WENDY wasn't much like the other girls. Neither was she much like the girl she used to be either. She was chained to the forest, a suffering pit filled with twisting trees and birds so big their mouths could fit a human. It was a long way away from her home, a place she hadn't returned to in years. She had lost her sister here in these woods, she wasn't sure how long missing her had became a routine. Wendy hadn't found another soul she could call a friend, her only company were the creatures that walked the woods. But still, they were what cursed her here.
Wendy hadn’t always missed her sister, when they entered the woods, she had detested her. Wendy’s sister was engaged to a man with riches and Wendy’s mother and father had ridiculed Wendy for it. Wendy was the eldest sister and there was never a man to place a ring on her finger. A spinster they had called her, Wendy had learned to hate the derided word and her younger sister. Her younger sister was nothing like her parents, she had assured Wendy she still had plenty of time. Wendy was a good-looking woman, and she had her smarts and her own money to give. Her sister believed it would only be a matter of time before Wendy found the one to tie her down. Now Wendy was bound to the woodlands and a mate was the last she expected to find.
It wasn't until she had saw Will when she finally found something she could call comfort. It had to be love at first sight because Wendy had never felt a connection so expedient. William, his friends had called him, but she preferred to call him Will. It made them feel more personal, it made Wendy feel like she had a place in him, someone she could call her own.
She first saw him in the woods one afternoon, dressed in red and black plaid and loose jeans that were ripped at the knees. He was tall, with thick dark hair that flipped in waves onto his forehead and a dark penumbra for facial hair. His laughter was noticeably audible throughout his friends, he was exciting, and when he told stories everyone felt lively to listen. His friends didn't stick out to Wendy as much as Will had. They were two lanky men, one blonde, and one brunette. Though, Wendy liked them because they made Will smile. The three of them stood with sharpened axes, they were chopping down the trees of the woods.
She wasn't too certain she was all that happy to see them there. The forest was filled with life that she didn't know could ever exist. The trees were moody, the dirt of the ground was hungry and the creatures that walked craved life.
She sat in a tree not far away from them and she watched. She chewed on her nails as she thought to jump down to warn them although she felt too much anxiety. They would be safe there until the forest filled with darkness. She didn't expect them to stay.
Just like she thought they had left the vigorous forest before the moon had risen. She was partnerless again, with only the sound of the creatures howling to remind her she wasn't really alone. She clambered down from the tree and went to the ground where the group of friends had been cutting trees. She could still smell them; the scent of their aftershave had lingered in the air around her.
She heard a tree branch cracking behind her. She caught onto the glowing red eyes in the darkness before she had seen anything else. The creature came close to her and sniffed at her hair, realising Wendy was nothing for him, he staggered away. Wendy was no longer scared of the creatures, sometimes they left her pieces of their meals and they had raised her again like their own.
They could never take her sisters place, but after time she had looked towards them as family. Wendy was riddled with regret. If only she had learned to cherish her sister, like she had learned to now, then maybe she would have never had lost her to begin with.
Wendy sat on the log where Will was chopping. She waited until dawn before she left it. Wendy was hungry, undeniably hungry, but there was nothing of interest for her to eat. Sometimes she hunted in the forest for birds and deer, but they weren't as satisfying as what Wendy craved the most.
It was a while before Will returned with his friends to the forest. She was certain weeks had gone by. She was surprised to see him again, but she had hoped that she might. She had heard Will from a mile away. He was quite the group clown, always having a joke to say. He liked to tease his friends, often digging at them like they were mud. That day she discovered he was single and growing tensely frustrated by it. She stalked him from her placement far up in the trees, Wendy longed to reveal herself to them, maybe she was the woman he was looking for.
She bit at her nails as the sky grew darker. They were still there, nonchalantly hacking at the trees with axes. She knew that the creatures that walked the sacred land would soon claim the place as their own again. She knew they would find delight in seeing Will and his friends there and she grew tense thinking of ways she could save them. Finally, they packed up their rucksacks and left. Wendy breathed a sigh of relief. Once again, they would leave the forest and Wendy could leave the trees and hunt.
She claimed a deer that night as her dinner and after she was full, she laid on the logs where Will once sat. He had a peculiar smell, a very manly scent, and his fragrance was far too strong, it had brought all the creatures there with her. All Wendy wanted was a proper conversation, something different to the moaning and groaning of the slender creatures. She hoped she would find her sister again, though she knew she would never. It was Wendy who had turned her missing, because of Wendy she would never return.
Although Wendy still saw her vividly. Sometimes it was as though her sister had never really left. Wendy had booked them a cabin in the woods, she had told her younger sister it was a present for her engagement. When they arrived at the cabin nothing seemed aberrant. They had spent the day drinking champagne and Wendy for a moment thought she might change her mind about what she had planned.
In reality she had bought her sister there for an ulterior reason. She was going to push her off the cliffs. Wendy was exhausted of hearing about her sisters excellence, and she was ailing of her audible importance. Wendy was beyond it, she thought she could spin up some story of how she lost paths with her sister and when they sent a team to look for her, they would find her at the bottom of a ditch, and it would all look an accident.
But, when the moon made its way into the sky and the night fell upon them, they had heard a beastly yelling outside of the cabin's door. When Wendy and her sister had looked out of the window, they had seen something they had never seen before.
