The Smile on the Box

Dust had settled in the area. The wooden planks were old and worn out, the supposed creaks emitted were natural warnings to imminent collapse. Broken objects were scattered across the area, showering the chilly cement in broken artifacts. Jimmy leaned in and sniffed his nose. Huge splutters and coughs followed.

"What the fuck!" He sunk his head and clamped his hand over his mouth and nose. The headaches were getting to him, and they were only 3 seconds into exploring. Eric nervously glanced around, shuffling while tightening the coat around his stocky body.

"He dismembered 2 girls here." He swallowed.

"Shit gets crazier by the day." Jimmy kicked a broken porcelain bowl away.

"As if girls weren't crazy enough" he muttered, picking up one of the porcelain pieces and blowing away the huge skins of dust.

"You're just saying that because Susan dumped your ass" Eric said, as he walked into the opposite direction, flipping on the switch.

"Fuck you, Eric."

"I was right then." Eric roared with laughter and examined the scene. The amount of broken stuff in here were much more than they had expected, and they expected a lot. Huge piles of junk laid in the corners, with fewer small piles laying around in arbitrary areas. He shook his head.

"She... Samantha was killed here?" Jimmy asked, as he drew his hand into his pocket.

Eric nodded, walking over to a table. He touched it with his finger, and it collapsed.

"And the killer..."

"I doubt he'll be here. Anyway, he-"

"Hey, look I found something" Jimmy called out, gesturing for Eric to come over. Eric did so. It was a necklace, shiny but battered. The gleam was pretty, yet the crimson red blood that was splattered on it seemed to protest.

"How the fuck did the cops miss this?"

"They didn't. It was placed here recently. Real recently. Look at the blood. It's still fresh. Holy fucking shit... too fresh."

Jimmy instantly drew the pistol he hid in his pocket and spun around. He used to be sweating over the stifling heat. Now it was over something much more convoluted. Eric did the same, and began looking around, his eyes darting in every direction.

"We got to get the fuck out of here." Jimmy yelled and dashed up the stairs. Eric quickly followed suit and as they opened the flimsy door, Jimmy's eyes widened at the sight outside.

A head hung by the rope tied around the chin, swaying slowly in the wind. The eyes had been dug out and the mouth... or what was left of it, was completely clawed beyond recognition. The long ponytail that swayed along with it...

It was Samantha.

"Fuck." Jimmy pushed the head aside and ran out. With the pistol in his hand, he walked ahead, clenching his jaw.

Then he saw the person.

Standing a few feet away, a person clothed in a jacket, and blue jeans. The man stood upright, one of his hand clutching a bloody machete. The blood splattered across his body seemed to be his second layer clothing. And but his head ... it wasn't a head.

It was a box.

The grotesque scene left by a grotesque man. Yet, the most sickening thing Jimmy found about him was the thing scrawled on the box. It was a crudely drawn smiley face.

Eric had also seen it. He instantaneously aimed his gun at the man. Or whatever the thing was.

"Hands!" He called out.

The man didn't move. The head-- no, the box tilted, almost as if the man awaited a response.

Then he vanished.



Jimmy and Eric stared in disbelief. Jimmy blinked a few more times. He was gone. It was gone.

"What the fuck..." Eric stammered and stepped back.

Jimmy looked down at his fist which he had held the necklace in.

The necklace had vanished too.

PrimalES