The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Deer Alice 
by K.R. Morrison .

He missed her so very much, even though he’d killed her. Deliberately.

He didn’t regret it; there was nothing in his upbringing that had caused him to grow a conscience, so things like this didn’t even register. His parents had made sure that anything that even smacked of religion or commandments never crossed his path. They wanted him to make up his own mind.

They sure had done their job well.

Alice had become weak and frightened, like a deer in the headlights. Always whining about something or other. What else was there to do but get rid of her? He was sure no one would miss her—no one had ever defended her when she’d escaped his attentions in the past.

The comparison to a deer went beyond just her trembling and fear of him. She had always complained about his hunting, giving him the whole Bambi spiel. He could have overlooked all of that, but her disloyalty to him was the last straw.

She and the cat had made a very nice stew. Surprisingly enough, she’d even tasted like venison. Or was it the addition of the cat? He would never know.

Her bones had ground up nicely, but making them into bread—well, those giants could have them. It had tasted terrible.

He stood in the shadows of the forest as afternoon turned into dusk. There had been no luck sighting deer for the last couple of hours, and it was getting cold. He decided he’d have one last smoke and then call it a day.

As he exhaled the smoke, a figure emerged from the underbrush.

He looked, then stared.

He rubbed his eyes.

“Alice?”

It wasn’t possible. But there she was, in the clothes she had worn the day he had strangled her with the drapery cord.

She approached him silently, a smile playing about her lips. Not a word did she speak, but her eyes spoke volumes. He hadn’t seen her look seductively at him since their first night together, all those years ago. And she was…gorgeous! The years had fallen from her like the leaves from the trees around him.

“Travissss…”

She got closer, and suddenly her eyes started to glow. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing—she was sprouting horns! They were nothing like he had ever seen—and he wanted them. Forget Alice or her ghost or whatever this was—he wanted those horns!

He reached for them, and suddenly heard a snort. It was not coming from Alice, but from behind her!

Alice suddenly disappeared, and in her place was the biggest elk he had ever seen. And it was angry!

He had only enough time to pull in a gasp before it was all over.

The police report told of a man found in the woods with elk antlers embedded in his chest. Oddly enough, there had not been elk in that forest for over a hundred years. After scratching their heads for a few days, they filed it as a cold case.

After all, the victim had been Travis. No one would miss him.

Fiction © Copyright K.R. Morrison
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com.

More from K.R. Morrison:

Enoch’s Return: Pride’s Downfall Book 4

All hell broke loose, as demon fought saint, and undead fought mortal. Fangs and swords, fire and light, mingled in a cacophony of noise that would have awakened the dead — if they hadn’t already been in the pitch of battle.

Toby was looking forward to celebrating his 21st birthday with family and friends. However, the day is shattered by the arrival of his sister, Erica, fresh out of the juvenile detention center, where she has lived in isolation most of her life. There is something very wrong with her still; witness her biting the ear of her taxi driver and licking the blood from her lips, and the way she antagonizes everyone around her. The other thing that is very off-putting about the day is a gift he receives – a musty tent and a few iron spikes that have been lying in the ground for years. Toby faints at the sight of the “treasure,” while Erica reacts violently and runs off to who-knows-where.
While he is unconscious, Toby learns who he truly is, and of his mission.

Available on Amazon!