Deerman

Disclaimer: This story uses mild language, scenes of terror, and implied gore.

The blaring horn of a pickup truck echoed through the country roads late one October night. In the small farm town of Greenville, Illinois there wasn’t much for teenagers to do after the high school football game.

“Pump the gas would ya, Cody and Tessa are already like a hundred feet ahead.” Ashlen scolded her boyfriend Max in the driver’s seat while Kenny Chesney was full blast on the radio. Fog rolled over the cornfields on both sides of the road shrouding the unharvested crops in a ghostly veil.

“I’m exhausted. You expect me to score the winning touchdown and then keep up with these guys in some dumb game of chicken?” He gave a tired sigh, and Ashlen rolled her eyes, turning to gaze out the open window. The crisp autumn breeze tangled her hair, whipping it around her face.

Ahead, the lights of Cody and Tessa’s truck suddenly came to a halt. “Looks like they stopped or something,” Max muttered, after blowing through a stop sign on the deserted road. The only light in the dark came from the full moon overhead and the beams of both trucks slicing through the darkness.

“What are those idiots doing?” Ashlen unbuckled her seatbelt and hopped out of the vehicle. Both Cody and Tessa were outside their truck pointing in the distance at an abandoned shed at the end of the cornfield near the tree line of the woods. 

“Would you get back in? I’m sick of this, we’re going to be late for the movie if we don’t leave now.” Max tried from his open window still buckled in. 

“Grow a pair, would you?” Ashlen shouted shoving her hands deep inside her sweatshirt pockets.

“Don’t you recognize it?” Tessa said once the others joined them. 

“Jesus, is that the shed you both spent time in after prom?” Max taunted.

“No, you moron.” Tessa gripped. “Didn’t you realize that we’re on Forhease Road?” 

“They say this road is cursed, but no one knows exactly why. It all could’ve started with the incident,” Tessa said, her voice low enough to capture everyone’s attention. “Back in the ’70s, something happened by the red shed on Forhease Road. Haven’t you guys heard the story?”

“Not all of us paid attention in history class,” Cody joked, earning a few chuckles.

Tessa’s face stayed serious. “The red shed on Forhease Road is where the Deerman lives. As the story goes, it was 1972, the night Greenville High won the championship football game. A guy named Darin Hallick—or something like that—from the opposing team wanted to get back to Kewanee as fast as possible. Sore loser, I guess. He was driving around Greenville for hours, lost and frustrated, until he unknowingly sped down Forhease Road, not realizing it was a dead end. While fumbling with his map, he hit a deer standing in the dead center of the road. But because this street is cursed, instead of just crashing, he… changed. They say Darin transformed into something half-man, half-deer, and he’s been haunting this area ever since.”

“Oh, stop it!” Ashlen gasped, nervously glancing into the shadows.

“Come on,” Max said, rolling his eyes. “This guy just vanished, and no one thought to report it? Wouldn’t that make the news? It’s only 2006; the ’70s weren’t that long ago. Give me a break.”

“You don’t get it,” Cody said, his voice low. “My grandpa was the sheriff here for most of his life. There was a kid named Darin who went missing from Kewanee. They never found him.”

Ashlen’s eyes lit up with excitement as she grabbed Max’s hand. “Then we have to check it out. Let’s see if the Deerman really exists!”

“Hell no!” Max yanked his hand back. “I’m not going anywhere near that shed—or the woods.”

Cody walked over to the bed of his truck, popping open the toolbox and pulling out a few flashlights. “Fine, then stay here by the trucks. Alone. Just don’t turn on the radio; the sound might scare the Deerman away.”

A sudden squawk made them all jump as a crow shot out of the tree line. Soon, dozens of more crows took flight, settling onto the tops of the corn stalks, watching the humans like a live show.

Max hesitated, then exhaled.

“Fine, let’s go. I’d rather face the Deerman than stick around with these creepy birds.”

They each took a flashlight and stepped into the dewy grass, moving slowly toward the shed. The loose beams rattled in the breeze, creaking like something alive.

“Come on,” Ashlen whispered, glancing back at Cody. She motioned toward the door. “Open it.”

“Yo, Deerman you in there?” Cody said before kicking it in with his combat boot. Their flashlights poured into an empty one room shed with a garden of growing weeds. 

“I don’t see anything let’s go.” Max quickly decided before turning back.

“Wait, who the hell is that?” Ashlen asked squeezing Max’s hand as she turned around with him. 

“H-hey man, are you lost?” Tessa tried. 

