WoodRot (prt 2)

"Thanks for being my escape," Heather said as she took a sip of her coffee.

"You say that like you didn't force me out here," Florence pointed out.

"Leo wanted to go outside. I was just helping him out." Heather glanced down at her travel mug with an irritated frown. "Besides, it's the least you could do after making me come on this trip."

Florence rolled her eyes at Heather's tone. Ahead of them, Leo was on a sniffing rampage. Any fear the dog had felt the night before was gone as he weaved in and out of the trees. Loud, inhaling snorts echoed in the still air as he pressed his nose to the ground, in pursuit of some critter.

Florence remembered the pale white eyes from the night before and shivered.

"Monica would have kept rescheduling the trip until you agreed," she said finally, trying to push the memory away. "I saved us all the headache. Besides, we both know you didn't have anything going on this week."

Heather shot her a dirty glare, but grumbled in agreement. It had only been a few hours since Heather had joined the rest of their group at the cabin, and already she and Monica were at each other's throats. The two women had always pushed each others' buttons, even back in college.

Monica, kind and generous as she was, was a bit of a controlling person. Everything had to be perfect. From their old townhouse's decor to their graduation party, Monica would always come up with a vision (and a few binders), and would spend hours making sure everything went according to plan. God help you if you were the one to throw things off by even the smallest degree. Like showing up to a carefully planned and coordinated reunion trip a day late.

Florence had been on a grocery run with Taylor and her wife, Rey, while the other two girls, Lexi and Dawn, had been at the lake with their husbands. Leaving Monica to greet Heather alone.

By the time they'd returned, Heather had looked like she was inches away from strangling Monica with her bare hands.

"You can't blame me," Heather stated as she and Florence walked along the edge of the woods. Fiery-hued leaves crunched under their boots. "I love the girl to death, but if I have to hear one more thing about Dennis, I'm going to blow my brains out."

"You mean you weren't impressed by the engagement ring that cost more than both our rents combined?" Florence asked with faux surprise. "Wild."

"Oh, Dennis bought me an apartment in Paris for our summer holidays. Dennis bought me all new designer clothes because the ones I had were so last season. Dennis bought me a new car just to get around our house because it's so big," Heather mocked in an imitation of Monica's voice before groaning. "Like we get it. You're better than us because you married a rich dude that's old enough to be your father."

Florence grinned and shook her head. She could only imagine how much bragging Heather had endured while being alone with Monica. Especially since Heather was the only one of their group still technically single. She didn't think of her and Mark as being that serious---they may live together, but it's not like they were engaged---but at least he had a steady enough job for Monica to leave her alone. Not that she really talked about Mark's job with the group. Dating a mortician wasn't exactly glamorous.

"At least Dennis was nice enough to pay for this week," Florence said, feeling somewhat guilty at making fun of their friend's husband.

"Yeah, have to give him credit for that one," Heather muttered. She took another sip of her coffee and sighed. "God knows I needed a break from work."

"I thought you liked your job?"

Heather shrugged. "As much as someone can, I guess. Still, it's nice to get away, don't you think?"

"Yes." Florence let her eyes wander over the forest and felt that strange pull from last night. "Sometimes I dream about never going back."

Heather followed her gaze and snorted. "What? You going to live in the woods or something?"

Before Florence could answer, they were both startled by Leo's loud, echoing barks. The two women stared at each other before sprinting after the dog. Florence's heart raced in panic as she thought about the creature from the previous night. Those pale dead eyes watching her, moving closer despite Leo's growling presence. And Leo wasn't just growling now. His ferocious barks were an attempt to alert them all to whatever it was he'd found.

They finally caught up to the dog and immediately skidded to a halt. A few loud expletives left Heather's mouth before she gagged and turned away. Florence managed to coax Leo back a few steps before approaching his discovery.

A large deer lay in a heap at her feet. Its tawny brown coat had a dull complexion to it and was matted with something too dark to be mud. The creature's skin was stretched tightly over its body, with a large split on its side exposing its pale ribs. Its once-dark black eyes were now a cloudy white that stared unblinkingly at Florence.

She knew it was dead. If the lifeless eyes and the large gash in its neck weren't a giveaway, the dozens of mushrooms sprouting from its body were.

Fungus of different shapes and sizes covered the deer's body in dazzling shades of yellow, orange, cream, and brown. The pale white caps of the mushrooms growing from the deer's throat were stained with a rusty red.

