The Music Box

Chapter 8: Rachel

Rachel stepped outside. It was Sunday, and they had just gotten back from their church. On Saturday--the day after everything had happened with the creature--she had just stayed in her room, taking care of her burning bite mark while looking back on the night before. She was still surprised that she wasn't mad at it. If anything, she continued to wonder what she had done. Maybe when she stood up she seemed threatening, or perhaps it was so angry and scared because of her that it lashed out. Both things she supposed she could understand.

She took a moment to breathe in the air that blew in her face. It was heavy with the scent of dirt, and felt crisp as it touched her tongue. Taking slow, deliberate steps into the woods, Rachel closed her eyes and let her feet go on autopilot. The snapping of twigs and the crunching of leaves beneath her feet soothed her. She opened her eyes again and picked up a stick, swinging it carelessly as she made her way to the ditch. The swing would be nice to be on right now.

Rachel saw the place she and her sister would often walk on to get down into the ditch, and she steadily placed one foot in front of the other, trying to keep her balance on the rocks. She hopped off the rocks when she was close enough to the ground, making her way to the swing. It was going back and forth in the wind, the wooden seat soaking up the Autumn sun. Rachel took a seat, kicking her legs back and forth to gain motion. She took it slow, quietly humming her music box's tune. The pond sparkled in the light, and she could see the grass blow with the water ripples. The rustling of leaves came from above, and a golden leaf fell on her head, before falling off when she swung back. After a few minutes, she got off, deciding to draw with the chalk in the cave. She began to take her shoes off as she walked, wanting to feel the grass beneath her feet. It was starting to get a little scratchy, now that the days were growing colder, but it was still comfortable enough to walk on.

As she drew closer to the cave's mouth, she noticed that something was off. There was some sort of... odd lump or figure inside. Not sure what to do, she looked down at one of her shoes, before throwing it at the object.

"Ack!" The object moved, lifting up a head with two horns protruding from the sides.

Rachel gasped and backed up a little, covering her mouth. "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry!"

It arched its back and hissed, scraping its claws against the rocky floor of the cave. It was too dark to really see it, but she was able to see two glowing eyes. And they looked pissed.

"Are you okay? Did I hurt you?" She tried, slowly stepping closer.

The cryptid hissed like an angry cat, scooting back further.

She stopped. "Okay, okay, easy. I'm just trying to get my shoe back. Can I do that?"

After a moments hesitation, her shoe came flying out of the cave, rolling into the red dirt. Rachel picked it up and dusted it off, keeping her eyes on the tense creature.

"Thanks..."

No reply.

"... How long have you been in here?"

The cryptid shifted its shoulders, making a strange humming sound as it watched her with gleaming eyes. It ignored her question and asked some itself in a gravely voice that didn't seem to fit. "What the hell are you doing here? How did you find me?"

"You're on my property. This is just where I go sometimes to clear my head or play with my little sister. I didn't try and find you; I thought you were long gone."

It shifted its shoulders again, moving its right leg to the side gently.

"You must be hungry, huh?" she slipped her shoes back on as she spoke. "You want something to eat?"