The Beast
The Beast
It happened before I could even comprehend my own thoughts. Kayla's voice quivered as she stated she felt someone watching us. Jorge believed she was paranoid, mostly distracted by his ever so glorious tournament on Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations. I however, felt a prescence as well. As I pondered the slight chill in the air, I watched Melanie sleep. Her head was cradle against my chest, her arms wrapped around my mid-section (Oh God, I felt like a Vermont Teddy Bear). She stirred, which I generally found a bit adorable. However, that was not the case here. Her face was serious, almost grave. I swear she could sense something lurking near as well. Suddenly, her eyes flashed open, almost as if in horror.
" Babe, what's the matter?" I whispered to her, concerned. She mumbled something with a hint of panic in her voice.
"What?"
"Something's outside" she muttered. She flew from the couch and into the kitchen, just in time for the glass of the back door to shatter violently.
We dashed into the kitchen, where Melanie was paralyzed from shock and terror. She had good reason to be, too. There, amongst the shattered glass, was a beast. Most would say it could be a wolf, or a bear, or something of the sort. But,no. This...thing...was nowhere close to real. Its skin was placid, without even a single hair on it. Its gaze is what seized me,though. Those dark, deviant, demented eyes. Even with how dark they were, I felt the creature fixated upon me. As I tried to break the unnerving stare of the creature, I noticed its claws (and holy hell, did I notice them). I could practically feel the razor-edge of them already. The longest one had to be at least 4-feet in length. This thing could probably clash with Sephiroth from Final Fantasy XII with just its claws.
The rest seemed to happen so slowly as I tried to regain my senses.
"RUN!!" was the only word from Jorge, already sprinting for the front door. Kayla quickly followed him. Melanie started to turn, but stopped when she noticed I was still frozen in place.
"TIM! RUN!!" Melanie cried. I stared at her for a moment, practically deaf. Then, I came to.
"What?"
"RUN!!!" She grabbed my arm and we began our escape for the door. Obviously furious, the beast let out a cry that struck me as a sinister blend of anger, blood lust, and insanity. The very sound of it turned my blood ice-cold, and paused my heart long enough to make my legs fail. Within a second, the beast had pinned me down. Raising its claws, it let out another cry.
"RHEEEEAAAAAA!" Screeching to the heavens. My ears rang until blood trickled out and down the side of my head, muffling all sound. Before it struck, I closed my eyes and half mumbled, half cried to myself:
"I'm so sorry, Melli."
But the pain never came. I looked up at the beast, who was now drawn back in silent pain. Protruding from its ribs was a switchblade knife. From the angle of it, the knife had to have been thrown.
" Get the hell out of there, Tim!!"
Jorge was in the doorway, gripping a flashlight and his dad's machete. Kicking the heavy creature off of me, I scrambled out the door. Jorge was right behind me, until he hit his knees, bellowing with agony. I looked back to see the beast's claw changing shape (whoa, what the fuck?). Focusing on Jorge, I noticed his switchblade, which had been in the beast's ribs just moments ago, now lodged deep into his shoulder. Could the beast have thrown it? If so, how could it have such power and accuracy?
"Jorge!!" I ran to him, helping him stand as he yanked the blade out.
"Dumbass, you should've kept going. I'm bleeding too much to run." He said in his usual irritated tone. I couldn't leave him (well, I guess I could, but he's a brother to me. Just wouldn't be right). With a giant heave, I lifted him up onto my shoulders, and disappeared into the woods before the beast had a chance to catch us.
After at least 20 minutes of running through the woods, we came to the old hunting shack. I knew where it was because my uncle often hunted in these parts and would meet up with his crew here to skin their catch. Melanie was already inside, still in shock. I set Jorge down in my uncle's rocking chair, then proceeded to stitch up his wound using some fishing line. It wasn't great, but it would at least stop the bleeding. Once I was done, I collected my thoughts and looked around.
"Where the fuck is Kayla?" I questioned. " I don't know" and " I thought she was already here" were the only answers I got. Just fucking great. I sat down on the tattered sofa by the empty gun racks, trying to think. Finally, I knew what I had to do.
"Melanie, come here for a moment."
I spoke in a tone that was soft and sad. She walked over and curled up next to me, wrapping her arms around my mid-section once again.
"I-" She shushed me before I could say what I needed. She kissed me so gently, it felt like it was the breeze. She did it again before kissing me deeply and intimately. I kissed back, not wanting to let go of her. Unfortunately, I had to.
" I have to go find Kayla." I finally muttered. Melanie stared at me, tears in her eyes. She clutched my shirt as if her life depended on it, holding herself against my body and began crying. I couldn't stand to see her like this. It truly did hurt to see her cry. I lifted her chin, kissed her forehead, and made my way to the door. I really fucking wish I had remembered to grab the machete and flashlight. Oh well. I'd have to settle with a hunting knife, a lantern, and a small book of matches. Just fucking great.
