Chapter Text
“Go out for a weekend in the woods,” They said.
“It’d be fun.” They said.
Now here Flaky was, alone in the woods, late at night. Cold, bruised, and staring down a twelve foot tall abomination that they were certain was about to devour them alive at any second.
“C’mon Flaky, it’s been forever since we’ve gone camping!” Cuddles had whined, days before their aforementioned trip.
“And why exactly do you think that is?” Flaky retorted, the two of them sitting on the floor of Flaky’s living room. The television flickered as a random movie played as background noise.
Cuddles fell quiet for a bit at Flaky’s question.
Their previous camping trips weren’t exactly… ‘enjoyable’, to say the least. The pastel bunny shook his head before continuing on with his rambling.
“We’ll be super safe! I promise, it’s only gonna be you, me, Toothy and Nutty.” He clasped his paws together, tilting his head at Flaky. Giving them a sort of puppy eyes look.
“Pleaseeee?” Flaky looked at him for a moment—Cuddles wasn’t gonna let this go—They sighed and rolled their eyes, batting his face away with their paw.
“Fine, my medical bills are on you though.”
Cuddles sprung up happily, “Yes! You won’t regret this, I swear!”
A few days of talking and planning later and they were finally here.
In the woods getting harassed by mosquitoes.
In all honesty it wasn’t that bad so far. The weather was nice, the bugs were annoying, but not too bothersome, and there weren’t any other animals around. Most importantly, none of them had died or gotten horrifically injured! Not yet, at least.
Nutty puffed out an exhausted exhale, leaning against Flaky’s side lazily for support. They’d been walking for a while, attempting to find a specific camping spot that Cuddles said they could stay at for the weekend.
“Are we there yeeett??” Nutty drawled out like a petulant child. Cuddles fumbled with a paper map in his paws, him, Flaky, and Toothy all crowding around it to figure out where the fuck they were exactly.
“Uuhh, it should be around here somewhere…” Cuddles trailed off, staring down intenselyat the map. Toothy nudged his arm impatiently from beside him. He jumped forward, attempting to reach for the map.
“You’re reading it wrong! Lemme see!” Toothy snatched the map from Cuddles’ paws, the bunny barely having any time to react till Toothy held it in front of himself, scanning over it.
“Wh- Hey!” Cuddles yelped, reaching for the map again Toothy swatted his paw away, holding onto the map tightly.
Flaky and Nutty watching the two bicker both respectively anxious and entertained. The start of their scuffle was playful, Cuddles wrestling with Toothy for the map, each grabbed a hold of an end and tried tugging it towards themselves. It was all fun and games, till a small tearing sound that indicated the map was about to rip caused Flaky worry, jumping in to try and defuse the situation.
"Guys, wait—" They reach out to grab their own corner of the map, which was the final straw for the flimsy piece of paper and it ripped apart. Both Toothy and Cuddles fell, backsides hitting the floor with a thud. Toothy groaned from the impact, rubbing his side before staring down at the torn map piece in his paws.
"Fuck," Cuddles mumbled, the other piece in his own grip. "Nice going man." he snarked, as though he didn't also have a part in it. Toothy glowered, standing up and dusting himself off.
"It's fine, we can just fix it—" As though to mock him a sudden blustery gust of wind blew through the trees. Picking up the map pieces with it, sending them fluttering into the distance. All four critters immediately panicked and desperately tried jumping to reach for the pieces once more, only to watch helplessly as they flew further away and further into the depths of the forest.
Flaky stared aghast at their situation, mouth hanging open in disbelief. They paced back and forth, mumbling to themselves frantically.
"Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" Flaky ran a paw through their hair-like spikes, then Cuddles stepped up. Placing a paw on their shoulder.
"Hey hey, it's alright. Just breathe, we still have the GPS!" That fact helped Flaky relax more, Cuddles slipped the backpack he was wearing off, rummaging around to look for the GPS. A few moments of searching, his expression fell as he slowly looked over at Toothy.
"Toothy...Did you pack the GPS..?" He questioned, voice sounding as though he already knew the answer. Toothy looks down, paws fidgeting together as his beavertail plapped gently onto the floor behind him.
