𝖠𝗇𝖺𝗑𝗂𝗉𝗁𝗂𝗅𝗂𝖺 ☽

Chapter 4: The Hatchet

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It was 7am, fresh air filled my nostrils as the mist dampened my skin. It wasn't the warmest of mornings, so my jacket covered my torso and I hid away underneath the material. Birds chirped away in trees as I stepped on twigs and crunchy leaves on the ground. I always loved being able to step away for a bit and go take a walk through the forests around, it's weirdly calming and leaves me feeling a bit refreshed when I do get home or wherever I would be.

It didn't take me very long to make it to my favorite part of these woods. A long time ago, I came here exploring with old friends, we were all kind of freaked out at just a lonely little bench in between two trees. Now that I think back on it, it wasn't that serious. And now it's my favorite spot because no one else liked it.

A sigh escaped me as I decided to walk by it and explore a bit more. Hazel isn't even up yet, I can stay out here a bit longer than planned. Mindlessly, my feet took me to a more unrecognizable area, but then something slammed against my ankle as I wasn't watching where I was going anymore. "Fuck!"

A grunt came out of me as my body slammed against the ground. Leaves and dirt were all over my damn clothes, all over my face and in my hair as a throbbing sensation came from my ankle.

God fucking damn it this hurts.

Slight tears pricked the corners of my eyes. I brought my ankle up and looked over to see what the hell I even tripped on.

A piece of metal stuck out of the ground, the rest of it was covered with the leaves. Hesitantly, I grabbed it and pulled the fucker out of its place. The handlebar was brown, so it was leather instead of it being fully metal. But there was a blade, it looked really fucking sharp. And the back of it had a part sticking out with blood on it.

A hatchet? Just a lonely hatchet?

There was a symbol carved into the blade. My fingers traced over the ridges, it was a circle with an X over it. I've never seen anything like it before.

What the fuck?

The throbbing in my ankle now started to burn. I decided to check the damage that was done and pulled up the pant leg. Blood was slightly dripping as a purple bruise started to form around the area. The sound of leaves crunching caught my attention. I couldn't help but to gulp and put the hatchet back down. My ankle was still throbbing, so getting back up would be a bitch to do. I grabbed onto a nearby tree and supported myself up.

Who left that there?
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Once I limped back into the front door of Hazel's house, she flipped the fuck out on me because of how worried she was. I forgot my phone on her desk before I decided to take my morning walk. "I'm sorry, okay. I didn't mean to worry you!"

"But you did, and your ankle looks like shit." The girl gestured towards my rolled up pant leg and the dried up blood all over. "What the fuck even happened?" My arm was taken and lugged over her shoulder as she wrapped her other arm around my waist. "I tripped over a hatchet and I think the back part that stuck out cut me." A sigh came out of her mouth. We struggled to get upstairs and to her room. My heart was racing afterwards, not realizing the burden it was to have a hurting ankle.

I felt Hazel push me down onto her bed.

Fuck, she's pissed.

My back hit her blankets and I propped myself up with my elbows. "Look, I just needed to clear my head. My mom was blowing up my phone earlier and I just needed to get it off my mind." She just exhaled deeply. I sat on her bed not knowing what else to say because I've already apologized and explained myself.

What are you thinking about, Hazel?

"I just care about my friends, okay? Especially when they're gone for a while and come back injured." She then bent down beside her desk to grab something. It ended up being a first aid kit...that she just keeps in her room. The clicks of the plastic latches being opened sounded out through the room. A bunch of things were pulled out. First aid spray, gauze, band aids and cotton pads. She was always prepared for the tiny things. Hazel sat down in her desk chair and rolled over towards me with everything in her lap.

A gasp escaped me, feeling her grab my leg and lift it onto her knee. She winced at the sight of my wound.

Yeah, it's grody.

The bruise was slightly turning yellow, but not too badly. It was silent as she cleaned the dried up blood off of my skin. I felt very awkward to be sitting here, playing with the blankets on her bed. "There was an odd symbol on the blade." Hazel's movements faltered a bit. "Odd in what way?" Her eyebrows were contorted as she tied the gauze onto me to make it stay in place.

"Like it was eerie. A circle with an X crossed over it was messily carved into the iron." My friend looked back over at me concerned.

What is that look for??

"I've seen a symbol like that on the news before. It was linked with that guy on the loose."

For some reason, the hairs on my arms stood up. That information just dumped onto me freaked me out.

What are the chances that I just stumbled across a murder weapon? From two years ago? It seems very unlikely to be the criminal's weapon.

But it could.

And that was enough to freak me out.
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