Home Sweet Home

Chapter eight

   A small bony frame emerged from the hut, holding a knife and a bowl. Almost immediately, the sunken blood-flecked eyes of the old woman met Evelyn's brown eyes.

   Her musty patched gown clung tight to her fragile body, even revealing little of her sagged breasts. There were wrinkles on her forehead too.

  Her scanty snow-white hair stuck at all angles as she used her gnarled fingers to usher Evelyn to come closer to her. An angelic smile tugged at the corner of her small cracked lips.

  Evelyn's eyes widened at the sight of the knife she held. She slowly moved backwards, her eyes fixated on the old woman that just gazed at her.

  "Come here my child." she grinned, exposing her incomplete set of decayed teeth. "What brings you to my abode?" her voice was raspy and high-pitched.

  Stunned by the woman's cheerful nature, Evelyn shifted backwards.She sounded too nice and friendly. Of course she knew this trick. She would appear nice at first then slit her throat the next second.

  The old woman peered down at her hands. "Oh"– she laughed –" I was gonna use this to kill this baby right here." she tilted the bowl so Evelyn could see the brown and white rabbit in the bowl.

  Evelyn was still on defense mode after what she saw.

  She dropped the bowl and knife and stepped closer to Evelyn, who in turn stepped backwards.

  "I'm not gonna hurt you. I  don't have interest in human flesh I promise," she whispered, stepping closer to Evelyn. "I'm interested in helping you get outta this hell hole."

  At the mention of her last words, Evelyn breathed a sigh of relief.

  But how does she know I'm in trouble?

  It was as if the old woman could read Evelyn's mind and she answered even before she could ask the question. "I've met several people like you...ya know, running away from a beast that resembles them."

  Tears clouded Evelyn's eyes at the mention of the woman's last words. Eve wrapped her hands around her torso and bowed her head. "How do you know all these?"

  Evelyn raised up her head to see the woman's standing in front of her. Her small eyes held nothing but innocence and Evelyn couldn't help but confide in her.

  "Let me get you cleaned up." she placed her hands on Evelyn's back as she led her to the front of the hut. "Sit there okay? Let me get you something."

  Evelyn sat on a tree trunk as she surveyed the area, just incase it was back like it said. She peered down to her foot to see several purple blisters. A small splinter of wood was stuck to the middle of her foot. The area appeared swollen and red.

  Her eyes went to the rabbit that was in the bowl. It was numbed in the bowl, as it twitched at intervals. The knife beside the bowl would lay it to rest very soon.

  "Poor rabbit."

  Honestly, Evelyn saw herself as the rabbit. She knew she would die. She wouldn't get out of the forest anytime soon. Her body will end up like the ones she saw back at the cabin. So therefore, her reward for showing up at a close friend's birthday party was death.

  "Fair enough." she laughed as fresh tears poured out of her eyes.

  The old woman held a bottle of half filled with a dirty brown liquid. Her other hand contained a bunch of red leaves. Evelyn eyed her hands skeptically.

  The old woman sat close to her and brushed the hair stuck to her forehead so she could take a good look at the wound.

  "Tsk..."