[FIC] Blood Moon (part three)
Posted: Sat May 29, 2004 10:11 pm
Kaname felt chill.
So very cold.
To the depths of her bones.
It was more a mental and emotion feeling than a physical one.
For a brief moment, she stood motionless, looking at the chaos spreading throughout the campsite.
The moon shone relentless down on the clearing, making everything look like a page out of a grim and daunting fairy tale.
Students ran, screamed, hid, prayed, and fell to their knees crying. One group of boys strove with every ounce of strength they had to break into one of the secured cabins, intent on throwing out those young ladies who were frantically cowering inside.
She fervently prayed that they would not succeed.
The only things that were moving were her classmates. There scurrying was aimless and unproductive, less organized than an ant nest after it had been stirred with an intruding stick.
A flash of color caught her attention.
The large silver creature leaped up on a large rock, sat back on its haunches, then put its head on its hands. Eyes closed, it later lifted its massive head skyward, as if sniffing the breeze blowing through the camp. In a sense it was testing for scents, but not physical ones. Catching hold of a mental odor, it opened its eyes and slowly turned its fanged snout towards Kaname. It stared at her, unblinking. Time seemed to stretch on forever..
Kaname flinched. There was an unfamiliar pressure in her head. Compelled, she looked directly at the large male. Not knowing how she came to the conclusion, she suddenly realized that there was some common origin to her and the beast, no matter how far down the genetic ladder.
Whispered.
There was a feel of the Whispered about the beast. Why? What did it mean?
There was no way for her to know that some of the human captives used as genetic stock had been undiscovered Whispered. There had been no way for the ethically challenged scientists and planners to realize the magnitude of that unwitting mistake.
All it had taken was some wild variable in a carefully planned biological equation to throw everything off.
Kaname shook her head hard. Beginning to feel dizzy, she banged her head against a nearby tree, hard. Once. Twice. Three times. Then a fourth and a fifth. Tears came to her eyes, but she felt more in control of her mind and body when she was finished. Nevertheless, a sense of disbelief washed over her. This had to be a dream. This had to be some kind of crazy nightmare. Maybe she was unconscious. Perhaps she was a prisoner in some hidden facility, drugs coursing through her veins, her mind far beyond her control.
Maybe these were all fears, doubts, or guilt dredged up deep from within. When she woke up, she would try to figure things out. Right?
Right???
She froze. The large alpha creature stood, and licked its lips. The pressure inside her head was lighter, almost touched with a sense of amusement or condescension. It almost seemed as if the monster was pleased by her confusion and disbelief.
She struck her head against the tree again, trying to drive the unwanted visions from her head. She didn’t want to see the creatures. She didn’t want to see her fellow students slipping further and further towards being a mindless unruly mob.
None of what she saw made any sense.
How could any of this be real?
If it were real, wouldn’t Sousuke be there too?
She kept whispering ‘wake up, girl,’ but nothing changed. The large creature still sat on the rock. Seated on either side of it were four more adults on the left, and five on the right. Two small creatures fought, tumbling about making yelping and yipping noises. They leaped, snarled, danced away, then paused, eyes glued to the humans. Then, it was play time again.
Young.
A small voice spoke in the furthest corner of Kaname’s brain. ’They can breed. Whatever they are, they can multiply.’ A louder voice drowned that one out. It questioned Kaname’s sanity. It asked why she was having such terrible delusions. Did she hate her classmates that much? Should she have watched the monster movie marathon with Sousuke the past Friday?
“Kaname. What are you doing? Why are you just standing there.”
She snapped out of her trance, immediately wondering how on earth she could lapse into some mental quagmire when corpses lay bleeding and a row of impossible beasts sat watching them all.
“I’m OK. It’s just that I don’t know what to do. I ALWAYS know what to do. But, not now.” It was true. Kaname had faced thugs, bandits, gangsters, terrorists, and an unpredictable and altogether too energetic young mercenary. None of them had truly fazed her, although Sousuke stretched things to the utmost limits sometimes.
This was different.
There was nothing to compare with this.
“I just can’t believe it’s true. My mind keeps fighting me.”
“Mine too.” The student council president nodded his head, his face exceedingly pale.
“Maybe we should be like them,” Ren said, pointing to a group of boys with makeshift weapons, torches, and trash can lids held out like shields. They may have taking steps, but their actions were unorganized and indecisive.
“Yes,” Kaname said. Keeping her eyes on the creatures, she slowly backed into the forest, looking for a long stout branch. Finding one, she handed it to Atsunobu. “Here. You’re the guy, right?”
Kaname and Ren actually smiled briefly. They knew far well that Atsunobu was not a puppet to stereotypes and gender misconceptions. Kaname then found herself a stick. She didn’t expect it would make any difference in the long run, but it somehow gave her something to focus on, something to place an infinitesimal bit of faith in.
Atsunobu looked down at the pistol situated inside his waistband. He was unfamiliar with weapons of any sort. Might Kaname be better equipped to deal with it than he was? Shouldn’t Sousuke, with all of his military prowess, been sharp enough to see that? Yes. There must be another explanation. He thought he happened upon it. If Kaname held the gun, she might be likely to put her efforts into protecting everyone else. Sousuke wanted her protected specifically.
“Shinji, why don’t you come over here. There’s more cover between these trees.” Ren had been looking about the clearing, seeing how many of her closer friends she could locate. Fortunately, many had made it inside of one of the huts.
Shinji, a large sharp rock in his hand, stood still, backed up against the door of one of the small houses. His mouth opened and closed, but he didn’t say anything. He didn’t make any effort to move. Was he too frightened. Did he feel as if he needed to protect Mizuke, Ryo, and Maya?
Someone kicked a rock, hard. It flew off into the woods, prompting some hiding birds to take to the wing.
“That’s what was bothering me! Now I remember.” Atsunobu looked disgusted with himself. “Those trees over there are ash trees. In some of the European legends I read about, certain types of creatures would not follow their intended victims up ash trees. It’s worth a try. Who knows. Maybe the monsters can’t even climb.”
He helped Ren make it up to the lowest branches. When she had climbed up some, he tossed her a stick. Then it was Kaname’s turn. She climbed a different tree, getting a birds-eye view of the clearing area.
“Aren’t you going to climb?” Ren asked the boy she had a crush on, her eyes extremely worried looking.
“No. Kaname’s right. I AM the guy. I will guard the base of your tree, in case they can climb.” Atsunobu looked up at Ren, then removed his glasses and cleaned them on his shirt tale.
Ren teared up. Kaname felt a lump in her throat. She would have given anything to have Sousuke here, guarding her tree.
“W-what k-kind of creatures?” Ren asked, remembering Atsunobu’s statement.
“I probably shouldn’t say any more,” the boy answered, pushing his glasses further up his nose. “The real things are bad enough. I don’t know why they’re just waiting there. It’s making everyone even more frightened and confused, if that’s possible. I shouldn’t say anything that might make things worse.”
“Please,” Ren said. She wanted to hear his voice, regardless of the subject. She needed something to distract herself from the horrible reality at hand.
“Witches....” Atsusnobu stopped there.
Ren looked at him, obviously unsatisfied.
“And werewolves....”
Ren was not familiar with the term. Kaname was. She trembled, almost dropping her stick. How could she have missed thinking about that possibility. She had seen enough monster movies while staying in America. The creatures even looked a lot like the creatures in the more realistic horror films. It couldn’t possibly be something like that. There had to be a more reasonable explanation. Didn’t there?
A whimper came from Shinji’s direction. He was obviously aware of the werewolf legend.
Kaname couldn’t help herself. She felt a need to examine the fell beasts. How could they just sit there like that? Their hunger was almost a tangible thing. Red eyes kept following the movement of their prey. Drool hung down off their lips like liquid ice sickles. Clawed hands clenched and unclenched. Tongues darted in and out.
Kaname could somehow pick up an eddy of thought. No.... thoughts....emanating from more than one source. Them. Those creatures. The urges were strong. How could they resist it as they did? Feeling the same urges by proxy, she strove not to vomit. The monsters wanted to rip out throats. They needed to hamstring their victims and chew on freshly exposed viscera and claw-carved meat The muscles of the calves were their favorite delicacy, but the meat of the thighs went furthest to sate their continual need to feed. Other bits of flesh and organs had a special attraction, a means to clear the palate.
‘Clear the palate?’ That was the closest Kaname could come to interpreting the impression she got.
“No. God no. Why? Why!” Kaname struck her head hard with the stick. Stars came to her eyes.
