The Dread - new associations

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The next morning the rest of the group rose with anticipatory glee. They were excited and enthusiastic. Almost before Carl had given permission, the four lined up and loping toward the human’s small colony. I kept toward the back of the pack but moved forward when I was told to. Carl’s stench seemed to almost fill my nose. I had woken with him nearly on top of me and no matter how many times I tried to clear my sinuses, the smell remained with me turning my stomach and irritating me. I let the feelings fester as we ran.

Sunlight angled low, beginning to drop into the hollowed sections of rock when we arrived. I imagined a small girl like me up there just waking up and about to feel the same shot of adrenaline course through her as she heard screams all around.

The five beasts didn’t wait more than a moment before beginning their ascent. Four went straight toward the hole not doing anything to mask their approach. Carl headed toward the only entry and exit ready to cut off their escape route as soon as they realized the danger.

It didn’t take long. Within seconds I could hear shouts of alarm and the scampering of feet as people began to rush around. Gunshots poured down the side of the cliff picking off two of Carl’s men. The bodies fell to the floor of the canyon and lay still. I watched them fall and stared at them in awe. My mortality became very clear, but the feat gave me a shred of hope for the humans. Their weapons, at least, were effective against us.

Almost as soon as the thought floated through my brain. more things came flying down the cliff. Guns landed roughly on the rocks. A few discharged but most simply bounced and lay still. I stared at these new additions like I had stared at my fallen comrades. My hope began to die. A few guns were followed by their screaming owners. I watched the humans freefall toward me and then glanced toward the creatures. Carl and the others had disappeared from sight and screaming led me to believe that they were fully engaged. Without a thought, I moved into position and caught the first falling human. With a grin, I set his hysterical form on the ground where he began furiously clawing away from me. Ignoring him, I turned my attention to another falling form.

I caught and dropped two more humans to the rocky ground and then looked up to see Carl watching me angrily. I felt my heart drop in my chest; at the same time, my smile died.

Carl was already halfway down the cliff’s face by the time I realized my danger and I turned to run as soon as I did. With a howl of rage, he jumped the remaining distance, landing hard enough to shake the ground around me and send me toppling. I was still uneven on my feet and my new gait and stance caught me off guard when I wasn’t actively thinking about it. My leader dove on me and I knew I was dead. It didn’t matter anymore if I fought back, I would still be dead.

Something inside me snapped. I recognized it later as the last portion of human fear, but at the time, it only meant that I stopped caring. With a howl of rage loud and strong enough to match his, I turned and started to attack. I used my thickened nails to dig into his flesh. I used my elongated limbs to send him flying backward. I tried to picture myself as an animal and reacted as they would. Sophia, my cat, always curled around gripping me tightly with her front paws and using her back paws to kick viciously at my unprotected flesh. It was a self-defense mechanism for when I was too rough with her, but I used it now grabbing and locking him in place while I kicked as hard and as fast as I could.

He was stronger, that much was obvious, but my counterattack caught him by surprise. Like a maddened bull, he shoved us apart and drew back, circling me on all fours. His brows lowered and blood dripped from his jaws. I could only be sorry that the blood wasn’t his. I swore that it soon would be.

With another howl, I leaped forward, picturing myself as a mighty leopard aiming straight for his jugular. With a flick of his arm, he sent me sprawling to the side and dove on top, gnashing his teeth toward my throat while I pushed at him.

There was nothing I could do. He was heavier, faster, and stronger. He had ten times more practice at using this body than I did. My mind raced for an advantage. I sorted through anything I had ever learned about the human body. Though changed, I was still sure our weaknesses would be similar. Thinking along those lines, I let go of his jaw with one hand and punched as hard as I could for his elbow, effectively knocking his arm out from under him. He fell sideways with a grunt of surprise and rolled away from me. When he rose to his feet, he had a slight limp.

I kept my advantage, moving in to snap viciously at him again. This time he let me come and locked my shoulders with his arms bowing my head between his chest and mine. I felt myself whimper in pain and recognized the animalistic sound. Fear and dread struggled for dominance. I was no longer human, but I was becoming more animal by the minute. The thought terrified me, nearly diverting my thoughts from my situation.

