Beasts Exist Inside the Eyes of Man

Cantor woke up with the king of all headaches pounding away at her skull and a hard, rough surface under her. The stench of rotten meat hit her nose as she turned her head to the side with a groan. God, everything fucking hurt. Her stomach was turning from the stench as she gagged and tried to clear it from her airways.

Opening her eyes just made it worse as the light from the dusty windows nearly blinded her. No, she was not doing that again, not if she wanted to keep her eyes in one piece and perhaps the rest of her brain as well. Or rather, what was left of it.

Her memories were a little fuzzy as she tried to put together what had led to this situation. It only got worse, however, as she went to rub at her head only to find her hands tied fast. Rope, her mind supplied, tied by rope- behind her back. What-?

Cantor’s memories slammed into her like a landslide. She went through them like a checklist: walking to the grocery store with Bellium - check, noticing the creeper outside watching them - check, paying for groceries - trying to hurry to the car - putting groceries in the car - getting into the car - shit. She’d gotten Bellium into the car with his seat belt on; he was still having trouble with it when something hit her in the back of the head. Bellium screamed and the world went black. Fabulous. Now she was here with a motherfucker of a headache with her hands tied behind her back and no idea where Bellium was.

A sniffle caught her attention and she pried her eyes open again. Scratch that - she knew where Bellium was, and by God, whom did she piss off in a past life? What kind of creep kidnaps a fucking kid too? She knew the creeper had been aiming for her; she was eighteen after all, easy pickings in the mind of serial killers and rapists. she was sure. But to kidnap a five-year-old? Come on now! This had to be a cosmic joke. Bellium trying to stifle another sob told her it wasn’t. Fuck she needed a stronger curse word for this situation. Double fuck.

“Bellium?” she managed to croak out. God, her head felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to it. Actually, knowing the creeper that probably wasn’t too far off.

“C-Canny?” came the stilted reply. Damn, Bellium was definitely on the edge of a full-blown panic attack. She didn’t blame him in the least, she kind of wished she had that luxury, but she didn’t. Cantor needed to get them out of here and fast.

“Yeah Bel. It’s me.”

“Y-you’re o-ok?” Damn, so much for improving that stutter of his, looks like this was going to set him back for a while. He’d been making such good progress too.

“Yeah I’m fine Bel. Just a little uncomfortable is all. Do you - do you mind untying my hands?”

She heard Bellium shuffle closer as his little fingers began to work at the knots. Cantor winced a little as the ropes tightened into her skin a bit, damn, fucker had tied those tight, hadn’t he?

“S-sorry”

“It’s ok, you’re doing your best, you’re doing really good.” Cantor bit her tongue to hold in the wince as the ropes tightened again.

She had to resist the urge not to snap at him to go faster, remembering that little fingers weren’t meant to untie master level knots. If only her hands were free - well if they were then she would’ve already gotten herself and Bellium out of this situation. That is after her stomach stopped rolling in time with the pounding of her head.

Finally, the ropes on her hands fell free and she breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks Bel.”

“W-want me t-to do your l-legs too?” Bellium whispered fearfully.

Legs too - what? Cantor sat up with trepidation and pulled at her legs. Great, the creeper had tied her fucking ankles together too. Well she had to give him points for being thorough, even if she did want to break his face in three places.

“Nah, it’s alright I got it.” Cantor replied, reaching down and quickly untying the ropes.

That felt much better. Plus, one less thing to worry about now and if she was lucky the headache would disappear too. That would honestly be a blessing to last the ages.

“W-where are w-we C-Canny?” Bellium whispered, his eyes darting around the room like a startled rabbit.

“I don’t know Bel, did you - did you see the man who took us?”

Bellium nodded slowly, “He was scary looking.”

“Can you describe him for me Bel?”

“Was wearing C-C-Christmas s-squares. Really t-tall and big, and a h-hairy face. G-got scars too a-all over, and y-yellow teeth. He r-reminds me of the b-big b-bad wolf in l-little red riding h-hood. Are w-we going to get s-swallowed up t-too?” Bellium’s voice wobbled slightly.

