Rattled

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. The flame flickered and swayed in the whistling breeze that slowly howled through the remains, that had once served as an elevated hunting cabin and deer blind. It had deteriorated over years of sitting in the heavily forested area, which had almost reclaimed the cabin to nature. It sat precariously on stilts, half of the veranda had collapsed. It was small but its presence was imposing, the windows staring out into the night like black, unseeing eyes.

Five friends sat together on the banks of Vulture's River, the edge of a large camping ground and well used hiking trail that traversed deep into the national forest and hills, winding all the way up to Vulture's Summit.

It was also a known area for the nearby college kids to spend their Friday nights before the campers and hikers settled in for the weekend. Beer cans and rubbish littered the edges of the tree line, a dirty mattress lay abandoned near the creek that no one had the stomach to touch.

The friends sat around a small campfire that threw shadows which danced amongst the tall, dark surrounding trees. The oldest of the group, Jack, stood up, hurling an empty can in the direction of the piles of rubbish.

“Don't do that!” exclaimed Tasha. She stared at her friend, Sam in disbelief. Their friends back home didn't do things like that.

“Don't worry about it, the rangers usually get around to cleaning it up,” Jack laughed. “You city girls have a lot to learn! It's pretty rough out here.” Jack's friends, Jayden and Christian, both laughed at the girls' reactions.

Sam and Tasha were new to the small rural town, attending the local college since the beginning of the year, and had met the boys since living on campus. Sam had started dating Jack, who was well known in the town for being a local sports star.

“Who wants another beer?” Jack asked, as he started to walk in the direction of his truck.

Both Christian and Jayden muttered responses over the music that could only be interpreted as affirmative, not that Jack cared to listen either way. He returned and tossed a can at each boy. He raised his eyebrows at the girls expectantly, annoyed that they hadn't responded. Sam quickly nodded and he passed over the drinks.

“You should tell the girls just how rough it can get out here, Jack.” slurred Jayden, who was already clearly intoxicated.

“Ohh yeah, it gets real nice and rough out here in my tent, for the girl that's lucky enough to be in it,” Jack replied, as Sam playfully slapped him. The others laughed and Tasha rolled her eyes, taking a long drink. Jack could be intolerable and although he was handsome and athletic, she honestly couldn't understand what Sam saw in him.

“No, man, seriously. Tell the girls about what happened up here,” laughed Jayden. “That'll give them a good scare!”

“It does make a great campfire tale,” said Christian. He was conscious of Tasha sitting on the log next to him. “Perfect night for it.” He winked at Jack who was standing across the fire from him. Jack laughed knowingly, aware of the crush Christian had on Tasha.

“Alright.” Turning down the music that had been playing from his phone, Jack took a long drink and lowered his voice, speaking slowly.

“Well...it’s been bloody decades. But you know what...?” he paused and glanced over at the tree line and the empty black space that the hiking trail had become, since the sun had set over the darkened forest.

“People still go missing up here in these hills. People still see and hear strange shit. A lot of weird stuff has happened since this guy back in the 90's lost the plot and killed his wife. And when I say he killed her, he didn't just kill her...he butchered her. With a hunting knife. I'm talking about an absolute blood bath.”

Jack stared at the girls horrified faces, pleased with the fact that he'd been able to scare them already.

He continued, “Apparently he thought she'd been cheating on him while he was away on tour in the military.....He'd become deranged or something, kicked out for doing some sadistic shit. Dishonourable discharge, they called it. Anyway, after he killed her, he took off to pick up his kid and do a runner but they'd already been alerted and had locked down the school. He fled the town and came up here somewhere, supposedly, to his hunting cabin to hide out from the cops.”

“That's awful,” said Tasha, covering her mouth with her hand, as she stared at Jack and then around at the others. “Is this a real story or one of those urban legend kinda things?”

“Yeah, that's messed up,” said Sam, draining the remains of her beer and shaking her head.

“You haven't heard the best part yet,” laughed Jayden. “If you think that's messed up, you better help yourself to another drink before you hear the rest of it. Actually, grab another round for us all, would you?”

Tasha laughed, already feeling the effects from the beer. “Sure." She stood up and walked towards the truck, suddenly aware of all the sounds and sights of the night. She paused and listened, the wind was gently blowing the trees and they were swaying slowly back and forth. The entrance to the trail looked like a black hole ready to swallow someone up.

