Leon’s breath was shaky as he raised the gun. This part always made him jittery; he’d been doing this for years now and yet the moments right before he took a life always seemed to disturb him. He moved slowly and with deliberation, least his prey receive any warning of his presence. He gazed through the scope, the light fading as night approached making it difficult to locate his target. A sudden movement caught his eye. He slowly maneuvered the weapon and focused in on the deer’s body. It moved silently through the woods, always on alert for predators. Leon had a great respect for a deer’s ability to remain unseen, almost like a ghost it can appear and disappear seemingly out of nowhere. This is what made hunting special, he thought to himself. It isn’t simply going out and killing an animal, it is the culmination of patience, time and focus as two being’s lives are for a brief instant intertwined as predator and prey. It requires perfection by both parties as a single mistake can lead to a failed hunt, or a taken life.
Leon took a long breath as the deer moved into a clearing. He drew back the hammer and placed his finger on the trigger, it was cool to the touch. I need you to stand still for me, he mentally told the deer. Just hold right there. The deer stopped and looked around; its head high as it scanned the forest.
He placed the crosshairs above and slightly behind the deer’s front shoulder, the kill area his dad had always called it. Adrenaline was coursing through his veins, his heart throbbed in his chest. Buck fever was what the old timers call this, no matter how many deer a hunter would kill in his life he was almost guaranteed to feel this before every kill. Leon calmly squeezed the trigger, ensuring that he wouldn’t accidentally jerk the gun away from its target. The bang that followed rang out throughout the forest, scattering any birds and squirrels that were nearby. The deer jumped up in the air and took off at a blazing speed, its white tail pointed up high. He followed the deer’s movement through the scope, his heart still racing.
The deer began to slow and eventually fell over and lay on the ground in a different clearing, writhing and kicking its legs. Leon broke open the gun and ejected the spent shell, replacing it with a fresh one. He once again pulled back the hammer and focused on the deer through his scope, ready to fire again if necessary. After a short while the deer became still, its chest no longer heaved, and its legs lay motionless. Leon sat back and exhaled a sigh of relief, his whole body shivered as the adrenaline worked itself out of his system. He raised the gun once again and peered through the scope, taking the time to properly examine the deer.
It’s a big one, he thought to himself. It’ll provide more than enough meat for me. He looked at its antlers, about ten points he thought, but the coming darkness made it almost impossible to be sure. He sat back and closed his eyes; a feeling of satisfaction came over him. After a second he stood up and stretched, “The job’s not finished yet,” he told himself. He carefully gathered his gear and packed it back into his hunting bag, careful not to drop anything from the stand. He slung his bag and gun on his back and descended the ladder.
I should have dressed warmer, he told himself. I do this every year; I completely underestimate how cold the fall nights get. He skipped the last few rungs and jumped down. “Ughh,” he said as he landed. “That hurts the ol’ ankles more than it used to.” He laughed to himself. He flipped on his head lamp and looked around, the entire forest was cloaked in darkness and shadows save for the light from the full moon shining above.
I’ve got to stop talking to myself, he thought. That’s why everyone at work thinks you’re crazy. He shook his head, who cares what they think? He started walking towards where he last saw the deer. Even though he’d grown up in these woods the night always seemed to distort things, almost as if it wasn’t the same place at night.
The woods were alive with activity as insects buzzed, squirrels and other creature ran through the brush and owls hooted to one another. These sounds always calmed Leon; they reminded him of simpler times when his dad would take him on walks through the woods at night. What I wouldn’t give to see him one more time.
“Let’s see, I shot him right around here. Bingo.” He looked down and saw a trace of scarlet blood shine in his light. The trail led off through some thick foliage. Leon fought his way through it, stopping every once and a while to locate the next splatter of blood and tissue.
Crack! Leon turned around, peering into the darkness. Something was following him. He looked around, the light illuminating the forest, yet it did not catch any movement. It’s just a racoon or something, he finally concluded. “Just relax, there’s nothing out here that can hurt you.” He reassured himself. Although he couldn’t shake the feeling that he wasn’t alone.
After several more minutes of slow travel, he finally reached the deer. He lowered his gun and approached it slowly, the last thing he wanted was for it to jump up and skewer him like a marshmallow on a stick. He was almost positive that it was dead, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. The buck lay on the ground a patch of moonlight sone onto it in an almost peaceful way, it could almost be asleep. Yet when he gazed into its eyes, he could tell that the deer was dead, there was no longer any life illuminating them.
He lowered the gun and felt a sharp pang of remorse. His dad had taken him hunting for years, ever since he was old enough to walk. Heck, he killed his first deer by the age of ten, however he still felt a strange mixture of sadness and achievement whenever he killed one. I guess it’s better than not caring at all he though, the guilt keeps me human.
He stared looking at the animal, lost in the confusing thoughts that inevitably followed a successful hunt. Another cracking sound snapped him back to reality. He once again looked around, spotting nothing. “I think it’s time to get this over with and get out of here.” Whatever was out there wasn’t something he wanted to meet.