He was about to cry, damn it. And what the hell was a Christmas square? She tried to remember but her head was pounding; she’d figure that particular identifier out later. First thing she had to do was put Bel off crying, if he started sobbing now and the creeper heard him... Cantor didn’t want to think of what would happen.

“Bel? Bel listen to me, please. You can’t cry right now ok? If you cry, he’ll come back and gobble us up for sure do you understand?”

Damn, that was cruel of her and she knew it, but it was the truth; Bellium had a set of lungs on him the likes of which she’d never seen - if he started crying now the creeper would definitely hear him and then they were really screwed.

Bellium coughed lightly but managed to strangle his growing sobs even as he shook like a leaf in the wind. Ok, one crisis averted, now to get out of here.

“Did you see where he went Bel?”

“O-outside, s-said he was going to g-go get h-his f-f-friends.”

Cantor winced; yes, they really didn’t need to meet Creeper from the Deep’s friends either. Cantor looked around the room quickly, it was mostly made of wood, some freaky looking tools hung on the walls and something that looked like a body was under a tarp in the corner. God almighty, please let that be a deer corpse and let Bellium not notice it. Bellium would scream for sure if he saw it. He had the softest heart she’d ever seen, there was a reason Grandfather, Dad and her never brought him on hunting trips.

“C-Canny?” Bellium whispered again, trying to wedge himself into her side.

“Hmm?”

“W-what’s all that r-red stuff? Is it p-paint?”

God damn it. Creeper from the Deep really needed to learn some hygiene, she nearly growled out as she looked back at the wall that Bellium had his eyes practically glued to. It was covered in dark red splotches and splatters, a human-esque outline the only clear space. Fantastic. She was going to pretend that one was a deer too. But fucking hell, what kind of mess had they managed to get into?

“Yea, it’s paint. The wolf-man must really like red huh?” she tried to joke it off, anything would do so long as Bellium did not figure out what all that red stuff was.

Bellium went quiet after that, Cantor still searching desperately around the room for something to get them out of this situation. Sure, she could take the bloody carving knife and put it into the fucker’s head, but she really didn’t want to go near the possible body in the corner. That was a last resort if she ever saw one. Checking the other side of the room proved fruitless as well: there was a bookshelf, but the thing looked nailed to the wall and all it had on it were some sick trophies that Cantor was loathe to identify, let alone touch.

There was some sort of rock on there that could work. She didn’t really want to touch it, but needs must. Staggering to her feet, Cantor moved over to the horror shelf and grabbed the side of the rock, a really big thing with a jagged edge - that was also covered in blood. Wonderful. It was a good thing she wasn’t squeamish, or her breakfast would have been all over the floor by now. Still a rock to the head was better than a carving knife to the face in any scenario, kind of like how the horror bookshelf was better than the possible body in the corner. Still she kept her eyes firmly away from the shelf that looked like it had a nest of hair on it. She definitely did not want to know.

“Ok Bellium here’s the plan,” Cantor began as she brought the oddly shaped rock over to the place they had been sitting. “When the wolf-man comes back in, I’m going to hit him with this, and I need you to run out the door as fast as you can. Don’t stop and don’t look back, ok?”

“B-but Canny - w-what about y-you?”

“I’ll be right behind you, I promise. Just don’t look back. Keep running, like- like tag. Yeah, it’s like a game of tag: the wolf-man is It, so you have to run from him and not get caught ok?”

Bellium, while slightly appeased by the idea of a game, still looked pale and shaky. She didn’t blame him, Cantor still wanted to just curl up in a ball and act like this was just a giant nightmare. She wasn’t nearly so lucky as that though, as they heard the loud thud of heavy footsteps appear. Cantor waved Bellium behind her as they perched right next to the door, the rock ready in Cantor’s hands. This wasn’t going to be pretty, though braining someone with a rock hardly ever was. Hopefully Bellium would be out the door and running before he saw what she was about to do. There was a reason she told him to not look back after all.

