06/02/2020

Hey guys! This is just a quick short story I've written for my university magazine. It's a bit different to what I usually write, and is actually inspired by a picture my girlfriend (Instagram: ackerley_art) drew. Anyway, without further adue, here it is. I may have to edit down how graphic it is later. 

The picture above is what the creature this story is based on. Props if you can get what exactly its based from.

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The night was dark. Clouds blanketed the scarcely glowing crescent moon, smothering the sky so that not even the stars above could break through. The wind howled in a monsoon, sweeping through the trees in a melody of nature's anger. Branches moved like waves, creaking and groaning in tune. The small rodents and animals occupying the forest hid away in their dens, remaining silent and trying their best to sleep, knowing to step out of their burrows was certain death.

Only one creature moved through the trees. It was a hulking figure that paced with the practice ease of a predator. It had two legs but seemed to almost use its arms to pull itself forward as it prowled. On its head were two antlers that looked more like tree branches. It's hunched over spine had spikes protruding out, a similar shape to waves in the ocean, and on its elbows were two long blade-like spikes that were patterned like a leaf. It had a long tail that seemed nearly metallic, with hundreds of spikes running along the outer edges, like a centipede's legs, and the end also resembled numerous leaves.

The creatures face was what held the most attention. Its face was made entirely of bone, like a mask from some non-descript creature. Teeth jutted out of its mouth, and where its eyes should be were instead empty sockets. It constantly tilted its head, stopping momentarily as it viewed the forest through sounds and smells. It could feel the life around it and could taste the fresh terror it struck into its prey. It knew there were creatures about. All it needed was to decide exactly what struck it fancy. The creature felt sick amusement at the thought.

As it stalked through the forest, the wind shifted, just for a moment, allowing a strange sound to travel through the air. It was a bright sound, joyous, one that stirred up memories of a life lone ago. Flashing pristine faces and long luscious hair, and a feeling of warmth of a fire after a long day out in the snow. These strange memories confused the creature, as it could not recall such a time. Curious, it began to make its way towards the sounds, wondering what they could mean.

As it got closer to these noises the wind died down a little, allowing it to more easily hear what was going on. A strange but familiar scent followed the sounds. It was musky, tasting of sweat and dirt, but there was no fear in the scent. Again, the creature was intrigued. Were these animals so blind that they did not know it was time to for the hunt. Or were they so confident in their abilities that they did not need to hide.

Accompanying the smell of these strange beings was also the smell of woodfire smoke. At this scent the creature became wary. Fire was dangerous, but these animals seemed to be comfortable with that heat and light. The creature was slightly anxious at the thought. Beings that played with fire possibly dangerous.

It could tell by the way the sounds echoed that this prey was below it, having made their den – if it could be called that – in a small crevice that sunk in the ground. They were likely trying to find shelter from the wind. But it left them so vulnerable to attacks from above. Still, the creature didn't attack immediately, more curious at what these beings were doing. It had all night to plan its attack.

"Aah, Daniel, pass us that leg won't you?"

The sounds these animals made were so out of sorts within the creature's forest. There was a sophisticated purpose to the sound, like when birds chirped in the morning, though much more direct. Another memory flashed through the creature's mind. One of letters and speaking. That's right, it had heard these sounds before... these words. Its mouth couldn't produce them anymore, but it remembered a time when it could.

"No way!" the one referred to as Daniel replied, "You finished your helping. This is mine."

"Aah, stop being such a brat. I'm twice your size! I need more."

There was the sound of feet against the ground, and the creature tilted its head in interest. These animals were two-legged, much like itself. That was rare, and particularly interesting. It knew that one had stood up, so it grew still, swaying softly so that it seemed as though it were merely another bush being led by the wind.

"Fredrick! No... it's mine!"

There was a soft slick, the creature stiffening as the one named Fredrick let out a cry.

"Damn it! Look what you did! Aargh, I'm bleeding now."

The scent of fresh blood hit the creature, causing it to freeze. Such a sweet scent, the likes of which it hadn't tasted in years. It had nearly forgotten, but it remembered what these creatures were now. Humans. Their flesh was a delicacy, a feast that the creature did not realize it craved until now. Sure, it had once been one of these humans, but now it could only think of the delightful blood the coursed through their vanes. It needed it, now. No fire would stop it.

It stepped to the edge of the crevice, the camp suddenly going completely silent. The creature took a sharp inhale, drawing in the scents of everything surrounding it. The four humans down below, each in their exact location. The fire pit, burning and crackling away. The odd leathery smell of their shelters they had made for the night. The assortments of tools and equipment they had scattered around. It took less than a second for the creature to find the location of every single one.

Then it attacked, pouncing on the human that had cut its finger. The one named Fredrick. The man screamed as the creature landed on him, unhinging its jaw and bighting hard down on his neck. The sweet human blood filled its mouth and the creature rumbled in its pleasure. The other humans yelled out their surprise, quickly moving from their seated locations and turning to run away.

Not wanting to allow a single delicacy to escape, the creature lashed out with its tale. The spikes dug into the nearest human's leg, tripping it over, causing another scream. Humans sure made a lot of noise at death. The creature wrapped its tail around the leg and pulled it close, the human crying out for its companions to safe it. The creature wrapped its hand around the human's neck and squeezed until it cracked. Two down, only two to go.

It turned to the nearest one, a guttural snarl echoing from its jaw. The human had something pointed at the creature, and it hesitated, remembering that humans tended to build tools to help with defence. The weapon clicked, followed by a bang. The creature screeched in pain as something hit its shoulder, causing it to stagger backwards slightly. Pain quickly followed, but it was dull, more a nuisance than anything. What hurt more was the blinding agony in the creature's ears, the loud sound effectively making that sense useless.

A second shot rang out, and the creature screeched its annoyance again. Not wanting to give the human another opportunity to cause pain, it pounced from where it had taken its first to victims, landing on the human. With a quick swipe of its clawed hands it lacerated the human's throat, killing it immediately. That left one.

Its hearing nearly gone; the creature was forced to rely on its sense of smell to locate its final target. Slowly it stalked toward the last survivor, the one named Daniel. The human had frozen, trapped against the wall of the crevice. The creature prepared to pounce but hesitated as another memory surfaced.

Humans were group creatures. Where one went others followed. That meant there were surely others around these parts. Others that it could hunt... if brought to the right place. It felt rather pleased with itself at the realisation, and instead of pouncing at the human frozen in fear, it turned to the three it had already killed. Crouching down it decided to take its time and enjoy its meal as the ringing in its ears disappeared.

The one named Daniel didn't move for what seemed like ages, staring as the creature feasted on his companions. Slowly though some common sense seemed to find him. He carefully got to his feet, and without wasting another moment scrambled up the side of their crevice and sprinted into the forest.

The creature smelt him go, and couldn't but growl in satisfaction, for it knew that where one human went, others often followed.