A figure stood between the trucks like a shadow before revealing itself in the headlights. It was a creature both man and deer, an unnatural mix that seemed pulled from a nightmare. It stood upright on thin, wiry legs covered in coarse, dark fur, with a towering set of twisted antlers reaching high above its head. Hollow, dark eyes seemed to look right at the teenagers unblinking and cold, almost as if it was deciding on something.

“Wh-who are you?” Ashlen yelled panic stricken. 

They all froze, paralyzed with fear at what its next move would be. The creature’s head tilted slightly, observing them with an eerie stillness. Each step it took slowly towards them was deliberate, almost soundless, like it was stalking without a rush, knowing it didn’t need to hurry. To get to its prey. 

Before it was too late, Cody yelled to his friends in sheer panic, “Run!” Half of them ran into the cornfield, the other, into Forhease Woods. 

*****

Present Day

“Touchdown Greenville!!!!” Came the announcer's raspy voice through the stands. The cheerleaders paraded the sidelines with their maroon and white pom poms. It was another home football game at the end of October at Greenville High. Patrons sat in the stands with their flannels and Carhartts. Ivy sat with her best friend Kat watching her boyfriend’s victory dance with his teammates and pretending not to be cold. 

“You know I told Dylan if they win tonight then he’ll win big tonight,” Ivy whispered to Kat. 

“Wait, you don’t mean? Kat gave her the look. “It has to be somewhere special. Not the backseat of his Corolla. 

“God no. I’ve always wanted to do it under the stars or surrounded by Mother Nature. You know feel connected to our Mother Earth. Humans are nature after all.”

“I know you’re an eco goth Ivy, but it’s sounding a bit cringe. I think you’ve been watching too many witchcore Tik Toks.” 

“And that’s the win for Greenville!!!” The raspy voice announced through the speakers. The cheerleaders cheered wildly waving their pom poms like a frenzy of bees on a beehive. 

Ivy stood outside the boys' locker room in her tight skirt, reapplying her dark red lipstick. When Dylan finally emerged, she threw her arms around him. "Finally. What took you so long?"

"Sorry, babe. I reeked after the game," he said, wrapping an arm around her. "Got any of that natural deodorant you make with sage or whatever? My Axe ran out."

"Not with me," she sighed as they walked toward the parking lot. She leaned in for a kiss, which he returned before glancing around to make sure no one was watching.

"That’s quite a kiss," he teased, toying with the crescent moon pendant resting on her chest.

"Well, it’s a pretty big night," she replied, smirking.

"Yeah, it was! Did you see that pass I made to Nelson? Thank God he caught it—if he’d missed, I swear I’d have punched him the next chance I got."

Ivy raised an eyebrow, trying to bring his attention back. "Um, yeah, but… do you remember what I promised if you won?"

Before he could answer, a car rolled by, and one of his teammates shouted, "Hey, man, you coming or what?"

Dylan looked back at her. "The guys want to grab celebratory Buffalo Wild Wings. I’ll text you tomorrow?" He leaned in to give her a quick peck on the cheek.

"Wait," she stopped him, pulling him back. "You're… leaving?"

"Well, yeah. I’m starving."

"I thought you might be hungry for something else," she murmured, her fingers brushing his collarbone, her gaze making her meaning clear.

He flushed. "I mean…"

"I thought tonight could be the night," she whispered into his ear.

Dylan glanced back at his teammates, and then waved them off with a quick word. They drove off, laughing a bit too hard at Ivy standing there in her combat boots.

Ivy crossed her arms, frowning. "What’s Connor’s problem?"

"Hm? Oh, he’s just hungry, I guess."

"No, I think he’s still mad we’re together. The goth and the jock thing. This isn’t the ‘80s. When are your friends going to realize this is real?"

"Let’s talk about something else," he said, taking her hand and pressing a kiss to it. "How about… where we want to go tonight?"

They drove through winding country roads in his Corolla for over an hour, the radio low, Billie Eilish playing softly. Dylan kept one hand on the wheel, the other propped on the door, his gaze fixed on the road, hardly saying a word. Ivy watched him, wondering if tonight would really turn out to be the night—or just another night of unspoken words.

“You’ve been awfully quiet,” Ivy noted. 

“There’s not much left to say. Every spot I’ve suggested, you’ve turned down.” He said sounding irritated.

“Because, Dylan, I don’t want my first time to be somewhere we’ll get caught. My parents are so strict—remember what happened to Casey?”

“Yes, Casey and Jake from Algebra, busted in his dad’s barn,” he muttered. “I could’ve had 20 wings by now…”

“Just go down there,” Ivy said, pointing ahead. “It’s a dead end. If anyone drives up, we’ll see their headlights.”