One step. Another. Another. Her heart felt like it was beating out of her chest as she waited, waited for that door to open and Creeper McCreeper to walk in. She’d only have one chance at this and if she missed, they were doubly screwed. One chance - she couldn’t miss.

Another step. And another. And another. Step. Step. Step.

Cantor nearly jumped out of her skin when the door swung open. She only glimpsed plaid - the Christmas squares Bellium must have been talking about - before she swung the rock down hard.

The scream was horrible. Cantor watched Bellium fly out the door and she tried to follow, only to have the creeper grab her wrist and yank her backwards. Oh hell no. How the hell did he get up after that? Forget that - how the hell was this fucker still standing! He was bleeding for crying out loud! She’d just hit him with a rock! Cantor screamed in more frustrated fear than anything before slamming her foot forward into the place no man wanted to be kicked. He went down still holding her wrist, until she brought her knee up into his nose with a satisfying crack. That loosened his hand up enough for her to struggle free, sending her bolting out the door after Bellium.

Cantor hit the woods at a sprinter’s pace, practically swallowing up the ground as she blew through the trees, catching up to Bellium easily. Cantor grabbed his hand and pulled him forward faster, not even stopping when he stumbled, just pulling him along until he got back up again. She did not want to be around when the creeper got back up, and definitely not within range when he decided to chase them. Neither of those options were good ones; their only chance was to run and run fast. She knew that and she knew it was risky. But if all else failed, just don’t look back and keep going.

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They’d managed to rest a bit in the hollow of a dead tree before the worst happened. Creeper McCreeper had fucking hunting dogs and boy, did they seem vicious. They’d caught up to them before Cantor could realize what was going on, trying to rip them to pieces as they flew towards her and Bellium like a never-ending storm.

Hellhounds. They looked like hellhounds. Black, scraggly fur with hate-filled eyes and too-big teeth. She did not want a piece of those in her arm, thank you very much.

She kicked one in the side when it got too close and then she was urging Bellium up and running. They were relentless and hateful. She wondered if they were even really dogs at this rate, they seemed more like creatures from the pit.

One of them snapped at Bellium and Cantor kicked it in the face, sending it howling back to its peers. They wouldn’t give up, she knew that much; hunting dogs never did, if these were even dogs at all. So, she just kept running and dragging Bellium with her, lashing out any one of the dogs that came too close. It was exhausting and she knew she was running on fumes, but it was either them or the dogs and Cantor would rather the dogs got the bloody noses and not her.

It felt like forever before they finally lost them; she watched as they faded back into the shadows when they hit a certain part of the woods. They looked - dare she say it - scared? Refusing to pass a certain boundary and crying like dying things with their tails between their legs. What the hell? It was definitely odd, but Cantor wasn’t the type to look a gift horse in the mouth, so to speak, and slowed their pace a little.

Bellium was struggling to heave in air by her side but he hadn’t complained yet. Either he was too scared, or he understood how dire the situation was. Cantor would bet on bits of both. Still, even she could use a rest at this rate, the running was tough on the both of them, and she felt like her heart was beating out of her chest. They’d walk for a bit and then when the dogs appeared again, they’d run for it - that was as much of a plan as she could come up with at this point.

Cantor felt like she’d fallen into a trance as they kept trudging forward. They couldn’t stay in one place, she knew that. The dogs may not like this part of the woods, but she doubted their master would care. And Cantor did not want to be in the presence of the creeper again. She’d had enough of that for a lifetime.

Avoiding that unsavory fate meant they had to keep moving, no napping or sleeping or resting - the most they got was a breather as they walked, Cantor keeping Bellium’s hand tight in hers so as not to lose him. He was starting to stumble something fierce but there was nothing she could do about it save carry him and even then, it would force them to go slower, which meant a chance of the creeper catching up and then they were back at square one.

Cantor forced her eyes open again; light was leaving the sky as the sunset rolled in. They’d been gone most of the day then, surely Grandfather or Dad had called the police by now, at least to say they were missing? But all Cantor could hear were birdsongs and dogs barking, not a single police siren around – wait, barking?!

