The Man with the Bloodshot Eye

It was a cold and damp day, much like any other for a person living in or near the woods, where trees would often be seen for miles, stretching around the diameter of a single plain that had been brisk with wind, which blew rather calmly. Within that plain were a family, a moderately rich family that had been living there for quite some time, two generations to be exact; little were they ever to go into the woods, and when they would, it would be a short trip to civilization. The family, consisting of a father, a mother, and a young daughter, had been living a jovial life together, of where there was almost nothing wrong. The young girl, named Anna Thompson, was the most cheerful of them all, always running outside to the glimmering sunlight and the fresh wind that would blow on her dress. Life was seemingly perfect for her, with her family.

One night in particular, however, Anna had awoken to the sound of a creaking within her home, a type of slow one, determining a person was walking downstairs. Could it have been an intruder? Or could it have been one of her parents? Anna, deciding best, would only keep in her room and try to ignore the creaking and try to go to sleep. However, once the creaking had stopped, started the sounds of a person having to come upon the stairs and ascend them, the thuds of footsteps getting louder and louder until they had stopped little from the girl's bedroom door. The door's handle was turned and upon opening, it was simply the girl's mother, Gretel.

"Why are you not asleep?" asked the mother, looking over her awakened daughter. "I was just scared...I thought someone was downstairs and dangerous." Anna replied as she sulked back to her bed. Without hesitation, her mother had come over upon Anna and placed her hand to her forehead, stating that, should anything be within the vicinity of their home, that she and the father would defend Anna with their lives. Once Anna was reassured and felt secure, she had fallen back to sleep, with the mother heading to sleep on her own.

It was another day, another time for Anna who had decided upon going into the woods that time, and to explore what seemed to be miles upon which she could see, standing at the edge. Without hesitation, though with a bit of anxiety, she had started walking in, the sky starting to become more than blocked by the trees, causing a nearly nighttime shade that had been about in the woods, making it rather tough to navigate within them. However, it would near be impossible, had it not been for little spots and holes of light helping bring the forest into a more bright look than complete darkness. Anna kept on going, wanting to find anything of value in the woods, and soon, she had found an area most peculiar to her. It was not on the same elevation as her, no, it was lower, yet she could still see it as it wasn't that deep to go down. Nevertheless, she had found a ladder that would help her descend the near-steep area, and with one last step, she was down to the area.

The area was rather old, dusted and some areas even molded or rusty, in their own respects. However, something in particular had caught the girl's eye, and it was not the logs, nor machinery, not even the houses there; it was a man sitting on a stump, with a chainsaw far in front of him as he stared toward it, not having even acknowledged Anna. The man was rather sickly, his body covered within very dark red burns, seemingly like blood, his pants torn, shoes broken, bandages on his hands and what was particularly noticeable about him, was the fact that, his head was covered in bandages, save for a portion, which had shown the man's single bloodshot eye, his right eye. Anna was nervous as she stepped closer and closer, though to a halt when she had thought fear was overtaking her, hoping the man had not even seen her as of yet.

"Come child" said the man, in a very gruff voice, "come toward me now." Anna was instilled with a bit more of fear, though kept coming closer, and closer, and closer, saying, "Sorry sir, I...didn't know anyone was here."

The man tilted his head in her direction, and looking both up and down, he stated, "I've been the man living in these woods for many of years, and for so long that, some people have thought of me as a legend." He soon stood from his stump, his tremendous height complementing his muscular build as he soon had asked, "Come, tell me why you've entered within my sight?"

Anna looked to him, intimidated and afraid, "...I was just coming out here to explore and-"

"Explore, eh? That's what everyone says, though most...end up to be liars of their own accord." the man replied.

"But it's true, I...I just wanted to explore the woods." Anna replied, now in deep fear of the man. The man had simply looked down to Anna with some type of a 'smile' behind his bandages, stating, "Those who enter in my site are brave, some are even stupid to."

"Why...?" Anna asked, stepping back a bit.

"Because most know me as an urban legend, a myth now. Though I'm very much true and physical, yet they still believe I'm one of fiction. They've, given me names to fit me, though one of which I have taken to heart to replace my name of old." he replied.

"What...what name is that?" Anna asked.

"Bloodshot, of course. Surely suits me nonetheless." the man said, a gruff laugh leaving him as he sat down, patting his left lap. "Now come, sit, tell me of what you are doing near my woods in living?" he stated as Anna, with a lot of hesitation, sat down. She had stated, "It's...because I was born here, sir. My mom and dad have jobs at a restaurant and they lived here when I was born, sir."

"Then why, tell me, have you come within the woods this day?" the man responded.

"I just wanted to see what I can find sir, I just wanted to explore. I didn't mean to do anything bad, I promise." Anna had replied to him, looking toward his eye.

