Content Warning: Violence
She got lost in the woods–that’s what they said. Running down the path between the stone house and barn. She took the shortcut through the woods behind the gate with the large ‘No Trespassing’ sign. The one no one paid attention to.
The sky was dark and unkind, providing no sanity to the night. But the search team shined their lights around the forest, traipsing through the copse, searching for Lily.
They found her standing under the maple tree–knife in hand, tattered dress, singing a lullaby her mother recited every night. Hovering around, their eyes stalked her as she swayed back and forth. A smile spread across her face as she pointed deep into the woods. Their eyes followed.
A soft whisper broke through the silence. Four men moved toward the voice, their boots crunching against the leaves and gravel. Those who remained questioned the little girl. Stoic, she dropped the knife to the ground. Her eyes blackened. Her nose bled as she parted her lips and screamed.
“What the hell?”
Her back arched, rising and falling as her heavy breath escaped. She lunged toward a member of the crew, swinging her arm at his leg. Another came up behind her, lifted her in the air and tossed her in a pile of leaves.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. She pulled herself up off the ground and leaned up against a tree. Tears streaming down her cheeks, she brought her wrist toward her face, and rubbed the liquid away from her eyes with her dress sleeve. “I’m just scared.”
“It’s alright sweetie.” The man moved closer. “We’re gonna get you home.”
“That’s close enough,” Mr. Loveless said as he grabbed hold of his arm. “Don’t act like you didn’t just see what happened.”
Two men ran out of the woods with a man leaning between the two of them, his arms resting around their shoulders. The others followed, their flash lights dancing along the ground. They leaned him up against the tree and walked over to the other members of the search party.
“What happened?”
“Not sure. He was lying on the ground.”
“Oh, my god!”
They turned. Their widened eyes fixated on Lily as she cut open his abdomen. Thrusting her hands inside, she pulled out his intestines, placing a chunk in her mouth. Her teeth tore through it, ripping off pieces. Her jaw moving up and down as she gnawed on his entrails.
Yellow liquid shot out of a man’s mouth as he bent over and grabbed hold of his stomach.
Lily rose to her feet. Intestines still in her hand, she stretched forth her arm, offering some to the men. They backed away as she moved forward, pulling the intestines across the ground behind her.
“Stay right there, Lily.” One man drew his gun and pointed it in her direction.
Her eyes blackened as she dropped the entrails. She lifted her feet, marching in place, as her body swayed from side to side. “Seesaw, they found her on the seesaw. Swinging alone. But she wasn’t alone.” Lily’s tongue darted out of her mouth and swept across her blood-stained lips. She raised her hand to her mouth and giggled. “The seesaw man is coming.”
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