"I thought..you did...?" It came out as an uneasy mumble under his breath, Cuddles turned back to Flaky who was quickly back to losing their shit again. Nutty's ears twitched in sympathy at Flaky's distress, placing a paw on their arm, trying to calm them down.
"It's alright Flakes, W-we could just go back home right?" Nutty reassured, patting Flaky's arm gently.
"I don't think we can actually." Toothy said, looking up towards the ever darkening sky. "The suns going down now, and we've already walked for hours. It'd be safer to just find someplace to stay for the night and head back in the morning." He said after a moment of thought. Cuddles nodded in agreement.
Nutty and Flaky, now clasping paws, shared a glance. Cuddles tilted his head, a twinge of guilt pinging at him.
"We'll be fine Flakes," he repeated, smiling warmly at them. Flaky took a deep breath, squeezing Nutty's paw before nodding.
"We'll find a spot to sleep and leave first thing in the morning." His voice was full of confidence, and it oddly lessened Flaky's nerves the tiniest bit.
"And, I promise to never take you camping ever again, for real this time." He switched to a more playful tone, causing the anxious porcupine's nose to scrunch up, mouth twitching up into a vague smile.
"Okay, let's go then." Flaky replied, Cuddles grinned widely before tugging them along, leading the way followed closely by Toothy.
They continued trekking about, battling through a field of bushes to find someplace to stay. The four banter together to keep everyone's spirits high. As the wind picks up, and they pass a semi secluded clearing, everyone including Flaky feeling a little bit better about their circumstances.
The air around them begins to pick up, a strong breeze blows and picks up a weak tree branch that covers up a sign that no one noticed. The signs bright color faded over the years and the corners rusted, but it still read clear as day, absolutely impossible to miss;
'Warning. Bear Traps Up Ahead.'
Oh boy.
The sun was fully out of sight by now, gently setting a blanket of darkness upon the treetops. The moonlight reflecting upon the ground, the soft sounds of crunching leaves and grass underneath feet acting as a background noise.
Flaky set a mat down on a cleared out patch of land, fixing up a tent for them to sleep in. Nutty helped as Cuddles and Toothy looked for firewood, Flaky jabbed a tent peg into the ground, and with one last swing of a hammer to make sure it was secure, and the tent was up.
Cuddles and Toothy returned with the wood, building a small pit with starters such as twigs and dry grass. Nutty pulling out a box of matches before lighting the pile. Once it caught, they lit the logs underneath. The flames crackling and popping with a satisfying noise.
With a sigh of relief Flaky sat themselves down in front of the campfire, Toothy and Nutty doing the same as Cuddles searched through the bag Toothy had brought with him in search of something to eat. He stopped momentarily, finding something smooth and cold. He carefully pulled it out, eyes going wide as a smile spread across his face.
“Oh-ho-ho,” He chuckled exaggeratedly, The other three colorful critters turning to give attention to their bunny friend. “Look what I found.”
In a sing-songy voice Cuddles raised his paw to reveal a full pack of very cheap beer. Giving Toothy a look as he sauntered over to join them.
“Toothster, why didn’t you tell me you packed this?” Cuddles teased, Toothy showing a soft color in his cheeks as he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.
“I thought we could liven it up a little, but after the map thing I didn’t think it was the best idea. ‘Specially for Flaky.”
Flaky’s ears flattened against their head, Toothy noticing and immediately chiming back in to add something.
“I-It’s fine Flakes! Really, probably not the best idea to get drunk in the woods either way.” He assured, Flaky waved their paw in dismissal.
“No no, it’s alright. We could ‘crack a few open’—” The way they said the last bit sounded scripted and mocking like they were quoting someone, and everyone automatically knew who. “I don’t mind.”
Cuddles grinned, giving them a firm pat on the shoulder.
“Alright Flakes!” He sat down with a small thump right next to Toothy as he tore open the pack, squatty little metal cans being presented and passed around for everyone around the fire. Toothy specifically opted for metal, heaven forbid he got glass and either of them ended up getting impaled by it.
Flaky took the can in their paw, opening it up with a ‘pop’, their short bobbed tail flicking side to side. The smell of alcohol immediately wafting in the air. They brought the can to their lips taking a sip, face scrunching up at the faint metallic taste, they allowed themselves to swallow down a few gulps before having enough and placing the can down.
