Phantom ~ [Simon Ghost Riley]

III. The hunting game

I reach the edge of the forest quicker than expected. Abandoned houses form what looks to be an old village. The scene looks like the inhabitants just stood up and left, leaving all of their belongings behind. Most of the houses have furniture still, however, almost all the doors and windows have been broken.

I scatter through some of the houses, standing on broken glass and pieces of wood while doing so. It's lighter in here than it was in the forest, but it still isn't as bright as I wish it was.

The village isn't big. There are a few terraced houses, some alone-standing houses, and one building that looks to have been a shop.

Something about this place creeps me out and it's not just the fact that it looks weird.

It feels weird.

I make my way over to the middle of the village when something loud cracks behind me. Crows fly up from the spot the sound came from, screeching loudly. I slip behind one of the buildings for cover, checking out what the sound was. I quickly conclude that the crows were the only thing there, but my heart rate has surely risen. 

---

It's been about 3 hours since the start. I've managed to get on top of one of the houses, hidden behind a chimney. I grab something to eat from my bag, taking watch over the village.

It looks sad from here, pathetic in a way.

A feeling of guilt and somberness builds inside of me as I look over the abandoned town. I wonder how it had looked when people were still here. I wonder what happened here. What made them leave?

The look of the forests adds to the sad feeling of the town. The trees form a thick layer over the forest ground here too, almost like a blanket of leaves. I can't see anything through the greenery. If someone were to be walking under there, I'd have to depend on my ears. Luckily it's quiet out here, so something moving would be hard to miss.

Right as I place my bag beside me, I hear bushes rustle. I quickly realize that it isn't an animal. The rustling sounds too heavy, too large, for it to be an animal. I flip myself onto my stomach to peek over the edge of the roof.

A familiar mohawk appears over the edge of a half-wall. My breath hitches.

Soap.

This is gonna be good.

I keep an eye on him while he looks around. He looks suspicious, but not too worried about someone being in this area.

Perfect.

I move back to the other edge of the roof and let myself slide down as quietly as possible. I climb down the edge of the house rather quickly, being on the ground within a couple of seconds. Placing my body against a wall, I peek around a corner to check on Soap. He's heading my way.

It's time to fuck with him a little.

I grab a broken piece of glass from the floor and throw it in the opposite direction. The piece of glass lands against a tree before it falls to the ground. It makes just enough noise to catch his attention, but to keep him from being too alert. It could've been an animal, for all he knows.

He turns towards the sound, slowly creeping further away from me. I quickly move from one building to another without making any noise until I'm at the same house he's at.

I know his exact spot. He's directly on the opposite side of the house, moving toward the right. I quickly move around the house, positioning myself behind him.

My knife is pulled tightly against my chest, and as he starts moving to peek around the other corner, I jump toward him.

I put him in a headlock, and place my knife against his throat.