Some events happened in the Forest today that inspired me to write this. Please do note the warnings..I do not wish to be commented on how I did not warn people. This dream belongs to my deer Zach. What is written in blue is from his present POV and not a part of his dream.

The Nightmare

It is a beautiful day. The sun is shining bright and the trees are alive with birdsong. Everything seems to have a heartbeat of its own and breath along with the gentle winds that flow through the thick forest. None of this matters for the small fawn, however. No, the fawn is concentrated only on trying to trying to scare as many butterflies as it possibly can.

He feels his mother's warm gaze on him and knows that he is safe. As long as she's watching over him, nothing bad can happen. He knows this is true – it has always been so. He leaps over the nearest bush and lands among the flowers, sending butterflies in the air everywhere around him. A small voice starts to laugh triumphantly, and he recognizes it as his own.
“Did you see, mum?! Did you?! I scared so many!” he announced with pride in his voice as he watched as the small colourful insects fluttered around him. He hears a soft, warm chuckle behind him and knows that she is happy.
“Yes, dear. Now, come over here and finish your dinner. We will be moving on as soon as your father returns..”
Zach turns slowly, his small chest still heaving after running around for so long. He returns to her and almost starts to eat, but pauses. Lifting his small head, he looks at her. A small frown makes its way onto his face as the features he expects to see are not there. It feels..odd to look up at an adult deer, although he does not quite place why. It has always been this way. Mother's face..he can't seem to see it, no matter how hard he tries to tilt his head or raise himself higher to see better. It is as if there is something blocking his vision, keeping him from seeing her properly. Like there would be tears in his eyes, stubbornly staying no matter how he blinks. He wasn't crying. Confused, he starts to eat.

And it all changes.

Suddenly, it is getting dark. It shouldn't be possible, he thinks. The sun was just up high in the sky. His mother is still there. She is nervous.
“What is wrong, mum?” he asks tentatively. He is old enough to see that she is worried because of something.
“Nothing, dear..try to get some rest.” Comes the soft answer. Her voice sooths him. It is warm and loving, like a summer breeze on a cold night. He thinks that she lowers her head momentarily to nuzzle him, but he doesn't feel it. It scares him but he doesn't say anything about it.

Some more time passes, and the world around him gets even darker. It is midnight now. They are both dozing side by side. But the forest feels wrong – even he can feel it now. And the approaching sound of hooves is what awakens them both. Alert, both the doe and the fawn stand. They recognize the one approaching them – but the fear in his eyes is something they have never seen before.
“Go! Run! Take Zach and hide!” comes the bellow of a strong voice. It is something the young fawn has never forgotten. It is his father. His strong voice is now heavy with exhaustion and fear, his desperate warning clear for them both.
“Go, Zach..now!”
“But mum, what about -”
“Go!”
He really wishes that he would've disobeyed, that one time. But his small feet make him run. He doesn't really even know what they are running from, other than it has to be bad to scare his parents so.

Time seems to fly past again. He is exhausted, his young body at its limit. His panting can be heard clearly and it is what makes them eventually stop to rest.
“Zach..hide in the bushes. Rest for a little moment.” He hears his mother and acknowledges the order with a flick of his ears. He slumps down heavily inside the thick bush, trying to get his young, racing heart to calm down. All that running had made him feel sick and dizzy.

A mournful, hollow howling suddenly envelopes the forest under it's spell. Zach covers, going still and trying to be as small as he possibly can. That is no wolf. Zach has heard wolves before. That is something a lot more sinister. The air grows heavy and hard to breathe. His parents stand close by, he can just see their hooves from his hiding place. As the sound comes closer he starts to separate several different howls. They eerily remind him of deer – but there is something horribly wrong with them. Panic is starting to take over his body – but instincts hold him still even now.

Then – he sees them. Dark shadows slowly appear from the forest around them. They reek of death, their bodies decaying on their bones. Hollow eyes stare dead ahead in an unnatural way from what he can only identify as skulls. Huge antlers, bigger than anyone's he's ever seen, crown every beast. Thick red blood drips from them to cover their rotting fur. They ARE dead, he realizes. But how can anything dead even move?
What horrifies him more is that they are deer. Dead deer surround his hiding place, his parents standing their ground to protect him. He is not noticed yet. Dark laughter fills the small clearing, accompanied by the howls he shall never forget.

And the next thing he knows, a fight has started. They all storm forward, their hooves hammering the ground like thunder. He can hear his parents cry out but he can't see them anymore. Too many of these monsters block his way. He's frozen in place, eyes wide open with fear as he watches their struggle. Father is strong – and Zach can sometimes see glimpses of him as the large blue stag pushes over his attackers. He can't even see mother.
Nothing they can do is enough.

Bones break. Antlers snap and collide over and over again. The cries of these beasts can be heard, both joyous and mourning in their murderous glee. Hooves hit the ground only inches away from his hiding place.
A scream. It chills him to the bone.
Mum.

She's there, lying on the ground. Not moving.
“Mum!” he can't help it. He rushes out from his hiding place, heading for his mother's limp body.
“Zach!” A yell. Father is here, pushing over a beat that had just been about to crush him. Their eyes meet. His are full of terror – his father's are determined, but broken by grief. His father is hurt – wounds cover his body, coloring his pelt almost purple.
“Run!” The order is sharp, brief. Zach obeys immediately, more out of reflex than anything else. He looks back only once, only to see these monsters push his father to the ground. He does not need to see to know what has happened. He is alone.

More deer arrive – but these he knows as well. His..family. All of the deer he's grown to love and respect. He cannot see them properly but knows they are there. And that they will fight for him. Antlers raised, they head out to defend him against the monsters chasing him. But..they do not prevail. One by one, these deer start to fall as well. It is more than he can bear.

“No! Stop! No more!” He cries out, but his small voice is drowned under the sounds of battle.

“NO!” he bellows out once more, rising from where he has been sleeping. He..is alone? He looks around, his fear still clear if anyone were to see him. A..dream? He is trembling and his feet feel too weak to support him so he lowers himself back to the ground. The night is bright and peaceful – but his heart is in turmoil. What he had seen was a thing of the past, but his emotions far too real. He closed his eyes tightly and wept quietly.