Their thoughts were animal, but had some twisted sense of humanity about them. It was gut-wrenching. Some had been thinking of humans as if they were delicacies. Could there truly be something akin to humanity in their make-up.? Might they be werewolves after all? In any case, their discipline spoke of a high level of intelligence, or a powerful sense of hierarchy.
Why were they waiting?
Were they allowing others of their kind to catch up? Could they be taking careful note of the situation, looking for any possible dangers? Might they be purposefully raising the level of tension in the students, making them less and less likely to be able to mount any kind of organized resistance?
“Enough!” Kaname put her hands over her eyes. Her thoughts were mixing with those of the monsters again. Their thirst was terrific. The desire to drink hot red blood was pushing their ability to obey the alpha male to the breaking point. She saw one of the smaller adults start to rise from its crouch, inching forward.
ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR RR RR RR RR R R R R
One deep and echoing growl from the large silver beast was all it took to make the smaller creature whine and move back into position.
“Blood,” Kaname whispered. “Blood.”
The alpha beast turned to look at the mother to the young monsters.
GRRRR RRRRR RRRRR RUFFFFF
The female creature made a barely audible noise, then butted both young with her lowered head. Timid at first, they moved forward on all fours.
“Hunger. They’re so hungry. So terribly hungry.” Kaname shivered, a trickle of sweat running down her back.
GRRRRRR RRRRRR RUFFFFF GRRRRR RUFFFFF
The call from the silver male brought the young up short, quivering. The mother nuzzled them, then cuffed them lightly with her clawed hands. She began to run upright. Her offspring followed suit, picking up speed and confidence with every ten yards covered. Soon they were streaking along, furry bolts of lightning.
If Kaname survived, she knew she would never forget what she saw next. She wished she had kept her eyes closed, or her fingers in her ears.
The mother beast charged ahead, covering ground quicker than her pups ever could. She headed straight towards the largest group of students, easily avoiding those with fire in their hands or anything that might prove a threat to her young. Frantic, the screaming high schoolers ran in various directions, no clear destination in mind. They just needed to run. Instincts told them that the slower or less agile amongst them would be caught. They themselves might have longer to live.
“Meat. Prey. Nothing more. No remorse. No shame.” Kaname’s eyes went glassy for a moment. She felt her pulse speed up, matching that of one of the animals. She saw her breath cloud up in the chill night air, her breathing keeping pace with one of the beasts.
ARRR RUFFF ARRR ARRR RUFFF ARRR ARRR ROOOO OOOO OOOO
The mother-beast’s vocalizations spurred the running boys and girls even more. Some simply ran off into the dark until the ran into something or fell hard to the forest floor. Others tried to scramble up trees, ill- equipped for such an ill-chosen decision---it was unwise to slow down. One boy even made it a habit to knock other runners to the ground purposefully, trying to improve his own chance for survival.
The view was surreal. Bodies disappeared or wavered, as humans and monster ran into and through shifting waves of fog. Gone one moment, they miraculously reappeared, before blurring again. Their shouts and screams were constant, regardless of how substantial they appeared to the human eye.
“No no nooooooooooooooooooo!”
“O God. Please God. Pleaaaaaaaaaase!”
“I can’t...I can’t.... I can’t... I can’t....”
“Not yet. O no, not yet. Please. Someone. Please.”
RUFFF ARRR RUFFF AROOO OOO OOO OOOO OOOO OOOOO OOOOO O OO O OOO O OOOO
“Playing with them. Using them. Driving them like cattle.” Kaname bit her lip, frightened at the overwhelming mixture of animal instinct and near human intelligence.
She caught herself. ‘Near human?’ She had no way to truly judge whether their intellect was inferior, equal, or superior to that of humans. Did she really want to know the answer?
Monkeys screamed from the tops of a number of the highest trees, leaping from one tree to another recklessly. Some threw down twigs, pine cones, and leaves at humans and monsters alike. Others defecated and flung their droppings.
Humans cries, screams, and pleas merged with the barking, huffing, and howling of the running monster and the raucous noise of the monkeys. The insistent hooting of a large owl added an unappreciated counterpoint.
The young were paying attention to their mother’s every move, watching and listening as she drove certain humans away from the others and explained the manner of determining which prey might be infirmed, poorly conditioned, or frightened to the point of increased vulnerability.
Those unlucky few who were separated from their running comrades knew a greater fear. Some had a sense of the inevitable doom shadowing them. Still, they clung to every second of life still remaining.
“No. O, no. Run. Please run faster.” Clinging to her tree, Kaname watched the game play out with a sickening sense of certainty. She knew what was going on, even without picking up on more lupine thoughts. The mother was teaching her young how to hunt. Soon, she would teach them how to kill.
This was not a lioness showing her cubs how to take down a gazelle. Those were people down their. Her classmates. Some of the people weaving between trees, rocks, and shrubs might be her close friends. For a moment, she bowed her head, stunned by an errant thought.
Were they facing man’s successor? Was there a new king of the hill and lord of the forest? Could this be nature’s way of cleansing the earth of mankind’s misdeeds and foibles? NO! She wouldn’t believe that. Men had weapons. Mankind was intelligent enough to make a stand.
Sousuke had weapons.
Where was Sousuke?
Could he be the main course on some creatures menu? Or, might the monsters’ earlier reactions be an indication that at least one human was showing the arrogant marauders the error of their ways?
Please.
Sousuke. Please be alright. Please come and set things to right. You’ve done it before. Why not now?
One portly boy had difficulty keeping up with his swifter classmates. Holding his side, he stumbled, righted himself, and trudged, trying to gain some momentum by pushing himself off of trees.
He had no chance of climbing any of the nearby trees. He was well beyond the normal limits of his endurance. The end was near.
ARRR RUFF RUFFF ARRRRR UUUUUUUUUUR RUFFF
Bending as she ran, the female creature swiped with one paw, knocking the boy’s ankles together and tripping him. It was an effective method of taking down prey.
Looking down at the frightened boy, she growled. Her ears went straight up, and she took a number of steps forward, then back again. Her jaws snapped with a resounding ‘clack.’
Grabbing at the soil with both hands, the harried student got to his feet and started to move as quickly as he could.
“Help me. Somebody please help me. I don’t want to die....” His heart- wrenching pleas had Kaname in tears.
“Run. Keep running, Sano!” Someone nestled in the branches of short and stout tree called down encouragement.
Other voices called out in encouragement. “Run Sano, like there’s no tomorrow. You can do it. I know you can do it. Don’t give up now....”
“Sano! For your mother. Run, Sano. Run....”
Thinking of his mother, the boy brought his hand up to his mouth. Tears fell to the ground below.
The boy stumbled again. The female beast began running again, moving with an easy loping stride. The two young creatures followed close behind her.
A number of the scattered Jindai students topped for a quick breather. Some looked at the trapped boy with sorrow and sympathy. Others watched with a temporary feeling of relief---that could easily have been them.
Kaname had the burning desire to strike back at the werewolves, or whatever they were. The name didn’t matter to her. They were killers. Eaters. Predators. They were using one of her fellow students as a teaching device. She had no doubt how things would end. Still, she couldn’t tear her gaze from the nauseating spectacle.
OOOOOOOO AHHHH ROOOOOOOO
The adult creature sprinted forward and leaped. Two clawed feet struck the boy between the shoulder blades, knocking him face first into a patch of large flat rocks. He stood up, wheezing, his nose a shattered ruin. Blood ran down his face and neck. The young beasts ran up close to him, attracted by the smell.
The mother swatted them back a stride or two.
AHHHHHH ROOOOOOOOOO GRRR GRRRR GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
The she-beast began to walk forward slowly, eyes focused on her intended victim. The boy walked backward, bumping against a tree. His eyes widened, before he closed them altogether. He had no illusions left to hold onto.
“Get away! Monster! Get the f-ck away!”
“Yeh! Go! Get back!”
“YAH! YAH! YAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”
A group of boys had gathered enough courage to form a group. They carried torches, some of which they threw towards the adult monster. One struck her in the head, sending small sparks floating down onto her shining fur. She turned her gaze on her attackers briefly, then continued her slow advance.
“Run, Sano. Come on! Run towards us....”
A large rock hit the she-creature square in the back. She let out a startled yelp, then squared her shoulders and started to growl.
One larger beast started forward---possibly her mate. A low-pitched howl from the alpha male stopped him.
“Get them. The smaller ones should be easier to hurt!”