He moved quickly, taking off his overcoat and laying it down next to his gun and pack. From within the pack, he extracted a long hunting knife and a set of latex gloves. He began to field dress the deer, careful not to accidently cut himself. He positioned the deer with its stomach up in the air and with careful precision, stuck the knife right between its hind legs and worked it up through its flesh. Steam issued from the body as the warm interior of the deer met the chilled night air. He worked carefully; his gloved hands were soon covered in glistening blood as he began cutting the viscera from the deer. He reached the stomach, “This is the tricky part.” He muttered. It was fully bloated; it must have eaten a lot right before it died. Any small amount of pressure would make it burst open, releasing its foul half-digested contents. He began cutting it away from the cavity, careful not to pop it.
Just as he almost freed it, he heard a loud sniffing sound just behind him. He jumped from fright, his knife sliding right into the bloated organ, popping it. Nauseous gas hissed from the cut as a horrible brown and green sludge rushed out.
“Son of a--!” he exclaimed, falling back as his nose was overcame with a horrible smell like that of vomit and feces. He bent over and retched, almost throwing up. He’d smelt some bad things in his life, but nothing ever compared to the inside of a deer’s stomach. It was like the most horrible combination of vomit, bile and shit you could ever imagine.
After he regained his composure, he stood up and looked around for the source of the sound, once again finding nothing. Only this time he didn’t just move on. “There’s something out there. No normal animal would stay this close to me for this long.” And yet there was no sign of anything. His fear slowly increasing, he didn’t know why he was so afraid but all he knew was that he had to get out of here.
Taking a deep breath, he knelt back down next to the deer and was finally able to remove its lower organs. He then moved up to the chest, moving a bit quicker now. He used the knife and cut his way through its sternum, breaking open the rib cage with a sickening crack.
“I hit a perfect shot.” The chest cavity was a red mush. The lungs had been shot in half; the heart exploded with pieces all over, it reminded him of a red Jell-O. He sliced the tissues connecting what was left to the body and with a great heave turned the buck on its stomach, allowing the remaining blood and gore to fall out.
He stood back, panting from the physical excursion. Even without its organs it was still heavy, he thought, too heavy to drag. There is no way I can get it back to the side-by-side alone. Leaving his gun and pack he decided to go and grab his ride then bring it back to the deer. He walked through the dark forest, “I shouldn’t have left my gun. Stop freaking yourself out, you know very well that there is nothing out here that can harm me.” For some reason though, he didn’t quite believe that. He was only parked about ten minutes away, however the journey felt forever. Suddenly he heard a fluttering sound, and something swooped over his head, “Ahhhh!” he screamed. He shined his light up revealing a bat flying off into the night. He left out a small, strained laugh. “Hold yourself together.” Which was becoming increasingly difficult as he journeyed farther and farther into the darkness.
He reached the side-by-side and breathed a sigh of relief. He sat down and turned the key. The engine turned over a few times before finally catching. “I really need to invest in a newer one.” He spoke aloud. He flipped on the headlights, grateful for the illumination and headed back to his kill.
He reached the clearing where the deer had breathed its last in no time. But when he got there it was nowhere to be found. Not only was the body gone, but the pile of organs he had left had completely vanished leaving only blood-stained grass and leaves and the faint stench of deer musk and intestines. Leon sat stunned, “Where did it go?” He was only gone for fifteen minutes at the most, nothing could have dragged a two hundred pound deer away that fast. He looked at the place where the deer had been and saw a long streak of blood and gore going off deeper into the forest.
He hopped out of the vehicle and grabbed his gun; good, it was still loaded. The lights from the vehicle shone on the trail of blood making it shine brightly. Leon exhaled a shaky breath, what could have possibly done this? His throat tightened, preventing him from speaking, which was surprising even to him. He cautiously followed the trail, his cold and clammy handed gripped tightly on the gun. His foot hit something, he looked down in horror. His mouth fell open with terror, it was the buck’s leg, ripped clean off at the shoulder. It looked as if something had begun to eat the leg before discarding it. His heartbeat in his ear and his blood ran cold. He took a step back, deciding that it was past his time to leave.
He sprinted back to the UTV, grabbing his pack as he ran by and flung it into the vehicle. Just as he started to get in, he froze realizing that something was watching him. A low growl was coming from the woods. He turned back and saw a massive, towering beast standing just out of the reach of the headlights. He began to shake with fear, his eyes wider than saucers. A strange sniffing sound came from the beast, Leon realized in horror that this is what he had been hearing. The beast was smelling him. It had been hunting him this whole time. With cold and shaking hands, he raised the gun and aimed at the creature.
OWOOOO
Leon fell back against the seat overcome with dread. He had never heard such an inhuman sound in his life. His arms fell, lowering the gun. The beast’s aura had seemed to take all the control from his body, leaving him frozen in terror. The beast took a step forward and to his horror Leon saw it looked like a giant wolf. Its lips curled up in a dreadful snarl, its glowing red eyes shone with an animalistic fury. From its mouth and teeth dripped blood and bits of flesh. Its whole body was covered in gray matted fur. The beast stood and stretched to its full height, at least a foot and a half taller than he was. Leons face lost any color it may have possessed. It stood menacing over him, its claws stretched out as if to snatch him away.
