Silver Lies Within the Hell We Created

"One-Two!"

A young man stood within a dense forest where the light struggled to reach the bottom. He wore torn clothing stained with dirt, mud, and dried blood. His slender frame with small muscles stretched the long sleeves of this undersized shirt. Through the holes in his clothing were loose bandages that were haphazardly wrapped and stained with a dark red. A rough, cool breeze swept through the swaying trees and ruffled his unkempt brown hair. He threw the corpse of a freshly hunted deer over his left shoulder and crouched down to pick up his hunting rifle with his right. The rifle was dull and dilapidated, with an appearance much older than the man himself. 

"This hefty boy should keep Ashley and I fed for a few days, and maybe I could sell the rest to Cypress for a bit of a bonus." The man mused as a hopeful glint filled his eyes. "Hopefully, I don't have to keep doing this, assuming the deal with the city goes smoothly."

Adjusting the deer to rest comfortably on his shoulder, he trod silently through the forest. As he moved, he heard a strange whimpering howl from what he assumed was a wolf. Following the sound was a grotesque sound of flesh being torn and bones snapping. A final pained whimper from the wolf echoed loudly through the forest. The man stood still with his heart beating hard as the sounds of leaves being trampled grew close in his direction. 

He gently dropped the deer, making as little noise as possible, and took cover behind a thick tree. He readied his rifle by reaching into his pockets and loading a small round into the chamber. The unknown footsteps grew closer to him, and the man slowed his breath with every step. He aimed down the barrel from behind the safety of the tree, keeping his eyes on the direction of heavy steps trampling the surrounding nature. 

A small light shined towards him, and he quickly hid back behind the tree and peeked in the corner of his vision. A dark silhouette in the shape of a person appeared within the thicket of trees. The light moved from side to side with each footstep. 

Soon, a man who appeared to be in his mid-to-late twenties walked out into the open. He had black hair ruined by sticks and leaves and a patchy beard stained with mud and fresh blood. He wore an expensive-looking suit with silver threading running around the edges of the clothing. On his back was a large wooden case made from silver wood. 

The man sniffed the air as if trying to pick up on a scent and walked over to a blind spot that the young man hiding could not see past. The older man gave an annoyed huff.

"So, this is the place?" Annoyed, the man kicked a small rock. Surprisingly, the rock flew a great distance and wedged itself into a tree. "Making me come all the way out here for this? That woman is a fucking slave driver." 

The man emerged from the blind spot and took a few steps to his left towards a strange-looking mound of dirt that seemed to have recently been built up. The man crouched down and clawed at the dirt with his bare hands for what felt like a while before coming to a stop. 

"Hmm…"

The young man tried to readjust his position so that he could get a better view of what the man saw, but before he could, the man spoke.

"How unfortunate and unsurprising. Though…I did not realize that you would end up like this. Not even I can joke about this." The man reached into the mound and pulled out a small silver dagger. Its shiny blade was stained with a crimson hue. He pocketed the weapon and crouched back down. "Well…they believed you went AWOL, but it seems like that was not the case at all. Of all the victims, you were the first to fight back." The man reached into his pockets and pulled out two cigarettes. He gave one to the mound and placed the other in his mouth. He lit them both and took a deep puff. A strong lavender scent filled the forest. "I just hope that information helps your soul rest…don't need you to come back from the dead to fight us or anything."

A small silver light flashed from the mound. The man let out a small sigh as she adjusted the case on his back. He stood up and turned around, making his way towards the direction he came from. He stopped just before reaching the trees and turned his head back towards where the young man was hiding. 

"Hmpf…" He then turned back and resumed walking. "A curse of Pandora, the Lustful Vixen. Looks like this town is about to become a town of sinners once more." He spoke out loud as if someone were listening as he walked off. 

The young man waited for the sounds of footsteps to die down before moving over towards the mound where the man stood. 

"N-No way…"

Fear, disgust, confusion, and several more thoughts filled the young man's head as he laid his amber-colored eyes on a mutilated corpse that was shoved into the ground. The body was torn with large, unnatural claw marks gutting the corpse from all over. Their insides were no longer inside and seemed to have been shoved into the hole along with the body hastily. What was left of the head had a small cigarette sticking out of the bloodied mouth. The young man grabbed a large stick and poked around at the body. Parts of the wounds inflicted on the corpse were slightly charred as if some creature with burning hot claws had slashed him up. 

The young man resisted the urge to panic and vomit at the grotesque sight, thanks to the lavender smell that the cigarette gave off. He stepped back and returned to where he had dropped the deer. The sight was forever burned into his mind. Even looking at the deer triggered his urge.