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Curtains

Chapter one: Eyes

The woods beside town were a place that no one ever went near, everyone always said it was haunted, or cursed or full of monsters or some such. Sure it was a creepy forest, the sort that just abruptly began, nothing more then a sudden wall of towering oaks, figs and willows. It even had this creepy old cobblestone path that started at the only dead end street and town and snaked away into the woods, abruptly being swallowed. And yet here I was, naked and duct taped to a tree a few feet into the woodline. The victim of some high school prank, the football teams jocks having jumped me on the way home and tying me up here. All because of some dumb rumor that I had a crush on the illustrious prick Chandler Becket, the magnanimous and narcissistic stallion captain of the chess club.

I'd been vainly struggling to free myself all afternoon but since my muzzle had been taped shut I was unable to call for help and hence here I was, watching the sun set. It didn't take long for things to become utterly pitch dark, and even from the corner of my eye I couldn't see a single light from the town just fifty or so feet away. So here I was alone and naked in the woods, soon my ears were filled with sounds that had them flicking to and fro in paranoia. I was hoping that someone was coming back to get me but know the football jocks at my school they would be likely to leave me here all week. Last time someone had made a rumour about a student at school being queer they had been beaten with a baseball bat.

I counted every minute go by as the strange sounds continued all around, the chirping of insects, hooting of owls and various rustling noises. But I gave up counting after reaching six hours, although it was only at that point that I noticed how quiet it had suddenly become. My nose twitched with the presence of a rather peculiar smell, something unwashed, exotic, it made my nose scrunch up, threatening to sneeze. I strained my eyes, looking around for the source but all I could see was pure black, as if my eyes hadn't adjusted at all.

That's when I saw it, the outline of a silhouette, one that took up the entirety of my vision, something absolutely enormous stood before me and I hadn't even noticed. Something that stood there still as a statue and silent as death, I knew it wasn't anyone from school or town, no one in town was anywhere near that tall. I gulped as my eyes traced that silhouette, but all I could discern was it's size, no details.

And then the tape binding me to the tree was abruptly cut, a faint 'thlick' sound, like someone running a stanley knife through tape to open a cardboard box. I was suddenly able to pull myself free of the rough surface of the tree but I didn't dear take a single step forward or any movement at all for that matter. The briefest of flashes from a bolt of lightning high above in the cloudy night sky illuminated a single towering visure before me. And then it was gone, just like that my vision adjusted slightly and all I could see were the outlines of trees and underbrush.

I stood there breathing heavily for a few moments before I began to tear at the tape on my arms, legs and muzzle till I had freed my fur of its cursed stickiness.

"The hell was that thing..." I muttered to myself, looking around, trying to figure out which was was home. Taking a step forward I practically face planted into the cobbled path sending a stinging pain through my cheek and palms. Pulling myself up I looked up and down the path, squinting to try and figure out which way led back to the end of Williams street. I eventually picked a direction and set off along it, moving slowly, holding my arms to my waist, never before had I felt like this, naked in the elements. Sure id been naked before, everyone had but rarely does one find themselves ass naked in the forest at night, at least alone that is. Yet again I wasn't alone, someone, something was out here with me, maybe all those stories about some huge bat like monster who ate peoples thoughts was real afterall.

After a good hour of walking I realised that I was heading the wrong way, I should have reached town by now but there was a warm smell in the air that made me feel ok, soothed my discomfort and steady my nerves. I suddenly realised someone had hung sensors from some of the branches of trees along the path, they bellowed thin light scented smokes into the air, filling the forest with a warm autumn scent. And only a few more moments of walking later did lanterns join the sensors in the branches, and then draping cloths and rope that spanned from branch to branch over the path.

My first thought was that I was stumbling into some sort of party, immediately I paused, suddenly feeling anxious. But I realised there was no way this was a party, why were there lanterns and sensors then. My next thought was that I was about to walk in on some fucked up cult bullshit and get myself murdered.

"Or it could be some weird old lady who likes lanterns and shit...heh" I muttered to myself again, a shiver riding up my spine as I slowly continued. Eventually the path ended, it splayed out into a small grassy clearing and disappeared between the raised roots of a huge pale willow tree with dead branches. Said branches were full of lanterns and long flowing strips of red, yellow and brown fabrics. The whole clearing being filled with what looked like herb gardens and small planters, I gulped however as I saw the other decorations. Skulls, lots of them, many serving as makeshift sensors and lanterns, hidden in nooks between roots or wedged into branch forks along with bird and squirrel nests. Strange carved and painted symbols present on everything, the cloths, the lanterns, branches even the willow itself, all bold colors to, reds, whites and blues.

I took one look at it all and promptly spun on my heel and instantly paused, the darkness of the forest before me scared me more than the cult horror show behind me. I mean anything could be out there, wolves, bears, jocks with baseball bats. Hesitantly I turned once more, back to the huge willow tree, at least it was well lit here.

Stepping into the clearing I nervously looked around, someone obviously lived here, I quickly noticed the glow coming from between those two raised roots.

"Is that...a staircase...going into a tree..." I questioned as I hesitantly approached, and sure enough it was, a crude staircase made of wide and shallow steps that descended into the earth in a snake like fashion. Though I quickly noticed the blood and handprints of something with few fingers and rather large claws as well. Cautious and curious I leant forward, sniffing at the air the came from the staircase, it was heavy with spices, oregano, thyme, parsley, tarragon, I could even hear some faint muttering. Perhaps there really was some old lady living out here, it certainly looked and felt like it, and there was no one else around that was going to help me.

"Um...H-hello"? I called out, the muttering immediately stopping and an unsettling pause of silence emanating through the air.

"Do I have guests, ho vonderful~" came a distinctly male and highly exotic sounding voice came, I even heard some shuffling from below.

"Um...I'm a little lost...I err...someone tied me to a tree as a...prank and...took all of my clothes..." I said, trailing off toward the end in embarrassment, still feeling rather uncomfortable, not about the lack of clothes I had but rather the whole situation I was in.

"Oh, ho unfortunate, please do come in, I have a phone you can use" the voice said, warm and sharp, with a hesitant gulp I began descending the stairs. The case itself being quite long and spacious, obviously meant for something bigger than a slightly out of shape black rat like myself.

The stairs opened up into a modestly sized circular room with a high domed ceiling that had rafters and everything. It looked like the inside of a rather cosy cottage, though no one was present to greet me. I could see similar rooms branching off left and right through doorless high archways the room I was in styled as some sort of common room. There was a sensor hung from the rafters and a few simple lanterns around the room, a small table, large hammock and some embedded bookcases in one wall.

"Hello"? I called out once again, my nose twitching at the smell of some sort of stew or broth brewing away in another room.

"A vhat a handsome rat~" came that exotic voice, setting my ears upright as I turned around to face what I thought would be some quaint hermit. Immediately my eyes went wide and color drained from my face as I beheld my host. He was enormous, huge a massive bat or something very similar. Patchy white fur splattered with bright autumn colors, tall ears, short snout, the tips of fangs glinting just over his lips. I took a step back as he stooped under one of the arches and entered the room. At first i thought he was wearing some sort of huge draping gown, but I quickly realised they were wings, massive leathery wings that attach to the arms, just like a bat. They were enormous, dragging along the floor like oversized curtains, though as my eyes scanned over his body, slowly rising they settled on his eyes. A milky hazel green, dead and greyed over, blind, I gulped.