The wolf creature lowered itself on its haunches and prepared to pounce. Just as it sprang forward Leon, fueled by his panic, aimed and fired at the creature. It fell to the ground and let out a screech of pain so horrible that Leon dropped his gun and put his hands over his ears. The creature got up and bolted off into the darkness on all fours, continuing to howl in pain.
Not wasting a second Leon grabbed his gun, jumped into the vehicle and turned the key. The engine began to crank yet it wouldn’t start. “Come on,” he croaked through a dry mouth, his throat finally allowing him to speak. “Please, please, please, please!” From the darkness he heard a low growling sound, the wolf was coming back. He turned the key one more time, the engine roared to life just as the wolf let out another horrific howl. He gunned it in reverse and took off back towards the trail. From the clearing he could hear the beast approaching rapidly, snarling and growling. He spun the vehicle around, almost flying out of it. He threw it into drive and took off at a breakneck speed. The beast was still hot on his trail, the sounds grew louder and louder. Not daring to look behind him he floored the accelerator, urging the vehicle to go faster. The motor whined in protest, it hadn’t been driven this hard in who knows how long and it clearly wasn’t thrilled about it. Slowly however, the sound of his pursuer faded off into the darkness and the beast lost chase and sulked back off into darkness.
He eased off the gas, but not much and drove in complete silence. He was too shell-shocked from the horror he had just experienced to even show any sort of emotion. Before he knew it, he was parked back in front of his house. He looked all around his house, out into the black and haunting forest that surrounded it. Leon killed the motor and sat back; a small sigh escaped his lips. The sound of an animal rustling off in the woods startled him, making him jump and look around in fear. Then he broke. He sat there sobbing and wailing like a small child sleeping alone for the first time, confused and frightened. He cried like he had never cried before, what was that thing? Why was it in my woods? My god it could have killed me! He then thought of his mother, alone in a nursing home. I may never have been able to see her again, he realized causing his crying to intensify.
Slowly the crying subsided and was replaced by shivers of cold. In his panic he realized he never put his jacket back on, it was probably still out in the clearing. There’s no chance I’m going to get it back, he thought grimly. He slowly gathered his things; he found that his legs were not wanting to work properly. Eventually he made it inside and locked the door tight, then double and checked it. He went to his room and collapsed on the bed, hoping that maybe it was all a dream and when he woke up none of it really happened. But that night he never truly fell asleep. He lay there, his eyes wide open with fear as every gust of wind against the house sounded like the beast’s howl. Every creak of the old wooden house sounded like it slowly creeping towards his bedroom. Every time he closed his eyes he pictured the wolf, its bloodstained mouth opened wide as it lunged at him.
The next day he woke up -- is it really waking up if you never truly slept? Leon sat up in bed and for a brief minute he was able to think that it was all a dream. When he looked down however, he saw he was still in his mud and blood splattered hunting clothes. The realization came crashing down on him, his head became light, and he wanted to just lay back down and fall asleep so he didn’t have to deal with reality. Slowly however he began to regain control of himself, realizing he had to do something he began to think of what to do next. “No one will believe me. I wouldn’t even believe me if I hadn’t witnessed it.” He could go to the police, but without proof they probably wouldn’t do anything, how could I prove that I’m not insane. He gave a small laugh, “I’m not even sure that I’m not insane.” If only I had managed to get a picture. He paused, having a sudden realization, “My trail cameras! Surely they would have gotten a picture of it. Then everyone will have to believe me.” He grabbed his phone, rapidly searching for the app. It took him a long time; he opened each camera’s memory and began searching through the seeming endless picture of wildlife.
After fifteen minutes of searching through countless pictures Leon let out a gasp of surprise. He found it, there looking up at him from his phone was the beast cloaked in darkness, barely visible in the background of a photo except for its red eyes, which seemed to pierce through the picture and into his soul. His blood turned to ice just by looking at it, the memories of the previous night’s horrors came flooding back, renewed fresh in his mind.
He got out of bed, deciding to go to the police. He hurriedly got dressed, finally discarding the dirty and bloody hunting gear he had forgotten to take off the night before. He ran to the door and grabbed his keys off the entrance table. He paused momentarily, observing himself through the hall mirror. He looked like a train wreck. His brown hair was wild and stood up in several places, his green eyes were red and puffy, dark bags hung under them. His face still had splotches of mud and dirt on it.
“I look half crazy,” he said aloud. He shook his head, no time to beautify himself now. He ran out to his truck and headed off to the police station. The journey into town took about fifteen minutes, the entire trip Leons head buzzed with questions that he had no answer to. What is that thing doing in my woods? How did it get there? Where did it come from? Is it only nocturnal or does it hunt during the day? Suddenly a memory flashed before his eyes, right before he reached the deer he had looked up at the sky, admiring the full moon.
