The Beast Made of Ink

Chapter 19: Sammy's Mistakes (Part 1)

A/N: This chapter may be sensitive to some viewers, as it contains gore, mature themes, and cannibalism. Viewer discretion is advised.

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-Sammy's P.O.V.-

I held both my mother and fathers hands tighter as we made our way down the sidewalk. An excited and naive smile fitted its way onto my five year old face as my parents swung me back and forth.

We were on our way to the park, and I was so excited! It had been a long time since we had been to the park, and I practically begged my parents to bring me despite both of them having to work that day. Both deciding to call in sick, they had decided to bring me to the park instead.

My mother and father were kind people. Charitable people. They seemed like the perfect couple, and in truth, they really were the perfect pair. Childhood sweethearts that managed to stay together throughout college, despite the assumptions that women received for seeking higher education. They encouraged one another and treated each other equally, and right after graduating, my father proposed to my Mother which she instantly said yes to. They were made for each other.

Unfortunately, my mother had a number of miscarriages. After her fourth miscarriage, both her and my father had decided that if the 5th time didn't work, then they would stop trying to have a child. Fortunately though, they had me. Their only child Sammy Lawrence in which they had loved with all their hearts. With my golden-blonde locks from my father, and my bright blue eyes from my mother, many described me as the perfect representation of my parents love. Naturally, my mother and father couldn't agree more with those statements.

Things were perfect, times were perfect, my childhood was perfect! However, all that had changed at that day at the park.

"Here we are Sammy!" My mother chirped excitedly as she released my hand. My father followed along right after. My parents then took each other's hands as they smiled down tenderly at me.

"Go on, have fun son. And remember..."

"Be safe, and don't talk to strangers!" I yelled back enthusiastically before my father had a chance to respond. This made my Dad give a deep and throaty chuckle.

"Have fun kiddo" He said with a ruffle of my hair, and with that, I was off onto the playground.

The slide was its classy shiny silver metallic that seemed to glow in the summer heat. The monkey bars stood tall and firm, and the teeter totter, although showing much age with its chipped red paint, stayed straight and sturdy. With the sun glowering harshly down everyone's backs, the only solace that one receives from its rays was from the forest that was directly behind the playground.

I had begun sliding down the slide, all the while laughing. I had continued doing this for who knows how long, but I stopped when I heard the faint sound of... Sobbing?

I shot my head back towards the forest, and just stared. It seemed like the sound was originating from there. Shooting my head back at my parents, I saw that they were looking into each-others eyes instead of watching me like they usually did.

"I guess stepping away for a little while wouldn't hurt anyone..." I thought to myself as I brought my feet into the bushy evergreens. This was my first mistake. It took me a while, but I was able to find the source of the noise.

There, hunkering behind a rock was a very tall and wide man. He looked around my parents ages, maybe a little younger. He had unkempt brown hair and a scruffy face. He also had a very pronounced under-bite, and his eyes were very small and very drooped. His clothes consisted of a dirty and red stained winter jacket that was much too large for his already large form, torn up loose fitting jeans, sandals, a red and white baseball cap, and then a yellow-stained white tank top. Warning bells probably should've gone off in my head, but I was too little to even understand that the man was probably very dangerous. That was my second mistake, and my third mistake was deciding to start a conversation with the man.