That woke her up, and she ushered Bellium forward. He was exhausted and so was she, but they didn’t have a choice - it was eat or be eaten. Cantor finally knew how the deer felt on those hunting trips. It wasn’t something she wanted to experience again.

Listening closely, she froze, jerking Bellium closer to her side. The dogs sounded far away, like they were at the edge of the imagined barrier, refusing to go deeper. Part of her wanted to run again, run until she lost their howls to the wind.

But as she looked down at Bellium she knew he couldn’t make it. Hell, she could hardly make it any farther than a mile, maybe not even that - for Bellium, it would be hopeless.

Cantor plastered a small smile on her face as she squeezed his hand gently and urged him forward again.

“Just a little bit farther Bellium, then we’ll rest. We’ll rest for real, maybe take a nap too. Would you like that?” She asked quietly as Bellium looked up at her with wide eyes.

They had to rest; she knew that. If they didn’t, they’d fall down and be just as good as dead. The dogs didn’t want to enter this bit of the forest, so they’d be safe for now. She had to believe that, if only for the peace of her own mind.

“W-won’t they g-get us t-though? I-I don’t want to s-stop if they’ll-they’ll-" Bellium sniffled, voice barely raised above a whisper.

Cantor smiled sadly. She knew Bellium was terrified, she was too after all, but he was trying to be brave. He was really trying, and she couldn’t fault him for that.

“They won’t. I won’t let them get you Bel, don’t worry.” Cantor replied, looking up when she heard water.

There! It was already getting chilly with the dying light, but it would be harder for the dogs to track them if they went through the stream. It wasn’t a chance they could afford to ignore, cold or not.

“We’ll cross that stream coming up. Can’t you hear the water? Grab a bit to drink and then we’ll find a hidey hole, just like when we play hide-and-seek, and they won’t be able to get us because they won’t be able to find us, ok?”

God, water sounded amazing right now, she felt like a dying man in the desert, about to waste away at this rate. Bellium probably felt the same; it felt like they’d been running for days even though she knew it wasn’t true. Still a drink of water and a nap would probably help most of their problems and if the dogs didn’t want to follow them in here, it was just as well. Cantor definitely wasn’t looking this gift horse in the mouth, no matter what. It was a godsend plain and simple, she refused to be convinced otherwise.

“O-okay” Bellium stuttered but clutched closer to her hand, and she gave him another reassuring squeeze as they kept trudging forward in the dying light.

The water was freezing as they trudged through it; Cantor barely fought her shivers off, but Bellium wasn’t quite so lucky. Water that only came up to Cantor’s knees easily hit Bellium’s waist, halfway covering him in freezing water. They couldn’t stop though, that’d only make it worse –

Suddenly, her foot slipped and with a strangled scream she hit the icy water, losing Bellium’s hand in the process.

“God dammit!” She cursed and slammed her hand back into the water. What the hell was wrong with this day? What had they even done to deserve this?

“Fuck!” The curse was quieter now as she sat in the icy water, and she tried to swallow her sobs and screams to not upset Bellium, but some just slithered out anyway.

She just wanted to go home, was that too much to ask? They had just gone to get groceries; she hadn’t asked to be kidnapped and chased by a madman! Why the fuck did this have to happen to them?

“C-Cantor? C-Canny w-where’d you g-go?” Bellium’s voice was quiet and stilted as he nervously fiddled around in the stream. It was dark now, Cantor could barely see his form, and he looked like a shadow.

Cantor sighed, forcing herself to her feet, slipping and sliding all the way. Something felt off but she didn’t have time to bother with it. She had to look after Bellium, it was her responsibility, she was the oldest and she was the one that found him three years ago. That made Bellium her responsibility, and only hers, no matter what happened to them.

He’d been so tiny then, sitting in the rain in that cardboard box looking like an abandoned puppy. Cantor had been the one to take his tiny hand and carry him home with her. She’d been the one to give him a bath and get him dried off and warmed up. And Cantor had been the one to tell her dad that he was staying and that he was her new little brother and always would be.