“You good?” Sam asked from behind her, and Tasha spun around wildly. “God! You scared me half to death!” Tasha laughed. Sam put her arm around her friend, “The story getting to you already? I guess it is pretty sick. But I bet they're making it up hoping to get us all scared and cuddling up to them.” She stared around her into the dark and visibly shuddered. “Either way, let's get those drinks and get the hell back there!” They laughed and screamed excitedly as they chased each other back to the camp fire.

Settled around the fire again the friends looked up at Jack expectantly.

“So what happened then?” asked Sam.

“Let me guess, you guys reckon for the last 30 years he's been prowling the woods, stalking and preying on innocent campers?” Tasha said, smirking and looking at Sam proudly, as if she had ruined the story for the boys.

“Not quite,” said Jack. He had a very serious look on his face. “This actually happened, you can go ahead and look it up.”

Tasha and Sam frowned at each other across the fire, already aware that there was not any phone service. “I can't look it up, Jack. Seriously? You bring us out here to some creepy goddamn place in the middle of nowhere that has no phone service. God, anything could happen.”

Christian reached out and touched Tasha's shoulder, “Nothing is going to happen. It's perfectly safe out here. Apart from the occasional drunk punch up between campers or hunters.” He laughed. “You're with us anyway.”

“There are hunters out here?” said Sam, shivering in the dark and clutching her drink. “Oh great! This just keeps on getting better.”

“Let him finish the story,” interrupted Jayden, “it is so good!”

“You're as deranged as the story,” said Christian, and ducked while Jayden threw his empty can in Christian's direction.“You know it!” Jayden smirked, dragging his finger across his own throat and poking his tongue out in a macabre manner.

Jack loomed out of the darkness with an armful of sticks, throwing them suddenly on the fire, causing everyone to recoil in shock, dodging the sparks that erupted into the cool night air. He settled down on the log, and looked around at the stunned faces. “So, like I said. This really happened.”

Sam and Tasha exchanged worried glances, speechless at the sudden change in mood and atmosphere.

“The cops launched a huge manhunt. He wasn't hard to spot and the tips were flying in. He was covered head to toe in blood so they had a pretty good lead on him. He was in a rage, completely out of control. Once they found his car abandoned here at the camping grounds, they knew where he would be heading."

Tasha stared into the darkness of the camping grounds surrounding them. “You mean as in right here?” she said, but it was barely more than a whisper.

“Yeah,” said Christian. “It's changed a fair bit since then but it's still the same grounds.” Tasha suddenly felt very vulnerable and isolated, questioning why they had agreed to come out to this secluded place for the night.

Jack resumed the story. “So they chased him up to the cabin, dozens of cops and tracker dogs. When they reached the cabin, they realised the first responder was the local sheriff. He was already up the stairs, literally wrestling the guy up on the rickety deck of the cabin. They were fighting for the sheriff's gun. The sheriff must have come upon him and been taken by surprise. This crazy guy was huge and of heavy build. The cops watched in horror as the railings busted out and they both dropped, like 30 foot to the ground in a tangle of violence and fury. The crazy guy's leg had broken when he hit the ground- his shin bone had splintered and a long, thin piece pierced through the flesh, on a horrifying and unnatural angle."

"The cops had their weapons drawn and screamed at the man to surrender. Nothing, absolutely nothing, could prepare them for the horror that would occur next."

"The guy lunged upon the sheriff, swiftly reaching down and feeling for the bone that protruded from his own leg. He let out a guttural roar, overcome with blind rage and animalistic fury and yanked on the shard of bone, upwards, like a goddamn lever. It snapped clean from the rest of his leg and that snap echoed through the entire forest, even amongst all the noise and chaos."

"And that's when it happened. He plunged the bone into the sheriff's throat just under his jaw, and dragged it brutally across his throat, blood spraying everywhere. He leapt up and disappeared behind the bushes of the cabin, stumbling towards the bank of the creek. As the cops opened fire on him, he took several bullets but he continued his deranged limp up and over the bank. The cops immediately pursued him, still spraying bullets. But all that was left was a blood trail and he'd already either fallen or jumped into the river."

"They spent hours searching the river, they had divers in and also dredged it out for days. It was reported in the papers as an “assumed drowning." But, they never found the body.”

