. It didn’t take long for some poor soul to come to my aid. I practically begged them to let me in, and they did so. As they did, I slammed the door behind me and locked it. The lady and husband who came to my rescue were shocked, but they quickly reassured me. I was a mess, unable to properly speak as they eased me onto the couch. They were nice people, and seeing the state I was in, I don’t think they had the heart to really kick me out.
I didn’t sleep that night. I kept my guard, my eyes wandering to the window in the living room, just to make sure it wasn’t there. I was beyond terrified.
Morning came about slowly, and when it did, the couple offered me some breakfast before I went on my way. I agreed to only take some toast and cheese, but nothing else. I didn’t want to overstay my welcome. The sunlight was comforting as I stepped outside, but as my eyes locked onto the tree line, I spotted the tail end of a body being dragged into the darkness of the forest. Nobody else noticed it.
I’m going to start making sure I have a place to stay for the nights from now on.