Void Girl Encounters 5: The Butcher

>Decided to go innawoods for once.
>Packed up some gear to help sustain me for a light trek.
>Nothing fancy, only a backpack with a lot of snacks, some water and a deck of cards.
>Wearing some rugged jeans and a dark blue Carhart Void off brand t-shirt with a front pocket.
>Also kept a knife and gun on me just in case some kinda shit pops off.
>Checked twice for my flashlight since the Void has no external light source like the Sun.
>Stopped at the edge of town, looking forward was a collection of leafless trees.
>The streetlight only a block behind.
>Out in the sky all the could be seen were eyes and grins for the F0rmless. For some reason, their eyes glowed bright enough to illuminate areas while they're awake.
>Where I stood was where the grass started breaking through the pavement.
>It was time, and having been made numb from my previous existence on Earth, I doubt anything can get a legitimate spook out of me.
>So I stepped in.
>The woods were interesting to walk through as The Void puts an interesting spin on a lot of things.
>Sometimes you'll see windows blinking in and out of existence in the Urban areas.
>Raindrops will phase through your body sometimes.
>Mosquitos donate blood.
>Fish you catch will compliment you on any swords should you be carrying one.
>As for this patch of forest, there are some parts of branches that just float.
>Sides of trees are completely missing.
>There are certain types of trees where the bark of said trees will literally bark when brushed up against.
>A few times, I caught a few birds drop like a bag of cement mid-flight.
>However, not even thirty minutes into my little adventure, I picked up on footsteps snapping twigs behind me in the far distance.
"Heh, bring it."
>I made it to a river, decided to take a breather and have a snack while I watch jumping fish commentate as they pass by.
>The footsteps that were behind me faded away.
>Had another look at the sky and noted that the some of the F0rmless were getting chatty.
>Never was able to make out what they were saying since it's some primordial language I'll never understand but it came off as distant indistinct chatter.
>Kinda livens up the place.
>As I stuffed my hand into my bag of potato chips, a fish jumps out of the water.
>"I like your boned-in hoodie!"
"Thanks?"
>And another one jumped.
>"Hey fella, I like your bloody lady friend!"
"Lady friend?"
>These fish sure loved messing with people.
>I laughed, didn't think the forest would be this entertaining.
>"SWEET MEAT CLEAVERS YOU GOT THERE, BUTCHER!"
>Wait a minute…
"Butcher?"

>The second the question left my mouth, there was a crackling of a twig underfoot.
>Looking into what little a reflection the river gave off, all I could make out was a smirk on a bloody face.
>And the two meat cleavers that were raised.
>"Hello, Dinner."
>She went for some kind of double-handed swoop, but I sidestepped it then kicked her side.
>She slams into a tree and I'm mildly grateful it didn't bark.
>Can't afford to attract any attention that might be twice as savage as this one.
>Once again she charged at me, her cleavers high above her head while she shouted something that could easily equate to 'allah ackbar.'
>There wasn't much distance between us, so I grabbed her by her wrists and blink due to some blood sprinkling on me.
>She didn't hesitate to headbutt me.
>I'm not sure what was worse, her ridiculously hard head, or the foul breath of her mouth that assaulted my nostrils.
>Add the momentum she gained from doing that and I had the wind knocked out of me when I hit the ground.
>The only air available in the vicinity was whatever odor that reeked from her body.
>Despite being in such a fight with this mundane thing, I don't doubt that it's used this to her advantage.
>All I can do at this point was making sure to keep my legs sprung back and my feet on her chest to stop her from maiming me.
>I had two options to deal with this situation.
>And I'm a fan of putting my best foot forward.
>I pulled out my gun and cocked the hammer back before she can get into a fighting stance.
>Once she realized what she was facing, her smirk went away.
>All the fight she had in her evaporated.
>She stops wailing her arms around and lets them fall.
>"Shit."


We shared a couple of snackbars when our tensions calmed down.
I taught her how to play 21/blackjack and wants me to visit her cave from time to time.
Gotta be honest tho, if that puss is anywhere near as stanky as her breath, I ain't hitting it.