DEATH STAINED LEAVES (Creepypasta AU)

Self Pity

You sighed, shifting your weight as you stared at the leaves below.

There wasn't much waiting for you back home—just a rundown, lonely one-bedroom apartment infested with mould, and a low-paying journalist job that barely covered your meals.

You couldn't..you weren't going to stay in the forest forever... right? Eventually, you'd have to leave.

You weren't like Jack or Toby, not anymore.

That part of you—the monster—had been cut out, tossed aside, forgotten. But lately, it felt like the things you tried to hide were piling up, threatening to spill over.

"I'll... lay low, for now," you muttered, eyes flicking to the lifeless body beside Jack, while Toby nudged it with his boot, like it was a dead deer.

"Lay low?" Jack tilted his head, opening his mouth to speak before shaking his head. The air grew stiff, almost as stiff as Larry.

"Can we just... deal with this?" you said, your voice unsteady as you pointed at Larry's body.

Jack sighed and gave a nod before he and Toby took their places—Jack gripping Larry's arms while Toby took his legs. You flicked on your flashlight, falling in line behind them as they trudged forward.

The walk couldn't have been more than a few minutes, but it stretched on like an eternity.

The wet, muddy ground made your shoes slip sideways every few steps, forcing you to grab onto nearby trees for balance.

Your mind felt distant, you were convinced you heard your own thoughts whispering aloud. A sharp sound that almost blew your ear drums, made you snap back to reality.

Toby was whistling.

Loudly.

"COME ON! FOOD'S HERE, LET'S GOOOO!" Toby yelled, his voice carrying like he was calling a cat.

Jack and Toby dropped Larry to the ground with a harsh thud, the sound echoing through the trees. You stood frozen, watching as they both stepped back, whistling and shouting.

Confusion settled over you like the fog that grazed the forest like a blanket, a suffocating one at that.

After a few minutes of this, the two men fell silent. Toby nudged Jack, who nodded in agreement and then motioned for you to follow him.

He led you toward a patch of thick bushes, you raised an eyebrow but followed. You crouched beside Jack, the two of you hidden from whatever was about to unfold.

Toby practically skipped over and plopped himself down in the mud beside you, the smell of death and rain hanging heavy in the air—a scent you'd become far too accustomed to for your liking.

You watched with a twisted sense of dread settling in your stomach, unable to tear your eyes away from Larry's lifeless body sprawled on the ground.

His head was nearly entirely split open, dried blood staining his work uniform, now caked in mud. Guilt twisted in your gut, and you turned away, fighting the urge to gag.

"No, no—you gotta suh-see this," Toby muttered, gripping your chin and forcing you to look.

Your eyes were drawn to the most disturbing thing you'd seen on this entire nightmare of a trip: a skinny human-like creature, crawling on all fours, slowly emerging from the darkness. It moved with eerie caution, its pale, hollow face barely human.

Your stomach churned, and though your face twisted in disgust, you couldn't look away. Not because of Toby's iron grip, but because curiosity had sunk its claws into you, like the creature sunk its claws into the ground.