ALICE
Alice was sitting by the window watching her father and brother walk off into the distance with their guns in their hands. She watched as the two slowly became smaller and smaller as they walked. She watched them until they had faded away into the tree line. When Alice could no longer see them, she still sat in the chair next to the window and began to wait for their return, watching and waiting like a wolf on the hunt.
“Alice, is there something that is bothering you my dear?” Alice turned her head to look at her mother. She was knitting on the chair across the sitting room, her needling clacking with every stitch she made in the fabric.
“No mother, I’m fine…what do you think those two are hiding from us?” Alice asked her mother, not taking her eyes off the tree line through the window.
“Alice, your father is a very stubborn man and he has his reasons for many things, so if he is hiding something, the truth will come out eventually,” her mother said along with the constant clicks and clacks of her needles.
“Mother, do you feel that there is something a little…off about tonight?” Alice looked towards her mother who had set down the knitting and looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
“Alice, I don’t know if it’s those books you have all wrapped up in that head of yours, or you are just paranoid but there is nothing you should be worried about.” The woman shook her head and picked up her needles and twine and resumed her knitting.
But there was something that was different, something that DID cause for alarm, or was her mother right, was she just being paranoid with herself? Alice could feel it though, she could feel those eyes beating down on her from the shadows, Alice could feel them, burning holes right through her skin.
Alice knew something else was lurking in the woods following her brother, chasing him, hunting him, stalking him, and hiding in their own shadows. Alice wanted to run after him, she wanted to wrap her arms around her brother and drag him to safety but she couldn’t. Alice was aware if she did something of sorts, chasing her brother down, it would be simply insane, maybe that’s what it was. Maybe she was going insane. Was this what happens when one is afraid for another? Was this isolation and unknown just only getting to her; was it just that, an itch under the skin, the fear of nothing?
The young girl took a long deep breath and slowly let it out. She was just pushing it. There was nothing to worry about, she was only stirring the bees' nest with her own thoughts, making things up to prove that something was wrong.
As time when on, Alice had calmed herself down and was trying to keep her mind off of her father and brother, and the forest, and the secrets, anything that was to cause for alarm. Time past with ease and soon night fall was upon them. The two girls had gone into their bedrooms and changed into nightgowns. In moments, Abigail was in her bed and was fast asleep but Alice was not the same.
The 16 year old was lying in her bed staring blankly up at the ceiling of her room. She studied the long pieces of wood, looking deep into the knots and cracks as if she was trying to find a secret that was hidden deep within them. The knots were few in numbers but large in size, most were around seven inches long, all of them dark and swirling so different from the rest of the log, making them so unique to look at. The cracks in the wood were much more numerous, but were thin and narrow, most of them were alone and separated but there were some that connected like a spiders web, looking like roads and rivers on a map.
At last, the young girl could not bring herself to sleep, knowing that her family was still out prowling in the night, deep in the woods. Alice was frustrated that no matter how hard she tried she could not close her eyes and sleep without being rushed with worries about her father and brother. Why was she the one sickened with fear but not her mother, who was perfectly calm and collective over the matter. But why not her? Alice was at a loss.
“Hurry up Joel; you are killing me with this waiting!” Alice muttered softly into her pillow, all flustered and very, very tired.
Alice tossed and turned every which way, trying to find a decent spot that was comfortable enough to sleep on but to no avail, she gave up later. The young teenager eventually, in frustration, pulled herself out of bed, lit a small candle and walked out into the sitting room. Alice took a seat on the same chair and watched the outside world from the window above it, setting the candle down on the table behind her.
Alice was resting her head on the cold glass, lazily peering out into the night, scanning the tree line for any signs of her brother, or her…
“AH!”Alice reeled back in shock before clamping her mouth shut with both hands and waited for anything that would indicate that she had awoken her mother. She sighed in relief when nothing came.
Alice hesitantly looked back out the window and out at the forest that was beyond the glass…nothing, there was nothing there except for the trees. Alice swore on her grandfather's gave that she saw something, something that unnerved her, something that made the house creek, something with deadly red eyes…
Alice placed a shaking hand on the window and wiped the fog that had built up on it, due to the colder night air. Once the glass plane window as cleared, Alice placed both of her hands, softly on it and leaned ever so slightly to see if those… eyes were still watching. They were nowhere to be seen.