His blood ran cold “It’s a werewolf, but that’s impossible.” He pushed the pedal down harder, thinking the faster he could get to the police the better.
Before long he stood in front of the large brick building lined with black and white squad cars. How can I explain this to the cops without sounding insane, that’s a hard ask considering the state I’m in. They’ll have to believe the picture; its hard proof, he told himself.
He walked into the lobby; it was surprisingly empty of people other than the secretary. He attempted to calmly walk up to the front desk. There is no sense trying to freak her out before I tell her my problem.
“Hello!” The secretary brightly said as he approached. He could feel her eyes scanning up and down his body from the unkempt hair to his dirty boots. “How can we be of service today?”
“Well,” Leon said with a shuddered exhale. “I need to speak to the chief; I have to report a savage wolf out in my woods.”
The secretary looked at him confused, “We don’t deal with wild animals, sir. You will need to contact the Rend City animal control; they will be able to help you.”
“No, you don’t understand. This isn’t just an animal.” He looked around with frantic eyes and leaned in, his voice barely above a whisper. “I think there is a werewolf among us.”
The secretary leaned away, her eyes wide with confusion and a hint of fear. “Werewolf? Sir, werewolves do not exist. Are you sure it wasn’t just a regular wolf and maybe you mistook it…”
“No!” he exclaimed cutting her off, why wasn’t she getting it? “I know what I saw. Look I have a picture, see!” He shoved the phone in her face, the monster glared right in the secretary’s face. She gave a small yelp and shoved the phone away, clearly frightened.
“Okay sir! Yes, yes, I see it. I will go get the chief and maybe he can help you. Just go take a seat.”
“Thank you so much,” Leon replied, his eyes wild. Finally, she listened, he thought with a hint of malice. I know it sounds crazy, but I saw it. It’s real.
The secretary walked down the hall towards the rear offices. He heard the soft knock on the door and the sound of distant voices. There was a brief pause then the voices continued, this time a little fainter. Leon’s heart skipped a beat as footsteps began to approach. What if he doesn’t believe me? From around the corner Chief Ward appeared followed by the secretary who appeared to be keeping her distance. Chief Ward was an impressive figure, tall, blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a blue uniform that sported a shiny gold badge. It was no wonder that he was elected in a landslide, his mere presence seems to radiate confidence.
“Howdy!” He called over, his eyes moving up and down taking in Leon’s disheveled appearance. “I hear you have a werewolf problem.” He said, a ghost of a smirk hung on his lips.
“Yes officer, I was out hunting last night and shot a deer. As I went to go get it, I heard something following me, something I have never heard in my woods before. I dressed the deer and then I went and got my side-by-side. When I came back the deer was gone, and I was chased out of the woods by this!” He cried holding up the picture. The secretary had walked backwards several paces, wishing to put even more distance between herself and Leon.
“Easy there.” Ward said, his eyes squinting at the photo. “Let’s calm down now, there’s no need to get alarmed Mr.?”
“Campbell, Leon Campbell.”
“Campbell?”
“Yes sir, now will you listen…”
“You work over at the tire plant on 52, don’t you?”
“Yes but…”
“Ahh, yeah I know you.” The chief said, his eyes suddenly filled with an understanding and not one that looked promising. “I have a buddy who works out there, I’ve heard about you.” He said the last part with a smile that Leon didn’t care for. It wasn’t a friendly smile, rather a humorous one where the joke was at his expense.
“Okay great, I don’t really care about that now.” Leon answered angrily. “Can you help me?”
Ward raised his eyebrows “Let me get this straight, you were out hunting and killed a deer. You cleaned up the deer and went to get your side-by-side and when you came back the deer was gone. Then a werewolf attacked you and chased you out of the forest?”
“Yes, this one right here.” He once again held up the dreadful image.
“Well to be honest with you that doesn’t look like much of a werewolf to me.” The chief said, taking another look at the photo. “It looks like a guy dressed up to look like a wolf.”
“No!” he cried in indignation; how does that look like a guy in suit? “It was real! It was howling and growling at me, it was well over a foot taller than me!” Leon exclaimed, a manic expression coming over his face.
The secretary by this point was clearly convinced that Leon was utterly insane, and she excused herself to the other room, desperate to leave his presence.
“Listen, I’m not sure what you are playing at here, but I don’t find it very funny. You’re scaring Ms. Hunt to death and pissing me off.” The chief had suddenly become very serious, he no longer had that air of humor about him.
“Please, you’ve got to believe me.” Leon said; a note of desperation hung in his quivering voice.
“I know who you are, Campbell.” Ward said suddenly, anger flooded his voice. “I know you’re a bit crazy. That’s what my friend tells me, that’s what all your coworkers think! Now listen to me, I don’t know if this is some kind of game to you, but I don’t have time for this. Elias Vincent wandered off last night and no one can find him. His wife is worried sick, plus I’m supposed to be helping out in some suicide investigation over in Sesser, so I don’t have time to listen to some nutcase ramble on about werewolves.”