As they looked around themselves, finally getting a real chance to take in their surroundings. A nice breeze blew around them, the soft sounds of crickets chirping and the crackling of the fire. The moon peering down at them and acting as a comforting night light, their friends with them just having a good time. Swigging down cheap beer and chatting away happily.
Cuddles took his own can, bringing the side to his mouth and in a swift, all too practiced motion, bit down. Puncturing the can followed by him pulling the tab open with a burst, the beer foaming up as it spritzed out from the can messily.
Cuddles tilting the can and covering the opening he made more with his mouth to catch as much beer as he could. The other three enthusiastically cheered, laughed and hollered. Cuddles finished, lapping up any remaining liquid before wiping his mouth with the back of his paw. Beer stained the fur around his muzzle which he attempted to clean off with a shake.
Ears flopping about and getting droplets of beer all over the place, as well as on Toothy who was sitting right next to him. The purple beaver squealed, placing his paws over his head in a dull effort to block any more beer from landing on him.
"Aw dude!" Toothy jokingly complained, he snickered as Cuddles crumpled up his can and tossed it into his backpack.
Time passes, more drinks and convos are shared, and the fire begins to slowly but surely die down. Leaving only embers left glowing brightly, dancing and flickering in the breeze. They all decided to call it quits, settling in for the night.
Nutty yawned as he fumbled with the zipper of the tent, opening it up and crawling inside followed by everyone else. Flaky laid out their respective sleeping bags side by side one another. It didn't take long for sleep to overtake them all once they got comfortable in their sleeping bags. Being lulled by the soft sounds of the forest.
Flaky laid on their side, eyelids growing heavy with each passing minute. Their breathing evened out as sleep ultimately enveloped them.
A rustling sound and tired groaning strung out breaking the silence an unknown amount of time later. Nutty blinked drearily as he sat up.
Fuck, he needed to piss.
He turned to his side, Flaky fast asleep right next to him. He placed his paw gently on their shoulder, giving a small shake to wake them up.
"Flaky, Flakes—" Nutty whispered into the dark, Flaky stirred and mumbled something unintelligible underneath their breath.
"Mmm…?" They managed to get out.
"I needa pee. Can you come with me?" Flaky goes quiet again and Nutty gives another shake to their shoulder.
"Hhmm, yeah yeah just…" Their words were sleepily slurred together, soft snores escaping them, and Nutty just gave up trying to wake them.
He carefully maneuvered his way over sleeping bodies, struggling in the dark to find his bag in search of a flashlight.
He grabbed the bag and pulled his torch out, going over to the entrance of the tent, fumbling with the zipper to the tent for a second before succeeding and falling out. He closed the opening back up behind him. Clicking the light in his paws on before going out to find a place to piss.
He walked through the thick forest, bugs chirping and owls hooting above him, the stars twinkling and glittering amongst the canopy of trees. A few minutes of walking and he settles on a spot to relieve himself.
He slides the flashlight he was holding underneath his arm and goes about his business.
A snap of a tree branch caught his attention, ears standing on end as he whipped his head around. A rustling of bushes and the sudden realization that everything had gone eerily quiet made a nervous shiver run down his spine.
"...Flaky?" He called out hopefully, letting the question linger in the air. When no response came he simply brushed the ordeal off, fixing himself and taking his flashlight back in his paws.
Another noise made Nutty jump, tail twitching with anxiety. He shines his flashlight directly where the noise was coming from, as a lame way of being perceived as threatening.
With shaky paws he gripped onto the flashlight tightly, standing on his tip toes and fluffing up his tail. Assuming whatever was making the noise to be an animal and defaulting to the basic rule of 'make yourself look bigger and more intimidating' to make it out alive.
The bush moves again, followed by an odd animalistic sort of clicking and chirping. An echoed growl caused Nutty's blood to freeze in his veins, fear gripping him with icy fingers.
His breath hitched in his throat, fight or flight taking over.
Another growl and movement came from the bush.
He chose flight.