Jaws clamped down on my back and I screamed in pain, pushing forward and knocking us both to the ground. I felt a moment of dizziness as my neck bent in an awkward position and then I shook my head clear and rolled away from him.

Carl’s breathing was labored. I could see his eyes clouded in pain. He must have landed wrong. Without waiting for more, I slammed my hand home on his throat and squeezed as hard as I could. His arms automatically jumped to grab mine but his grip was weak. I watched with sick satisfaction as his eyes rolled up into his head, but before I could have the satisfaction of his limbs going limp, I was flying through the air with another beast on top of me. The last two of our group had come to their leader’s aid, knocking me from his nearly dead body. They rose to their full height above me and glared down in anger.

The first lifted a hand to smash me into the ground, but several gunshots sent him flying. I looked at the humans in surprise. They stood in a small terrified pack and pointed the muzzles of their beaten guns in our direction. To be honest, I was surprised the weapons had fired. Surprised or not, they were already moving for their next target and I felt fear.

The only remaining Beast turned tail and ran for his life. I didn’t wait either. I dove after him slamming him into the ground. He was the oldest in the group and it was easy to see that the growth spurt had not been kind to him. His gait was uneven at best. In his recklessness, it was now hazardous.

We went down in a heap and I swiping at him in my imitation of bear swings. I pictured the image of Carl’s face right next to his and swung for that instead, increasing both the momentum and power of each attack. Within minutes he was senseless and I dropped him to the ground and stood, winded.

Another shot rang through the air and I dropping instinctively as I looked up.  The humans were closing in. Their numbers had nearly double now and they had just finished off Carl. Half of their weapons were already rising in my direction. With a yelp, I took off, loping on all fours, toward the nearest cover. A few shots followed me but only one grazed my arm and I ignored the pain as I ran. It was nothing compared to my recent growth spurt.

When I finally stopped running I had no idea where I was. I could smell human passage but it wasn’t recent; several days old at least. The thought comforted me for some reason. Humans had guns, creatures had super strength, and I had nothing. With a self-pitying sigh, I dropped to the ground and curled my long arms underneath me. Within seconds I was asleep, but my rest was disturbed and broken. Fears and hunger crawled to the surface in shifts, sending me groaning and rolling.

My goal was met, I had killed my brother’s murderers but where did that leave me? I felt strangely unsatisfied by the effort. I had once decided to commit suicide when I was done with my mission but I didn’t feel ready to die. With another groan, I rolled over for the millionth time and forced myself back to sleep.

In the morning I woke and stared glumly at the reflection in a nearby river. I could still see the Lacey whose picture had graced the local newspaper as the track captain for our high school, but she was fading fast.

My hair was thickening, creating a shadow across my jaw and up to my ears. The same dark brown fur crept down my arms and legs. Within a few more days I would be covered. The thought made me tremble. To become a monster was one thing, to retain my understanding of who and what I had been was quite another. I had assumed that I would lose my humanity like the rest of the creatures had done but I could see now that it was a choice.

I wondered, vaguely, if infighting within the original groups had been over the course of the Beast’s future. Were they deciding between becoming monsters and remaining men? Obviously, the monsters had won the fight.

Another groan, another sigh, and then I pushed myself back to my feet and started moving. If I wasn’t going to be able to kill myself, then I needed to find something to eat. I spent half of the morning following various scents to their destination, noting the difference in texture and smell. Bigger creatures were easier, of course, they had more sweat. Smaller creatures, though, were slightly more distinctive. Between the two, I found my first target in about an hour.

Being spring, several potential meals had young nursing or following after them. I turned away from these with a grunt of growing annoyance and finally settled on a mare without the smell of another, smaller Beast around her. By this time I was famished and didn’t give it another thought as I tore her throat out. Quickly and easily, I dug into her body using my long fingers to tear open her soft belly and then I went for the meat. Almost as soon as it touched my lips I was spitting it from my mouth as if I’d just eaten dirt. The taste was beyond foul. Panic rose within me; were humans really the only things I could eat?