“No one’s coming down here; it looks abandoned.” He steered the car toward the end of Forhease Road. The cornfields disappeared, leaving only a red shed by the edge of the woods.

“Wait a second,” Ivy said, her eyes widening. “I know this place! This is Forhease Road. My grandpa used to hunt here—until he suddenly stopped.”

“Why’d he stop?”

“He never said. Maybe he just had no luck. But I remember he’d leave for days, sometimes even taking a mattress up on the deer stand to sleep. I think he just wanted to be out in nature… like me. But then again one day he came back home and said he’d never return. He’s kind of silly though.” She opened the car door. “Come on, let’s go.”

“In there?” Dylan laughed, adjusting his cap. “You expect me to go into the woods to… hook up?”

“It’s not a ‘hook-up,’” Ivy corrected. “It’s… making love. I thought you wanted this, too. And it’s perfect—it’s in nature, just like I wanted.”

Dylan sighed, shaking his head. “They’re never going to believe this story,” he muttered under his breath. “Fine, lead the way to the deer stand.”

They moved through the tree line, each step crunching over brittle twigs as they ventured deeper into the woods. An eerie stillness enveloped them, broken only by the chirping of crickets hidden in the dirt. The dead leaves around them released an earthy, heavy scent the farther they trekked.

"Look!" Ivy’s sudden whisper made Dylan jump. "It’s the ladder to the deer stand." 

He glanced around, eyes darting through the thick shadows as if something might be lurking just out of sight. Then he followed her up the ladder, each rung creaking beneath his weight. Partway up, his car keys slipped from his pocket, hitting the ground below with a faint clink.

“Can’t afford to lose those,” he muttered, forcing a laugh to ease his nerves.

“Let me hold onto them.” Ivy tucked the keys safely into her crocheted crossbody bag, then began stripping off her clothes, seemingly unfazed by the sudden chill that crept into the air. Dylan’s pulse quickened as he lay beside her, skin against skin, acutely aware of the silence pressing in around them as if the forest itself were holding its breath.

“Um, Dylan,” Ivy said before things escalated.

“What now?” He complained. 

“Do you love me?”

He chuckled so loudly it concerned her. 

“I am so surprised you haven’t caught on by now about this whole thing. I mean, I figured you did and decided not to say anything. You’d be the type to be so cool with it all.” 

“Cool with what?” She asked timidly. 

“You and I. The bet the guys made. When you agreed to go out with me so quickly I figured you heard about the bet and wanted to play along.”

“What bet?” Her tone raised in defense. 

“Come on, Ivy. Don’t pretend like you haven’t heard it around school that the football team made a bet that I could hook up with the weird goth chick by Halloween. I thought you already knew about it and were just going along with it. Most of you are easy. I’m sure you were craving a popular football player.” He kissed her neck deliciously. 

She shoved him away. “How could you?”

There was a sudden snap of a tree branch like the sounds of a fragile bone breaking in two. Then the sound of a scuffing hoof like it wanted to be heard. 

Dylan looked down and saw what he assumed was just a deer until it started climbing the ladder. Its antlers rose to the top of the stand where both of them saw the grotesque face of a grinning creature, half man half deer, who was hungry. Hungry for what lay in front of its glowing yellow eyes. 

They both screamed as the Deerman grabbed Dylan’s leg with snarling teeth and razor sharp nails. Dylan’s cries of terror echoed in the darkness who was getting pulled inch by inch to the Deerman’s teeth. All around there was only blackness except for those sickly yellow eyes. 

There were sounds of thrashing followed by the sensation of wet droplets flicked onto Ivy’s face. Heart pounding, she clung her purse to her side reaching onto the neighboring tree trying desperately to lower herself down branch by branch like she was a child playing again. Only this time she wasn’t playing. She was escaping her doom. 

She hit the ground with a thud, pain shooting up through her ankles. Ignoring the ache, Ivy forced herself to her feet and sprinted toward the forest’s edge, Dylan's tortured screams chasing her through the shadows. She burst into the clearing and staggered to the car, fingers trembling as she dug for the keys, slamming the door shut and locking it in one frantic motion.

The engine roared to life, and she threw the car into a wild turn, bouncing through the ditch in a desperate attempt to reach the road. But as the headlights swung forward, she froze, foot squealing the brakes to a halt.

The Deerman stood in the beam of her headlights, blood dripping down its chin. It licked its lips slowly, eyes locked on her with a cold, unrelenting hunger as if craving another meal. 

Without thinking, Ivy floored it, her car hurtling toward the creature. The impact shuddered through her, but she didn't look back as she sped down the desolate road, vanishing into the moonlight, never to return again.