Alice could feel her heart pound under her skin. It was beating so hard, that Alice could not tell if she was being punched in the chest, or her heart beat right now. She watched the outside with short, irregular, and staggered breaths, her legs shook slightly and her palms were starting to sweat onto the window. Alice was terrified of the thought of that thing coming back, but it soon dawned on her like a bag of hammers, her brother was out there with that…thing but what could a young girl like herself do to stop a demon?
For the first time Alice was truly terrified…
Alice felt her body tense up and her mind become clouded with thoughts of her brother being eaten alive by a monster so horrible she could not even think of a shape for it. She felt goose bumps cover her arms and neck.
Then there was a howl in the night, a wolf’s howl. It startled the already terrified girl into shivers. With every shake, Alice’s blood became colder and colder. Alice slowly stepped up from the window, and crept away from the glass, never taking her eyes away from the tree line.
It’s coming…it’s coming…it got Joel and Father, now it’s coming for me and Mother! Alice knew what the howl meant, the hunt was on and she was the big game.
Alice, with nothing else on her mind, raced to her mother’s bedroom and started hammering down on the wooden door, so hard, she feared it would splinter. Alice continued to batter on the door calling out to her mother, “MOTHER!” she cried. “MOTHER WAKE UP, PLEASE!” Alice yelled and screamed, beating even harder on the door, until finally the door swung open, Alice was never so happy to see Mother so!
“What has gotten into you young lady, why are pounding on my door and at this hour!” Abigail raved with her hair in a mess and face full of anger.
“Mother, I saw something in the forest it…it got them Mother, it got both of them and now it’s coming for us!” Alice was looking up at her mother talking fast and loud and was on the brink of breaking down into tears.
“Alice, calm down and tell me what has your panties in such a fiddle!” Alice’s mother continued while leading the terrified girl into the sitting room and setting her down on the couch right in front of the small table with the candle.
Abigail sat herself down on the couch next to her daughter who finally gave in and started to break down next to her. "How could one little dream cause so much pain to a girl?" was the question on the mind of the elder woman.
“Mother, please listen to me!” Alice cried “I couldn’t sleep last night so I started to wait by the window and when I was looking I saw these… eyes …” Alice was holding her own hand and had them tucked into lap as she leaned on her mother, crying.
“Oh my poor little darling, you probably just fell asleep without knowing it and dreamed it all up.” Alice’s mother wrapped a comforting arm around her daughter and rocked the young girl back and forth and hummed a soft tune.
“It’s all right dear, just a bad dream, we all have them and you are nothing different,” Abigail muttered into Alice’s ear, as she looked into the candle flame that had transfixed her eyes.
Alice refused to believe it was only a stupid nightmare. She knew what she saw, and it was coming for them! Alice would not wait around like a baby in its crib. She had to run. She needed to escape and find Joel before it was too late!
Alice pushed away from her mother, her eyes were burning and face wet from tears. Alice peered over her mother’s shoulders and tried to look out the window behind her but the window was too foggy to see out of. Alice stood from the couch and slowly shuffled towards the window. Abigail was calling her back but she ignored her mother’s pleas. She was determined to see what was on the other side, out there in the night. The only audible sound in the room was the sound of Alice’s bare feet sliding across the floor as she made her way to the window with extreme caution.
She was standing right behind the window by now. Alice cold feel the air touching her skin like small daggers that pinched the skin. Alice was unsteady, her legs were weak and hands covered in sweat, her heart beat was harder than a drum, she had a twitch in her hand, as she touched the window, it burned from the cold.
Alice started to slide her hand across the icy glass and wiped away just enough of the fog to see out of it. Alice did not know if she should be relieved or more terrified when she saw that there was nothing out there in the dark. She did not know if she should be relieved that whatever she saw was not coming back after her, or terrified that it was on its way lurking in the darkness, waiting to strike. Alice’s mother was not impressed.