Jack smiled in a twisted way and looked around at the expressions on his friends faces.

“That is single handedly the most fucked up thing I have ever heard,” stated Tasha, staring at Jack in disgust.

“I feel sick,” said Sam, but there was a glint in her eye. She had enjoyed the story, the thrill of being scared mixed with excitement.

“I call bullshit. There's no way that's all true.” Tasha continued, “What? you expect us to believe there's some geriatric, deranged dude with bones and bullets hanging out of him, wandering the forest, killing people randomly over the last few decades?” The group laughed.

“I told you it was a good one, didn't I?!” Jayden said. “I love the way he tells it!" He leaned over to clink his beer against Jack's. “Cheers!”

“Cheers!” agreed Christian, holding his beer up high, almost in a salute. Everyone began to relax after the eerie atmosphere that Jack had created.

Christian turned to Tasha, “Madness, hey? It's mostly just rumour and speculation. People add to the story and it gets passed on over the years. I've gotta hand it to Jack though, he sure does tell a good story.” He gently bumped his arm against hers in a comforting manner. Tasha smiled, “I probably did overreact a bit.” They laughed and clinked their drinks together. “Cheers!”

The night continued on and the moon rose high into the sky. The group indulged in the drinks, playing music, often complaining about having no phone service but enjoying themselves nevertheless. They complimented Jack on his story telling skills and how much it had creeped them out. “I'm not just a pretty face,” Jack said, sidling up to Sam and grabbing her around the waist.

“Jayden, it's your turn to get fire wood,” Christian said. Jayden was lying sprawled against the log with his legs outstretched.

“I've got a better idea.” Jayden drawled, a sinister smiled played on his lips. He suddenly jumped up, slightly off balance. “Let's go and see if we can find this cabin! How awesome would that be?”

“I don't know man, it's pretty dark and not many people have claimed to have even found it,” Christian said, pausing. “But I guess we've all got the flashlights on our phones, yeah?”

Jack nodded, annoyed he hadn't thought of it first. “I'm keen. Let's go for a little hike.”

“No way!” Sam and Tasha exclaimed in unison. They looked at each other, eyes wide like dinner plates. “Come on, it will be fun!” Jayden said, “We've never been able to find it before but you girls might be our lucky charms.”

Jack started tossing items into a backpack and hoisted it up and over his shoulders. “I've got the drinks, everyone bring your phones for lights.”

Tasha felt uneasy, she didn't trust Jack but didn't want to offend Sam by telling her that. She reached out to Sam and touched her on the arm, saying quietly, “I don't think we should go, Sam. It's dangerous, it's dark, there are animals out there."

“Stay then Tasha, if you wanna be such a kill-joy,” Jack told her, “but have fun sitting here all on your own.” She stared around at the still dark shapes and tall trees that seemed to engulf her.

“C'mon Tash, I'll keep you safe,” Christian said, reaching for her hand. “I know the hiking trail well.” His hand felt warm and she allowed him to lead her off into the darkness, following the others towards the trail.

At the mouth of the trail there were two dusty and neglected signs. One read “Nature Reserve: Vulture's River” and pointed to the left and the other pointed up the trail to the right which read “National Forest: Vulture's Point Hiking Trail”. Underneath was a smaller sign which looked even more decrepit. “Vultures Summit”. Even the words looked ominous, lit up by their flashlights. Jack pointed to the left and said “Fishing,” and pointing to the right up the darkened trail, “Hunting. We go this way.”

“Oh yay,” said Sam sarcastically. “Hopefully we run into some rednecks with guns.”

“It's not hunting season yet,” murmured Christian quietly, he seemed short of breath already as they trekked up the narrow path, tightly holding onto Tasha's hand.

The trees overhanging the path made it feel like they were walking straight into a dark uphill tunnel. Tasha felt claustrophobic and wondered why it had suddenly become so quiet. All she could hear was the breathing of her friends as they too followed the trail through its progressively narrow and steeper bends. The air felt colder and the mood had yet again changed.

The silence settled among them, and Jack seemed intent and serious. Sam held onto his arm tightly. Jayden followed closely behind the two and Christian and Tasha tried to keep up with the group. It seemed no one wanted to lose their place in the pack. Safety in numbers, thought Tasha.

