Into the Woods

Eerie Cottage

Further into the night, Taylor and I walked deeper into the woods, the fox lying peacefully in Taylor's arms. We silently ventured down the dark, dim paths of the forest whilst thoughts swam through our minds. Wolf seemed to be the least of our worries as we trudged through the muddy paths, in and out of bushes and tall, intimidating trees. This all seemed too normal now and it made me angry. I wanted to cry for the fox and our guilt which seemed to be invisible, I felt the need to protect the animals in the woodlands and stop the big bad wolf from harming them. My brain felt confused, why was I not feeling the guilt? Am I truly happy that I now get to live?

We finally reached the homeless tree stump. No wolf in sight. I felt a rush of anger wrap around me. 'He should be here.' I said sternly with a flat expression. My jaw clenched together showing off it's defined features. I felt my muscles tense up around my whole body and my shoulders raised.
Taylor swore out of anger and guilt. 'He's tricked us. He hasn't even been here today. I shouldn't have come back.' He flipped over the empty sleeping bag inside the tree stump and kicked away the dirt around the outside. He looked down at the fox in his hands, now covered in blood and instantly looked away facing regret. 'I don't even know what to do. We can't just leave it here.' He said annoyed. He slumped down against the side of the tree awkwardly holding the animal and staring off into the pitch-black distance.
I sighed and sat down next to him, my legs up to my chest, curled into a small ball.
'We killed an innocent animal for human life and we're still going along with the plan.' Taylor spoke still with a tinge of irritation. 'And I have no explanation as to why we are still sat here.' He threw his hand in the air and kicked his feet into the ground.
'Do you wanna bury him then?' I ask gently but calm.

Taylor shook his head. 'We should just leave him, we've already killed him, another animal will take care of it.' He cringed at the natural thought of animals being predators and prey.

So simply we walked out of the dark side of the woods but not too close to Jade's caravan. We ended up reaching a flowery patch of land. Daisies, violets, cow parsley and lilys grew proudly. Taylor lowered down the fox carefully into the centre of the wildflowers. He smiled down gently at it with weeping tears in his eyes and his hands held together behind his back as he swayed back and forth trying to keep himself composed.

I kissed my hand and placed it on the fox's head, stroking its silky fur. We then made our way back to the cottage with only the moonlight glimmering through the crowns of the trees.

***

We reached the clearing as the sun slowly started rising. Our eyes were weepy and tired. Our bodies were drained and exhausted. We entered through the back door with the same key Taylor had found previously. We crept upstairs and into our rooms. There was no noise coming from Grams's room so we knew we were in the clear. I said a simple goodnight to Taylor when we parted ways, got undressed and collapsed onto my bed. I did not know how to forget the trauma of the night but I knew this was probably all so stupid but I just felt attached to that fox without even knowing it, it's hard to explain why I feel this way about a random animal.

When I woke up there was no light. I sat up and blinked, I rubbed my eyes. I looked over to the window beside me, the moon shone high in the clear night sky. I must have slept through the day. I got up and pulled on some comfy clothes. I exited my room and crept down the hallway careful not to wake Grams. Taylor's door was adjacent so I slowly pushed it open. I froze as it creaked and spun around to Grams's room on the opposite side of the hallway. Still no noise. I carried on opening the door and whispered at Taylor who was sprawled out on the top of his bed.

'Pst, Taylor.' I called his name as I stood like a shadow in the doorway. He didn't respond so I walked closer towards him. I rocked his half-naked body back and forth gently not to scare him. He began to stir so I spoke again. 'What time is it?'

He forced his eyes open and looked at me. 'What?' He questioned croakily as though he didn't hear me.

'I said what time is it? And whilst I'm at it what day is it?'

He looked at me confused. 'What do you mean? It's Wednesday.' He rolled back over agitated and tried to go back to sleep.

'It can't be Wednesday though, we got here at sunrise and now the moon's in the sky. It's been at least a day.' I insisted.

He rolled back over and raised his eyebrows. 'Well I didn't wake up yesterday, did you?' He asked me.

'No, otherwise why would I ask what day it was?' I said sarcastically. He looked at me suspiciously.

'Then why didn't Shesscintle wake us? She wouldn't just let us casually sleep.' He got up and put on some proper clothes. 'I'm checking on her.' He walked towards the door, I nodded and followed him.

He pulled down on the door handle and grimaced as it creaked. Then he pushed it open to reveal an empty room.