I looked again at the beast and sighed, then lowered my nose and began to sniff. My mouth watered. That was a good sign. I felt my spirits rise. Carefully, I sniffed around lifting various limbs and finally narrowed it down. Logically I was disgusted. I closed my eyes and made a face, then took my first bite of the small intestine. The taste was magnificent. Hungrily, I sucked in more of the stuffed tubing, ignoring the chalky taste of grass and leaves. Like an overly large spaghetti noodle, I sucked the last of the piece through my teeth and then stared at the carcass greedily. I wanted more. Without waiting, I leaned forward and grabbed another handful and then another. I stuffed the warm, wet organs into my mouth as fast as I could, swallowing them nearly whole. In half an hour the carcass lay hollow and steaming before me and I dropped back onto my haunches and licked my lips. I felt satisfied and content. Humming in an oddly guttural way, I dragged the remains of the carcass toward a bear’s den and dropped it. The bear heard the noise and came out to investigate, freezing when he saw me. I smiled and walked away. I felt better than I had in a week. It felt nice to do something for someone else too, even if it was a bear.

That night I made my way through a few more areas, circling around my old town and finally came to rest in the lower portions of the mountains. The area was quiet and untouched by either human or Beast smells. With a contented sigh, I lay down and fell asleep.

By the next morning, I had decided to make the area my new home. Game thrived in the untouched area and lots of growth suggested that it wouldn’t change anytime soon. No humans meant no reason for other creatures to come this way and that meant I would be at peace. It would be a lonely life, there was no doubt of that, but I was convinced I could handle it.

The euphoria lasted until midday. By then boredom had kicked in. I wandered aimlessly through the area, picking viciously at trees and throwing rocks as hard into the distance as I could. In an attempt to divert myself, I decided to take a run. Running had always been an outlet.

To start, I chose an easy, manageable pace. About an hour later, I increased my speed to a dead sprint. The wind pushed past, giving me a free-flying feeling. I continued to sprint much longer than I had ever been capable of doing as a human and then I dropped back to my easy pace and continued. I had covered a hundred miles already but I felt like I could cover much more. Once again, I pushed myself and circled lazily back toward my starting spot. The circle I created could have housed a dozen small towns and yet I still smelled nothing of human or Beast. The though invigorated me. I felt free.

The next morning I made my run again solidifying the boundaries of my new home. In one day I could cover a circle with a radius of one hundred and seventy-five miles, roughly. Instinctually, I began marking the perimeter as I went, rubbing myself against trees and bushes to leave whatever scent or evidence I could. No one would pass this way without knowing they were coming into my territory. The scratch of bark felt good too, breaking up my soft skin and helping the thickened hair to push through. I was nearly covered now. The only portions of my body left untouched were my eyes and the bridge of my nose. My reflection amused me, reminding me of my summer meets when the tan lines from my sunglasses gave me a similar, inverted appearance.

With a guttural chuckle, I turned from my reflection and splashed my way from the pond. I was still cheerful. Already I was considering hobbies that would help me thrive on my own. The first, of course, was fashioning weapons. My fingernails were gritty and dirty from being used for rough jobs. It would be nice to replace them with a homemade knife or sharpened stone. Beyond that, I considered attempting to raise sheep. I could think of plenty of uses for their wool and the ready food source wouldn’t be bad either. Of course, learning to use human-sized sheers with my massive hands was going to be a challenge, but I had confidence in myself.

Happy in my plans, I lay down for my second night and fell into an easy sleep. The rest of the week passed similarly. I found what I needed to create my tools and had my first knife sharpened to perfection. It was just in time too, I was starting to get hungry again.

Carefully, I slunk through the forest searching out the smells I wanted. My mouth drooled excess saliva. Inwardly, I chided myself with a reminder not to wait so long next time. Six days should be my new max.

The smell of a nearby elk caught my attention and I dropped low, moving forward at a careful pace. I tried to hone in the smell of him, reluctant to attempt a chase of an unwilling meal. When I finally caught sight of his antlers, he lifted his long head into the air as he circled his head, cautious. He sensed me but had yet to find me. I froze and watched until his head lowered back to the watering hole and I lifted onto the balls of my feet ready to pounce.