“Did you know that some vultures are known to eat mainly bones? They've also been known to collect them?” Christian's low voice interrupted Tasha's panicked thoughts of getting lost out here with no phone signal. She was startled by the break in silence. “Is that where it gets the name from? This forest?”

Christian nodded. “Yeah. There are a lot up here."

“That's kinda creepy," she said but she was distracted and breathing heavily, she called out, “Hey Jack! How much longer is this going to take? Do you actually know where you're going?”

“A bit further, then we go off trail.” The words filled Tasha with dread. Sam turned around to see Tasha's reaction and shrugged her shoulders, smiling reassuringly. “That's where it gets really spooky,” Jayden laughed. “You girls will love it.”

Up ahead was a large boulder, appearing suddenly, unnatural and ominous in the dark, lit up from their flashlights. “This is where we head off the trail,” announced Jack. “This is apparently the marker that those who have found the cabin use.”

He pushed through the overgrown bushes and looked around. There was a very faint track, covered in dead branches. It didn't look like it had been used for a very long time.

“Are you sure about this Jack? This is getting really scary,” said Sam, tugging on his arm. Jack looked at her intently, “We've come this far, so let's go through with it.”

The moon rose higher and higher in the sky, partially blocked out by the thick, dense trees that seemed to reach out to them, like twisted arms trying to grab hold of them. The friends had become exhausted and agitated. “Come on Jack,” pleaded Tasha, “We are out in the middle of nowhere in these creepy woods. We can't find it, just let it go?”

Sam was shivering, and clutching onto Jack's arm. She looked up at him hopefully.

“Yeah man, I'm with the girls on this one.” Jayden agreed. “This sucks. It probably doesn't even exist anymore, it's been years. It would probably just be rubble, at best.”

“Yeah alright, this is some bullshit isn't it?” Jack laughed. The group of friends laughed, overcome with relief that he was willing to give up the search and they could make it back to the safety of their campsite.

They turned around, pushing back tree branches and foliage and started to retrace their steps. Tasha turned around, realising Christian was no longer holding her hand or by her side. She shone her flashlight behind her. He was staring off into the distance, completely still, as if in a trance. “Wait guys,” Tasha said.“Christian, what is it?”

“He's probably taking a piss,” Jayden said. “Leave the man alone.”

“There's a light,” Christian stated, “Come and see.”

“A light out here?” Jack mused, “That's weird. Surely no one would camp out here.”

He walked back to Christian, stepping over branches and stared up in the same direction as Christian. “Holy shit, there is too. How did you even see that? It's so faint. And it's almost above the tree line. What the hell?”

“Come on guys, who cares what it is? We're heading back. It's probably a hunter and I don't think they'd appreciate us creeping up on them in the middle of the night,” said Tasha. “God, no wonder people disappear out here. Doing stupid shit like this.”

“We will head back Tasha, but we just need to find out what this is. I mean, it's bizarre. It's almost like its moving slightly but not actually going anywhere. It's not a camp site or a hunter, I guarantee it.” Jack said.

“You guys wait here if you're not keen,” said Christian, “We won't be long.”

“Yeah I'm done,” said Jayden, “Throw me that bag. I need a drink.” He sat on an overturned log, breathing heavily. “Call out if it's anything interesting.”

“This is ridiculous, it's cold, dark and creepy as hell,” said Sam, sitting down on the log next to Jayden, shivering and staring behind her into the almost pitch black forest. “Hurry up," she warned them. Tasha joined them on the log and sighed heavily. Jack carefully made his way back with the bag. He kissed Sam on the cheek, “I'll be right back.”

Time passed and the friends became annoyed. “It's been ages,” complained Sam. “What the hell are they doing?”

“I can't even hear them anymore,” said Jayden. “Maybe they fell in the creek.”

“Seriously Jayden? My anxiety is already at a solid 10.” Sam shook her head.

Suddenly, in the distance was a great cracking noise that echoed through the forest, followed by intense screaming. The three immediately jumped up, eyes wide, staring at each other for a brief and shocked second. Without a word, they began to run in the direction of their friends screams, blind panic and instinct had set in. They ran, fiercely, out of control, stumbling over branches, the flashlights waving wildly in the dark.