I wandered the area for what seemed like a couple hours (turns out it had only been 30 minutes). Guess time is hard to keep track of when you're busy being scared shitless. The search, however had been fruitless thus far. I decided to turn back. Just as I did, I heard something to my left. I had the knife ready, but it wasn't needed. It was only a small animal. From the looks of it, had to be a fox. I strolled over to it, but it dashed away. As I turned to start heading back again, I noticed something in the bush a couple feet away. Laying underneath it...was an arm. I stepped over and examined it. it had to still be attached, so I decided to drag the body out.
Big mistake.
It was Kayla, bloody from head to toe. Fuck! Just fuck! I couldn't take it anymore. I simply just sat down, and cried for a few minutes. My guess (judging from the multiple wounds in her gut) was that the damn beast had impaled her. My sister, best friend, and practically my journal. I closed her eyes, no longer able to stare into the lifeless orbs.
"I'm so sorry, Kayla. I'm so sorry."
I couldn't bury her. Not here. I'd come back for her. That is if I live through this hell of a night. It took the better part of another hour to stagger back towards the shed. It felt colder than before, but I was probably just in shock.
No. That wasn't it. Something was wrong. The shack door was open. Why the hell would they leave it open?? I rushed inside to find a horror story in front of me. Jorge was sprawled across the floor. Literally, his arm was in the corner, his lungs had been ripped from his chest, and his eyes were gouged out.
Well, I puked. Hard.
My vision became blurry, making it almost impossible to stand. I shook my head, trying to come to my senses. I went behind the shack, still not quite able to see straight. I instantly snapped back when I realized what was going on.
The beast had Melanie by the throat, but it looked different. The sword clawed creature now had short claws, a dog-like face, and stood upright (now I could tell it was around 6 or 7 feet tall). Reacting without thinking, I threw the lantern at the thing's head.
Well, I'm officially screwed.
The beast looked at me, obviously pissed. It dropped Melanie, who was now either dead or unconscious ( God, I hope it's the latter). All I had was the hunting knife. Shit. The thing looked directly into my eyes once again, this time as a target. It pounced faster than I was expecting, causing me to lose my balance. Tripping backwards, I lost the knife. The creature grabbed my neck and bit into my left shoulder. Roaring with pain, I reached desperately around for the hunting knife. After a moment, I found it. Gripping the hilt of it with fury, I drove the blade into the side of the beast's face. It cried out for the third time that night
"RHEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAEEAH!!!
My eardrums split and bled horrifically. As I started to lose consciousness from blood loss, I watched the thing run into the darkness. My mind raced in my final moments.
Was this the end? Am I really meant to die here? Was Melanie alright? Will anyone ever know what truly happened here? Wh-...
" Babe, what's the matter?" I whispered to her, concerned. She mumbled something with a hint of panic in her voice.
"What?"
"Something's outside" she muttered. She flew from the couch and into the kitchen, just in time for the glass of the back door to shatter violently.
We dashed into the kitchen, where Melanie was paralyzed from shock and terror. She had good reason to be, too. There, amongst the shattered glass, was a beast. Most would say it could be a wolf, or a bear, or something of the sort. But,no. This...thing...was nowhere close to real. Its skin was placid, without even a single hair on it. Its gaze is what seized me,though. Those dark, deviant, demented eyes. Even with how dark they were, I felt the creature fixated upon me. As I tried to break the unnerving stare of the creature, I noticed its claws (and holy hell, did I notice them). I could practically feel the razor-edge of them already. The longest one had to be at least 4-feet in length. This thing could probably clash with Sephiroth from Final Fantasy XII with just its claws.
The rest seemed to happen so slowly as I tried to regain my senses.
"RUN!!" was the only word from Jorge, already sprinting for the front door. Kayla quickly followed him. Melanie started to turn, but stopped when she noticed I was still frozen in place.
"TIM! RUN!!" Melanie cried. I stared at her for a moment, practically deaf. Then, I came to.
"What?"
"RUN!!!" She grabbed my arm and we began our escape for the door. Obviously furious, the beast let out a cry that struck me as a sinister blend of anger, blood lust, and insanity. The very sound of it turned my blood ice-cold, and paused my heart long enough to make my legs fail. Within a second, the beast had pinned me down. Raising its claws, it let out another cry.
"RHEEEEAAAAAA!" Screeching to the heavens. My ears rang until blood trickled out and down the side of my head, muffling all sound. Before it struck, I closed my eyes and half mumbled, half cried to myself:
"I'm so sorry, Melli."
But the pain never came. I looked up at the beast, who was now drawn back in silent pain. Protruding from its ribs was a switchblade knife. From the angle of it, the knife had to have been thrown.
" Get the hell out of there, Tim!!"