One of the young creatures was pelted by a shower of rocks, a pointed stick, and a torch. Other thrown objects littered the ground around it. Whining, it ran up to sidle against its mother. The adult creature turned and looked at the large silver beast. His mouth opened briefly, soundlessly. He dipped his head.
Two of the larger males burst forward, dirt and clumps of moss thrown into the air by the clawed feet. Their speed was phenomenal.
“Look out!!!” Kaname shouted as loud as she could. She heard similar warnings coming from different locations throughout the clearing and surrounding woods area.
The first creature ran low to the ground, ignoring any possible threat the cluster of boys might offer. It knocked hard into their legs, knocking a number of students hard to the ground. The second beast followed directly behind it, leaping. One clawed hand swiped, ripping out the wind pipe of the nearest boy, sending a spray of blood away from his collapsing body. One clawed foot struck another boy in the groin, tearing fiercely and briefly, sending the boy to the ground in unbelievably agony.
The young creatures looked on, rapt with fascination.
Kaname felt close to passing out. It was too much. No one should have to witness something like this. Terrorists, as terrible as they were, made some kind of sense to her. These monsters did not. She came close to wetting herself, unconcerned by any form of embarrassment.
“Run....you have to run.... It’s your only chance....”
Kaname recognized the voice. It was Tsubaki Issei. He was somewhere further up the hill. She remembered him and his club members thinking the mountains would be a great place to get some martial arts practice in.
They all packed a lot of misconceptions along with their clothing, it seemed. But who could blame them? How could anyone have predicted this? Even Sousuke and his overactive sense of paranoia couldn’t have dreamed up these beasts.
Sousuke.
“I hope you’re safe, Sousuke....”
One boy rammed his stick hard into the back of a beast. The makeshift spear snapped, but not before causing a small wound. The victory was short- lived, however. A backhand swipe by one creature knocked the courageous challenger to the ground at the feet of the other beast. A fierce thrust of its muzzle and powerful snap of its jaws tore out one half of his throat. He was left near death, gurgling out his final words.
The following melee was one-sided, brutal, and swift. For those still able to watch, the action was too fast to follow.
Two powerful arms brought furred palms together, cracking the skull between them. With on beast on each arm, a boy was torn into pieces. Is scream ended when a double swipe left him headless. A swing of one paw followed by a slash by a clawed foot left a pool of intestines spreading by one speechless victim. A vicious strike by one beast severed a boy’s spine in the lumbar region. He fell paralyzed to the ground, left alive by the satisfied monsters. The brief danger to the young had ended. Both furred monstrosities ran back to take their place in the silent but watching line of figures.
Sano hadn’t moved. His eyes were open, glued to the face of his hunter. He was too afraid to even think straight. Both legs felt as if they were ready to collapse. His bladder contracted and his sphincter relaxed.
URRRRRR RUFFFF AHHHHH RUFFFFFF
The female brought her young’s attention back to the lesson at hand. The rapid attack they had just witnessed was far too advanced a lesson for youthful creatures. There were important and basic things to learn first.
With a fast lunge, she clamped her jaws tight on the quivering boy’s throat. A twist of her head broke her prey’s neck and threw the body to the ground.
He never had time to make a sound.
AHHHHH RUFFFFFFF AHHHHH RUFFFFF
A slashing technique was demonstrated. The head lay partially attached to the lifeless body.
GRRRRRR RUFFFFF
Another swipe of razor-sharp talons opened the abdominal cavity.
After the body was turned over, the back of one knee was struck with what would have been a crippling blow. A well-placed bite behind the other knee was of equal efficacy.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO AHHHH ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Both young looked excited, but tentative. They looked at each other, then looked at groups of humans disappearing into the forest. Then they turned their gaze downward.
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRRRRR RUFFFFFFFFFF
Their mother cuffed each sternly, causing them to cringe and whine.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Both smaller beats took off running in different directions. It was time to try out the things they had been taught. Their bodies quickly passed out of view. The effects of their hunt were well within earshot. Howling and snarling soon gave way to screaming and wailing. Then, all was silent.
The successful hunts for the two young seemed to send a signal. Kaname’s heart began pounding again as she saw all of the resting adults shoot off like missiles, each targeting a different area of the camp. She couldn’t follow it all even if she wanted to. Even if each beast took down only one person, the resulting carnage would be devastating.
“Let us in....please.... you have to.... they’re coming....”
“Not me.... O, don’t let it be me... anyone but me....”
“Go away. Leave the door alone. We can’t fit any more. Save yourself and run....”
“No...O, no... no, no, no... noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo....”
“We’re trapped in here. Trapped like rats. They can just wait for us to come out. We’ll never get home alive....”
“Shut up... shut up.... SHUT UP!!! Shut the hell up or I’ll throw you outside....”
“I........... don’t............ want........... to............ die-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-....”
“We don’t have much time left.... We should share these moments together....”
“Damn you Shirai, keep your hands off of me!!!”
One door opened briefly, long enough for Shirai to be unceremoniously booted out onto his rump. Looking at the drastic scene unfolding around him, he jumped up and started pulling on the door handle. “I’ll pay you. I’ll pay each and every one of you. Whatever it takes....”
Throughout the camp students dealt with the knowledge that death ran rampant around them. Those that could see the approaching menace, wished they couldn’t. Those in the sweaty and cramped darkness of the shelters were scared close to tears by what they couldn’t see. In this case, their imagination was not worse than reality.
The student politician in her took over briefly. She couldn’t image anyone having to make phone calls to the authorities. Who would believe the tales? She broke out in tears again, wondering how parents would find out about the end of their children’s lives.
Soon enough, however, she had something of her own to worry about. If standing, she would have doubled over in pain. The sharp ache inside her head had her seeing flashes of light. She retched. Each limbed twitched involuntarily, once, twice, three times. She fought hard to control her bodily functions.
The silver beast got to his feet. As if out on a leisurely stroll, he began to walk forward, looking up at Kaname’s tree. The pink and black splotched tongue hung out of his mouth, highlighting a languid lupine grin.
It took little notice of the bloody massacre in progress.
GRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRRR
The sounds of its subordinate creatures filled the night. The beast seemed not to care. Kaname had a more personal concern.
“Ahhhh, oooooooooooooooo noooooooooooo grglgrgllllll.....”
“Go, O God, O God...”
“Somebody please....”
“I.... No.....arrrgggllllgrglll.....”
The cries of the unfortunates filled their fellow campers with escalating levels of capitulation and revulsion.... dread and despair.... inspiration and necessity.
Blood splattered against one hut, as a girl was split lengthwise down the middle. Her arms swung out in an involuntary embrace of sorts, shocking the nearby boy who once had a crush on her. Screams from inside the structure showed that the relatively safe students were nonetheless freaking out as well.
Kaname took no notice of any of that. Her eyes watched what she believed would be her own doom.
One distant creature obviously took the idea of sheltered prey as a personal affront or an instinctual challenge. It threw its body hard against one of the cabin doors. The wood began to splinter, but held fast. Another leap widened the defect and heightened the beast’s eagerness. Again and again he buffeted the door with his full weight and strength, until it gave way with a resounding sound.
A boy looked up at an unholy sight, the last thing he saw being the dark outline of an inhuman head silhouetted eerily by the fires far behind it. A horrid crunch filled the room as wide jaws took hold of the sides of is head and closed like a vice. Blood and brain matter spurted all over the girl behind him, the next person with the dubious privilege of being closest to the great outdoors. She looked on with shock as the monster dragged away the boy who had once been her older brother’s best friend.
Kaname was oblivious. The silver beast stopped a moment, checking on the progress of this latest foraging raid. Content, it looked back up at Kaname. Smiling, it fractured the night with an amazing howl.
AHHHHH R-O-O-O-O-O -O-O-O-O-O-O- O-O-O-O-O-O- O-O-O-O-O -O-O-O-O-O -O-O-O-O- O-O-O-O-O-O-O -O-O-O-O -O-O-O-O- O-O-O-O-O- O-O-O-O-O-O -O-O-O-O-O- O-O-O- O-O-O -O-O-O-O-O-O- -O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O- O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O -O-O-O-O-O- O-O-O- O-O-O-O-O-O-O- O-O-O-O-O-O-O
Whatever they were doing, each other creature stopped, then belted out an answering howl.
AHHH RRROOOOO OOOOOO OOOOOOOOO OOOOOOO OOOOO OOOOOOO OOOOOO OOOOO
Ahhhh Roooooo oooooooo ooooo oooooo ooooo ooo ooo ooo ooooooo ooooo ooooooo oooooo ooo oooo
Calls came in from distant points along the mountain chain.