“See, there is nothing out there but the trees and…Alice come over here, get away from the window, now!” Abigail reached over and grabbed her daughter and pulled the young girl away from window and pushed her behind herself.
Out the same window that Alice had spent hours wasting away in front of, the same piece of glass that had started this mess was showing to the girls that Alice was right all along, for the those red eyes she saw before, had returned.
“Oh no…” Alice was clamped tight on her mother’s arm for her legs had failed her. She watched the blood eyes ominously float towards them, becoming bigger, and bigger, and bigger with every second that passed by.
swoosh!
There was a rush of frozen air that blew through the house from nowhere. It blew out the small candle on the table and plunged the room into darkness. Both girls looked at the smoldering wick in shock and fear.
Alice was the first to look back and she nearly lost it, the blood eyes were gone again, they vanished, just like that, gone…
“Were did they go?” Alice stammered aloud.
“I…I don’t k know…maybe it left.” Abigail was unsteady. She walked to the window with slow, deep inhales and exhales.
“Mother don’t, stay away from it …” Alice was stepping back and not following her mother. She was pleading for her to return, to stay away from the window.
Abigail was ignoring her daughter’s pleas and warnings; she was determined to find out if they were truly alone. They say that "curiosity killed the cat". Abigail probably never heard the saying before, or she might still be alive.
The woman had leaned forward and looked out into the darkness. There was a scream, then the shattering of glass, the sound of ripping flesh, and then the walls were painted with blood.
Thump! The sound of dead weight falling to the floor.
Abigail was decapitated. Her blood stained the wood and the white cloth of her gown. Alice screamed as the blood eyes returned and they were looking right at her. She could feel its eyes burning through her skin.
Alice screamed again and fell to the floor. She was crawling backwards trying to hide from those eyes. Then there was a sharp, snapping sound. Splinters went shooting through the air, cutting her bloody gown, and tearing her skin open. Alice yelped in pain as she held a hand over the largest cut on her upper arm that was bleeding profusely.
A figure, no…a monster, walked through the massive crater in the side of the house. It walked in, stepping on top of her mother’s corpse, followed by a hideous crunch of bones. Alice was far beyond mortified.
It took only three steps for it to be standing over her. The beast pinned her to floor with a bloody foot and it leaned its great wolf like head down to meet hers. The monster opened its maw and spoke in a deep demonic like voice.
“You…are…chosen…you…have…blood…worthy…” it snarled with breath that smelt of rot and blood.
“You… come…with…it.” The creature reached down and grabbed the girl.
--<=>--
JOEL
Joel shot straight up from the forest floor. It was warmer, everything seemed smaller, and looked oddly strange in a way but…was it always like this? He did not know. He knew only that he was hungry and... what was that smell? Joel looked down at his claws…paw hands…claws…paw hands…claws and paw hands? Yes, claws and paw hands, and fuzz, no fur, yes, that’s it! Fur, lots, and lots of fur, what else?
Joel spun around taking notice to the thing that was hiding in the corner of his eye but it would disappear before he could catch it. It was so fast! Eventually, Joel gave up trying to catch the strange object that was just too fast.
There was a rush of wind that brought many things to his nose, something crisp and smooth at the same time…water! And, what else…big…stingy…cat...but was too far away. Then there was the smell of mold, dirt and wood at the same time. What could that be? There was another breeze that brought one smell that…wait…no…many smells all in one! There was the smell of meat and lots of it…food!
Joel prowled around, sniffing the air, trying to locate the trail and he soon found it mixed slightly with the stingy cat smell, with the multi-smell in his nose. He bolted in the direction his nose was telling him to follow. Joel ducked and weaved through the trees, lunging himself over the snarled roots that seeped into the ground like worms. He dashed through the forest and under brush and came to a stop when the trees opened up. Joel tested the winds and the smell broke off to the left slightly and then he was off into the woods again.
The scent was becoming more and more, clear and heavier on his nose. The scent started to break apart into separate smells that gave him an idea of how many creatures were at the end of the trail he was following. After a little while longer of traveling he started listing the most recognizable scents that touched his nostrils. There was bear, many birds, chicken, rodents, snakes, other reptiles, maybe a horse, and a few others that were nothing like anything else he was smelling.
