The shoe laid dormant, resting in the same puddle it had been found in. The moon shown a sickle yellow in the midnight sky, misty clouds rolled across the expanse of the midnight sky. Trees carved their opaque shadows across the foggy orb. An owl swooped silently in the purple sky, catching a defenseless rat. Crickets chirped quietly. Until they stopped.
Another rat came into the clearing. Perhaps bravely. Perhaps in suicide. Perhaps in fear. The little rat crossed the clearing, his nose pointed to the air as he scampered around to nails. He continued through the long tufts of grass until he found what he was looking for. The shoe. The flies had already had their feast and more would surely come. The little rat followed the flies lead and lands on his jackpot.
The rat passes the shoe and deeper into the woods. To its next meal. The maggots had already taken their bites. The eyes were mostly gone, skin torn in chunks, though the hundreds of little pinpricks from the needle were still easily visible across the stomach. There wasn't much left for the poor rat, but enough to get perhaps a bite or two before it completely decomposed.
What the rat didn't know was that this was not a normal animal corpse, or that clothes weren't good for rats to eat (though it wouldn't kill them), or that this specific corpse had been drugged multiple times. The rat did not understand why this body was here, or how it died, nor did it care. The rat ate and ate through in greedy gulps.
The little rat scurried away, foaming at the mouth. The little rat scurried into a surprisingly empty rabbit hole in fear of the owl swooping overhead. However, the poor little rat was not fast enough and the owl picked him up with his sharp talons.
The little rat bit down and he bit down hard. The talon fell to the ground as the owl shrieked in agony. The little rat easily climbed up the owl's long back and bit into the tender, feathery wings, sending them both hurtling for the ground. He took down the owl bite by bite, chunk by chunk until he felt himself fulfilled.
The feeling didn't last. Soon he was hungry again. The body wouldn't be enough...he wanted it fresh, so the little rat placed full faith in his nose and followed it. He didn't care that tarp fabric wasn't good for rats, or who this peaceful body was, or why they were here, nor did he care, he ate and ate and ate in blood lusting gulps.
Author's note: Sorry this is super short, chapter 4 will be longer. Thank you for reading and please enjoy!
YOU ARE READING
Red Tower (Book 2 of the Red Series)
HorrorWarning: Blood, violence, abuse and other triggering topics can be found here. Please be careful! What does an abandoned carnival, a government conspiracy, a group of maniacs, and one hungry cannibal have anything to do with a weekend camping trip...