"And so I know, you've not done bad yet. Though I ask, do you have brother or sister?" he replied, pointing his eye down to Anna.

"No sir, my mom said she's going to have another." Anna responded before sitting up. "I've...got to go. I don't want to be a bother, I'm so sorry sir." she had added, before climbing the ladder and having left toward her home with swift speed, dodging nearby trees with a strafe, and jumping over any obstacle she had to. Finally, Anna was left back toward her home and ran inside, looking out the window in hopes the man had not followed her.

About a five year period had been passing, with no sign of incident, with Anna becoming a thirteen year old, and her having a younger brother, a blonde-haired boy with blue eyes, named Tesla. Anna would spend an innumerable amount of time with Tesla whenever she could, and it seemed that, with the boy, she had simply forgotten the man with the bloodshot eye, never seen nor heard from him since. Though one day in particular was a rather unlucky and unfortunate decision for her, as she decided to take her brother within the woods, and going through the dark of the woods again, she felt a familiar uneasy feeling that she had long forgotten about. Nevertheless, she had went and passed the trees, coming upon the same old site she had been before, though this time, it had been more degraded. Mold overtook everything wooden, rust had snapped most of the machinery in half, the cabins had been collapsed, and maggots, along with termites, had swarmed the area, multiple other bugs being down the same path.

Within the area stood a figure, and even a chainsaw, the bugs swarming around them, not paying any attention as they kept going. The man soon took notice of Anna and Tesla, and with a gruff voice once more, said, "Come children, lest you both be afraid to even come toward." Anna was afraid, so was Tesla. They never had seen this much infestation among ruin, and without hesitation, Anna simply started running away from the site, though not without hearing something that made her face seemingly white with fear. The sounds of a chainsaw started up, and soon, she heard the laughter of the man echoing in the woods. Almost instantly with fear, Anna and Tesla passed out.

It was about the nighttime when they had awoken, Anna picking up Tesla as the darkness of the forest made it hard to navigate from. Luckily for the two, they had been close to their home, and simply ran inside their home without hesitation, though without knowledge...they weren't alone either. When calling for the names of their parents, Anna couldn't get a response from either, as if the house were abandoned. The clanging of pots within the kitchen prompted Anna to go around toward the dining room. However, when she went into the dining room, all she cold see was her mother, staring blankly toward them and not moving, though a sign of life in her breathing was good enough for Anna to know some reprieve. Upon coming closer, Anna looked to her mother and sat Tesla in her arms, to which the mother had kept hold of the boy.

Going within the kitchen, Anna was afraid, horrified nonetheless, of remaining there for long. However, coming around the middle of the kitchen, toward another hall to the tables, she saw him sat to the table, the man with the bloodshot eye, looking toward her with his elbows on the table, his chin rested upon his hands, which were linked together. Anna nearly had screamed out of pure fear that he was intruding their home, yet kept her calm when she asked, "What...what are you doing here...?"

The man simply looked and responded, "Why to visit of course. Or, I should say, make you your dinner."

"What do you mean dinner...?" Anna replied, her heart feeling unnerved and horrified, a sinking feeling that something was wrong.

The man had placed his hand and slowly kept it on the pot head. "Today's order, was thanks to my chainsaw. He was a tough one, though I managed." the man stated as he lifted the pot head, to reveal a plate with the severed head of the girl's own father, his eyes taken out and mouth stuffed with an apple, though also having been surrounded and infested with maggots and worms that went inside him in every place they could, feeding on the head's flesh. Anna gagged and vomited from the sight, simply disgusted and terrified from the sight as she had ran toward the dining room, wherein she grabbed her mother and Tesla, to run upstairs. However, the man simply stood at the top of the stairs, seemingly teleported there as he scoffed at them, holding his chainsaw. Coming down toward them, Anna thought fast and rushed the other two outside toward the family car. Though having no experience, she grabbed the keys and started the car before pulling it to reverse, and out of the entirety of the area. After hitting the road, she set it to drive and within a hurry, accelerated off toward civilization.

Only five more years have passed as the mother had regained all sense of memory, with Anna having now turned eighteen, Tesla about ten. News of the attack spread, though without evidence and even the body of the father, the case was left unsolved. Nighttime passed for the family, who lived in a new home, as Anna was ready to sleep alongside Tesla. However, once she had her eyes closed, a loud voice yelled, "Anna!" The lady's eyes widened as she sat up, and to her horror, she saw the man with his chainsaw in front of her door. She couldn't believe it, nor could she conceive it. Though within a flash, the man disappeared, it was all an illusion. She thought to herself that her fear was taking over at that time, and nevertheless, went to sleep next to Tesla. Hopefully she could finally forget...the man with the bloodshot eye.