Sincerely, Jennifer x

I don’t think I’ll ever walk in the woods again. 

They were a big selling point for the house. Woods, practically next door. Sweeping seas of nature, as far as the eye could see. They’d be great for walking the dog, taking the kids on adventures, getting away from it all after work. 

Not anymore. Never again. 

They are outside. 

They followed me back. 

I can hear them, gnashing their teeth, tapping their claws, singing their song. 

“Husband, husband, tasty little husband.”

Every now and again, I peek out from behind the sofa and I can see them, gathered by the back door. She taps against the window, leading her chorus in their song. 

It won’t stop. I hear it everywhere. That melody. That sick song. 

I think this is it. These are my last words. I just need someone to know what happened to me. 

My wife will be home with the kids in two days. I don’t know what they will see. If you hear this livestream, please call the police. Please let them get here and take me away before my children see. 

They are four, and seven. They won’t understand. They’ll be frightened. All of the blood. I know there will be blood. There was blood with the last one. She showed me. 

You won’t believe the things that she showed me, but you must. Please, I am begging you to believe me. 

I went for a walk with the dog after dinner. He was full of energy when we left the house, but as we entered the dense woodland, his tail was still, and he sunk into my shadow. 

The trees whispered as I nudged him forward, not sure how he was suddenly so stubborn. Max normally enjoyed the woods, bounding across stray branches on the floor and barking at birds, but as the sun dipped below the horizon, and the wind began to whistle, he turned back to me with every gentle step, seeming to sense that something was wrong. 

I ignored his apprehension. He needed to run off some energy and do his business, so that I was not awoken during the night, so I was determined that we would not be going home until he did. 

The sky was painted orange and purple, but as I knelt down to encourage Max onwards, I took another quick glance to the sky above us, and there was only darkness. There were no stars, and any sunlight that could have remained had been swallowed by the tall trees. The wind rushed around us, and Max burrowed into my chest as I looked around the barren woodland. 

I couldn’t recognise where we were. I had walked through the woods many times since we had moved into the house, and usually walked the same trail, but suddenly, it all seemed so unfamiliar. The trail had vanished, and panic stirred within me as I gazed around at the thick, untamed trees that surrounded us. 

I couldn’t understand how we had gotten so far off the path we always took. I tried to get my bearings, looking around for anything that I could recognise, when Max slipped from my grasp, pulling and snarling, his lead clattering to the ground as he bolted forwards into the dark shadows. I called out to him, running in the same direction, blinded by branches as I chased him. He was gone in an instant, and soon, I was wandering in the dull night, alone, and unsure of where I was going. 

That was when I heard them. 

“Husband! Husband!” Came the voices, a little further out, as the leaves around me rustled. There was a chorus of cackling laughter, cracking branches as I slowed to a stop, staring around in the black, bleak woods to try and sense who was in there with me. 

Somewhere behind me was a low hum, but my eyes were fixed before me, as they crawled from behind the trees into a small clearing. They were unlike anything I had ever seen. They were women, or at least they resembled women, but their faces were obscured by grotesque masks adorned with sharp beaks and piercing eyes. Feathers cascaded from their bodies, and with each step, they moved with an unnatural grace.

Fear clenched in my chest as they encircled me, laughter echoing through the darkness like a sickening, sinister song. I stumbled backwards, my mind racing with the fantasy of escape, but with each step, the woods twisted and turned, leading me back to the strange creatures. 

Their beady eyes bore into me, and I was choking at their closeness. A few of them grabbed me, grappling me to the ground with sharp claws and shrill, shrieking laughter. They threw something down beside me, and it landed with a heavy thud. I dared not to look, but I heard a grunt of pain. A pleading word. Another man, imprisoned, as I was. I knew it, in my heart, but I could only focus on my own freedom in the moment. I wish that I could tell you that I saved him, and that there was a death defying, heroic rescue, but within a few moments, I was covered in his blood, as the creatures clawed and scratched at him. 

His heart was still beating for a moment, as they dug it from his chest, handing it to her, cheering as her teeth sunk into it and tore deep into its core. 

She was their leader. Their Queen. They bowed to her as she swallowed, wiping blood from her lips with a feathered claw and a wicked smile. On her talons were many silver rings, and around her neck was a chain, with seven severed fingers, dripping with blood and carrying rings almost identical to the ones that adorned her claws. She stared down at me with disdain and desire, as they began to chant her name. 

Mercedes. 

Mercedes. 

Mercedes. 

Her wings spread across her slender shoulders, and her eyes shone, scarlet in the still night as she pointed a bloody claw towards a clearing to her left. It had not been there before. It was as if she had created it. I don’t know what she is. I don’t know what she can do, but she will be the end of me, I’m sure of it. 

“I like to chase my husbands before I make them mine.” She whispered, as her minions gathered me from the floor and threw me forwards towards the path. 

I didn’t look back. I couldn’t face it. I just ran. Running and running until I found myself free of the woods, their laughter and chants following me. 

They called me her husband, again and again, hooting and hollering as they chased me through the darkness, but at last, I made it home. 

I locked myself in my house, but I know it isn’t enough. 

They are outside. 

I can hear them, and their song. I can see her, up ahead of the rest, by my kitchen window, biding her time and playing with her food. 

Please don’t let my family find me when she is done with me. I don’t want them to see what she will do. Please spare them that, and please tell them that I always loved them. 

She’s peeking through the window. Her jaws are wide, teeth shining in the moonlight, tapping the shimmering ring against the glass. She wants me, and I don’t know if I can hold her back anymore. 

Not anymore. Never again.