“Jack! Christian!” Jayden bellowed. Terror had set in and the girls screamed for their friends. They raced desperately to where they thought the noises had come from, the screaming had stopped and they could only hear a low moaning sound, like an animal that had been caught in a trap. As they continued, they reached a small clearing, and stopped dead in their tracks. They stared up in horror to a high-set hunting cabin, looming above them, a small light flickering in one of the dark windows.

A low gurgling sound to their left forced them all to shine their lights in that direction. Lying on the ground was Jack. He was flat on his back, his arm reached up, his hand weakly pressed against his neck.

“Jack!” screamed Jayden, and all three rushed over to him, out of breath with fear and panic. The gurgling sound stopped and bubbles started to appear out of his mouth, pink tinged with blood. Jayden pulled Jack's hand down, frantically searching for the wound. In the darkness it appeared like a tarry, black hole. Blood had already pooled underneath Jack's head, seeping into the dry and rocky ground. Jack had stopped breathing.

“I think he's been shot.” Jayden uttered in horror, his attention now suddenly directed at their surroundings, realising the danger they were all in. “We need to go.”

Sam screamed and tried to rouse Jack, calling out his name over and over. “Sam! He's dead!” Jayden grabbed her shoulders and shook her. “We need to go!” he repeated urgently. Tasha screamed for Christian, her eyes darting around, looking for another body or any sign that he might have survived. The moon shone down on the cabin, casting light on the roof and threw shadows where the windows stared out, creating the sense that the cabin had its own presence. There was a lit candle in one of the windows. It must have been the light the boys were looking for. Tasha immediately felt watched. Fear and dread filled the pit of her stomach. Jayden was right, they had to get out of there, as quickly as possible.

She dragged Sam to her feet, pulling her along as she sobbed heavily. Jayden was right, Tasha thought, there was no hope for Jack. They needed to get out of this forest. They ran as three again, back along the faint track, this time holding onto one another, out of fear and comfort. All of them sobbing, in shock and terror. Without a word, they lifted each other up as they stumbled and fell over the sticks and logs. The branches from the surrounding trees scratched at their faces, hands and arms as they ran almost blindly in the direction they had come. Once they reached the large boulder, Jayden gestured for them to crouch down, holding onto them and dragging them into place, sitting low on the ground. “Shhh,” he whispered.

He was out of breath. He turned around, listening for any sounds to indicate that they were being pursued. “Listen to me. Listen to me! Point your lights down,” he spoke harshly, “Whatever or whoever did that to Jack and Christian are most likely going to try to do the same to us.” Sam let out a cry, her sobs coming from deep in her core. “Calm down, calm the fuck down,” he spoke urgently, “This is what we are gonna do. From here, you know how to get back to the camping grounds.” Sam shook her head and rocked back and forth, staring at the ground. “Get it together! Listen! Just follow the trail. If anything happens just keep running. Don't stop running. Get to the truck. Get help. Once we start running, don't stop, no matter what. We've each got a light. We need to be fast. Do you understand? Don't stop running.”

Tasha and Sam nodded, overcome with fear. “Ok, you ready?” Jayden stared deep into their eyes in the dark, “We can do this.”

Suddenly Jayden froze in the darkness, his expression of pure shock, his body shuddering. “Jayden, what?!” demanded Tasha. She shone her light into his face. His eyes dilated, turning almost completely black and his mouth opened. Blood started to dribble from his mouth, and he keeled backwards from where he had been crouched down next to the boulder, his body hitting the ground with a sickening thud. A figure loomed in the dark behind him, tugging roughly on the object that had been buried firmly in the side of Jayden's neck, just underneath his jaw.

“Sam! RUN!” Tasha screamed. Both girls immediately jumped to their feet and took off running down the trail, fresh adrenaline pumping through their bodies, literally running for their lives. Tasha could hear Sam a few steps behind her, heaving and panting.

Branches scratched wildly at Tasha's face as she frantically navigated the twists and turns on the trail. She felt a sharp branch catch on her cheek, sending a stinging, wet sensation down her face. Her flashlight bobbed up and down wildly as she ran, tripping and falling, only to drag herself back up and continue on the out of control path she was hurtling down, desperately trying to reach the camping area. She could no longer hear Sam panting or running along the trail behind her.

In the distance, Tasha could see the cluster of signposts at the start of the trail, relief flooding through her body. She heard a terrifying scream cut through the air from further back along the trail, she didn't know if Sam had been caught or just fallen. There's nothing I can do for her, I need to get help, she repeated over and over in her head. Get to the truck. Get help. Please God.

