Chapter 2
It was an unnerving surprise, early the next morning, when Johnathan would leave his house and see a young girl staring at him from the forest entrance. She stood at a small height, petite and fragile, gazing disturbingly back at him from between two large, oak trees. He noticed she didn't move, standing stiff like a statue and just staring directly at him; for a moment, he thought she really was a statue until she blinked.
It was unsettling to say the least.
Of course, being a man of logic, Johnathan dismissed it as a childish prank. The nearest neighborhood was almost 5 miles away, but that didn't stop children from trying to be mischievous.
"It's a simple childish prank." He had to remind himself, walking to his car to drive down town.
"She'll leave when she gets bored."
...She still stood there at nightfall
Weeks at this parents' house were slowly becoming bizarre. Every day, when he awoke, Johnathan would see that same girl staring out from the forest entrance, looking cold and motionless. To and from his car, he'd feel his heart beat faster as she stared. Occasionally, he'd look from the corner of his eye, and the small girl would stare right back; through long, mangled hair, purple orbs flashed almost dangerously and darkly. Craning her neck slowly, eyes wide like an owl's, the girl slowly followed his movements, which became more rushed as he entered his car.
He watched her, and she watched him; this continued as he drove away, becoming almost like a standoff. Then, when he would come back, she would be there, staring from the darkness of the forest, and standing still like a dirtied, grotesque statue. It never crossed his mind to ask her why she was there, and, as a man of logic, that should have been the most rational thing to do. But lately, Johnathan wasn't thinking logically; in fact, as an unfamiliar fear started to build up, the young man began to realize that he was acting like his father, the foolish, feeble man he loathed as a child.
Slamming his beer on the living-room table, cursing his thoughts, Johnathan looked out to the forest, seeing that girl, and sneered deeply at himself.
"This is ridiculous!" He grunted, retiring to bed.
"If she wants to stand in the cold, that's her business! There's nothing to be scared of!"
...The cat had disappeared.
That old feline lingered around the house for years, an unexpected house guest that Johnathan grew to tolerate. Now, he grew worried; for the past few days, he didn't find himself tripping over the fat cat's body or waking up to the scratchy song of his feline people. As annoying as that fleabag was, that cat was the only thing left fending off the young man's paranoia.
It was nearing midnight now, and he still hadn't seen any trace of him.
Sighing, getting wary of the dead silence, Johnathan walked to the door to go find him and opened it to see that little girl, a sudden shock that rendered him speechless. She was closer now, standing, almost leaning, against the old oak tree yards from the fence. It used to have a tire swing there, which Johnathan played on under the watchful eye of his father. Now, only a torn rope was hung there like a noose, dangling, dreadfully slow, now that she stood there. Her mangled, long, black hair draped over her face, which created a strangely eerie feeling in his stomach. And, in the background, the forest seems to grow darker and suffocating.
The entire scene was uncomfortable in his eyes.
Stepping from the porch and coming closer, he noticed her eyes were darker, almost like crimson; that change in her stare alone stopped him feet away from her, regarding her with wariness. A silence fell over them, breaking only when the summer wind rustled through the decaying forest. The young girl stared back, large, purple eyes seemingly glowing in the night.
"...What do you want?" He finally asked, frowning agitatedly to mask his anxiousness. "Don't your parents know you're here?"
After a while, the little girl trailed her eyes up to his face, tilting her head slowly to reveal his neck.
Johnathan saw the blood.
It was dark and muggy, dripping in thick clumps along her chin, then plopping and staining her clothes deeply.
The young man's eyes, a pair of frightened emeralds, grew wider, following the trails. Her hand, which was stained horribly, hovered over a mangled heap lying by her bare feet. The horrid smell, the pool of ugly blood seeping into the grass, and the mangled flesh sent waves of nausea to Johnathan. Stumbling back, groaning in fear, he tried not to crumble pathetically to his knees, especially in front of her.
He had found the cat.
The poor man dared to gaze at the child, who stood still, staring innocently and tilting her head to the side. A current nervous wreck, Johnathan held his breath as she opened her mouth, smiling wide. Blood slid along the smile, along with turfs of fur in-between teeth, creating a gruesome scene.
The smile was neither cute nor happy.
It created panic in his heart, a foreign feeling that rendered him both scared and confused. She took one step towards him, keeping wide unbearable eyes on his frozen form. Slowly but precisely, she pointed back at the disgusting mess, giggling darkly.
"Oh Johnathan~... I've found your kitty-cat~~"
...Johnathan turned and ran back to the house terrified.
End of Chapter 2
((Welp, It looks like Johnathan is in trouble now~ Stay tuned to see what happens next X3 ))