It was a loathsome creature, that stood on its hind legs. It's eyes had glowed in the dark, bright red. It looked frightening but they felt they were safe inside, that was until more of them came along. The sisters had waited on the sofa for the day to rise, trying to ignore the yowling of the brutes, but when the day came, they were still stationed by the door of the cabin. The sisters knew it was their flesh they craved and it didn't look like they planned on leaving any time soon.
***
It was a few weeks before Will returned. He was on his own this time, and he looked to be in a mood. He chopped at the trees with aggression as Wendy watched him curiously. With no friends around him she was unable to find out the cause of his temper. Wendy bit her lip in longing, now he was alone maybe she could talk to him. She hopped down from the tree and her feet held her to the ground. She was nervous but she just needed a word with him, only one would be enough.
She walked slowly towards him and with every step she felt her vision turn to darkness. Her chest was tight, and her breathing were hard, Will still hadn't caught on that she was making her way over to him. She watched him as she pranced, he had his back turned towards her as he chopped down trees again.
She wondered what all that chopping was for. She came closer to him; he still hadn't noticed her. Wendy asked herself if she was making a mistake.
"Excuse me?" She said and he stopped his hewing. His back perked up and his head turned towards the sound. Then he moved his whole body towards her.
He was smiling at first but not for much longer. The smile had exuded from his face as he looked at her. His brows had drooped as he took in every detail of her. Her long, dark flowing hair, her ripped white sundress, her bare muddied feet and... her antlers.
Will began to scream, he flew backwards and hit the log behind him. He screamed even louder, his eyes growing larger than his face. He fell backwards, off the log and onto his back. He rolled onto his front and tried to use his hands to balance himself onto his feet. Through his panic he had grown two left hands, he couldn't. Quickly, Wendy moved over to him.
"Please, please stop screaming!" Wendy begged him as she placed a strong hand onto his back, provoking Will to scream even louder. He pushed her away and Wendy grimaced from the pain in her chest.
"Get away from me!" He blared. Wendy looked at him in all her hurt. He was all that she knew to think of positively in those two months, and this was an exchange she had dreamed little of. Though she had thought about what might happen if it had occurred.
"It's only a costume!" She tried reasoning with a line she had made up before. She had tried to laugh innocently.
This caused Will to be overtaken by the laughter of a mad man. He fell on his bottom to look at her. Then he held his hands out defensively towards her, ushering her not to move. He made his way onto his feet again.
"A costume?" He asked in a tone that led Wendy to believe he was still untrusting. Wendy nodded her head and tried to smile.
"Yes, its only a costume." She agreed. Will screwed his face up and began running away from Wendy, faster than a pronghorn.
Wendy knew she would never come face to face with Will again, nor hear his laughter or his stories. Her inhibitions kicked in, all her desire, her greed and hunger, she couldn't lose him.
She sprinted after him, he had almost made it out of the forsaken forest, but the trees had tripped him, and Wendy had managed to get her hands around him. She jumped on top of him, pinning him down with the weight of her body. His screams for help were the last she would hear from him, as she brought her face to his and gnawed down on his mouth. She ripped his head off in one bite and looked at the disastrous disarray underneath her. Wendy flung her face onto his chest and sobbed. His heart was still beating. He had been her first love in centuries and how desolating that it had been unrequited.
The creatures had caught onto the scent of his flesh and the iron redolence of his blood. They hurried towards Wendy and Will like ravenous vultures, and they wailed at Wendy, she wasn't ready to give him up. Wendy looked at the wendigo's surrounding her. She knew she was one of them. She got up from Will's body in defeat and walked away from him, leaving the monsters to have a feast.
Wendy trailed through the forest, fluctuating between snivels and howls. She walked up the hills to her cemetery outside of the cabin. There she had made gravestones for herself and her sister, though neither of their bodies laid beneath the stones.
Days had gone by at that cabin and the sisters were not free of the creatures that shadowed the land. Wendy had grown indisposed again. The sisters had no food in the cabin, only water from the tap and days had stealthily turned to weeks. They had wondered together how no one had sent out a search party but Wendy's sister remained positive. The creatures would grow tired and turn around soon.
In spite of her sisters encouragement, Wendy had other ideas. She knew that if they were free of those creatures and they managed to leave the cabin that Wendy's sister would want to go straight back home to their parents. So when Wendy's sister wasn't looking she chopped her up and she masticated her limbs. And that's when Wendy became them, one of the wendigo creatures, that lurked the forest.
After Wendy had ate her, the wendigo howled once again. They turned around on their back feet and they left Wendy to be alone in the cabin. Wendy thought she had won. She thought her plan were destined to happen. She waited some time before leaving the cabin but when she left she felt much different.
Everything smelled stronger, everything looked clearer and she felt far more taller. As she tried to escape the forest she found a puddle on the ground and caught onto her reflection. There were large antlers on top of her head, and her eyes were as red and as bright as flames. Her mouth were all bloodied. Her eyes were shaped like doe's. Wendy had became one of the wendigo.
Wendy could not leave the woodlands looking like that, so, she creeped around it for decades. Some days she found herself lucky, she was able to feast on the human flesh that got lost at night. After many years she grew to miss her younger sister though she knew nothing would bring her back.