In an odd way, Florence thought it was beautiful. Life growing out of death. The rotting carcass should have disgusted her like it did Heather, yet she couldn't take her eyes off it. Not until she heard the sound of footsteps. She turned to see Lexi and Dawn with their husbands, Ian and Dan, jogging towards them with worried frowns.

"Everything alright out here?" Dan asked when he reached them. "We heard the dog barking and thought we'd better check it out."

"Oh my God!" Lexi screamed, spying the deer. She grabbed Ian's arm in alarm. "What is that?!"

Her husband scoffed and pushed her off. "What's it look like? It's a dead deer, babe."

"Ugh. These woods are so disgusting." Dawn scowled at the carcass like it had personally offended her. "First the birds and now this."

"Birds?" Florence glanced between the four newcomers. "What birds?"

"Down by the water this morning." Dan gestured in the lake's direction. "We saw a ton of dead birds. Robins, sparrows, geese--"

"Mr. Birdwatcher over here," Ian snickered.

". . .Just a lot of different kinds," Dan finished with an embarrassed blush. "But they were all just like this deer."

"You mean rotting with a bunch of gross shit coming out of it?" Heather wrinkled her nose at Dan and Dawn's nods. "Oh yay. I prefer my vacations to have a touch of the macabre."

"These woods are totally cursed, right?" Lexi's voice rose in fear. "I mean this isn't normal, is it? Are we going to die?!"

"Oh my God, relax, babe," Ian snapped. He roughly kicked the deer's hindquarters with his boot. "We're in the middle of the woods. There's going to be dead animals. It's not that weird."

"It's a good thing you and Leo didn't run into it last night," Dawn said to Florence. She scratched Leo behind the ears, earning a few wags as she cooed at the now much calmer dog. "That would have given you a fright, wouldn't it? Yes, it would."

"It wasn't here last night," Florence heard herself say.

The group went silent as they stared at her. Even Heather was giving Florence a 'don't be stupid' look. But it didn't matter. Florence knew she was right. The deer hadn't been there.

"You just didn't see it," Dan began.

Florence shook her head. "If it had been out here, Leo would have found it."

"You just didn't walk far enough," Ian said with an annoyed scowl. "Something like this doesn't happen overnight."

"I know where I walked last night, and it was way farther than this," Florence argued, now feeling a bit irritated herself. "And I'm telling you this deer wasn't here."

"And I'm telling you that you're wrong!" Ian's eyes sparked with fury. "Stop trying to scare everyone. I'm sure your creepy death-loving boyfriend finds stuff like this funny, but the rest of us don't, so knock it off!"

Florence's hands balled into fists. She'd never liked Ian, but right now, she hated him. His patronizing smugness, like he knew better than everyone else, was insufferable. Especially towards Lexi. She didn't understand what her friend saw in the man or why she put up with him. Why did any of them put up with him?

"I'm not trying to be funny, you stupid dic--"

"Okay!" Heather stepped between them. "I know we're all unsettled by this damn deer, but there's no reason to be an asshole to each other about it." She winked at Florence before turning to Ian with an innocent smile. "I know some people lash out when they're afraid, but a stinky corpse is nothing to be scared of."

Florence almost laughed at Ian's wrathful expression. Of course he was the type who couldn't take it as good as he got. Still, she managed to refrain for the sake of Lexi, who looked like she wanted to be anywhere else in the world at the moment.

Dawn squeezed Dan's hand as she said, "Why don't you and Ian get some shovels and throw this thing in the woods? It's probably not healthy to leave it so close to the house."

Dan nodded. "Good idea. Come on, Ian. Let's move this thing."

Dan kissed Dawn's temple before walking towards the cabin's garage. Ian shot one last glare at Florence and Heather before storming off after him. Lexi didn't say a word as she went back to the cabin, though it was obvious from her stiff posture that she was upset.

Florence grimaced. "I wasn't trying to start anything."

"I know. It's not your fault." Dawn rubbed her eyes wearily. "Ian's always starting shit. I just wish Lex would stand up to him about it."

"Is she going to be okay?" Heather asked with a concerned frown.

"Yeah, I'll go talk to her." Dawn managed a tight smile and started towards the cabin, adding quietly, "She'll be acting like nothing's happened by dinner."

Heather waited until Dawn was out of earshot before sighing loudly. "Good Lord, this is going to be a long week."