Chapter Text
November 3rd, 1999.
5:58 AM.
Simon's mask had begun to decay earlier than usual, ripping the fabric off his face and dropping it into an empty pit in the fields. He felt exposed, even if he took it off for just a moment.
Maybe it's the material...
He turned around and walked towards the barn in the distance.
Simon entered the building then went up to some empty bags of rice that were laid out on the table, he hovered his hand over each of them, grabbed one, and shook the bag up and down to dispose of any lingering bugs that could've crawled in there.
He gazed at the item for a while before ripping it slowly, making the "smile" in his mask and some miniature eye holes for him to see through it. Simon placed it over his head and wrapped his neck tendrils around his throat so it would stay in place.
Despite the sack he was wearing over his head, he still felt very exposed through his disguise. He didn't wanna put any rope around his neck again just to keep his face in place either,
so Simon had ultimately decided just to leave his tendrils underneath his cloak, putting on a poncho for an extra layer of security. He placed on a hat as a finishing touch and looked at himself in the shattered mirror. He adjusted the hat a little more, looking at himself with a sense of confidence and pride, hitting a pose
Any positive feeling he felt was washed away as he let frustrated sigh , his shoulder spikes had been trying to poke their way out of his clothes.
“I just trimmed you..” Simon spoke through clenched teeth.
He took off his shirt and placed it in his mouth, reaching his hand into the already opened drawer, he picked up a pair of mini bolt cutters, clinging it onto the first exposed spike, he took a deep breath and pulled-
SNAP!
letting out a whine, he dropped the first spike on the ground, taking a deeper breath before heading to the next one.
After he was finished, Simon tossed the spikes into a trash bag nearby, patting down the lacerations with a wet cloth, trying not to flinch at the cold water.He put his clothes back on and left the barn.
Walking towards his home, opening the front door and heading upstairs to his bedroom, unlocking a hidden shelf and picking up necessities for hunting: gunpowder, his hunting rifle, a crossbow/Bow, a quiver stacked with arrows, and an axe.
He hesitated to leave for a moment, but eventually started to head north, making his way through the dead, snowy cornfield and approaching the wooden fence guarding his territory.
As he got closer to the fence, he felt a tug on his scarf, which had almost caused him to fall onto his ass.
He pivots his head and looks down, coming face to face with his friend, who had woken up earlier than him. Flock slightly retreated back from him, Simon's expression softened, and he kneeled down to the bird's level
“Hey, it’s okay," reassuring the animal, his voice almost stern yet comforting
"I’ll be back, just heading off to get some groceries now. Don't tear anything up while I'm gone, okay?"
Brushing his hand against the bird's head, he stood up and climbed over the fence.
Flock peered her head over the fence and watched as Simon departed from the Barn.
Simon waved goodbye to her, then Flock retreated back to her nest.
He took a deep breath before heading off
6:01 AM
The sun had started to rise in the distance.
He had been walking for around 3 minutes at this point but it started to feel like a couple of hours, maybe he got the time wrong again but it’s not like he had a watch to look at, or one to buy.
Simon stopped walking and began to examine his surroundings, his attention was suddenly directed towards a cluster of mushrooms attached to an oak tree, and he sauntered towards them cautiously.
"Oyster Mushrooms?" he whispered to himself, almost puzzled by the healthy fungi, especially in this absolute horrid weather.
Plucking one out of the tree he pondered if it could be used for bait, he gathered some and placed them inside of his woven satchel.
While Simon’s attention was directed towards the Tree, he suddenly started to feel lightheaded, almost heaved at the effects of starvation starting to kick in.
He hadn't eaten in what felt like days, deciding to toss the mushroom into his maw for some extra energy, forcing down the mushroom and fighting his body trying to reject the meal. The feeling began to fade into a more bearable stage—he still felt like he could pass out at any moment. he closed his satchel and continued his journey.
9:20 AM
Finding some caribou tracks in the snow, He kneeled down and picked up a piece of fallen fur from the animal. “Finally” He told himself, drowsy yet determined—he conjured enough energy to follow the hoofprints.
Simon had spotted the herd in the distance, making himself smaller as he got closer until he was practically crawling towards his prey.
he stopped behind a bush and withdrew his crossbow from its case and pulled back the string. He prepared himself to fire until one of the caribou began to act erratically, the animal’s ears pinned back and it ran away from the safety of the herd.
Simon snapped out of his hunting behavior and slightly raised his head out of the bush. He looked around for the stray reindeer, his mask had been blocking his senses, so he held his breath and lifted it up to hear better.
“Hooves Trotting in the snow..”
"Poor thing.." He sighed, “A reindeer’s panicked cries.."
Something made him pause, his eye twitched at it
“..paw..lizard prints..?”
He lowered his mask and snuck away from the frightened herd, following the noise. He started to question himself as he ran towards possibly infected creature—The animal could’ve been rabid. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case as Simon looked at it for a little longer, but the ladder was so much worse.
He had stopped behind a tree, peering over to see that the reindeer had suddenly calmed down, looking healthier and less scared.
Simon, relieved at the sight, reeled his crossbow string back again, seizing the moment, aiming for the animal’s heart for an easy death.
A Veldigun had taken this moment first, jumping onto the animal's back and pushing it down into the snow. holding onto its muzzle, it stooped down and bit onto the caribou’s throat to hinder its movement.
Simon hurled and looked away from the scene, covering his face and dropping his weapon as he couched down behind the tree.
His mask wasn’t helping him block out the sounds this time
each tear, snap, and squelch was heard so clearly. The smell of sulfur and iron mixed in the air and formed an even more repulsive image in Simon's mind, he couldn’t help but think about it.
