He smacked his lips, then he said, “Man, that doesn’t count. I wanna see a real dead body. Someone who’s, like… I don’t know, dude, like the movies and stuff. Did you ever watch…”
Sebastian’s voice faded to silence upon noticing Brian had stopped walking next to him. He glanced back at his meek friend, then he looked straight ahead.
“Huh?” he whispered as he furrowed his brow.
Miki stood next to a tree about ten meters away from them, face hidden by a black cloth mask, hands covered in black leather gloves, and body wrapped in a beige trench coat. Her long, silky black hair was sprawled across her narrow shoulders. The mask was unusual—it was rare to see an American walking with their face covered—but there was nothing particularly frightening about her appearance.
Nevertheless, the boys were scared shitless by her sudden emergence in the woods. She gave off a menacing aura because they didn’t know her and they couldn’t see her face. Her eerie stare didn’t help her case.
Without looking back at Brian, Sebastian asked, “Did I hit her with a rock?”
“N–No,” Brian responded. “I–I don’t think so.”
“So, what is she looking at?”
“I think she’s looking at… you.”
“Me?!” Sebastian yelled as he glared at Brian. He shoved him and shouted, “She’s looking at you, dude!”
“No, she’s not!”
“Yeah, she is! She’s—”
“Hello,” Miki interrupted with a gentle voice.
The boys stopped arguing to look at her. The tree branches groaned, leaves rustled, and birds chirped and cawed. The only footsteps, fast and light, came from the area’s woodland critters.
“Ha–Ha–Hi,” Sebastian stuttered.
Brian sidestepped until he was partially hidden behind Sebastian, using his friend as a human shield. He kept peeking around him, though, as curious as a social media company’s CEO.
“Come here,” Miki said.
“Wha–What?” Sebastian stuttered. “Wha–Wha–Why?”
Miki giggled, then she said, “I just want to ask you something.”
The boys looked at each other. They shook their heads slowly, communicating without saying a word: No way!
Sebastian glanced back at Miki and said, “No.”
“No?”
“Just, um… You can just tell us from over there.”
“Why? Are you scared of me? You think I’m… a monster?”
From behind Sebastian, Brian said, “Monsters aren’t real.”
Miki stepped forward, dirt and leaves crunching under her boots. The boys noticed she was empty-handed. A sense of relief pulsed through them, but they knew they weren’t out of the woods yet. The kids staggered back as she closed in on them.
Nine meters.
Eight meters.
Six meters
Five meters.
They were now about five meters apart.
Miki said, “Monsters are real. They’re not like the monsters you read about in your books or see in the movies. They’re like you and me—man and woman, adult and child, flesh and bone. I knew a monster once. I met him when I was a… princess… back when I was the most beautiful girl in the world.”
Sebastian stepped back until he bumped into Brian, then he teetered away from him and crashed into a tree. Brian watched her with a set of inquisitive eyes, his head cocked to the side. Her story captured his attention. He still read fairy tales with his mother before bed every other night.
“You were… a princess?” he said. Miki nodded. Brian asked, “You’re not one anymore?”
Leaning against the tree, Sebastian said, “Let’s get outta here.”
Miki put her hands on her knees, bent forward, and said, “Not anymore. You wanna know what happened?”
“What happened?” Brian asked.
Sebastian slapped Brian’s shoulder and hissed, “Let’s go, dude.”
Miki said, “My prince was a monster. I didn’t know it when I fell in love with him. I thought he was saving me from my loneliness. I thought he loved me. I really did.” She lowered her head. To Brian, she looked sad. She inspected the leaves piled on the ground between them. She took four steps to her left, then she turned to face the boy again. She said, “But he didn’t love me. He took off his mask and showed me his teeth—those sharp monster teeth. He attacked me. He took my beauty. He took everything from me.”
They stood there without saying a word for thirty seconds, listening to the music of nature. Sebastian felt the anger in Miki’s voice. She sounded spiteful and envious. He walked backwards until he was about two meters away from Brian, ready to sprint away at the first sign of trouble. Brian, on the other hand, heard pain in the woman’s voice. He believed her story of princesses and monsters. His curiosity, fueled by his wild imagination, got the best of him.
Miki beckoned to Brian and said, “Come here. I want to show you my face. I want to ask you a question.”
“Don’t,” Sebastian said. “Let’s book it, dude.”
Brian looked back at him, then at the mysterious woman. He didn’t see a reason to distrust her. He was scared, but her voice and demeanor had calmed him. She hadn’t made any sudden movements or said anything threatening. The homeless population of Los Angeles scared him more than a clean, well-dressed woman in the woods.
He said, “Okay, but… Only halfway. And don’t move or I’ll scream.”
Miki looked at the leaves between them. She took three steps back, then she smiled and nodded at Brian.
“Brian,” Sebastian hissed, shaking so bad that he looked like he was convulsing while standing. “Let’s go, dude. What are you doing?”
Brian answered Miki with a slight smile of his own. He walked forward slowly. His sneakers thudded on the dirt, then the leaves crackled and crumbled under his feet. He squinted at the ground upon hearing a metallic thud. Time slowed. His eyes grew and his pupils expanded as he spotted the sawtooth bear trap hidden under the leaves. His right foot was already on the pressure plate.
The jaws snapped over his leg, the loud clanking sound echoing through the woods along with the boy’s bloodcurdling shriek. His shin bones—the fibula and tibia—broke in half with a muffled cracking sound. A splinter of bone came out of his leg and tore a hole through his jeans. The bear trap’s sharp teeth also cut through his pants and penetrated both sides of his leg.
His pants leg was soaked in blood, dark and heavy. The hot blood drenched his sock, too, pooling in his shoe.
Hands on his knee, swaying every which way, he unleashed one long, broken scream after another: “Ah–Ah–Ahhh! Ah–Oh–Owww! Ah–Owww!”
Sebastian, eyes bulging and jaw agape, was speechless. He was expecting the woman to chase after them. He wasn’t expecting to see his friend caught in a bear trap. Miki held her hand over her mouth, as if she had forgotten she was wearing a mask, and she giggled childishly. The boy’s cries remedied her suffering. It was funny how things worked sometimes.
One person’s pain could bring another person unimaginable happiness.
Brian gripped his knee with both hands and pulled on his mangled leg, desperately trying to break free, but every slight movement just worsened the pain. The steel teeth tore his skin and muscle. Urine went down on his legs, soaking his pants and joining the blood on his shin. His heart raced and his head spun.
As she walked around Brian, eyes on Sebastian, Miki said, “Don’t panic. Don’t run. Your friend will be okay as long as you listen to me.”
“Let him go!” Sebastian cried, tears running down his face. “Help him!”