She had been the one that soothed away nightmares those first few weeks and tried and failed to teach him to read, finally having to turn to her dad for help since her dyslexia made the words get all mixed up. It was Cantor that Bellium told about his first day of school and his new friends and his kind new teacher and so on. And Cantor was the first to see him smile on his birthday when Grandfather made him his first birthday cake. Yes, Bellium was Cantor’s responsibility, her brother and she had to look out for him. No matter what.

Finally, she managed to get to her feet, but she realized standing had been a mistake, as she bit back a scream. One of her legs - there was something wrong. Sprained, if she was lucky. Broken, if she wasn’t. But either way they weren’t going to be able to run again.

Well Bellium was, but there was no way Cantor would be able to keep up with an injured leg. And Bellium would get lost in the dark if they got separated. This was a no-win situation and she wasn’t sure what she should do. She just wanted to sink back into the water and sob, but she couldn’t do that either. The longer they stayed in the water the colder it got - so much for a gift horse. More like a gift jackass. One that bit too.

“Stay there, Bellium, I’m - I’m fine, don’t worry I just slipped, it scared me is all. You should stay there though, so you don’t fall too.” Cantor forcefully calmed herself down.

Getting angry and irritated wouldn’t help anything, she had to get her and Bellium to safety first, worry about everything else later. Even if she did ache all over, like twice dead roadkill. Bellium and safety first, she'd deal with the pain after. It was easier said than done.

Cantor reached out until she grabbed Bellium’s arm, and he nearly jumped out of his skin when she touched him.

“Shh, Bel it’s only me, come on now, let’s go,” she whispered as she grabbed his hand again.

Walking was difficult; every step was painful, especially in the water and over the slippery rocks. She wanted to curse until her lips turned blue but that wasn’t an option. Young ears and all that, besides it wouldn’t help anyway.

Reaching the riverbed was as much a blessing as it was a curse. For one it was desolate and cold, even the trees were skimpy and skinny. The whole forest looked dead. She didn’t have time to ponder it though as she urged Bellium forward with her, trying not to lean too heavily on him as she tried to subtly use him as a crutch. He couldn’t know she was injured, it’d scare the hell out of him, so she grit her teeth and kept hobbling along, looking for anywhere they could rest for the night, somewhere safe.

Finally, she spotted something like an old bear cave, and she guided Bellium toward it. There was nowhere else they could go unless they wanted to be chomped on by coyotes or anything else that was desperately hungry in these woods.

Halfway to it, Bellium stopped and pulled on her sleeve a bit. It almost knocked her off balance with how she was leaning on him, but she recovered just in time.

“W-we’ll make it back home s-soon won’t we, C-Canny?” Bellium’s voice trembled even as he tightened his grip on her hand.

“’Course we will. Don’t worry Bel, we’ll be back home soon, and Grandfather will make pancakes with blueberries and all the syrup you can stomach,” she reassured gently.

Bellium loved pancakes, especially Grandfather’s, and she hoped it would get him off their situation and make him feel better.

“P-promise?” he whispered, eyes wide and trusting. She was definitely getting him pancakes if - when they survived this. A whole pile of them.

“Cross my heart and hope to die.” Cantor replied as they stumbled into the cave.

It was abandoned thankfully, but not without its fair share of creepy crawlies and animal bones - at least she thought they were animal bones, quite the big herbivore if they were, but it was dry and warm, and she couldn’t hear the dogs howling anymore so it seemed safe enough.

Getting Bellium settled down was easy enough; he just curled into her side and was out like a light. Cantor had a harder time. Everything ached and pounded, and her headache was back full force as she leaned against the cave wall. What a mess. Would they ever get back home? The thoughts kept circling around her head and wouldn’t stop. But she had to believe they would make it; or else everything was already a waste.

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Cantor didn’t remember nodding off, but jerking her head straight into the cave wall was a less than pleasant alarm clock. Though what the devil had woken her up seemed to be absent. She could have sworn something touched her. Must’ve been a bug. It wasn’t even daybreak yet, the sky was still dark, the stars and the moon were giving the cave a little light but not enough. Not nearly enough, she realized, as something touched her shoulder again.