The silver beast resumed its fateful advance. Kaname whispered “Sousuke,” first as a sign of hope.... then as a plea.... and finally as a farewell she wished more than anything she could have said face to face. She felt an urge to kiss her absent protector, something she wouldn’t have otherwise had the nerve to admit to herself. There would be so many opportunities lost this night.
She fought hard, climbing up into the highest portion of her tree’s crown. Leaning out over the cushioning leaves, she tried to focus on anything but the silver monster. She didn’t know if it could climb trees, but its confident approach directly towards her spoke volumes.
From below, she heard a tender admission. An answering sob came from somewhere in the tree next to her‘s..
“Ren. I will do what I can to stop it. If I do not make it, I just wanted to say that you are important to me.... more than I can say.... I wish we could have had more time....” Atsunobu put his spear aside and took the pistol Sousuke had given him out of his waistband.
Tears streamed down Ren’s dirt-smeared face. She mustered up a bit of strength and mouthed the words “I love you....”
Off across the clearing, Kaname watched in horror as a number of creatures began dragging off bodies. Perhaps they were intended as food for those creatures too injured to hunt, or those who might be guarding infants at some lair..
The other creatures saw no need for patience. They ripped, shredded, lapped, and chewed, great animal sighs of contentment whuffing out of them now and again. One pair even playfully batted a head back and forth between them. It was almost as if THEY were the ones enjoying a relaxing picnic in the hills.
Her mind flooded with too many images to take in, Kaname did happen to notice a number of the creatures begin marking trees at the edge of the clearing. Others began digging at the dirt, looking as if they were digging pits. Would they bury the remains? Or, was this a way to keep their kills away from other smaller hunters and scavengers?
One of the pups from before ran back into the clearing, a complete set of intestines trailing behind it. It tumbled over an exposed tree root, rolling, entwining itself in the gory remains. Its sibling followed closely behind, throwing what appeared to be a lung up and catching it, repeating the infantile game as it trotted along.
It was a nightmare. It had to be a nightmare. Nothing like this could possibly exist. Nothing.
Bang bang bang
Atsunobu targeted the alpha mail, firing the Glock 26 from ten yards away. Every shot landed long or wide. The best continued moving slowly, making no effort to dodge or shift.
Bang bang bang.
A number of shots kicked up dirt from in front of its feet, but it took little notice. It smelled the fear and panic coming from the boy. Contemptuously, it gave the equivalent of a lupine laugh, then bounded high over Atsunobu’s head, landing heavily on one of the lower thicker tree branches. Powerful leg muscles sent it springing higher, again and again. Branch after branch bent under its considerable weight.
Bang bang bang
Atsunobu’s shots threw chips of wood here and here, but missed his intended target. His next shots would go elsewhere, as one of the beasts noted that the pack leader was under attack, no matter how ineffective those attempts were. It began running towards the gun-wielding boy and Ren. Another joined it, peeling away at the last moment.
The second wolf headed straight towards Shinji, its blood speckled muzzle opening for the kill. At the last moment, it wheeled and took the boy next to him. The creature bumped up against a near comatose Shinji repeatedly as it pulled out large pieces of succulent organs.
Bang bang bang
Desperation is a good drill sergeant. The next three shots each hit the bounding menace, two puncturing its shoulder and the third hitting squarely between the eyes. The creature yelped, tripped, and tumbled over and over again, landing twenty feet from its killer. With one last effort it sprung, teeth snapping shut just inches from Atsunobu’s foot.
The other monsters stopped their current activities, turning to look in his direction.
A-H-H-H R-O-O-O-O O-O-O-O –O-O-O-O O-O-O-O O-O-O-O-O O-O-O-O-O –O-O-O-O –O- O-O-O –O-O-O-O O-O-O-O –O-O-O-O
The communal howl was followed by a growing chorus of growls. The hair on each beast stood on end. Their ears twitched. Mouths opened and closed. One of the prey had dared strike back.
He alpha male did not pause in his ascent. Given the closeness of the smaller branches, he was climbing now rather than leaping. He could see a dark shape above him. The smell of his prey had him salivating unstoppably.
Wet drops of clinging drool stuck to the tree, oozing ever so slightly before surface tension took over.
OOOOF OOOOF OOOOOO
The creature made quick sounds high in its throat, the hightened level of hunger spurring it higher and higher.
Kaname grabbed her head between her hands. The pain was excruciating. How could that thing be transmitting on some mental wavelength that affected her? Did it somehow sense she was Whispered. Was that why she was being singled out? She had not seen any of the other beasts make the obvious greater effort to climb trees after cornered boy and girls.
“Sousuke. If you’re coming, please hurry....”
OOOOOOOOOO OOOOF OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
The silver creature made a prodigious jump, launching itself across space, landing on a larger cross bough. There was more room to maneuver comfortably on that other side of the tree.
A glance beyond the tree showed larger and larger groups of running students, some of whom took the time to grab their gear. They were running back down the hill, not sure of where they were going, but filled with a need to move. The attention of the monsters set on someone else, they took what little chance they saw.
A single bound brought the alpha male within twenty feet of Kaname’s dangling legs.
“Kaname, can you climb any higher?” Atsunobu’s shouted question left Kaname feeling desperate. The higher branches wouldn’t hold her weight. She didn’t bother answering.
URRRRRRRRRR RRRR RRRR RRRR
A short hopping motion brought the huge beast onto a branch fifteen feet away from the cowering girl. The branch cracked, causing the predator to slide downward a bit, its claws leaving deep rents in the bark of the ash tree.
“Kaname, your stick....” Ren had the presence of mind to call out a suggestion to her friend. She didn’t continue looking in her direction. The remaining creatures began walking slower in her and Atsunobu’s direction, their arms held out far to the side, curving forward. The beast rubbing up against Shinji unintentionally knocked him to the ground as it started forward.
Given a purpose, even a fleeting one, Kaname felt a renewed desire to persevere... to continual fighting.... to live. She waiting until the climbing monster was four feet from her, then thrust out with all her might. The beast took the spear in its mouth, breaking it in two with a powerful bite. Its climbing continued.
Before she knew it, the creature had come within arm’s length. It paused, grinning at her, leaves looking like a wreath around its great shaggy brow.
“Kaname. Try working around to the other side of the tree. If you can get past it, start coming back down.” Atsunobu considered running himself. Not because he had any hope of escaping a chasing pack. If they followed him away from Ren, she might have a better chance to survive.
GRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRUUUFFFF URRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
The beast in the tree blinked repeatedly, then opened its mouth. Kaname could sense its deepest thoughts. It was hungry. She was special, different than the rest. A fitting prize for the leader. It was time to feed.
Kaname opened her mouth, but found she had nothing to say. She didn’t see an avenue of escape.
“NO!!! Kaname!!!” Ren was at the base of the tree, looking up. The tree blocked her view of approaching danger.
----WHUMPPP!!! WHOOOOOSH!!!----
A blinding light filtered up through the trees tightly packed branches and leaves. Leaves on the outside of the tree began to smolder and burn. Down below on the ground, a group of three monsters who had been advancing close to one another were screaming in tremendous pain. One looked like nothing more than a living flame. Another batted at its face, its head blazing like a furred torch. The other rolled on the ground, shrouded in thick white smoke and dotted with glowing white specks of phosphorus.
Huge streamers of smoke and glowing particles gave a falsely festive appearance to the campsite momentarily. Frightened students and shocked monsters all stopped to marvel at the miraculous flower of light growing at one edge of the camp site.
The explosion and actinic glare startled Shinji out of his near comatose condition. “What...where...where are we...how can this all be real... why.... Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy....”
His gaze fell on a solitary figure advancing out of the woods, a large bag hanging down from one shoulder. He should know that person somehow. His mind was too muddled to think clearly.
Bang bang bang bang bang.
As Kaname watched in disbelief, the alpha male shook in pain, red splotches forming over its side and back. A small puff of smoke issued forth from one bullet wound. The subsequent howl of pain and disbelief shook the very tree around her.
Bang bang
The additional shots took it on the head and arm, stunning the beats. A small explosion tore open the impacted limb, throwing tufts of hair and a spray of blood over onto the nearest vegetation. The wounded nightmare fell down some distance, before grabbing one branch with taloned hands.
How could someone hit that monster, shielded as it was in the tree? Who could be that lucky... or that skilled.
Kaname felt hope well up inside of her. Could it be?
Her question was answered.
