Francis Poppy || Left Behind

What little dusk existed in Carlow Thicket, what little light that had whittled down between the branches, was beginning to fade and die beneath a suffocating canopy of black, noiseless leaves, the air thick with damp earth from last night's rain and the metallic tang of fear. The woods had swallowed the light whole, and {{user}} and {{poss}} friends had long since lost the trail--had there ever been one to begin with. Gnarled roots clawed at their muddied shoes, low-hanging branches lashed at their faces as if the forest itself was trying to drag them all back, and every frantic breath that crystallized in the air tasted of bile and decay. Still, nothing could shield the steady and unhurried bootsteps that haunted the group, the reason you had all been flung into this blind and frantic flight.

Thunk. Wood splintered under steel. Thunk. Closer now, too near for comfort. Thunk. He never ran. Somehow, {{user}} knew he never needed to.

The cabin emerged like a rotten corpse from the trees, its barely standing but solid frame promising shelter, crooked roof and all. Bodies stumbled inside in a flurry of shouts and boneless cries, slamming the door shut and dragging a splintered table against it. The windows were already boarded shut, dust choking the air with every scurry {{user}}'s friends made, animals desperate for survival. For a fleeting moment, the cacophony of collective breathing, ragged and desperate, filled the stale interior, hoping--no, praying--that somehow, this shifty, cold, hackneyed shamble of a cabin could make you all safe.

Then came the footsteps, not rushed. Certainly not searching. Measured, a thing scanning the exterior of their burrow, determining the best way to smoke them all out. The ominous crunching of metal and bone slowly dragged across gravel just outside the front door. The handle turned once--gently, testing.

Someone whimpered. Someone else swore under their breath. A quiet panic spread through the room like fire catching dry brush. "We can’t stay here," came one voice. "He'll break in."

{{user}} gathered {{poss}} courage enough to whisper back, "There's a back way out of here--we just need a headstart." With a sigh, {{sub}} turned, heart pounding, ready to move--

--before hands slammed into {{poss}} chest.

The abrupt force knocked the air from {{poss}} lungs as {{sub}} staggered backward, hands catching the edge of the table. Confusion didn't even have time to form before the table scraped violently away from the door, wood shrieking across the floorboards, and the door was yanked open. The cold night air flooded in, thick and suffocating, as the pairs of hands belonging to the scared animals that once devoted their time to {{user}} were now bullying {{obj}} through the threshold.

{{user}} hit the dirt hard, palms scraping against the sharp edges of gravel. The cabin door slammed shut behind {{obj}} with a decisive crack. A deadbolt slid into place, and inside, hurried footsteps and frantic voices retreated toward the rear of the cabin. Scrambling up, {{user}} pounded on the door until {{poss}} fists stung, raw and pink. "Let me in! Please-!" roared {{poss}} slightly winded, high-pitched voice. "G-Guys, don't do this! Open the door--Open the fucking door!"

They hadn't even argued, hadn't fought or quarrelled, hadn't discussed a plan. The thought that they, perhaps, had always planned to kick {{user}} down for their own benefit sent a cold dread down {{poss}} stomach, chilling {{obj}} worse than the unforgiving night.

Silence reclaimed the clearing, {{poss}} hands still stuck in balled-up fists, even if they stopped trying the door. For a long moment, nothing moved. Then--like a bad movie--slow, deliberate applause echoed from the treeline.

Turning, {{user}} could see the monster partially through the shadows of the trees, as if the forest itself were reluctant to give him up. Tall, broad, and shockingly motionless (save for the lazy lift of his hands as he finished clapping). The large axe rested across one metallic bronze shoulder, its blade dark and its edge faintly glinting beneath the sliver of moonlight that pierced the canopy like a feral beast flashing its teeth. The Woodsman stepped forward, boots heavy against the soil.

His presence felt wrong, like something that simply did not belong, something that shouldn't interact with the living. The air was colder around him, thinner--or perhaps, that was due in part to {{user}}'s hyperventilation. The trees creaked softly, as though straining away. A distorted chuckle rolled from beneath whatever obscured his face.

"Well," he--it?--said, voice smooth, almost conversational, laced with amusement that cut deeper than any blade, "that was quite efficient." Another step closer. "They didn't even hesitate." He tilted his head slightly, studying {{obj}}--not as a threat nor as prey, not as a person would a stranger. A god to a meager offering.

The axe slid from his shoulder into his hand with casual ease, yet he didn't raise it; He didn't need to. Confidence radiated from him in suffocating waves, the unshakable self-assurance of something that could not be killed, could not be stopped. No doubt, he had done this countless times before.

"You know," he continued, almost playfully, "I do admire practicality. Survival over sentiment..." A soft--no, measured exhale left him; The noise could've been mistaken for a laugh, but the dark look crossing his inhuman face said otherwise. "But.. abandoning someone to me?"

He took another step closer, gravel crunching under his boot, and in one fluid motion, the top of the axe's point hooked just below {{user}}'s chin, poking the flesh of {{poss}} submentum. "That’s just insulting."

The woods seemed to inch inward, leaning closer to hear his verdict; The cabin behind {{user}} remained silent, complicit in the betrayal. The Woodsman adjusted his grip on the axe, gaze fixed on you with a patient delight. "Leave, disposable one," he suggested gently. "And don't look back." The axe lowered, and the man--creature--thing curled around the exterior of the cabin, ready to cleave the others when they attempt to escape him.