Waking up in the early morning, the usual stir underneath the floorboards of the house . His own alarm clock, he could never turn off; there was no point in ignoring it, it would only end once he stood up. Besides, a few minutes more, and Allen would have to hear his wife, groggy in the morning, aching to pick a fight with him for another obscene reason. As much as he wanted to stay home, there was work to be done, and the light beaming from his cracked phone was a wake-up call for what was to come.
Through his glossed vision, he picked up his phone and squinted. It was a text from his boss.
"In the woods". There wasn't much to go on, but that's exactly why he needed to get up now.
"Fuck, here we go".
He got up, trying his best to move around quietly, put on his clothes, and closed the door as he stepped out.
Whenever Allen looked at the scenery under that inching sun that moved above the horizon line, it reminded him, only for a moment, why they had even decided to move there. At first glance, it was hope for a new day and new beginnings. His own land, his own home, and a family that, while it wasn't perfect, at least had one. In the darkness, he could almost pretend everything was fine until the veil was lifted. Only to be painfully aware of the consequences as the sun fully revealed itself and the dreary plane replaced any hope left inside.
"No point in lamenting it now".
He rode off toward the police station, where his co-workers immediately met him. Coming to a complete stop across the road, he took off his helmet and left it on the seat.
"What's going on?" Allen asked, walking up to them. The ten of them looked at each other before they answered. Their eyes, visibly shaken, held layers that carried whatever image had scarred them. Whatever happened, they couldn't handle it themselves.
With three police cruisers trailing behind them, Allen was driven to an isolated part of town where the forest began, and they had to go on foot. They were being needlessly secretive about what they found; no amount of prying told him anything. Only shaking their heads, ensuring that in just a moment, he would see. It wasn't until after fifteen minutes of walking through thick brush and thicket that a small shack came into view.
"How did we even hear about this?" Allen asked as he tore dangling vines away from his face.
"Their son came down last night". Wendy said, one of the few other people in town who had any experience with the more grueling crimes that occurred outside. As a result, they didn't team up often, but when they did, it signaled that matters would deteriorate.
"Where's the kid then?"
"No one knows; he was gone before we had the chance to identify him.".
"No one knows, huh?".
A deathly silence ensued as they broke through the last of the forestry onto the premises. A group of twenty stood in a circle staring at the ground. It wasn't until they heard Allen's voice did they look up and spread out.
"What's going on here?" Allen said, cautiously walking toward them. They were looking for guidance that he couldn't give them. Whatever experience they thought he had could do nothing to mend his sinking heart that landed on the ground.
He landed on the dirt with a thud, the feeling in his legs giving out as a strained groan entered his ear; into the world.
"You think I can handle this!". Everyone remained silent, gawking.
Sticking out from the Earth was the imprint of a nose, a mouth, and a pair of eyes facing upwards. From the corner of its vision, it looked at him with teary eyes and continued to groan.
"Why are you all just standing there? Get them out!".
"We can't!" Wendy said, dropping a piece of cloth on its face, pressing down on its mouth.
Allen scrambled to his feet, clasping his hands on his knees as he attempted to regain his composure.
After taking a deep breath, Allen managed to speak.
"What the hell are you doing?".
"She's suffering. We needed you to see it, that's it!" Wendy said.
Allen shoved her away. Driving his hand into the ground, he threw away scoop after scoop of dirt, scrambling to release her before anything else happened. The world around him became blurry as his only directive was closing in on him, one more scoop of dirt, and he should reach her body. In one moment of clarity, however, Allen had realized that he'd reached it long ago, and he stopped.
He looked at his hands, then back at the woman in the ground. Her groans became louder and louder until she began to wail. Wendy shot up, taking the piece of cloth and pressing it down on its face, muffling her scream.
"What are you—" Two other officers tore him away as he struggled to voice his thoughts. Holding him until the woman's cries grew quieter and quieter, until only one last groan escaped her, and it was silent once again.