Fresh Flesh (Bkdk, Dkbk)

- 28: Animal? Cannibal -

He blinks, the fear turning into momentary confusion as the monster disappears with nothing more than a choked-out howl. A dark mark burns into the grass right where it was previously standing, some trails of smoke rising from the area. 

He looks back at the creature, who has a shaky arm out, pointing to where the monster used to be. He looks even more drained now, his skin pale and a thin sheen of sweat on his face. His eyes are slightly duller, the color previously so vibrant that Izuku noticed the change instantly. 

 "Idiot!" 

The creature pants out, 

"Stay by me!" 

Izuku doesn't need to be told twice, quickly rushing over. 

"S-Sorry, are you okay?!"

He doesn't know how to help, his hands hovering nervously around it, the flashlights beam going in many directions because of his movements. He still has enough energy to glare at him. 

"M'fine! Just-" 

He lets himself fall onto the grass; his arms propped behind him to hold himself up. Izuku sees the dirt around it lift, pushed back from its body. Izuku shivers as he glances back at the path behind the creature, only to see shoe prints imprinted into the ground. 

"Give me a second!" 

Izuku sits down too, putting his hands in his lap as he nervously picks at the hem of his jacket. There aren't any sounds coming from the forest anymore, not even the sound of insects chittering or the trees rustling. 

The creature leans his head back, looking up at the sky and taking deep breaths. Izuku feels a pang of guilt stab his gut, and keeps his eyes trained on the grass. He assumes that he has been warding off the ghosts and other monsters that must be packed in this forest.

"Sorry. I didn't know you were..." 

He trails off, and he feels red eyes stare into him. He doesn't get an answer for a couple of seconds, the complete silence only making it feel longer. Finally, the creature scoffs, taking another deep breath. 

"Whatever Deku. It's not that big of a fucking deal. There are just a shit ton of them. And," 

Their eyes meet and Izuku sees that they are back to their usual brightness. Its eyes narrow, flickering with annoyance. 

"It would fucking help if you didn't go wandering off everywhere shit nerd. They want to eat souls just as much as I do." 

With that, he gets up, and starts to walk away. Izuku quickly staggers to his feet, going to catch up to him. 

"Right!" 

Once he gets next to him, he points his flashlight towards the front porch. He feels chills rush up his arms, leaving goosebumps on his skin. But with that nervousness comes the feeling of excitement. 

Their shoes land on the first wooden step at the same time, making it creak under their weight. A spiderweb goes all the way down to the top of the stairs railing to one of the steps. The creature grabs the handle of the front door and turns it.