Cantor turned slowly, impossibly slowly, to see what was touching her. It didn’t feel like a bug, it felt like something different, almost like a claw. God dammit, the cave was occupied, wasn’t it? They were going to die by bear, weren’t they? And all because Cantor was tired and hurt and didn’t check as thoroughly as she should have -

Cantor managed to slam her hand over her mouth before she screamed. Eyes wide and terrified as she locked eyes with a creature she had only heard about in stories at campfires, something out of a myth and a legend, something that definitely was not supposed to be real and touching her.

Forget a bear, they were most certainly going to die now. All that work for nothing in the face of something that was more a monster than anything she had ever heard of. Monster, her mind supplied chillingly. Monster.

A skull for a face, bone-white, inhuman. The dark made it hard to see, but not hard enough. Its eyes were black pits on the sides of its face. A disjointed jaw full of sharp teeth, and one lone claw reaching out to just barely touch her. It was enough though, enough to scare her into silence, into stillness. Until she felt carved out of rock as it watched her. As it watched her, and she watched it.

Monster.

The sound of dogs baying broke the moment and made her jump, the claw pricking her shoulder even as the monster gave a raspy laugh and vanished back into the dark. Another howl threw her into motion as she violently began shaking Bellium into wakefulness, ignoring the warm, wet feeling that dripped down her shoulder from the monster’s touch.

“Wha-“ Bellium woke confused and sleepy before Cantor slammed her hand over his mouth to shush him.

The last thing they needed was the monster and The Creeper with his hounds. Cantor could barely drive the dogs off before, let alone with another monster to worry about.

Getting to her feet was a challenge as her leg nearly gave out under her. Cantor gripped the side of the cave in support even as she hurried Bellium outside, rushing him as much as she was able, hopping, hobbling and limping to try and keep up.

Bellium grabbed her hand and tried to run with her, only causing Cantor to lose her balance and almost fall to the ground. This wasn’t going to work. Bellium would get lost in the dark and Cantor couldn’t run. They were sitting ducks and she knew it. A plan. A plan, she had to think of a plan, or they were both dead.

The trees! she thought suddenly as she dragged Bellium sideways and towards a rather large tree. It was leafless and bare and probably more than a little dead, but it would have to do - they didn’t have another choice.

“Bel, Bellium listen to me. You remember when we were playing hide and seek with the Bechem boys and one of them hid in that old willow tree?” Cantor spoke quickly, leaning against the tree to relieve her leg and forcing Bellium to look at her and praying he could be brave this one last time.

At his confused nod she continued, “Well we’re going to have to do something similar. And I need you to be very brave and very quiet do you understand?”

Another nod. More trepidation entered his young face, and much more fear. She didn’t have time to dwell on it, even now she could hear the dogs getting closer, their howls and baying getting louder and louder. Their master was shouting - he wasn’t far behind.

“Ok, I’m going to help you climb up this tree. I’ll be right behind you the whole time I promise but you must not stop climbing, not till I say so, ok?”

Cantor moved easily to give Bellium a push up until he got his grip, tiny fingers scrabbling until he didn’t look like he’d fall anymore. Cantor loosened her grip and joined him in climbing up the old tree. It would hold. It had to hold. It would hold. It had to. She repeated it like a mantra as bit by bit they climbed up the tree.

Her ankle was screaming in pain, but she gritted her teeth and kept going. Worry about it later, the pain wasn’t there, not really. Bellium’s safety came first. Cantor nearly screamed when Bellium slipped, feet scrambling for purchase against unforgiving wood, and she caught him as best as she could.

“You-you’re alright Bellium, get your balance, ke-keep going.” Cantor wheezed as Bellium used her leg as a push off to get himself up higher and keep climbing.

It felt like forever, before they found an acceptable branch to stay close to. It was thick, and high enough up so that neither the dogs nor The Creep could get to them. Any further and the branches got slimmer; Bellium could fit but Cantor would surely snap the branch and fall.