The whistle of wind was my only warning  before the elk pitched sideways with an arrow in the base of his brain.

I spun, shocked. I had headed further into my area than normal but the smell of humans hadn’t reached me. Yet there they were. Two human males lifted from the forest floor and gave each other a high five before moving forward. I felt myself freeze in surprise as the second of the pair turned in my direction. I recognized his face.

“Wade!” I almost rose to my feet but the sound of my own voice stopped me. Even still, the humans paused and dropped just slightly hearing the sound of something dangerous but unsure of where it came from.

I lowered myself to the ground and felt my first wave of remorse in weeks. Wade and I had been a couple. Only my younger brother Sam had known the strength of our relationship and that was only because he had walked in on Wade’s proposal. Even my parents hadn’t ever known of our plans to marry as soon as I graduated. Wade, at two years older, worked for his father with plans on going to college. I imagined that those goals had disappeared, but his drive obviously hadn’t. He’d found other humans and created a new life.

Even as my depression rose, I felt relief for him.

When the world had stayed quiet for long enough, the two decided they were safe enough to continue and moved toward their prize. I remained frozen as they sliced and skinned the beast. Both men were quick and efficient in their efforts and within an hour they began packing the meat back toward wherever they had come from. I waited patiently for them to leave while I sat and drooled. They’d left the intestines and innards for other animals to eat. Well, that was my new definition. As soon as the noise of their movements disappeared I moved forward and filled myself with everything they didn’t want.

When I was satiated, I returned to my stream and cleaned up. Strangely unsettled, I soon found myself tracking the fading smell of the man I had once loved. It wasn’t hard. His smell, the smell of the other unbathed human, and the smell of elk meat left a path wide enough for a blind Beast to follow.

It took the majority of the day to reach them because of my slow pace. As the sun fell from the sky I found them hidden inside the lower ranges of the mountains. Their fires were well hidden leaving only a small slice of smoke in the night sky. It took me several minutes to find the entrance. Even with my heightened sense of smell, the humans had traipsed all over the area and that didn’t give any clues.

It was a small girl that gave it away. Maybe fifteen, she slid from a hidden overlap of rock. She looked carefully and cautiously into the darkness passing over my unhidden form without a pause, then scampered down the rocks to their latrine. I watched again as she slipped back up the rocks and back into their home and then I pulled away.

I told myself I was happy that Wade had found more humans to live with. I felt a moment of concern for the group but they were well within the area I had taken as my own. As long as they remained within my boundaries there was no reason that any other Beast should find them. It made me instantly possessive about the area. I felt an undefinable need to protect my little herd.

I knew it was best if I didn’t come too near them. They had hunted with arrows but I had seen guns in the hands of many at the cave. This lot was not foolish enough to waste their important weapons on food when there were other options. I would become a holey pelt if they ever caught sight of me.

And yet I found myself hunched on the edge of the woods watching avidly as the small group worked the next day and each day thereafter. I knew joining them was impossible but I wanted to make sure they thrived. I wanted to see them happy. This concern did not extend to a girl named Vanessa who was blatantly making moves toward Wade, but for the rest of the humans, I felt a strong motherly compassion.

About midway through the third day of watching my new hobbies, I heard the sound I had been dreading most. The howl of a Beast drifted from only a few dozen or more miles away. It was close enough that even the humans heard it. Everyone froze; I joined them. A responding howl came from much closer and I felt my hackles rise.

“Humans.” The message passed between the two and I could make out at least one other with them.

Without thinking I lifted from my position and screeched as loudly as I could. “Mine. My territory. Get away!” I heard the nearby humans scream in terror. They’d never expected me to be so close, but I was gone in an instant; long before they could figure out how to react.

I tore through the forest at my full stride sending saplings flying if they got in my way. It took mere seconds to closed the tiny distance and I landed full on the obvious leader pinning him to the ground and snapping at his throat. “Mine. Mine. Stay away. This is my area, they’re my humans.”