He bolted through the forest, not daring to turn around to check if the thing was on his trail. His heart beat frantically against his chest, he swore he heard something following him closely behind.
The hard pounding of feet hitting the floor over and over, faster and faster.
Getting closer.
It's close.
It's going to get him.
He tripped over his feet, dropping his flashlight and instantaneously feeling a sharp pain in his leg. He screeched agony and fell on his side, the air getting knocked out of him as his head hit the ground and his ears began ringing.
He shakily sat up, head spinning as he looked down at his leg, which was now caught in a bear trap.
Blood gushing and bone sticking out of torn flesh, Nutty felt sick at the sight.
Adrenaline still pumped through his veins saving him from some pain, but not at all enough as it still hurt like an absolute bitch. He brought trembling paws to grip carefully at either side of the bear trap's mouth, pulling apart as much as he could.
The sound of tearing tissue and the throbbing hurt that shot through his leg caused him to quickly give up. The teeth of the trap being let go and for a second dug deeper into his muscle, the bright green squirrel cried out in pain. He couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t—
The chattering sound from before came back, and Nutty felt all color drain from his face. He looked around frantically to find where exactly the noise was coming from, his heart thumping all around in his chest.
He could feel the shadows around him stretch and grow larger as though they were encasing him. The wind picking up and tickling at his ears like threatening whispers. Trees around him bending dangerously towards him, as though they were laughing at him.
His leg started to feel painfully numb as he felt someone, something creep closer.
Closer.
Closer.
His breathing was heavy, head dizzy and feeling as the world around him began to melt
Heart completely hammering to where he could hear it in his ears.
Ba-dum, Ba-dum, Ba-dum, Ba-dum, Ba-dum, Ba-dum.
As though it was about to—
Burst.
Flaky found themselves being violently shook awake, they woke up with a start. Sitting up and smacking whoever was shaking them away.
"Flaky! Flaky!" Cuddles whisper shouted at them, paws still on their shoulders gripping strongly.
"Right, I'm up, I'm up." Flaky murmured, rubbing their eyes tiredly.
“Where’s Nutty?” Cuddles asked desperately, he said it so quickly Flaky didn’t even have time to process what he meant.
“Huh? Wh- he’s right here?” Flaky patted the space beside them where Nutty was previously asleep, only to find it empty.
Their heart sank.
They were definitely awake now.
They sprang up from their sleeping bag, panic rising in their stomach as they thought back to those hazy moments of consciousness where Nutty was talking to them.
“Fuck, okay uhh..H-he tried waking me earlier I think. Said something about needing to pee, and, and—“ They racked their brain, trying to piece together a puzzle that was missing the majority of it’s pieces.
“I don’t know if he came back after that.” They muttered softly. Cuddles bit his lip anxiously, worry clear on his and Flaky’s face.
“We have to find him.”
After a handful of minutes passed of waking and informing Toothy about their situation, they stepped out of the tent, flashlights in paw ready for their search.
“Nuuuttyy!” Toothy called out into the dark cloudy abyss of the night, voice echoing through the woods. Flaky trailed somewhat behind, shining their light into every nook and cranny the wilderness had to offer.
“Nutty!” Cuddles yelled in another direction. Leaves crunched beneath their feet as they took tentative steps across the forest floor. As they walked along, a deafening trail of silence threatening to smother them like a thick comforter.
Flaky took a hesitant step forward, a twig snapped underneath their foot, causing their anxiety to intensify.
Suddenly losing their composure, with a shrill scream, they jumped back and stumbled, causing themselves to topple over. Tumbling down a steep slope that they had of course somehow managed to overlook until now.
Toothy and Cuddles immediately yelped, turning to face them. "Flaky!?"
Flaky landed with a harsh thud and a groan, fur smeared in dirt and knees all scuffed and aching. Wobbly weak arms propped themselves up, spitting up mud that somehow had gotten into their mouth.
“Flaky! You okay!?” Toothy yelled atop from where they had just fallen from.
Flaky hoisted and dusted themselves off, picking leaves, twigs and most definitely dirt out from their hair spikes.
“Yeah, yeah I’m cool, guys!” They yelled back. They bent down to pick up their fallen flashlight, clicking it on and off a few times after it failed to turn on the first time. They hit the side and it flickers before fully shining on the grassy dirt they stood upon.
