Looking back, I was never really afraid of the woods that stood a short ways away from my childhood home

I remember my family used to go play and explore in them all the time

Having little picnics in the summer, making big piles of leaves to jump in over the fall. There was even a little pond I we could ice skate on over the winter months

Heh, my little brother and sister used to love that old pond.

The woods did have its fair share of inhabitants obviously. Birds, squirrels, rabbits, even saw a raccoon once. Nothing scary like a wolf or bear, at least none that we'd seen

I used to joke with the kids at school about hearing howling at night, or once even saying that a bear attacked my moms car once when she couldn't drop me off one day

She just had to take it in for a smog check truth be told.

Still, why pass up a riveting tale to tell my friends and classmates about? They always used to love them.

If only...that's all this story was

I remember it was an autumn night, and there was a full moon out as well. My parents had gone to play with my little sister was in. I was sick so I gad to stay home. So it was just me and some movies I was going to watch on Netflix

Tonight was extra special cause one of my favorite films had just been added on there

I was so excited I figured this called for some popcorn and soda. So I tossed a bag into the microwave and got some Dr. Pepper out of the fridge.

Yet as I pulled a bowl from the tupperwear pantry, which was right next to the kitchen sink and window that looked out.

I saw it.

A deer, it's fur illuminated by the moon light

Like I said before, I was used to only seeing small creatures in the woods. This was a surprise to say the least

I rushed back into the living room to get my cell phone, this was cooler than getting a photo of a rainbow.

I was so relieved when I saw it was still outside.

"Yes," I thought happily as I got my camera up

Though I was more overjoyed as I saw it was actually walking toward the house

This was to good for just a picture, and I quickly changed it to video record

All my classmates would love this

Yet as it got closer, and the light of the moon illuminated it better. I realized this was no mere Bambi I was looking at

It's fur was pale white. Not just because of the moon, I mean truly white as snow. It's looked like they had been had been snapped off. Both were stained with blood

Now I could make out it's face

I was to frozen with fear to even want to gag at what was looking at me now.

The deer had no face. I mean like no fur, and almost skin. Besides it black nose and eyes

It was as if someone had taken a knife to this animals head and removed the skin clean off

The grotesque buck was now mere inches away from the kitchen window gazing at me

The few seconds our eye just locked onto one another felt like hours.

I was to afraid to look away, to paralyzed with fear to even call my parents on my phone

Then, it opened it's mouth. And to my utter shock, it spoke. In some dark, otherworldly voice

"You're not the one,"

Then it left

As it turned around, I saw it had a bullet wound on its side

When my parents came home I tried to tell them about it and even showed them my phone.

Yet the video I played only showed the woods outside and the moonlight, none of the deer at all

They played it off as me watching to many scary movies

I didn't bother telling any of the kids at school about the horrid buck that had visited me last night

Though one of my fellow classmates had a story to tell

About how he and his dad were out hunting.

And bagged a rare, white deer

The end