“You will NOT touch Kaname.”
It was Sousuke.
So very cold.
To the depths of her bones.
It was more a mental and emotion feeling than a physical one.
For a brief moment, she stood motionless, looking at the chaos spreading throughout the campsite.
The moon shone relentless down on the clearing, making everything look like a page out of a grim and daunting fairy tale.
Students ran, screamed, hid, prayed, and fell to their knees crying. One group of boys strove with every ounce of strength they had to break into one of the secured cabins, intent on throwing out those young ladies who were frantically cowering inside.
She fervently prayed that they would not succeed.
The only things that were moving were her classmates. There scurrying was aimless and unproductive, less organized than an ant nest after it had been stirred with an intruding stick.
A flash of color caught her attention.
The large silver creature leaped up on a large rock, sat back on its haunches, then put its head on its hands. Eyes closed, it later lifted its massive head skyward, as if sniffing the breeze blowing through the camp. In a sense it was testing for scents, but not physical ones. Catching hold of a mental odor, it opened its eyes and slowly turned its fanged snout towards Kaname. It stared at her, unblinking. Time seemed to stretch on forever..
Kaname flinched. There was an unfamiliar pressure in her head. Compelled, she looked directly at the large male. Not knowing how she came to the conclusion, she suddenly realized that there was some common origin to her and the beast, no matter how far down the genetic ladder.
Whispered.
There was a feel of the Whispered about the beast. Why? What did it mean?
There was no way for her to know that some of the human captives used as genetic stock had been undiscovered Whispered. There had been no way for the ethically challenged scientists and planners to realize the magnitude of that unwitting mistake.
All it had taken was some wild variable in a carefully planned biological equation to throw everything off.
Kaname shook her head hard. Beginning to feel dizzy, she banged her head against a nearby tree, hard. Once. Twice. Three times. Then a fourth and a fifth. Tears came to her eyes, but she felt more in control of her mind and body when she was finished. Nevertheless, a sense of disbelief washed over her. This had to be a dream. This had to be some kind of crazy nightmare. Maybe she was unconscious. Perhaps she was a prisoner in some hidden facility, drugs coursing through her veins, her mind far beyond her control.
Maybe these were all fears, doubts, or guilt dredged up deep from within. When she woke up, she would try to figure things out. Right?
Right???
She froze. The large alpha creature stood, and licked its lips. The pressure inside her head was lighter, almost touched with a sense of amusement or condescension. It almost seemed as if the monster was pleased by her confusion and disbelief.
She struck her head against the tree again, trying to drive the unwanted visions from her head. She didn’t want to see the creatures. She didn’t want to see her fellow students slipping further and further towards being a mindless unruly mob.
None of what she saw made any sense.
How could any of this be real?
If it were real, wouldn’t Sousuke be there too?
She kept whispering ‘wake up, girl,’ but nothing changed. The large creature still sat on the rock. Seated on either side of it were four more adults on the left, and five on the right. Two small creatures fought, tumbling about making yelping and yipping noises. They leaped, snarled, danced away, then paused, eyes glued to the humans. Then, it was play time again.
Young.
A small voice spoke in the furthest corner of Kaname’s brain. ’They can breed. Whatever they are, they can multiply.’ A louder voice drowned that one out. It questioned Kaname’s sanity. It asked why she was having such terrible delusions. Did she hate her classmates that much? Should she have watched the monster movie marathon with Sousuke the past Friday?
“Kaname. What are you doing? Why are you just standing there.”
She snapped out of her trance, immediately wondering how on earth she could lapse into some mental quagmire when corpses lay bleeding and a row of impossible beasts sat watching them all.
“I’m OK. It’s just that I don’t know what to do. I ALWAYS know what to do. But, not now.” It was true. Kaname had faced thugs, bandits, gangsters, terrorists, and an unpredictable and altogether too energetic young mercenary. None of them had truly fazed her, although Sousuke stretched things to the utmost limits sometimes.
This was different.
There was nothing to compare with this.
“I just can’t believe it’s true. My mind keeps fighting me.”
“Mine too.” The student council president nodded his head, his face exceedingly pale.
“Maybe we should be like them,” Ren said, pointing to a group of boys with makeshift weapons, torches, and trash can lids held out like shields. They may have taking steps, but their actions were unorganized and indecisive.
“Yes,” Kaname said. Keeping her eyes on the creatures, she slowly backed into the forest, looking for a long stout branch. Finding one, she handed it to Atsunobu. “Here. You’re the guy, right?”
Kaname and Ren actually smiled briefly. They knew far well that Atsunobu was not a puppet to stereotypes and gender misconceptions. Kaname then found herself a stick. She didn’t expect it would make any difference in the long run, but it somehow gave her something to focus on, something to place an infinitesimal bit of faith in.
Atsunobu looked down at the pistol situated inside his waistband. He was unfamiliar with weapons of any sort. Might Kaname be better equipped to deal with it than he was? Shouldn’t Sousuke, with all of his military prowess, been sharp enough to see that? Yes. There must be another explanation. He thought he happened upon it. If Kaname held the gun, she might be likely to put her efforts into protecting everyone else. Sousuke wanted her protected specifically.
“Shinji, why don’t you come over here. There’s more cover between these trees.” Ren had been looking about the clearing, seeing how many of her closer friends she could locate. Fortunately, many had made it inside of one of the huts.
Shinji, a large sharp rock in his hand, stood still, backed up against the door of one of the small houses. His mouth opened and closed, but he didn’t say anything. He didn’t make any effort to move. Was he too frightened. Did he feel as if he needed to protect Mizuke, Ryo, and Maya?
Someone kicked a rock, hard. It flew off into the woods, prompting some hiding birds to take to the wing.
“That’s what was bothering me! Now I remember.” Atsunobu looked disgusted with himself. “Those trees over there are ash trees. In some of the European legends I read about, certain types of creatures would not follow their intended victims up ash trees. It’s worth a try. Who knows. Maybe the monsters can’t even climb.”
He helped Ren make it up to the lowest branches. When she had climbed up some, he tossed her a stick. Then it was Kaname’s turn. She climbed a different tree, getting a birds-eye view of the clearing area.
“Aren’t you going to climb?” Ren asked the boy she had a crush on, her eyes extremely worried looking.
“No. Kaname’s right. I AM the guy. I will guard the base of your tree, in case they can climb.” Atsunobu looked up at Ren, then removed his glasses and cleaned them on his shirt tale.
Ren teared up. Kaname felt a lump in her throat. She would have given anything to have Sousuke here, guarding her tree.
“W-what k-kind of creatures?” Ren asked, remembering Atsunobu’s statement.
“I probably shouldn’t say any more,” the boy answered, pushing his glasses further up his nose. “The real things are bad enough. I don’t know why they’re just waiting there. It’s making everyone even more frightened and confused, if that’s possible. I shouldn’t say anything that might make things worse.”
“Please,” Ren said. She wanted to hear his voice, regardless of the subject. She needed something to distract herself from the horrible reality at hand.
“Witches....” Atsusnobu stopped there.
Ren looked at him, obviously unsatisfied.
“And werewolves....”
Ren was not familiar with the term. Kaname was. She trembled, almost dropping her stick. How could she have missed thinking about that possibility. She had seen enough monster movies while staying in America. The creatures even looked a lot like the creatures in the more realistic horror films. It couldn’t possibly be something like that. There had to be a more reasonable explanation. Didn’t there?
A whimper came from Shinji’s direction. He was obviously aware of the werewolf legend.
Kaname couldn’t help herself. She felt a need to examine the fell beasts. How could they just sit there like that? Their hunger was almost a tangible thing. Red eyes kept following the movement of their prey. Drool hung down off their lips like liquid ice sickles. Clawed hands clenched and unclenched. Tongues darted in and out.
Kaname could somehow pick up an eddy of thought. No.... thoughts....emanating from more than one source. Them. Those creatures. The urges were strong. How could they resist it as they did? Feeling the same urges by proxy, she strove not to vomit. The monsters wanted to rip out throats. They needed to hamstring their victims and chew on freshly exposed viscera and claw-carved meat The muscles of the calves were their favorite delicacy, but the meat of the thighs went furthest to sate their continual need to feed. Other bits of flesh and organs had a special attraction, a means to clear the palate.
‘Clear the palate?’ That was the closest Kaname could come to interpreting the impression she got.
“No. God no. Why? Why!” Kaname struck her head hard with the stick. Stars came to her eyes.
