Part 3 — The Deer in the Clearing
(Part 1) ➡️ https://storiesworld.us/archives/9519
(Part 2) ➡️ https://storiesworld.us/archives/9520
The sound followed them all day.
Every few minutes it would return.
Always somewhere nearby.
Always hidden behind thick vegetation.
Never revealing its source.
According to Roy, the constant uncertainty became exhausting.
The men found themselves glancing over their shoulders every few seconds.
Listening.
Waiting.
Trying to catch a glimpse of whatever was moving through the brush.
But they never did.
Then the forest suddenly opened.
The dense vegetation gave way to a large clearing.
Everyone immediately relaxed.
For the first time all day they could see more than a few feet ahead.
The open space felt like a relief.
Then one of the men pointed.
A deer stood near the center of the clearing.
At first the sight seemed completely ordinary.
The animal appeared healthy.
Calm.
Unaware of the men watching it.
Then its behavior changed.
The deer suddenly froze.
Its ears twitched.
Its muscles tightened.
And according to Roy, it began staring directly at the ground beneath its feet.
The men watched in confusion.
The animal didn’t run.
Didn’t move.
It simply stood there.
As though it sensed something below it.
Several seconds passed.
Then everything happened at once.
The ground erupted.
Dirt exploded into the air.
The deer vanished.
One moment it was standing there.
The next moment it was gone.
Not dragged away.
Not chased.
Gone.
Pulled directly beneath the earth.
The clearing fell silent.
No screaming.
No struggle.
No evidence beyond disturbed soil and scattered debris.
For several seconds nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
The men simply stared at the empty patch of ground where the deer had been standing.
Trying to understand what they had just witnessed.
One of them finally broke the silence.
“What in God’s name was that?”
No one had an answer.
(Part 4) ➡️ https://storiesworld.us/archives/9523