He was as shocked as the rest of his pack but shoved me away and rolled to his feet with a growl. “We’re hungry.”

I hissed between my teeth pulled back to keep the entire group of four in sight. “Mine. Eat each other for all I care, but these are mine. Back off.”

He appraised me and then smiled eagerly. “If you are alone then you don’t stand a chance. We will kill you and take them, or you can give them to us and we’ll let you live.”

I grabbed the nearest female tweaking her neck sideways until she squealed in pain. His eyes widened. “Leave my area.”

“What gives you the right to take a territory for yourself, especially one so large?”

“So you found my border and you encroached anyway?” I growled low. “I should kill you just for that.”

He sauntered forward and his two females dropped onto all fours and began padding around me. I twisted the girl’s neck even more and felt her body tense. She let out another squeak of pain making the other three pause. The male’s teeth clenched. “Let her go.”

“Leave my area.”

All three grimaced toward me. “We’re hungry.”

“Then eat a deer. There’s plenty. Go north and find more humans. I don’t care what you do as long as it’s out of my area. This is mine. They’re my herd. You leave now or we will fight. I’ve killed larger packs than yours.”

I could sense a touch of fear in one of the females but the other two moved in. One thing our race hated was a challenge. The male lept first and I snapped the girl’s neck before reaching out to meet him. Using the image of Sophia, I rolled backward and kicked out with my hind legs slamming him into the nearest tree. He grunted, dropping onto his head as he scrambled to right himself.

His females hesitated with definite fear in their eyes now. Intent on using my advantage, I turned toward them and opened my mouth as wide as it would go. The bellow of enraged anger was more than I had expected and caused both to step back. Behind me, the male regained his feet and launched toward me intent on regaining his dominance. It didn’t work. I was in my element now and caught him in the air as I swung. Like a discus, I released him back toward the line of my territory. With each advance, I pushed the group further toward the line. Within minutes we were at the edge and I picked them up tossing them across. I paced the line at the edge of my self-marked area and growled toward them daring them to cross back over.

Even the male was cowed. They didn’t wait more than a minute before turning tail and running for the woods. I felt myself sigh in relief, though I had the feeling that I had made a mistake in allowing them to leave. Killing them was probably wiser. With sick dread, I moved back toward my normal haunts. How long would I be able to defend my little herd? How long could I protect them? I suppose I could trust them to defend themselves but that seemed overly optimistic.

When I reached my normal sleeping location on the bank of a small moving pond I dropped uneasily into my spot. It took me hours to fall asleep. I kept thinking that I was hearing the grunt of nearby Beasts or the screams of distant humans.

I woke in a near panic and felt the need to rush toward the human colony. A sigh escaped my lips as they came into view. They were wary but still alive. With gratitude to false nightmares, I dropped into the grass and fell instantly into a restful sleep. Hours later, my body felt revived, though the edge still clung to the back of my mind.

My fear for my flock had faded, and I lifted myself from the grass intent on a bath. Not fifty feet from me were the two hunters carrying their bows and loaded with meat. I was shocked that they had actually gone out hunting after hearing Beasts so close. They must have been desperate for food. The two hunters stopped dead as well and we stared at each other, uncertain of how to proceed. I decided to make the first move stepping cautiously backward and away from the human settlement. I lifted my arms defensively and continued to back away.

Their jaws dropped and the second one’s hand inched toward his gun. Wade just stared.

I took three more steps backward, intentionally putting a tree between us, then spun and took off into the trees. Two shots followed me but I had no concerns that they would hit me. For the next three days I stayed as far away from them as I dared. I stuck to my perimeter circling my area and reapplying my stench to the border. I included crude signs every mile or so warning away other Beasts. The words were in English and Spanish and the message was simple: “This land is claimed.” I thought of adding on a threat but knowing my new disposition I assumed that a threat would be taken as a challenge rather than a deterrent.

