dont look in the tags please and thank you theres spoilers
wc: 868
Days go by. Perhaps even weeks since the teen ventured out. He thought it better to listen to the concerns raised by the adults in his life, and stay home for a while.
Though, like an addict trying to quit, he finds himself returning to his old habits. This time, he leaves at daytime. Even doing his father and step-father the favor of letting them know, as he departs.
The same old spiel of telling Samuel to scream if there's trouble is given to him, and the boy sets off to a now familiar trail.
As soon as shadows encompass him, his friend appears.
"I think I like warmth a lot," she smiles. It should have looked uncanny, yet it doesn't. He's grown used to the chunks of flesh missing and bone shining trough.
"I used to be scared of the sun. It's when hunters are active," she speaks, "But now I like it. It's warm. Reminds me of you."
Samuel doesn't respond, but does grasp the girl's hand, as they walk around together.
"Can I show you something?" she asks, leading to a nod from the other.
Excitedly, she starts pulling him along, almost a skip in her step. Samuel doesn't recognize where they're going. He's not been this far out in a while, so an edge of unfamiliarity coats the landscape.
She skids to a halt.
In front of them, a body.
Long tendril like fungi protrude from every last spot, reaching for the sky like desperate and dying branches which are drowned in shadow. Some parts of the person are already covered in moss. Or perhaps the moss is eating it alive instead, as a strange ooze leaks from under it, coating the seemingly inoffensive surface.
He doesn't know where it is coming from. All this time spent studying the human body, yet not a morsel of knowledge can help him comprehend what he is staring at, or how it is even possible.
It smells as if it were still fresh, causing even the teen to wince and take a step back. Rot and decay are scents he is used to, but a different reaction triggers when he realizes this is human.
And he knows who. In his gut he knows exactly who this melted and disfigured person is.
The girl besides him just looks at the reaction curiously.
How he keeps staring at the maggot and fungus covered carcass. All identifiable traits melted away, as if acid were poured on it. Save for a lone eyeball in it's socket still.
The boy shrieks when it moves to stare at him helplessly.
Alive. That thing is alive.
A sharp, instinctual kick is delivered to the head, severing it with a familiar crack. Clearly the bone was rotten from the inside for it to get detached so easily. The fat, slimy flesh eating worms that spill from the place the neck connected to it just prove the theory.
Suddenly squeamish, the boy all but runs a few paces back, yet still too intrigued to look away, to the satisfaction of his companion.
"Do you like it?" she asks, as if merely presenting an arts-and-crafts project to the teen.
"I don't like rude people," she explains further, as if it would suddenly excuse everything and answer all the questions swimming trough Samuel's mind.
"How?" he asks once finally comprehending the situation. Once understanding the overgrown pile of flesh is a human man. One he just indirectly finished off.
"It's something I learned to do."
She looks in the distance, as various shouting voices merge together in a desperate chorus.
"They're looking for you. We should go."
The girl grasps his wrist in a firm hold and runs, dragging him along. The pair jumps over rocks and fallen trees, yet curiously, not a single footstep is left behind in the mud.
Finally letting the boy catch his breath, she stops in a clearing, once more gazing his way curiously. Like a child trying to make sense of the world for the first time.
"They call you Sam?"
He nods.
"Humans call me Decay."
"Samuel! There you are!" his father calls out, yanking him around and enveloping the boy in a quick hug, before instantly starting to check him over, followed soon by his step-father, who emerges from the foliage behind him.
"Are you alright? We heard you scream!" the man asks, joining Adam in trying to spot any injuries he may have succumbed to.
Turning around in confusion, he realizes it's just the three of them now.
"Uh. Yeah. I thought I saw someone and got scared. I'm fine," he assures weakly, unsure if it convinces the two men responsible for his safety.
"Well, no matter. Come on, we're coming home."
"And you're grounded! This is what happens when you keep sneaking out!"
While being lead out the woods by the pair, the teen managed to glance behind him quickly.
There Decay stood, observing the situation. She gave him one last little wave, before departing into the woods, the only sound being heard is the rustling of leaves.
Yet it appears that he is the sole person to even hear it in the first place.