“S-stop here” she wheezed out, helping Bellium get situated before settling herself.

She pulled Bellium close to her side as she wheezed and gagged. Forcing breath after breath in. It felt like she had just run a marathon, like her heart was about to beat out of her chest. But they had made it, they had made it, and that was all that counted. The Creep wouldn’t be able to get them up here without Cantor’s foot to his face, something she would be happy to provide him with. Pay him back in full for the kidnapping fiasco and the chase through the woods. She wasn’t about to let that go any time soon.

Bellium let out a squeak when he finally looked down and clutched her arm like a lifeline.

“Shhh, Bellium it’s alright now. I won’t let you fall; I know - I know it’s a little high but they can’t get us up here. They can’t. And - and just like hide and seek we just need to be really quiet ok? That’s all. Just be really quiet and really still and we’ll be alright, then we can go home.” Cantor reassured him softly, rubbing his back with her free hand as she watched for the creep and his dogs.

They may not have been able to get up here but that didn’t mean Cantor was going to be any less vigilant.

“C-Cantor I’m s-scared.” Bellium trembled beside her as the barking got louder and closer.

“I know. Just be quiet, it’ll be over soon. Then we can go home,” she whispered.

God, she hoped it would be over soon. One way or another, the creeper may have them treed but Cantor was still prepared to fight tooth and nail to the death, and she’d like to see him try and get up this tree with that significant bulk - he’d fall flat on his first attempt. She’d laugh at the image if she weren’t already so scared.

It was the silence of the birds that got her attention.

Like the moment before a lightning strike when everything went silent and waiting. And just like a lightning strike, that silence hardly meant anything good. A moaning sound started up, haunting in its quality. It was something that made her want to press her hands over her ears to block it out; it was a sound she never wanted to hear again.

Instead she pressed her hands over Bellium’s ears so at least one of them could be spared the gruesome noise. Just when she thought it had vanished, it started up again. Freezing the air in her lungs as her whole body stilled.

It was a lonely sound, like an old dog’s howl. It was desolate, like the creaking of an abandoned house. Eerie, like a dead man’s last breath. Heavy, like a wounded animal running from a predator. It was hollow and painful and empty, all at once. And it made her bones rattle and shake when she heard it again. It sounded sick, and it sounded hungry. Neither of which were good things for them. This didn’t seem like something Cantor could chase away or fight off. This sounded ancient and miserable and all-consuming; this was something she couldn’t run from. And that, in itself, was terrifying.

The dogs in the distance started howling and barking again, drawing the attention of the creep.

“What’s the matter with the lot of you?” she heard him yell into the trees as the dogs’ howling turned to terrified whines.

“What the hell is it? It’s trees and a rabbit or two that’s what! Now find me those kids! Off with you!”

His voice seemed to echo through the trees as Bellium continued to tremble into her side. There was a rustling in the bushes as the dogs finally did as ordered and drew closer and closer. They were quieter this time, more cautious, but they didn’t stop moving forward. Even as the moaning sound in the distance continued on like some macabre symphony to her and Bellium’s demise.

It was when the dogs finally fought free of the bushes to surround the tree that it happened. The moan cut off suddenly, leaving the world in silence, as dog looked at girl and girl looked right back.

She didn’t hear it coming, didn’t hear it approach, but approach it did for all of them to see. Here comes the monster, her mind whispered, here comes your monster for you to see. She didn’t want to look at it, to see it in the full light of the moon.

She didn’t have a choice.

It was gigantic. Its head easily reached the branch they were clutching for dear life. Bloodied elk horns crowned its head in a fleshy mess. Its skull was devoid of skin, bone-white and cracked. Its face looked almost human at first, until it turned to snuffle and snort and moan. The lower jaw hung disjointedly, pointed out at an obscene angle, and filled with sharp teeth.