Leon eyes began to swim with hot tears, how could a cop say this to him when he needed help? “I am not a nutcase!” He screamed, Leon finally losing his cool completely. “I was almost mauled to death last night and you don’t give a shit about it! You have got to help me stop this thing! Who knows who else it may attack?” A sudden realization dawned on Leon; his face fell slack. “Maybe it got Elias.”
Ward brought himself up to full height, his presence turned from reassuring to fiercely intimidating “I want you out of this building right now! And do not come back unless you have an actual emergency.”
“But...”
“NOW!” Ward bellowed, his face red and spit flying out of his mouth.
Leon stood stunned; how could they not even bother to help him? He turned and walked out his head hung low; his footsteps echoed sadly as he walked away.
He sat back in his truck feeling sick. His mind racing over different possibilities with each becoming less desirable as the previous. Maybe I should just ignore it, maybe it’ll move on, and I won’t ever have to see it again. But what if it doesn’t move on? What if it decides to live on my land, then what? I won’t be able to go out there again, unless… “No, no I couldn’t possibly do that.” But if I don’t face it who knows what damage it could do, it sounds like it may have killed Elias. Who knows who else it could go after next, or who it may have already killed.
Leon’s face slackened as he finally accepted what he must do. “I’ve got to kill it.” The words seemed to hang in the air, ringing in his ears. Panic crept into his heart, all along he knew what must be done but now he had to face the music. How would I kill it though, I’d need silver bullets. But who would have those? His ammo supplier Arthur would be his best bet, but I highly doubt he would have that, Leon thought grimly. They aren’t exactly in high demand.
A short drive later Leon arrived at the small building that housed Arthur’s Guns and Ammo. It wasn’t anything to look at, barely bigger that a large shed. The weathered sign on the door indicated he had been in business for over forty years.
Leon walked in and was immediately greeted by Arthur’s booming welcome.
“Leon! Good to see ya boy! My word what happened to ya? You look like hell.”
Arthur was always a laugh; even though he was seventy-five he didn’t look a day over fifty. His was still as spry and lively as a man half his age. This was probably due to his military training, hell after his time in Vietnam, Leon was sure he could survive anything. The only giveaway to his age was his hair which was stark white. He was a shorter guy, but his personality made him seem like a giant. He was always cracking jokes and you rarely saw him without a smile on his face.
“It’s been a rough night.” Leon said with his best attempt at a casual smile. He looked over the racks of guns and ammo hoping to see a sign saying something like ‘Silver Bullets! Perfect for werewolves!’ Sadly, he seemed to be out of luck. “Say Arthur you wouldn’t sell silver bullets, or anything coated in silver, would you?” Leon’s face grimaced. “Just asking.” Luckily Arthur had his back to him and didn’t notice.
“Silver? What are ya trying to do kill a werewolf? Ha!” his voice resonated with laughter. He turned around, his massive grin fading as he saw Leon’s downcast face. “Is everything okay son?”
Leon drew a shaking breath. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. Chief Ward didn’t, he kicked me out of the station.”
“Ah what the hell does he know, lousy piece of shit.” Arthur growled. “Go on and tell me, I may be more understanding than ya think.”
“Well…” Leon said, his voice trailing off, unsure of what to say. I’ve known Arthur for years and the last thing I want is for him to think I’m crazy. Leon bit his lip, then said. “Last night I was attacked by a werewolf.” He braced himself for Arthur to recoil, to take a step back much like that secretary. Much to his surprise, Arthur hardly flinched he looked almost unconcerned with this revelation.
“Out at your place?”
He was completely taken aback and after a second of disbelief he stammered out. “N-n-no. Out in my woods, I was out hunting. Look I have a picture!” He held up his phone, the monster glared out from the screen. Arthur examined the picture carefully, his eyes narrowed before suddenly recoiling. His face began slack and white, his whole body gave a shudder.
“Th-This is what ya saw?” Arthur said in a panicked voice. Leon nodded solemnly.
“That’s not a werewolf, son, that there is something far worse.”
“Wait what? You believe me?” Leon exclaimed, utterly perplexed.
“Yes, I believe ya and that there isn’t a werewolf.” He said with an ominous tone. “That is a servant of Dulmog.
The whole world went quiet. Leon could no longer hear the traffic outside or any noise inside the shop. The room seemed to grow darker, and the shadows grew larger just at the sound of the name.
“What is that...” For some reason, that didn’t seem like the proper thing to say.
A dark look fell over Arthur’s face. “Dulmog is an ancient demon of darkness. He’s been known as by many names The Dark One, The Boogeyman, the Man from the Shadows.”
A shiver ran down his spine, Leon opened his mouth to speak but the words died in his throat.
Arthur continued “Dulmog has been around for centuries, probably longer than this here country. Maybe even since our Lord walked the earth. He dwells in a realm parallel to our own. It’s a land where no light exists, and a dark fog covers all that resides there. That’s where your wolf came from.”