Jorge was in the doorway, gripping a flashlight and his dad's machete. Kicking the heavy creature off of me, I scrambled out the door. Jorge was right behind me, until he hit his knees, bellowing with agony. I looked back to see the beast's claw changing shape (whoa, what the fuck?). Focusing on Jorge, I noticed his switchblade, which had been in the beast's ribs just moments ago, now lodged deep into his shoulder. Could the beast have thrown it? If so, how could it have such power and accuracy?
"Jorge!!" I ran to him, helping him stand as he yanked the blade out.
"Dumbass, you should've kept going. I'm bleeding too much to run." He said in his usual irritated tone. I couldn't leave him (well, I guess I could, but he's a brother to me. Just wouldn't be right). With a giant heave, I lifted him up onto my shoulders, and disappeared into the woods before the beast had a chance to catch us.
After at least 20 minutes of running through the woods, we came to the old hunting shack. I knew where it was because my uncle often hunted in these parts and would meet up with his crew here to skin their catch. Melanie was already inside, still in shock. I set Jorge down in my uncle's rocking chair, then proceeded to stitch up his wound using some fishing line. It wasn't great, but it would at least stop the bleeding. Once I was done, I collected my thoughts and looked around.
"Where the fuck is Kayla?" I questioned. " I don't know" and " I thought she was already here" were the only answers I got. Just fucking great. I sat down on the tattered sofa by the empty gun racks, trying to think. Finally, I knew what I had to do.
"Melanie, come here for a moment."
I spoke in a tone that was soft and sad. She walked over and curled up next to me, wrapping her arms around my mid-section once again.
"I-" She shushed me before I could say what I needed. She kissed me so gently, it felt like it was the breeze. She did it again before kissing me deeply and intimately. I kissed back, not wanting to let go of her. Unfortunately, I had to.
" I have to go find Kayla." I finally muttered. Melanie stared at me, tears in her eyes. She clutched my shirt as if her life depended on it, holding herself against my body and began crying. I couldn't stand to see her like this. It truly did hurt to see her cry. I lifted her chin, kissed her forehead, and made my way to the door. I really fucking wish I had remembered to grab the machete and flashlight. Oh well. I'd have to settle with a hunting knife, a lantern, and a small book of matches. Just fucking great.
I wandered the area for what seemed like a couple hours (turns out it had only been 30 minutes). Guess time is hard to keep track of when you're busy being scared shitless. The search, however had been fruitless thus far. I decided to turn back. Just as I did, I heard something to my left. I had the knife ready, but it wasn't needed. It was only a small animal. From the looks of it, had to be a fox. I strolled over to it, but it dashed away. As I turned to start heading back again, I noticed something in the bush a couple feet away. Laying underneath it...was an arm. I stepped over and examined it. it had to still be attached, so I decided to drag the body out.
Big mistake.
It was Kayla, bloody from head to toe. Fuck! Just fuck! I couldn't take it anymore. I simply just sat down, and cried for a few minutes. My guess (judging from the multiple wounds in her gut) was that the damn beast had impaled her. My sister, best friend, and practically my journal. I closed her eyes, no longer able to stare into the lifeless orbs.
"I'm so sorry, Kayla. I'm so sorry."
I couldn't bury her. Not here. I'd come back for her. That is if I live through this hell of a night. It took the better part of another hour to stagger back towards the shed. It felt colder than before, but I was probably just in shock.
No. That wasn't it. Something was wrong. The shack door was open. Why the hell would they leave it open?? I rushed inside to find a horror story in front of me. Jorge was sprawled across the floor. Literally, his arm was in the corner, his lungs had been ripped from his chest, and his eyes were gouged out.
Well, I puked. Hard.
My vision became blurry, making it almost impossible to stand. I shook my head, trying to come to my senses. I went behind the shack, still not quite able to see straight. I instantly snapped back when I realized what was going on.
The beast had Melanie by the throat, but it looked different. The sword clawed creature now had short claws, a dog-like face, and stood upright (now I could tell it was around 6 or 7 feet tall). Reacting without thinking, I threw the lantern at the thing's head.
Well, I'm officially screwed.
The beast looked at me, obviously pissed. It dropped Melanie, who was now either dead or unconscious ( God, I hope it's the latter). All I had was the hunting knife. Shit. The thing looked directly into my eyes once again, this time as a target. It pounced faster than I was expecting, causing me to lose my balance. Tripping backwards, I lost the knife. The creature grabbed my neck and bit into my left shoulder. Roaring with pain, I reached desperately around for the hunting knife. After a moment, I found it. Gripping the hilt of it with fury, I drove the blade into the side of the beast's face. It cried out for the third time that night
"RHEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAEEAH!!!
My eardrums split and bled horrifically. As I started to lose consciousness from blood loss, I watched the thing run into the darkness. My mind raced in my final moments.
Was this the end? Am I really meant to die here? Was Melanie alright? Will anyone ever know what truly happened here? Wh-...