Cannibals

August 1, 2017, 10:05 am- Cemetery National Forest, Alaska

A nice warm morning of fifty degrees, which believe it or not, is actually quite warm compared to average thirty degree weather. The sun shines over the mountains and the water, basking everything in a warm blanket of gold. A lone ranger is heading off to his post, a region in the south west not far from the entrance with a nice view of one of the lakes.

He stares off at the shimmering lake, taking in the view. He's lost count of how many times he's stood in this very spot, just staring at the small, gentle waves that skate across the water's surface. He still finds himself at a loss for words in its simple beauty. He takes in a refreshing breath of the evening air before he continues his usual stroll. As he takes his first step, a large flock of birds take off not too far off in the distance.

It's not uncommon for that to happen, but there's usually some audible reason. Something about it is a bit, unsettling. Taking another step, he's alerted by a distant, blood-curdling scream. As he heads off in the direction he places a hand on his transmitter.

"This is Johnson in section 17, I'm requesting a pair of eyes from any nearby watchtowers. I'm by Skating Lake, heard a scream not too far away off to the east,"

Johnson lets go and continues heading in the direction, the unsettling feeling growing, making him move faster. As he hurries off, his transmitter goes off.

"This is Bill over in Watchtower Salmon, I got eyes on you. I can barely see through the trees, but I'll do my best to keep on eye on you,"

Bill lets go of his transmitter and continues following John with his binoculars. He scans the trees around, looking through all the holes in the branches and leaves to try and see anything.

"Roger that Bill," Johnson replies as the trail enters thick grove. As he reaches the other side, the sound of something, eating, can be faintly heard. It's coming from off the path. He heads off into the forest towards the sound. As he gets closer he realizes how grotesque it is. The sound of something smacking it's teeth very loudly, ripping into, something.

Bill watches closely from the tower, barely able to keep track of him. Suddenly Johnson comes to a halt. It's impossible to tell why though, he's too far away to make out any of his facial expressions.

"Hey Johnson, everything alright?" Bill's voice asks through the transmitter.

Johnson stiffens up as the, what he can barely recognize as a person, turns its head towards him, torn flesh hanging from its mouth. It's eyes are bloodshot, and filled with a feral fury. Its head starts to shake as it lets out a growl, opening its mouth to reveal sharp, blood-stained teeth.

Johnson quickly draws his gun and as the person starts to charge at him, he fires. It keeps charging at him and he fires again, this time hitting it in the head. It crashes to the floor, landing mere inches from his feet. He quickly jumps back, distancing himself from it as he shakily holds up his gun.

"Johnson, are you alright?! I heard gunshots!" Bill's voice exclaims worryingly.

"Y-Yeah…" Johnson replies, "I think…"

"What happened?"

"There was a, person, I-I think. I don't know it looks rotten almost, like a corpse,"

"A corpse? What exactly does it look like?"

"It's eyes were, bloodshot, and wild...uh, it's skin is rather pale, the teeth were, sharper than normal...I can't even believe what I'm looking at...It uh, appears to be wearing some sort of, medical ward outfit? I-I'm not fully sure, it's very torn up and damaged, and covered in blood,"

"Were they the source of the scream you heard?"

"N-No, there was someone else but uh, it was eating them by the time I found them…"

"Eating them? Are you serious?"

"Y-Yes!" As Johnson stands there staring at the corpse, he spots movement in the corner of his eye. He looks up and sees the person that had been attacked slowly get up, "T-They're still alive…" He mutters.

"What? Who is?"

"The one who was attacked. I'm gonna go check on them,"

Bill watches Johnson run out of sight. A rotting corpse...cannibalism...victim is still alive? Bill frantically grabs his transmitter as he puts his binoculars down.

"Johnson, stay away from-!"

More gunshots go off, followed only by silence.

"Johnson? Johnson!?" Bill screams into the transmitter, with no response. Bill hurries into the watchtower, makes a mark on a portable map, checks his pistol is loaded up, and rushes down to the ground.

It's already afternoon by the time Bill reaches the spot Johnson had gone to. There's nothing and no one around. He enters the thick grove and walks over to the other side. He heads off the trail into the forest, soon finding the body of the thing Johnson had shot. Bill stands in complete shock as he finds himself staring at the rotting corpse of a person. A wave of urgency coming over him, he turns around and rushes back to the watch tower.