He planned to stay here until it was finished, desperation and curiosity started to occupy his thoughts and he took a peek from behind the tree. He quickly regretted doing that, just a quick glimpse was enough for him to get up and run, he covered his mouth and his throat tightened.
Simon couldn’t take it anymore; his stomach started to churn, and his throat began to clog with the buildup of his stomach acid—The fatigue, the hunger, and now this? It was too much; he managed to stop in front of a log and vomited in front of it.
Simon returned to the cadaver, the previous veldigun had left the corpse there to rot
The body of the cervid had been gouged like a pumpkin. Unforgiving claws had torn into the animal as if it were paper. The demon had barely even consumed the creature’s flesh and hide—it did take its mind, something was useful to it at least
Trying not to heave nothingness again. He turned away and began to dig into the earth with his trowel. He planned to bury the creature so as not to attract wildlife to the veldigun-sickened corpse.
10:06 AM
After the burial, he lost all his appetite
the muffled cries of the reindeer kept repeating in his mind. He got down on one knee and kept staring down at the freshly dug grave. He got back on his feet, deciding to forage rather than hunt today
“..maybe i can..settle for some fish” Simon spoke, wearied, dragging his feet towards a river.
He made it to the river and stomped down on the ice
“..2 ft in length, water's still running underneath.”
He reached for his crossbow, patting an empty case where it was supposed to be. Simon was more frustrated than he was alarmed, squeezing his fists together, he reached for something else on his belt, reaching for his axe, he kneeled down struck the ice with it
Simon while doing so, he abruptly stopped then looked up from the ice, his eyes narrowing at the presence across the river
Simon stood up and straightened his body, gripping his weapon tighter
It was that thing again, the demon
“You.” he announced, stern yet loudly enough for it to hear
He refused to call it by its false name
“What do you want?”
To Simon’s surprise, the demon ‘spoke’, a disharmony of stolen voices reaching out to him
“You dropped this.”
Simon took a step back, his eyes narrowed a little more
He was almost stunned by what he was hearing
Yet he felt repulsed, so many voices in a single body
It's voice made him almost cry if he could, he needed to look stronger infront of it
Wait, dropped what?
“What?”
Simon looked at the demon, puzzled
It held a crossbow over it's head. His crossbow
He was a little taken aback by this, nonetheless he went to reach out for it, although he hesitated after looking down
It wasn’t because it was slippery, no, he could risk some falling here and there; it was what was underneath, afraid the ice could shatter underneath him. Simon wouldn’t risk it, i could always make another one he thought.
He didn’t wanna take it back from that monster's claws either, but he didn’t want it to keep his favourite weapon either
He just stood there, his jaws clenched
The shorter Veldigun snickered at Simon’s hesitation
“I won’t bite, come on.”
“I know you won’t."
“Then come here, you’re wasting my time.”
“Unless you want me to keep it..”
The veldigun looked at the crossbow, then back at its claws
Its eyes narrowed for a moment before looking back at Simon with a grin
“I don’t.”
“Throw it over here.”
“Do you want me to break it, Human Boy?”
The demon sneered
“...human boy?”
“Do yo-”
He paused, looking to his side, then back at the veldigun
“Just throw it over here, devil…devil.”
He couldn’t think of a counter nickname
The veldigun snarled, casting it’s arm back then throwing the crossbow at Simon
The crossbow smashed into Simon, he stumbled back yet managed to catch himself from falling
“Ow…”
Simon looked back up to throw something at the Veldigun back, but it had already left
He groaned
1:06 PM
Simon arrived back home, managing to gather some fish and flora at least
He rested his back on the door as he closed it, letting out a sigh
“..Human boy” he mumbled
Simon snickered to himself, “Human boy!” he repeated, taking off his mask and tossing it on a chair nearby, walking further inside of his house. Simon went ahead to do his mundane things after his fishing session, however, something about that encounter kept him giggling to himself
“Did it really mistake me for a human…?” he enquired, scratching his head. He kept scratching at his dome, eventually feeling a bump
He groaned, deciding to ignore the bump that was protruding from his head, just leaving his hat on his head for the time being, picking up his mask and tying it around his face.
Simon went outside again, the flock flew down from her nest to greet him, following him close behind
Simon's mood increased and he smiled at the animal, letting out an exasperated sigh at the previous conversation he had.
They both kind of just walked around the field in circles for a bit, simon decided to break the silence "Wasn't really a...good hunt."
Flock looked up at him, she wouldn't understand much of what he was saying but it was nice to just get something off his chest.
"Almost passed out back there, I probably almost 'died', annndd..oh, yeah, I had someone killed infront of me by that..thing" his voice trailed off
He stopped walking for a moment, the distressing memory came back into his mind and he began to whimper a little before walking back home
Flock followed close behind him, chirping curiously
He stopped in the middle of the fields to curl up into a ball, his head felt like it was about to explode
She kept her distance from him, staying close.
5:29 PM
31 minutes before hunting hour.
Simon awoke from his power nap, wiping the dirt from his eyes and dusting the snow off of him.
He looked around for his pet, puzzled
She rooted herself from the snow and approached him, then gave him some minor nicks to his face. Simon snickered and pushed her back a few inches
"I'm fine, I'm fine." He reassured the bird
Flock purred, lowering her head as Simon pets her. He got up from the ground and stretched his back, looking up at the sky and letting out a sigh
"Forgot how dark it gets during winter..."
"Night's beautiful here though..."
He mumbled to himself, staring up into the night sky
He couldn't help but wonder if that thing he encountered saw the same beauty as he does.
He wonders what it's up to now.