“From another realm?” Even after his experience the previous night he still felt a sense of disbelief.
“Yes, that is one of Dulmog minions.”
“How can you tell?”
“Its eyes.” He gave a short nod. “All of the beasts from that realm have blood red eyes, including Dulmog itself. And because that’s not the first one I’ve seen.”
“What!? How do you know all of this?”
“It’s a long story and nonimportant story,” he replied, giving a wave of his hand. “To keep it short, during my tour of ‘Nam I became friendly with some locals who told me of a demon that had been stalking their midst during the war. They told me a shadow would come to them in the night and would consume one of them, leaving only screams behind. After I got home, I searched all over the world trying to find information about this demon, I was fascinated by the story. I managed to track down a book that explained the legend, except it wasn’t just a legend. It stalks people, mentally torturing them until it can bring them to his realm where they are hunted to death by him and his servants. I met a couple who lost their little girl and her babysitter one night, I can’t be sure that he did it, but it sounds an awful lot like his work.” Arthur gave a shudder, clearly disturbed talking about this.
Leon stood stunned. The room grew colder and colder as they talked sending shivers all over his body. “But why is this thing in my woods? How did it get there?”
Arthur shook his head. “That I don’t know. Sometimes they come into our world, he sends them and tells them to bring people back to him when he gets too lazy to do it himself. Sometimes they manage to find their way out on their own.”
“Does it summon them back?” Leon asked, dreading to hear the answer.
“Sometimes, sometimes he lets them stay and doesn’t bother getting them. From what I’ve heard they will sometimes hunt for just a night, sometimes they stay for months, even years. You can’t ever be sure. You just never know,” Arthur admitted.
“Years?” Leons eyes widened with fear. Arthur nodded gravely.
“I’m going to try to kill it. Do you know how to?”
Arthur looked troubled by this, though not surprised. “I figured as much once ya asked about silver bullets. I do know how to, and better yet.” He looked around, lowering his voice. “I have the weapon to kill it with.”
With a hushed voice Leon replied, “What weapon?”
“A sword, made of blessed Damascus steel. It’s said to be hundreds of years old, there are these engraving on it that apparently are runic signs meant to ward off demons.”
Leon’s face was contorted in utter shock. “How long have you known all of this? How did you get all of this?”
“Now’s not the time for storytelling.” Arthur answered, although the look in his eyes hinted at a much deeper and darker story. “Here’s what we’ll do. They only come out at night; they don’t like the sunlight much, it burns them. So, I’ll bring the sword to your place then we’ll go out together just as it turns dark.”
“Whoah, you can’t go with me!” Leon cried, “I don’t want you getting hurt and besides you’re…” his voice trailed off, realizing what he almost said.
Arthur’s eyes narrowed. “I will be fine, besides I’m the one who knows how to kill these things. Ya need me out there.”
Leon considered telling him no, forcing him to stay at home safe. But then the image of the beast burned in his mind again. If he really does know how to kill these things then, I would need his help.
“Okay, I suppose I do need your help.”
“Perfect!” his voice rang with excitement and his eyes burned with a weird sort of fiery glee. “Go home and rest up, you’ll need it. I’ll be over at 4:30.” @
“Some rest.” Leons voice dripped with sarcasm. He spent the last three hours just lying in bed eyes wide open staring at the ceiling. He was clutching a pillow to his chest like a mother would clutch a baby. He was frightened of what he saw when he closed his eyes, the beast seemed to be mocking him every time his eyes shut.
BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ
With a sigh he leaned over and smacked the top of his alarm clock, much harder than necessary. The LED lights said it was 4:15, Arthur was due soon. He stood up and began getting ready. Everything seemed surreal to him. Every sound he heard was muffled, almost as if he was hearing it through earplugs. The only constant sound he heard was a slight ringing to which he had no explanation. Everything was moving in slow motion, the universe itself may have been trying to delay the upcoming hunt for his own sake.
“This is one hunting trip I’d rather pass on.” Leon giggled; he didn’t know why but he did. There was nothing to be laughing at, but he couldn’t stop laughing. “HAHAHA!” The stress and fear came pouring out of him in the form of a maniacal laughter, perhaps his sanity was finally leaving him. An outsider passing by might have thought a lunatic was inside, and they wouldn’t be far off. The realization of what he was about to do was too much for his mind to handle.
Knock Knock Knock
“Jeez!” he yelped, his laugher dying instantly. He shook his head like a horse shooing away flies, “Get a grip, you’re losing it.”
Arthur was at the door, if he heard any sign of Leon’s mental breakdown he gave no indication of it.
“Are ya ready?” he asked just as casually as if he was asking about a cup of coffee.
“No.”
“No one ever is, but truthfully how could ya ever be ready for what we’re about to do?”
The panic returned and his heart skipped a beat. Leon looked down and noticed the sword that Arthur held.
“Is that it?”
“Aye, it is.”