Their thoughts were animal, but had some twisted sense of humanity about them. It was gut-wrenching. Some had been thinking of humans as if they were delicacies. Could there truly be something akin to humanity in their make-up.? Might they be werewolves after all? In any case, their discipline spoke of a high level of intelligence, or a powerful sense of hierarchy.
Why were they waiting?
Were they allowing others of their kind to catch up? Could they be taking careful note of the situation, looking for any possible dangers? Might they be purposefully raising the level of tension in the students, making them less and less likely to be able to mount any kind of organized resistance?
“Enough!” Kaname put her hands over her eyes. Her thoughts were mixing with those of the monsters again. Their thirst was terrific. The desire to drink hot red blood was pushing their ability to obey the alpha male to the breaking point. She saw one of the smaller adults start to rise from its crouch, inching forward.
ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR RR RR RR RR R R R R
One deep and echoing growl from the large silver beast was all it took to make the smaller creature whine and move back into position.
“Blood,” Kaname whispered. “Blood.”
The alpha beast turned to look at the mother to the young monsters.
GRRRR RRRRR RRRRR RUFFFFF
The female creature made a barely audible noise, then butted both young with her lowered head. Timid at first, they moved forward on all fours.
“Hunger. They’re so hungry. So terribly hungry.” Kaname shivered, a trickle of sweat running down her back.
GRRRRRR RRRRRR RUFFFFF GRRRRR RUFFFFF
The call from the silver male brought the young up short, quivering. The mother nuzzled them, then cuffed them lightly with her clawed hands. She began to run upright. Her offspring followed suit, picking up speed and confidence with every ten yards covered. Soon they were streaking along, furry bolts of lightning.
If Kaname survived, she knew she would never forget what she saw next. She wished she had kept her eyes closed, or her fingers in her ears.
The mother beast charged ahead, covering ground quicker than her pups ever could. She headed straight towards the largest group of students, easily avoiding those with fire in their hands or anything that might prove a threat to her young. Frantic, the screaming high schoolers ran in various directions, no clear destination in mind. They just needed to run. Instincts told them that the slower or less agile amongst them would be caught. They themselves might have longer to live.
“Meat. Prey. Nothing more. No remorse. No shame.” Kaname’s eyes went glassy for a moment. She felt her pulse speed up, matching that of one of the animals. She saw her breath cloud up in the chill night air, her breathing keeping pace with one of the beasts.
ARRR RUFFF ARRR ARRR RUFFF ARRR ARRR ROOOO OOOO OOOO
The mother-beast’s vocalizations spurred the running boys and girls even more. Some simply ran off into the dark until the ran into something or fell hard to the forest floor. Others tried to scramble up trees, ill- equipped for such an ill-chosen decision---it was unwise to slow down. One boy even made it a habit to knock other runners to the ground purposefully, trying to improve his own chance for survival.
The view was surreal. Bodies disappeared or wavered, as humans and monster ran into and through shifting waves of fog. Gone one moment, they miraculously reappeared, before blurring again. Their shouts and screams were constant, regardless of how substantial they appeared to the human eye.
“No no nooooooooooooooooooo!”
“O God. Please God. Pleaaaaaaaaaase!”
“I can’t...I can’t.... I can’t... I can’t....”
“Not yet. O no, not yet. Please. Someone. Please.”
RUFFF ARRR RUFFF AROOO OOO OOO OOOO OOOO OOOOO OOOOO O OO O OOO O OOOO
“Playing with them. Using them. Driving them like cattle.” Kaname bit her lip, frightened at the overwhelming mixture of animal instinct and near human intelligence.
She caught herself. ‘Near human?’ She had no way to truly judge whether their intellect was inferior, equal, or superior to that of humans. Did she really want to know the answer?
Monkeys screamed from the tops of a number of the highest trees, leaping from one tree to another recklessly. Some threw down twigs, pine cones, and leaves at humans and monsters alike. Others defecated and flung their droppings.
Humans cries, screams, and pleas merged with the barking, huffing, and howling of the running monster and the raucous noise of the monkeys. The insistent hooting of a large owl added an unappreciated counterpoint.
The young were paying attention to their mother’s every move, watching and listening as she drove certain humans away from the others and explained the manner of determining which prey might be infirmed, poorly conditioned, or frightened to the point of increased vulnerability.
Those unlucky few who were separated from their running comrades knew a greater fear. Some had a sense of the inevitable doom shadowing them. Still, they clung to every second of life still remaining.
“No. O, no. Run. Please run faster.” Clinging to her tree, Kaname watched the game play out with a sickening sense of certainty. She knew what was going on, even without picking up on more lupine thoughts. The mother was teaching her young how to hunt. Soon, she would teach them how to kill.
This was not a lioness showing her cubs how to take down a gazelle. Those were people down their. Her classmates. Some of the people weaving between trees, rocks, and shrubs might be her close friends. For a moment, she bowed her head, stunned by an errant thought.
Were they facing man’s successor? Was there a new king of the hill and lord of the forest? Could this be nature’s way of cleansing the earth of mankind’s misdeeds and foibles? NO! She wouldn’t believe that. Men had weapons. Mankind was intelligent enough to make a stand.
Sousuke had weapons.
Where was Sousuke?
Could he be the main course on some creatures menu? Or, might the monsters’ earlier reactions be an indication that at least one human was showing the arrogant marauders the error of their ways?
Please.
Sousuke. Please be alright. Please come and set things to right. You’ve done it before. Why not now?
One portly boy had difficulty keeping up with his swifter classmates. Holding his side, he stumbled, righted himself, and trudged, trying to gain some momentum by pushing himself off of trees.
He had no chance of climbing any of the nearby trees. He was well beyond the normal limits of his endurance. The end was near.
ARRR RUFF RUFFF ARRRRR UUUUUUUUUUR RUFFF
Bending as she ran, the female creature swiped with one paw, knocking the boy’s ankles together and tripping him. It was an effective method of taking down prey.
Looking down at the frightened boy, she growled. Her ears went straight up, and she took a number of steps forward, then back again. Her jaws snapped with a resounding ‘clack.’
Grabbing at the soil with both hands, the harried student got to his feet and started to move as quickly as he could.
“Help me. Somebody please help me. I don’t want to die....” His heart- wrenching pleas had Kaname in tears.
“Run. Keep running, Sano!” Someone nestled in the branches of short and stout tree called down encouragement.
Other voices called out in encouragement. “Run Sano, like there’s no tomorrow. You can do it. I know you can do it. Don’t give up now....”
“Sano! For your mother. Run, Sano. Run....”
Thinking of his mother, the boy brought his hand up to his mouth. Tears fell to the ground below.
The boy stumbled again. The female beast began running again, moving with an easy loping stride. The two young creatures followed close behind her.
A number of the scattered Jindai students topped for a quick breather. Some looked at the trapped boy with sorrow and sympathy. Others watched with a temporary feeling of relief---that could easily have been them.
Kaname had the burning desire to strike back at the werewolves, or whatever they were. The name didn’t matter to her. They were killers. Eaters. Predators. They were using one of her fellow students as a teaching device. She had no doubt how things would end. Still, she couldn’t tear her gaze from the nauseating spectacle.
OOOOOOOO AHHHH ROOOOOOOO
The adult creature sprinted forward and leaped. Two clawed feet struck the boy between the shoulder blades, knocking him face first into a patch of large flat rocks. He stood up, wheezing, his nose a shattered ruin. Blood ran down his face and neck. The young beasts ran up close to him, attracted by the smell.
The mother swatted them back a stride or two.
AHHHHHH ROOOOOOOOOO GRRR GRRRR GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
The she-beast began to walk forward slowly, eyes focused on her intended victim. The boy walked backward, bumping against a tree. His eyes widened, before he closed them altogether. He had no illusions left to hold onto.
“Get away! Monster! Get the f-ck away!”
“Yeh! Go! Get back!”
“YAH! YAH! YAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”
A group of boys had gathered enough courage to form a group. They carried torches, some of which they threw towards the adult monster. One struck her in the head, sending small sparks floating down onto her shining fur. She turned her gaze on her attackers briefly, then continued her slow advance.
“Run, Sano. Come on! Run towards us....”
A large rock hit the she-creature square in the back. She let out a startled yelp, then squared her shoulders and started to growl.
One larger beast started forward---possibly her mate. A low-pitched howl from the alpha male stopped him.
“Get them. The smaller ones should be easier to hurt!”
