“Hey, grab the shovel from the back for me?” Kronii reaches her hand outward, expectant to receive what she asked for.

“R-right.” you turn around, tripping over your own feet, terrified. you hear a heavy, harsh sigh. It was bad enough to fumble the bag earlier, forgetting her special sun lotion and dropping the cooler full of the food she went out of her way to prepare, every single individual action was under incredible scrutiny. The camping trip took a significant turn for the worse and you knew just how much she detested wasting time. After ashamedly making your way back to the car you pop the trunk and look for the shovel. This was the first time you had heard of a shovel even being in Kronii’s possession. It was unusual but you were never one to question her.

“You feel it too right? This tendency, this craving, this is what we live for.”

The thing about the woods at night is that it’s an entirely different world. Nobody ever thinks about what happens when the fairy tales end…But it was her decision and hers alone. You simply nod and agree. Voices creep out from behind powdered trees. Whispers that taunt and sway, that echo every step you take. Shadows grow and shy away, depending on the roar of the flame. Elegant in form and perfect in performance, clean slashes rip through flesh. The cool air makes the body feel numb. Didn’t even register that something had happened. Gripping her arm, she feels the excitement rush through her body.

“Yeah. The desire. The indescribable feeling of wanting to

Underneath some sort of yoga type mats and covers, the metal end of the shovel sticks out and steals your attention. It was dirty, of course it was, it was a shovel after all. The graphite-coloured metal ran with streaks of brown, a testament to how much it had been used to dig into the ground. What did Kronii need to dig so often? Not a question for you to ask, and not one she would answer. Tints of aged, reddish rust sits in odd places across the face of the shovel. Distinct in its colouring and completely out of place but again, information that wasn’t privy to you. The sounds of a crackling fire bring you back to reality.

She knew it like the back of her hand. This is why she was out here at this ungodly hour in this forsaken weather. Called out, in her own neighborhood no less. For curiosity’s sake, she had to find out who was behind it. She pulls out her own knife and, as always, wounds her target first.

“Hey what the fuck is the hold up? Bring that god damn shovel over here before I end up putting you in this ditch to keep our little traitor here company.”

She slides the knife around the palm of her hand and lunges forward. No hiding behind words this time.
Smaller and smaller the corridor becomes.
Lacerations hug your skin
Two entered, one left.
Struggle no more