She stumbled past the signposts, and ran out into the clearance of the camping grounds, her phone flashlight suddenly turning off, realising with horror her phone had run out of battery. She swung around wildly, trying to spot the glow of their fire in the overwhelming darkness.

Tasha heard movement on the trail behind her. She did not dare to turn around but ran in the direction of where she thought their campfire had been. She put her hands out in front of her to protect her face and continued to move forward. Her eyes began to adjust to the almost pitch black darkness. She could hear the slow trickle of the stream over to her right and she began to orientate herself. She could smell faint smoke but couldn't tell what direction it was coming from. She stopped and listened, trying to slow her breathing, telling herself she needed to concentrate.

Moving forward, her foot suddenly struck a pile of cans and rubbish which echoed loudly across the camp grounds, and she fell heavily. A quiet sob escaped her lips, as she realised how vulnerable she had just made herself.

Still on the ground, she slowly and carefully put her hands out, feeling for what was in front of her. She must be very close to their camp if she was amongst the rubbish on the edges of the tree line, she thought. She could hear that she was now closer to the stream. Her hands explored over bottles and cans, careful not to make another noise. She felt something soft and grabbed it firmly, realising with joy that it was the dirty abandoned mattress they had seen earlier in the night. Crouching over the rubbish trying not to disturb it further, she climbed onto the mattress and looked in the direction of where their fire should have been. Very faintly, she could see small embers, glowing from the fire, and saw the slight smouldering of smoke. From there, she knew the truck was less than a 30 second dash to safety.

Taking a deep breath, Tasha burst out into the opening of the camping ground, running past the fire, jumping the log, ignoring the burning pain coursing through her entire body. In the dim light from the moon slipping through the trees, she spotted Jack's truck in the parking grounds. She'd made it.

Wrenching the door open, Tasha jumped into the drivers seat and turned the ignition, the engine erupting loudly in the still night air. She turned the lights on and put the truck into reverse and swung backwards, almost losing control on the gravel, the engine roaring. She stared through the window and to her disbelief, in the headlights, she saw Christian on the road, bleeding heavily and struggling to stand. “Christian!” Tasha jumped from the truck and ran to him, embracing him tightly, feeling how wet he was with blood. “Oh my God Christian, are you ok?” Tasha sobbed with relief. “We need to get out of here! Right now!” Christian held her tight. “It's alright Tash,” he said “I'm here now.”

“Where are you hurt? We need to get you to a hospital! Get in the car!” Tasha gasped, her voice suddenly cutting off as she felt a blow to her ribcage, as if someone had punched her. She didn't understand what had happened. She tried to look behind her, but Christian held her firmly, looking intently into her eyes.

“It's not my blood.” He stated. The realisation and horror dawned on Tasha but her mind struggled to understand. She tried to speak but couldn't draw in any air. She struggled to breathe. He roughly pulled out a sharp blade from her side and she collapsed to the ground, staring up at him. Christian wiped the blade carelessly on his sleeve. Tasha wasn't sure if she was losing consciousness, but the blade appeared long, white and sharp.

Christian noticed her looking at it. “Yeah, it's a bone,” he laughed. He looked at the blood on it that still remained, and touched the tip of the bone against his tongue.

“I knew you would taste sweet.” He smiled and then paused, suddenly angry. “You know what?”

“He wasn't what you all think and he didn't deserve to go like that. My father's body was stuck underwater for years, eventually turning into nothing but bones. He was never properly laid to rest, until I found him. You all talk about him and make comments and laugh and carry on like you know anything about what happened.” He stared off into the distance. "I come up here a lot. I light a candle in memory of him and do a little 'hunting'."

“I knew him, more than anyone. Yeah, he went a little mad but can you blame him? My mother was a whore and she deserved it. I'm the one that told him what she'd done.”

Tasha could barely utter a sound, she was bleeding out and she knew it.

She couldn't feel her body anymore. She slowly looked over in the direction of the road that lead out of the camping grounds, hoping desperately that someone, somehow would help her. Darkness started to close in on her.“No one's gonna save you, Tash. And none of you will ever be found. The vultures take good care of that.” Christian smiled.

“They eat everything.”