One of the young creatures was pelted by a shower of rocks, a pointed stick, and a torch. Other thrown objects littered the ground around it. Whining, it ran up to sidle against its mother. The adult creature turned and looked at the large silver beast. His mouth opened briefly, soundlessly. He dipped his head.
Two of the larger males burst forward, dirt and clumps of moss thrown into the air by the clawed feet. Their speed was phenomenal.
“Look out!!!” Kaname shouted as loud as she could. She heard similar warnings coming from different locations throughout the clearing and surrounding woods area.
The first creature ran low to the ground, ignoring any possible threat the cluster of boys might offer. It knocked hard into their legs, knocking a number of students hard to the ground. The second beast followed directly behind it, leaping. One clawed hand swiped, ripping out the wind pipe of the nearest boy, sending a spray of blood away from his collapsing body. One clawed foot struck another boy in the groin, tearing fiercely and briefly, sending the boy to the ground in unbelievably agony.
The young creatures looked on, rapt with fascination.
Kaname felt close to passing out. It was too much. No one should have to witness something like this. Terrorists, as terrible as they were, made some kind of sense to her. These monsters did not. She came close to wetting herself, unconcerned by any form of embarrassment.
“Run....you have to run.... It’s your only chance....”
Kaname recognized the voice. It was Tsubaki Issei. He was somewhere further up the hill. She remembered him and his club members thinking the mountains would be a great place to get some martial arts practice in.
They all packed a lot of misconceptions along with their clothing, it seemed. But who could blame them? How could anyone have predicted this? Even Sousuke and his overactive sense of paranoia couldn’t have dreamed up these beasts.
Sousuke.
“I hope you’re safe, Sousuke....”
One boy rammed his stick hard into the back of a beast. The makeshift spear snapped, but not before causing a small wound. The victory was short- lived, however. A backhand swipe by one creature knocked the courageous challenger to the ground at the feet of the other beast. A fierce thrust of its muzzle and powerful snap of its jaws tore out one half of his throat. He was left near death, gurgling out his final words.
The following melee was one-sided, brutal, and swift. For those still able to watch, the action was too fast to follow.
Two powerful arms brought furred palms together, cracking the skull between them. With on beast on each arm, a boy was torn into pieces. Is scream ended when a double swipe left him headless. A swing of one paw followed by a slash by a clawed foot left a pool of intestines spreading by one speechless victim. A vicious strike by one beast severed a boy’s spine in the lumbar region. He fell paralyzed to the ground, left alive by the satisfied monsters. The brief danger to the young had ended. Both furred monstrosities ran back to take their place in the silent but watching line of figures.
Sano hadn’t moved. His eyes were open, glued to the face of his hunter. He was too afraid to even think straight. Both legs felt as if they were ready to collapse. His bladder contracted and his sphincter relaxed.
URRRRRR RUFFFF AHHHHH RUFFFFFF
The female brought her young’s attention back to the lesson at hand. The rapid attack they had just witnessed was far too advanced a lesson for youthful creatures. There were important and basic things to learn first.
With a fast lunge, she clamped her jaws tight on the quivering boy’s throat. A twist of her head broke her prey’s neck and threw the body to the ground.
He never had time to make a sound.
AHHHHH RUFFFFFFF AHHHHH RUFFFFF
A slashing technique was demonstrated. The head lay partially attached to the lifeless body.
GRRRRRR RUFFFFF
Another swipe of razor-sharp talons opened the abdominal cavity.
After the body was turned over, the back of one knee was struck with what would have been a crippling blow. A well-placed bite behind the other knee was of equal efficacy.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO AHHHH ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Both young looked excited, but tentative. They looked at each other, then looked at groups of humans disappearing into the forest. Then they turned their gaze downward.
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRRRRR RUFFFFFFFFFF
Their mother cuffed each sternly, causing them to cringe and whine.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Both smaller beats took off running in different directions. It was time to try out the things they had been taught. Their bodies quickly passed out of view. The effects of their hunt were well within earshot. Howling and snarling soon gave way to screaming and wailing. Then, all was silent.
The successful hunts for the two young seemed to send a signal. Kaname’s heart began pounding again as she saw all of the resting adults shoot off like missiles, each targeting a different area of the camp. She couldn’t follow it all even if she wanted to. Even if each beast took down only one person, the resulting carnage would be devastating.
“Let us in....please.... you have to.... they’re coming....”
“Not me.... O, don’t let it be me... anyone but me....”
“Go away. Leave the door alone. We can’t fit any more. Save yourself and run....”
“No...O, no... no, no, no... noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo....”
“We’re trapped in here. Trapped like rats. They can just wait for us to come out. We’ll never get home alive....”
“Shut up... shut up.... SHUT UP!!! Shut the hell up or I’ll throw you outside....”
“I........... don’t............ want........... to............ die-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-....”
“We don’t have much time left.... We should share these moments together....”
“Damn you Shirai, keep your hands off of me!!!”
One door opened briefly, long enough for Shirai to be unceremoniously booted out onto his rump. Looking at the drastic scene unfolding around him, he jumped up and started pulling on the door handle. “I’ll pay you. I’ll pay each and every one of you. Whatever it takes....”
Throughout the camp students dealt with the knowledge that death ran rampant around them. Those that could see the approaching menace, wished they couldn’t. Those in the sweaty and cramped darkness of the shelters were scared close to tears by what they couldn’t see. In this case, their imagination was not worse than reality.
The student politician in her took over briefly. She couldn’t image anyone having to make phone calls to the authorities. Who would believe the tales? She broke out in tears again, wondering how parents would find out about the end of their children’s lives.
Soon enough, however, she had something of her own to worry about. If standing, she would have doubled over in pain. The sharp ache inside her head had her seeing flashes of light. She retched. Each limbed twitched involuntarily, once, twice, three times. She fought hard to control her bodily functions.
The silver beast got to his feet. As if out on a leisurely stroll, he began to walk forward, looking up at Kaname’s tree. The pink and black splotched tongue hung out of his mouth, highlighting a languid lupine grin.
It took little notice of the bloody massacre in progress.
GRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRRR
The sounds of its subordinate creatures filled the night. The beast seemed not to care. Kaname had a more personal concern.
“Ahhhh, oooooooooooooooo noooooooooooo grglgrgllllll.....”
“Go, O God, O God...”
“Somebody please....”
“I.... No.....arrrgggllllgrglll.....”
The cries of the unfortunates filled their fellow campers with escalating levels of capitulation and revulsion.... dread and despair.... inspiration and necessity.
Blood splattered against one hut, as a girl was split lengthwise down the middle. Her arms swung out in an involuntary embrace of sorts, shocking the nearby boy who once had a crush on her. Screams from inside the structure showed that the relatively safe students were nonetheless freaking out as well.
Kaname took no notice of any of that. Her eyes watched what she believed would be her own doom.
One distant creature obviously took the idea of sheltered prey as a personal affront or an instinctual challenge. It threw its body hard against one of the cabin doors. The wood began to splinter, but held fast. Another leap widened the defect and heightened the beast’s eagerness. Again and again he buffeted the door with his full weight and strength, until it gave way with a resounding sound.
A boy looked up at an unholy sight, the last thing he saw being the dark outline of an inhuman head silhouetted eerily by the fires far behind it. A horrid crunch filled the room as wide jaws took hold of the sides of is head and closed like a vice. Blood and brain matter spurted all over the girl behind him, the next person with the dubious privilege of being closest to the great outdoors. She looked on with shock as the monster dragged away the boy who had once been her older brother’s best friend.
Kaname was oblivious. The silver beast stopped a moment, checking on the progress of this latest foraging raid. Content, it looked back up at Kaname. Smiling, it fractured the night with an amazing howl.
AHHHHH R-O-O-O-O-O -O-O-O-O-O-O- O-O-O-O-O-O- O-O-O-O-O -O-O-O-O-O -O-O-O-O- O-O-O-O-O-O-O -O-O-O-O -O-O-O-O- O-O-O-O-O- O-O-O-O-O-O -O-O-O-O-O- O-O-O- O-O-O -O-O-O-O-O-O- -O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O- O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O -O-O-O-O-O- O-O-O- O-O-O-O-O-O-O- O-O-O-O-O-O-O
Whatever they were doing, each other creature stopped, then belted out an answering howl.
AHHH RRROOOOO OOOOOO OOOOOOOOO OOOOOOO OOOOO OOOOOOO OOOOOO OOOOO
Ahhhh Roooooo oooooooo ooooo oooooo ooooo ooo ooo ooo ooooooo ooooo ooooooo oooooo ooo oooo
Calls came in from distant points along the mountain chain.