When I had covered the entire area twice, I pulled back into the center and checked on my little humans. They had started plotting out a garden area. Rough hoes and plows littered the ground and I watched in amusement as four males attempted to pull the plow through the unbroken ground. The dirt was clumpy and uneven. Topping that off with their obvious lack of coordination and within minutes the front two had slipped and fallen taking the remaining pair with them. I couldn’t help but laugh and dropped to the ground holding my belly. Heads spun and guns lifted but Wade and the other hunter rushed forward with arms raised. I pulled back from the edge and the danger and curiously watched them as they watched me. Could it be that they had noticed a difference between myself and the other Beasts? What did that mean?

After twenty minutes of watching each other, the humans cautiously began their work again. They made no additional progress, but it was obvious that they were going to be desperate. Not only were they struggling to find food now, but they could see ahead. A winter without food was a death sentence especially when snow would hide most of the potential vegetables and send the largest animals into hibernation. I continued to sit on the ridge and watch them as they worked. I felt my own fear for their safety mount. We were the least of their worries. If they didn’t get anything planted soon they were dead within six months.

The sluggish group finally gave up their attempts when the sun set and they could no longer see the field. Leaving their supplies out, unafraid of looters, they started to move toward their cave but froze. As one, they turned to look at where I still sat. I understood their fear, although it was unfounded. Pretending disinterest, I rose from my spot and turned away. I waited in the trees until the last squeezed into their cave for the night.

Even as the last slipped inside, he turned to look once more toward my previous position. It was as if they truly believed I didn’t already know all of their entrances and exits. I would have laughed if my worries weren’t in overdrive. I let the silence reign for nearly an hour until the sun was good and set before slipping into the clearing to look at their tools. Night vision was one of my new gifts and I used it now. With my additional strength and weight, I forced the ground open. It took only a second to realize that their plow would do nothing against the hard ground. Instead, I plowed first with my hands before coming back through with their primitive tools. It took most of the night but by morning I had de-rocked and cleared a section of land that felt large enough for their needs. It was significantly larger than they had initially sectioned off, but my mother canned food each summer to last our family through the winter and the size of their original plot had been no bigger than hers. Wade, at least, should have known better. As I tossed the last stone into the distance, the first muzzle appeared around the rock’s edge. I took off at top speed returning to my overlooking ridge. My curiosity drove me to watch them discover what I’d done. Again Wade was the first to notice me. I could see his mouth hanging wide. The rest of the group was just as amazed. I could hear their tiny human voices as they discussed it.

“Did she do something to the ground?”

“No, I think she dug it up for us.”

“Why would she do that?”

“She’s a monster, there’s got to be a reason for it. They eat us.” The older man thought for a moment, “That’s why she ran off the other day when she heard another set coming. We’re her food supply. She wants us to stay here and be fat and happy so she can pick us off when winter comes.”

“Do you think they’re that devious?”

A younger man, probably late twenties, smelled strongly of fear. “I told you about what happened to me. They’re smart. Don’t underestimate her. We’re nothing but food.” Whatever his experience, it had sunk deep into his bones. “We need to move right away. We need to leave here today.”

“Don’t you think she’ll see us packing up? She’s obviously smart enough to figure out what we’re doing. If she’s really after us for food she’ll do something to sabotage the move.”

I felt myself mewl sadly. I hadn’t realized how loudly the sound was until they looked up at me again.

“You can hear us can’t you?” Wade watched me like a hawk. Beside him, the other hunter’s hand twitched toward his weapon again.

I lifted myself slightly and nodded. There was no sense in lying.

The greatest proponents of leaving began cursing violently. Wade lifted his hand impatiently and shushed them before turning back to me. “How long have you been here? Make some sort of noise for each week.”

I thought for a moment and gave four small hoots.

A gasp of astonishment went through the group. The oldest man stepped swished his hands. “Go away. Leave here. The next time we see you we’ll start shooting without warning. We’re not fooled by you. This,” he gestured to the newly plowed field, “this will not provide food for you this winter.”

I allowed myself another sad mew before pulling back and disappearing over the ridge. I had no intention of leaving them unguarded but I had secretly hoped to get a better reaction for my service. I couldn’t say I blamed their distrust, my kind hadn’t given them much reason to think otherwise, but I had hoped that they would see the difference.

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Chapter 4 - New Friend