It was beautiful, the double-edged blade gleamed brightly in the fading sunlight. The hilt was a beautiful ashen color, and the blade was covered in strange markings and etchings. Those must be the ritual marks; I’ve never seen anything like it. Just by looking at it the panic began to seep away from his heart, the sword itself seemed to radiate a certain comfort and confidence that he desperately needed.
“Ya can feel it, I can see it on your face.” Arthur was examining Leon’s face closely.
“How is it doing it?”
“Magic.” He said in a matter-of-fact voice. “But that’s not important now. So, here’s the plan. We’ll need to lure it out to us, preferably a place where we won’t be easily snuck up on. You’ll need to bring your gun so you can shoot it with this.” He held up a shiny silver shot gun shell; it wasn’t like one Leon had seen before. “I handmade that myself, the slug is coated in silver. It won’t kill it, but it will hurt like a SOB. After you knock ‘er down I’ll go in and stab it in the heart with this.” He motioned with the sword.
Leon looked apprehensively at him, it all seemed much too simple. “You make it sound so easy.”
“Let’s just say I’ve had experience with these things and keep it at that.”
Leon shook his head, perplexed. What does he mean, has he killed one of these things before? He opened his mouth to question him, but the look on his face told him he shouldn’t probe anymore.
“Okay, we need to get out there before sunset. The last thing we need is for it to attack us out of position.”
Leon nodded in agreement, “I’ll finish getting ready.”
Within fifteen minutes both Leon and Arthur were sitting inside the UTV, speeding off towards the woods. They hardly spoke the whole ride; both were beginning to start feeling fear swell up inside.
Leon broke the ice, “How do you know all of this about this monster and the demon? I mean I ran into one of these monsters and then just happen to mention it to you. Then you tell me that you just so happen to know all about these things and even have the weapon to kill them? It’s a weird coincidence.”
Arthur sat for a moment; Leon could tell by the look on his face that he was calculating very carefully what to say. He opened his mouth, then closed it. He spoke, finally deciding on the proper answer. “I can’t get into the full story now. Believe me I want to, but there’s no time and I don’t want to make us more scared than we already are.” Leon’s face must have looked disappointed, or even angry because he hastily continued “Once we finish this, I’ll tell ya all I know and how I know it. But until then we’ve gotta worry about killing this thing.”
They rode the final part of the trip in silence both lost in deep thoughts. The sun was rapidly setting, casting shadows all around them. As they approached the forest an unnatural cold came over them. They looked out at the dark forest and sat in awe as it appeared to be alive. The trees swaying in the wind seemed to beckon them closer, almost as if it wanted to swallow them whole. Leon tried to force this thought out of his brain but it wouldn’t leave, like an itch that you just can’t scratch.
“Maybe it’s gone.” He said hopefully, in one last attempt to convince himself to turn around and go home to safety.
“No.” Arthur said softly, gazing out into the woods his eyes darting back and forth taking it all in. “No, it’s out there.”
“How can you tell?”
“I can feel it, and judging by your shaking ya can too. Come on, let’s get out there. We haven’t got much time now.”
Leon shuddered and began driving towards the dark forest. He flipped on the headlights; the forest was unnaturally dark despite the sun not having fully set yet. They came upon the same clearing where he met the monster just 24 hours before. Leon saw his hunting jacket laying on the ground it looked as if it had been sent through a woodchipper, there were shreds all over the clearing. He shuddered, thinking about how close he had been to receiving the same fate. Arthur noticed the jacket and stiffened.
“This’ll do. Okay, let’s get ready.” Arthur’s voice was barely above a whisper, Leon was reminded of his dad and how he used to talk when he would take him hunting. Except this time who is hunting who? The thought sent fresh waves of fear through his body.
Leon got out of the vehicle, his gun loaded and primed, ready to shoot. Arthur looked around, taking in his surroundings, the sword dangling to his side. He carefully walked over to him, “Leave the headlights on, we’ll need all the light we can get. Put your headlamp on too, you’ll need it.”
Leon obliged, the light emitting from his flashlight helped calm his shot nerves. “How will we get it to come here?”
“It’ll come. It will smell us if it already hasn’t. But there is something we can do to speed it up.”
“What’s that?”
“This.” Arthur reached into his pocket and pulled out a small knife. Just as Leon realized what he was doing and before he could say no, he sliced the knife along his forearm. Blood immediately began to ooze from the small wound.
“Are you crazy!?”
“They can smell blood from miles away.” He said, wiping the blade and sliding the knife back into his pocket. “Kinda like a shark, this’ll get it moving towards us. Now shush, we gotta be quiet and keep your ears open.”
It seemed like ages that they stood there, as silent as stones. The darkness grew around them as the sun fully relinquished control to the moon. He strained his ears, desperate to catch any sound of life. This night however, the forest was unusually quiet, he did not hear the chatter of squirrels or the swishing of bird’s feathers. The only sound came from the wind playing with the tree branches. Leon’s heart was racing, he didn’t like this quiet. He had to stifle himself multiple times from begging Arthur to just leave and go home. He didn’t know what was causing it but there was an unnatural presence in the forest, and it wasn’t just the wolf creature. There was something else that was causing his mind to fill with dreadful images and thoughts. He felt completely hopeless and weak, how could they possible kill a monster that was the size of a giant, much less with just a sword!
