The Not Deer

Carl backed out of his driveway like a bat out of hell. He had slept through his alarm, again, and was desperately trying not to be late for work. As he drove his car at a speed that border-lined reckless a brown blur flashed in front of his vehicle. Carl tried to slam on the brakes but it was too late. The deer went flying across the road as Carl’s car rammed into it.

Carl threw the car in park and jumped out in one motion, muttering swear words under his breath. His muttering grew louder as he saw the large dent in the hood of his car. He glanced at the deer that lay twitching on the ground before deciding he didn’t have the time to deal with it now. He hopped back into his vehicle, prayed nothing too important was damaged

, then raced off to work.

The work day passed in a blur. Carl was reprimanded for his tardiness before being left with all the tasks nobody else wanted. He stopped by the auto shop on his way home to get a quote for his damaged vehicle and was a frustrated mess by the time he was heading home. Carl slowed as he approached the section of road where he hit the deer. The deer carcass was still there, but something had torn it open. It looked like an animal had eaten all the internal organs, but left the rest to rot in the sun. Carl took a mental note to be on the look out for coyotes the next few days before finishing his drive home.

Luckily the next day was the weekend. Carl was able to start his morning the right way, slow and lazy. He stumbled around his house, attempting to make breakfast while still half asleep. As he tossed an empty milk carton into the trashcan it bounce off the pile of garbage already there and land on the floor. Carl glanced down at the milk cartoon, let out an exasperated sigh, then finished his breakfast.

When he could put it off no longer Carl shoved the trash pile down as far as he could, bundled up the garbage bag, and headed outside to the bin. Not bothering with shoes, Carl shuffled down his driveway in his slippers. He lifted the lid to the bin, then dropped the garbage bag in shock when he saw what was behind it. About five feet away, staring straight at him, was a deer.

The deer looked like every other deer Carl had seen over the years, but there was something about it that was very unsettling. It took Carl a few moments to pinpoint what was different about this particular deer but when he did his stomach dropped. It was the eyes. The eyes were sharp and predatory. This deer was looking at him like he was it’s next meal. Carl tried to shake off his unease, telling himself he was imagining things. He picked up the garbage bag and dumped it into the bin. After nervously staring at the deer for another moment Carl backed up the driveway and hurried inside.

The rest of the morning was filled with loud music and video games as Carl did his best to forget the strange incident outside earlier that day. After a few hours he heard the screech of brakes from out his window. He paused his game as he glanced out the window just in time to see the mail truck driving away. Carl stood up and stretched out his stiff muscles, then made his way to the door.

He walked down to his mailbox, humming a song that was stuck in his head. Carl drummed on his mailbox before opening the box and grabbing the envelopes inside. Sifting through the paper he muttered to himself. “Bill. Bill. Bill. All Bills.” Sighing he turned to go back inside when the sound of rustling branches got his attention.

Coming out of the bushes across the street was a deer. Carl froze as he recognized the look in the deer’s eyes. It was the same deer as before. Staring at him like a starving wolf would stare at a crippled elk.

Carl hit his hand against the mailbox while shouting, trying to scare the animal away. Instead of running in the opposite direction, like it should have, the deer ran straight at Carl. Before he had time to process Carl was running up his drive and through his front door. As soon as the door latched a loud bang rattled the hinges. Carl quickly reached up and locked the door. He slowly moved to the window and peeked through the blinds.

The deer was walking through the yard shaking it’s head. As if it had just run into something and was trying to shake off the confusion. “There is something seriously wrong with that animal” Carl muttered to himself. As if hearing him the deer turned and looked him straight in the eye. Carl stepped away from the window as if it had burned him.

The next morning had Carl peeking out the windows, looking for any sign of the deer. He began to relax throughout the day as hours went by and the deer remained absent. By the afternoon Carl finally settled down enough to try and watch a movie. He picked something light and happy. No horror for him anytime soon.

About an hour through the film Carl was nearly startled out of his skin as a scream fill the air. After one, heart attack inducing, moment Carl let out a hysterical laugh as he recognized the sound. It was a rabbit. He made his way to the back door wanting to make sure there wasn’t a rabbit stuck and in pain somewhere in his yard.

When he opened the door a gruesome scene greeted him. The scream had definitely come from a rabbit. A rabbit that was now torn open in the middle of his backyard. Like the deer he had hit with his car. The rabbit's organs had been eaten, while the rest of the poor animal lay abandoned in the grass.

Carl’s eyes followed the blood trail until his sight was drawn to the tree line on the edge of his property. There stood the deer. Its muzzle was wet with a red liquid that dripped into the bushes below it. As Carl met the hungry gaze of the deer the creature sent him a deranged smile showing off a row of sharp, pointed teeth. Carl slammed the door shut as the yard was filled with a sound that was something between a human laugh and an elk’s bellow.