They were close, very close, less than a stone throws away! Joel slowed his pace and hunched down. He blended in with the underbrush and moved as silent as a ghost. As Joel sneaked through the dark, he could see small flickers of light through the bushes in front of him. He was drawn to it like a fly is to an oil lantern. His steps were remarkably silent as he slithered through the trees, making his way to the light that grew in intensity as he got closer.
Joel stopped. The light was emanating from behind the underbrush in front of him. He took long graceful steps to move around it. He was on all fours and his paws made only the slightest sound when he walked. After a few steps, he found a thick tree that forked into two.
Joel seeped his claws into the left trunk and moved his head up to see between them and the light beyond it. When he was positioned, he looked over the scene and spotted a small cozy looking cottage that took the shape of a very large tree stump, shaved down, hollowed out, and covered in vegetation. It had a small bridge that arced over a small stream and went farther down a dirt road. Joel looked beyond the cottage and there were small pens and coups spread around in the fields behind it. Now past the house and across the bridge there was a thinner tree next to the bridge and there hung three smaller houses, actually there were a lot of smaller houses hanging from the trees or the cottage itself.
The air was littered with the scent of many different animals, small and large, all the same ones from before. He was so close he could locate where they were and the small red coup was drawing the hight of his attention. Joel took a deep inhale of the air and figured out that many of the animals were coming from the cottage but there were other scents coming from under the bridge, the smaller houses, and in the general area around the home.
After spending time stalking the residence, Joel decided to make a move on the coup and feast on the few dozen or so chickens inside of it. He gripped both splits of the tree and pulled himself through the fork and landed in the open with the sound of soft grass crunching beneath him. Joel prowled with deathly quiet steps keeping one eye on the cottage and the other on the coup. It seemed that no living thing was aware of what was lurking right over them, unaware of the single thing that was going to seal their fates.
Joel came to the edge of the fence that encircled the coup and he swiftly stepped over it, for the fence came no higher than below his knees. As he made his way towards the chickens, the light inside of the cottage flickered and slowly died out one by one. This made him stop, wait, and watch as instinct instructed him to do. The peace returned and Joel continued to fulfill his desires and satisfy not only his hunger but a blood lust that squirmed in the back of his mind.
Finally there he was, towering over the dwarfed chicken coup below and he was ready to feast on the poultry with satisfaction and the end to his want to kill and eat something. Joel reached down with his claws and gripped both sides of the roof and pulled and pulled he did, for the whole roof of the coup was ripped off with the nails still in the boards. The feast began.
Joel started by killing as many of the animals as he could, the chickens on the other hand, were desperately trying to escape from the deadly clutches of the monster above them, squawking and flapping their wings in attempts to flee. A long story short, the plans of escape led to the massacre of themselves or others. In the end, all 17 chickens were dead. Blood covered the floor due to the amount of severed heads, and crushed limbs of the poor animals.
Joel with a ravenous feeling in his gut, he picked up the corpses of the chickens and swallowed them whole, one by one with an odd satisfaction building in his heart. The more he ate, the more he felt the desire to hunt more, kill more, and eat more. Joel stopped his feasting, he could feel something was wrong and he looked back to the cottage. His instincts would not let him down, the lights of the cottage were reignited and a much larger animal, maybe under five feet tall was standing by the door way looking directly at him.
This one though was very odd, in its coloration of pink and yellow and the strange appendages on its back, but the fear was so intensive he could practically see it emanating of the creature in waves. IT stood there, in front of the doorway looking at him with big deep blue and mortified eyes. The terrified animal was standing on wobbling legs and he watched her as her gaze lowered to the coup next to him, then to his blood covered claws before screaming and took off over the dirt path with fluttering wings leaving a now settling dust cloud.
One thing quickly came over his mind HUNT…KILL…EAT… over and over the same words flooded his mind with a overflowing urge to do so, he howled as loud as he could at the moon and chased after his prey to be.