The same disjointed jaw and sharp teeth she had seen in the cave, except here in full view it was more monstrous, more deadly, more unreal. She couldn’t tell what she wanted to do anymore. She wanted to scream to the heavens in fear. She wanted to run until her legs fell off. She wanted to freeze and never move again. She wanted to hide herself until it vanished back into the bush. Her mind was a realm of contradictions and it only increased its tempo with the creature in front of her. Monster, her mind kept whispering, Monster.

When it swung its head to the side to look at them Cantor just barely managed to cover up Bellium’s scream with her hand. The monster had eyes like black pits on the sides of its head, dull white lights peering out blindly. They had seemed nonexistent in the dark of the cave, only now appearing grotesquely in the moonlight. It smiled at her, its jaw swinging as it did so, a slow deliberate wink as the monster turned round again to face the creep and his dogs.

It moved forward slowly, jerkily, with elongated limbs and joints in all the wrong places. Its back was hunched over, patchy brown fur covering a heart-wrenchingly bony body. Cantor could see every rib, as they pointed out at sickening angles and seemed to reach down to the monster’s waist.

The creeper was frozen in fear as he took in the beast. Cantor watched in just as much terror as one hand swung forward to slam into the creep and his dogs.

It had pierced her shoulder with one claw-like finger. Now all four tore through its victims and pinned them there as their screams lit up the air. Cantor moved her hands to cover Bellium’s eyes, hoping to spare him from the incoming massacre in front of them. Deserved or not, Bellium didn’t need to see that, especially when there was a high chance they were next.

Its legs were bent backwards like a goat’s, double jointed as if they had been broken into two pieces at some point. Cantor could barely hold back her own scream of terror as the monster tore and ripped and snatched and snapped at every breathing creature before it. The screaming of both dog and man reached a new fever pitch before it all suddenly cut off, lost within the monster’s moan.

The sun was rising warm and bright through the trees. Dawn had finally broke it seemed, but it did not save them from the danger, as the monster slumped, limped and dragged itself back to their tree. It gave something of a full body twitch before it straightened as best it could to look at them. Cantor locked eyes with it and wanted to fall into a hole and never come out. Its eyes never left her face, even as it gave something of a grin, or a grimace, and its long sharp claws slowly tapped at her hand covering Bellium’s eyes.

Slowly, but with fierce pressure it dragged her hand down, baring Bellium’s eyes to the monster before them, leaving him frozen with terror and shaking, not even a squeak came out.

The monster’s claw returned after a moment, letting Bellium take it in with all its horrific glory. Cantor had night terrors about the stories of this beast, and now poor Bellium was being immersed in the sight of it with no prior warning.

This was hell. They were in hell. Gentle-hearted Bellium was facing a monster, and there was nothing she could do about it. This was not a monster Cantor could win against and they all knew it. Even as the monster’s claw slowly but surely came towards Bellium’s head, they were both frozen to the spot in a world of extended agony. Cantor couldn’t even close her eyes as the claw came down, down, down.

Until it lightly and gently touched Bellium's head, not even drawing blood before it moved back, still watching Cantor with those eerie eyes. The creature gave a groaning laugh, like the falling of an old tree, before it spoke.

“Little Braveheart.” Its voice was rasping, like broken glass scratching down a bear’s throat. “Thank you for bringing me such a tasty snack this morn. For that, I will not take you and yours today.”

Its eyes never left her face even as it seemed to stare into Bellium’s frozen soul. Cantor had no doubt it was her the monster was really talking to even as it scared Bellium out of his wits.

Bellium was shaking harder and harder by the moment even as the monster turned and slumped off, with its retreating claws, dislocated jaw and cracked skull. Its hunched back and patchy fur vanished back into the woods from whence it came without another word, leaving Cantor and Bellium terrified but oh so very alive.

A hysterical laugh ripped itself free of her throat. It was over. Oh God, it was finally over. She couldn’t breathe. Her relief was nearly palpable as she drank in breath after breath of air. They were alive. They had survived. Tears were streaming down her face as she cried and laughed. Bellium beside her finally broke down completely into sobs, tears flying messily down his face. It was over.

Oh God, it was over.

They could go home again.