The silver beast resumed its fateful advance. Kaname whispered “Sousuke,” first as a sign of hope.... then as a plea.... and finally as a farewell she wished more than anything she could have said face to face. She felt an urge to kiss her absent protector, something she wouldn’t have otherwise had the nerve to admit to herself. There would be so many opportunities lost this night.
She fought hard, climbing up into the highest portion of her tree’s crown. Leaning out over the cushioning leaves, she tried to focus on anything but the silver monster. She didn’t know if it could climb trees, but its confident approach directly towards her spoke volumes.
From below, she heard a tender admission. An answering sob came from somewhere in the tree next to her‘s..
“Ren. I will do what I can to stop it. If I do not make it, I just wanted to say that you are important to me.... more than I can say.... I wish we could have had more time....” Atsunobu put his spear aside and took the pistol Sousuke had given him out of his waistband.
Tears streamed down Ren’s dirt-smeared face. She mustered up a bit of strength and mouthed the words “I love you....”
Off across the clearing, Kaname watched in horror as a number of creatures began dragging off bodies. Perhaps they were intended as food for those creatures too injured to hunt, or those who might be guarding infants at some lair..
The other creatures saw no need for patience. They ripped, shredded, lapped, and chewed, great animal sighs of contentment whuffing out of them now and again. One pair even playfully batted a head back and forth between them. It was almost as if THEY were the ones enjoying a relaxing picnic in the hills.
Her mind flooded with too many images to take in, Kaname did happen to notice a number of the creatures begin marking trees at the edge of the clearing. Others began digging at the dirt, looking as if they were digging pits. Would they bury the remains? Or, was this a way to keep their kills away from other smaller hunters and scavengers?
One of the pups from before ran back into the clearing, a complete set of intestines trailing behind it. It tumbled over an exposed tree root, rolling, entwining itself in the gory remains. Its sibling followed closely behind, throwing what appeared to be a lung up and catching it, repeating the infantile game as it trotted along.
It was a nightmare. It had to be a nightmare. Nothing like this could possibly exist. Nothing.
Bang bang bang
Atsunobu targeted the alpha mail, firing the Glock 26 from ten yards away. Every shot landed long or wide. The best continued moving slowly, making no effort to dodge or shift.
Bang bang bang.
A number of shots kicked up dirt from in front of its feet, but it took little notice. It smelled the fear and panic coming from the boy. Contemptuously, it gave the equivalent of a lupine laugh, then bounded high over Atsunobu’s head, landing heavily on one of the lower thicker tree branches. Powerful leg muscles sent it springing higher, again and again. Branch after branch bent under its considerable weight.
Bang bang bang
Atsunobu’s shots threw chips of wood here and here, but missed his intended target. His next shots would go elsewhere, as one of the beasts noted that the pack leader was under attack, no matter how ineffective those attempts were. It began running towards the gun-wielding boy and Ren. Another joined it, peeling away at the last moment.
The second wolf headed straight towards Shinji, its blood speckled muzzle opening for the kill. At the last moment, it wheeled and took the boy next to him. The creature bumped up against a near comatose Shinji repeatedly as it pulled out large pieces of succulent organs.
Bang bang bang
Desperation is a good drill sergeant. The next three shots each hit the bounding menace, two puncturing its shoulder and the third hitting squarely between the eyes. The creature yelped, tripped, and tumbled over and over again, landing twenty feet from its killer. With one last effort it sprung, teeth snapping shut just inches from Atsunobu’s foot.
The other monsters stopped their current activities, turning to look in his direction.
A-H-H-H R-O-O-O-O O-O-O-O –O-O-O-O O-O-O-O O-O-O-O-O O-O-O-O-O –O-O-O-O –O- O-O-O –O-O-O-O O-O-O-O –O-O-O-O
The communal howl was followed by a growing chorus of growls. The hair on each beast stood on end. Their ears twitched. Mouths opened and closed. One of the prey had dared strike back.
He alpha male did not pause in his ascent. Given the closeness of the smaller branches, he was climbing now rather than leaping. He could see a dark shape above him. The smell of his prey had him salivating unstoppably.
Wet drops of clinging drool stuck to the tree, oozing ever so slightly before surface tension took over.
OOOOF OOOOF OOOOOO
The creature made quick sounds high in its throat, the hightened level of hunger spurring it higher and higher.
Kaname grabbed her head between her hands. The pain was excruciating. How could that thing be transmitting on some mental wavelength that affected her? Did it somehow sense she was Whispered. Was that why she was being singled out? She had not seen any of the other beasts make the obvious greater effort to climb trees after cornered boy and girls.
“Sousuke. If you’re coming, please hurry....”
OOOOOOOOOO OOOOF OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
The silver creature made a prodigious jump, launching itself across space, landing on a larger cross bough. There was more room to maneuver comfortably on that other side of the tree.
A glance beyond the tree showed larger and larger groups of running students, some of whom took the time to grab their gear. They were running back down the hill, not sure of where they were going, but filled with a need to move. The attention of the monsters set on someone else, they took what little chance they saw.
A single bound brought the alpha male within twenty feet of Kaname’s dangling legs.
“Kaname, can you climb any higher?” Atsunobu’s shouted question left Kaname feeling desperate. The higher branches wouldn’t hold her weight. She didn’t bother answering.
URRRRRRRRRR RRRR RRRR RRRR
A short hopping motion brought the huge beast onto a branch fifteen feet away from the cowering girl. The branch cracked, causing the predator to slide downward a bit, its claws leaving deep rents in the bark of the ash tree.
“Kaname, your stick....” Ren had the presence of mind to call out a suggestion to her friend. She didn’t continue looking in her direction. The remaining creatures began walking slower in her and Atsunobu’s direction, their arms held out far to the side, curving forward. The beast rubbing up against Shinji unintentionally knocked him to the ground as it started forward.
Given a purpose, even a fleeting one, Kaname felt a renewed desire to persevere... to continual fighting.... to live. She waiting until the climbing monster was four feet from her, then thrust out with all her might. The beast took the spear in its mouth, breaking it in two with a powerful bite. Its climbing continued.
Before she knew it, the creature had come within arm’s length. It paused, grinning at her, leaves looking like a wreath around its great shaggy brow.
“Kaname. Try working around to the other side of the tree. If you can get past it, start coming back down.” Atsunobu considered running himself. Not because he had any hope of escaping a chasing pack. If they followed him away from Ren, she might have a better chance to survive.
GRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRUUUFFFF URRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
The beast in the tree blinked repeatedly, then opened its mouth. Kaname could sense its deepest thoughts. It was hungry. She was special, different than the rest. A fitting prize for the leader. It was time to feed.
Kaname opened her mouth, but found she had nothing to say. She didn’t see an avenue of escape.
“NO!!! Kaname!!!” Ren was at the base of the tree, looking up. The tree blocked her view of approaching danger.
----WHUMPPP!!! WHOOOOOSH!!!----
A blinding light filtered up through the trees tightly packed branches and leaves. Leaves on the outside of the tree began to smolder and burn. Down below on the ground, a group of three monsters who had been advancing close to one another were screaming in tremendous pain. One looked like nothing more than a living flame. Another batted at its face, its head blazing like a furred torch. The other rolled on the ground, shrouded in thick white smoke and dotted with glowing white specks of phosphorus.
Huge streamers of smoke and glowing particles gave a falsely festive appearance to the campsite momentarily. Frightened students and shocked monsters all stopped to marvel at the miraculous flower of light growing at one edge of the camp site.
The explosion and actinic glare startled Shinji out of his near comatose condition. “What...where...where are we...how can this all be real... why.... Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy....”
His gaze fell on a solitary figure advancing out of the woods, a large bag hanging down from one shoulder. He should know that person somehow. His mind was too muddled to think clearly.
Bang bang bang bang bang.
As Kaname watched in disbelief, the alpha male shook in pain, red splotches forming over its side and back. A small puff of smoke issued forth from one bullet wound. The subsequent howl of pain and disbelief shook the very tree around her.
Bang bang
The additional shots took it on the head and arm, stunning the beats. A small explosion tore open the impacted limb, throwing tufts of hair and a spray of blood over onto the nearest vegetation. The wounded nightmare fell down some distance, before grabbing one branch with taloned hands.
How could someone hit that monster, shielded as it was in the tree? Who could be that lucky... or that skilled.
Kaname felt hope well up inside of her. Could it be?
Her question was answered.
“You will NOT touch Kaname.”
It was Sousuke.