They looked up at the steep hill they fell down.
Too angled to climb back up it seemed
“I’m gonna find another way up! Keep looking for Nutty!” They yelled, Cuddles and Toothy shouting back in agreement before walking off.
Flaky took a deep, shaky breath in through their nose. Shining their light across the grassy floor as they carefully walked. The voices of Cuddles and Toothy gradually grew more and more distant as they pushed through thick and dense bushes.
The overwhelming silence sent shivers down Flaky's spine. It was so quiet, but it felt like everything was too much, as though their eardrums might burst from the eerie stillness.
Nothing was happening, and yet it all felt so intense.
The trees were just a bit too snug around them, the previously beautiful stars felt like eyes that peered down at them.
After not even fifteen minutes of them walking, their flashlight gave out again. They cursed underneath their breath, clicking it furiously over and over again before banging it up side the rear end, hitting it too harshly and accidentally dropping it.
“Damn It..” They hissed as the flashlight bounced and rolled pathetically on the dirt away from them. They tried keeping track of it in the dark as it slowed over a pile of dead leaves. They huffed reaching down to grab it, only to be met with a loud ‘snap’ and a quick wisp of air whipping around them.
They yelped, hastily grabbed the flashlight from the ground and shone it towards the source of the noise. To their horror, they spotted a shut bear trap no more than three feet away from them.
They clutched their chest, having to even their breathing before they sent themself into a full panic attack. Taking deep breaths in and out, they nearly choked when they heard a stirring from nearby.
A silhouette casted over the trees engulfing them by the faint glow of the moonlight.
They turned slowly, gripping the flashlight tightly as an out of the blue, makeshift weapon, straining to get a clearer view of the shadowy figure, their heart racing with fear. They made an attempt to steady their trembling paws.
As the noises grew louder, their mind raced with all sorts of terrifying possibilities. What could it be? Was it a wild animal, a deranged psychopath, or somehow, something even more horrifying—
With an unsteady grip on the flashlight, they braced themselves for the worst. Knowing that they had to act fast, they tried to muster up some courage to face whatever was lurking in the darkness.
But even with all their efforts, their legs refused to move.
A shape steadily came into view, revealing a towering figure that seemed almost otherworldly. Flaky's heart skipped a beat as they caught a glimpse.
A pair of glowing golden eyes staring right back at them, they stared back in horror, unable to utter a single word.
Only a pitiful whimper landed onto Flaky's tongue, their heart pounding uncontrollably against their rib cage with each beat, their entire body tingling in cold sweat from fright. Their legs were still paralyzed, unable to take another step.
More unnerving sounds came from the shape, the figure, the fucking whatever. It let loose a low growl emitting from its throat, making the fur on the back of their neck stand up straight.
Slowly, ever so slowly the figure drew towards them, their heart beating faster and quicker with each second it took for it's looming body to finally be visible in the moonlight.
It was big, much bigger than them by a marginal amount. With a tall, thin frame and skin that didn’t look like skin at all. More an inky blackness that clung to the bones and stretched across its fleshy body.
A tattered deer skull that perched on a long, thin neck, with antlers that were large and seemed too heavy for its frail body. The creature's empty eye sockets suddenly flashed with a sickly yellow glow that nearly gave Flaky a heart attack.
It’s body moved forward with a staggered gait, like a territorial cat, and Flaky had no choice but to meet its piercing gaze. Their legs wobbled as they bored into the otherworldly stare of the creature.
Mind filled with screaming thoughts.
As the creature's head lowered slowly towards Flaky, its jaws opened to reveal rows of unnaturally sharp, jagged teeth on display.
Flaky took it as a warning and swallowed dryly.
Out of nowhere a loud shriek strung through the night air.
The creature instantly jerked up its head, swiveling wildly in the direction of the sound before darting in the opposite end.
As though it was frightened.
It ran right past Flaky, ignoring their frozen frame in favor of bolting off with a loud squeal.
After a second to let them process what they had witnessed, they let out a deep breath that they only now realized they were holding in.
The scream from earlier still rang in their ears, they knew the voice.
Toothy.