He jumped as a hand reached out and grabbed his arm. A scream rose in his throat before another hand covered his mouth, preventing its escape. “Listen, it’s coming.” his voice was quiet and hoarse. He could tell by his voice that Arthur was clearly as scared as he felt.
His eyes grew wide as he heard the low growling coming from the tree line. He looked around the edge, the light from his head looked like a search light at a high security prison. A sudden movement made him jerk the light over, just catching the beast’s tail before it slipped off into the darkness.
Leon’s breathing accelerated, he hadn’t felt this kind of fear in his whole life. His eyes strained as he scanned through the trees, desperate to catch a movement. The growling grew louder, it was moving closer. “Brace yourself,” came Arthur’s voice; a note of panic had crept into his tone.
The growling stopped; Leon frantically looked around casting the light in every direction. “Where did it...” was all he managed to say before he was flung aside like a ragdoll. The beast had leapt out of the woods and into the clearing, throwing Leon aside into a tree. He landed on the ground with a heavy thump, his head spun from the impact. Arthur backed up into the light of the headlights holding the sword high, his face contorted in fear but also a strange resolve. Leon attempted to get to his feet as the monster loamed over Arthur; the sword was the only thing keeping it back, it looked miniscule in comparison.
“Shoot it!” Arthur screamed over the sounds of the snarls. “Shoot it now!”
Leon’s head swam as he regained his footing, he looked around. The gun was nowhere to be found.
“AHHHH!!”
He looked over, the monster pounced on Arthur, the sword fell from his grasp as the monsters’ full weight fell on him. Even standing fifteen feet away Leon could hear his ribs crack and break. The monster slashed at his face; blood squirted out of the wounds. Arthur howled in pain as the monster continued slashing and pressing down on his chest. Leon was transfixed by the sight of the beast ravaging his friend, his brain was overcome with terror.
OWOOOO! The creature threw his head back and howled before biting down at Arthur’s chest. He managed to catch its jaws with his hand, his amazing strength at such an old age helped fend off the monster’s attack, but he wouldn’t be able to hold if off for long.
“Help me.” He wheezed. His face turned towards him; the claw marks looked terrible in the headlights.
Leon spotted the discarded sword, laying ten feet away. He regained control of his legs and ran towards it stumbling and tripping as he went. He grabbed it just as the beasts’ teeth sank into Arthur’s chest. His friend’s pained scream hung in the air. The world began to move in slow motion, Leon grasped the swords handle and ran at the beast, he raised the sword over his head. In retrospect he swore the runes had been burning a bright blue intensity, driving back the darkness and giving him strength. In one swift motion he brought the sword down right into the beast’s heart, feeling it slide right between the monsters’ ribs.
The wolf threw its head back and howled in pain, it stood up to full height and shook Leon off, the sword coming out with him. The monster fell backwards crashing into trees, shaking its head so violently it looked like it might fly off. The monster turned his eyes on Leon and began stumbling towards him, bent on revenge.
Leon got to his feet, sword in hand, bracing himself for its attack. With a howl of fury, it launched itself at him. With a shout Leon thrust the sword forward, right into the beast’s chest. The two fell to the ground with a thud. The monster writhed on the ground, whimpering and howling. Leon crawled away from its flailing claws, wiping away the black blood that was pouring from its wounds. He crawled to Arthur and the two watched the beast in horror. The monster grasped at the sword’s hilt and pulled it out causing it to have renewed screams. It got to its feet and tried to stumble back at Leon, eyes burning red eyes filled with hate.
The monster made it three steps before falling to its knees. It looked up at the sky one last time and let out a hellish screech. It was a sound that was sure to haunt his dreams until the day he died, something that was completely demonic and alien to this plain of existence. The monster then fell forward and breathed its last.
Leon sat holding Arthur as he wheezed slowly, his lungs filling with blood. He sat, transfixed by the dead beast before snapping back to his senses. “Arthur, Arthur are you okay?”
“I’ve been better.” He admitted with a cough, blood sprayed Leon’s face.
Still shaking by what just occurred he stood up, “I’m getting you to the hospital.”
With his remaining strength he picked his friend up, wincing as he let out a gasp of pain, and carried him to the vehicle. He turned to get inside when a sudden glint caught his eye, the sword. He grabbed it and took one last look at the wolf creature. In a way it reminded him of the deer he had shot just the day before. Only this time he did not feel the usual remorse that came with a kill, this didn’t deserve it. Leon turned away and hopped in the side-by-side, it started on the first turn of the key before speeding out of the woods and to safety.
In their hurry to leave neither of them noticed the dark fog that had began to pour into the clearing. The foul-smelling fog rose over the body of the creature until it was no longer visible, completely ingulfing it. The fog left just as quickly as it came, taking the body with it. The only thing it left behind was the sound of a demonic laugh that rang through the forest.
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