Hung

The bleak winds rustled the bushes and leaves of trees as nightfall crept towards them. Alma and Mark were on their way home from school. It was quieter as they moved into the less industrialized area. Much, much quieter. Something didn't feel so normal that day. Mark tapped Alma’s shoulder. “A shortcut route is just up ahead. Can we go through there? I really can't be bothered to walk all the way,” complained Mark as he lagged behind Alma.

Alma looked around nervously “I don’t really think it’s a good idea.”

“Come on. Don’t you have that really important report due tomorrow anyway? By the time we get to your house we’ll have plenty of time to work on it.”

Alma thought for a second uncomfortably. “Fine, but we have to hurry.”

The two scuttled along the track. The atmosphere became colder and darker as they ventured into the depths of the forests. “Hey Alma, I've heard people say there’s a psycho killer lurking in this forest who stalks and kills people out of random. Would you believe that?” questioned Mark. “Where’d you get that from? If you’re trying to scare me, it ain't working,” replied Alma anxiously. She began to feel a sense of regret.

The track eventually came to a width of a single file. The winds stopped blowing. The only noises were the shuffling of their feet along the leaves on the track.

Mark came to a halt when trickles of red spots were shown near the track. Alma turned around and saw him squatting down examining something. It was some kind of a trail. Mark followed the red trails which lead deep into the bushes. There was a rotting smell which grew stronger as he scuffled slowly. He shuffled deeper into the bush, finding the trail of red only to become bigger. To his shock, a teenage girl’s body was dangling on a piece of rope on a tree like a puppet. Fully skinned. The body was still dripping blood into the clump of flesh below. Blood was spread out everywhere. Mark was speechless at the gruesome sight. He turned back around to Alma only to see her dark silhouette. Out of her darkness, there was only pair of gleaming eyes, continually staring at him. “I'm sorry but you’re next,” she whispered...