Nolan stalked cautiously through the dark, quiet forest. Around him the faint wind whispered through the tree tops and rustled the brittle leaves that littered the ground. He tried to be silent, except it seemed he couldn’t step anywhere without making some sort of sound; a crunching leaf, a snapping twig, every noise sounding like a gunshot in the silence. Even his breath, which he was only now starting to get under control, sounded unbearably loud in his ears. He wanted to stop and hide but knew that he didn't dare.
Something was with him in the forest.
He had lost track of how far and how long he had run. Long enough for his legs to ache and his lungs to burn. Far enough that he had little idea of where he was. He had left civilization behind, moving through the quiet neighborhoods on the borders of Inlet City and into the woodlands beyond. Then the chase had ended… and the hunt had begun. The loping, snarling beast that had pursued him was replaced by a silent stalker whose presence Nolan could feel somewhere close even if he couldn't see or hear it.
All through their chase his pursuer had snapped at his heels, never catching up, always just close enough that he couldn't risk stopping. Then, out of nowhere, it would be upon him, dashing up along side, pushing him down this deserted street or that empty alley. Now they had arrived at their destination, the one it had wanted all along. Only now, with a moment to think clearly, did he realize the truth. There had never been the slightest hope of escape. He had been herded, like a lamb, to where it had wanted him to go, to the place where it could take its time. Nolan cursed himself for a fool even though he could not imagine what he might have done differently.
It was early spring and the buds were only just beginning to form on the trees. Faint light filtered down through the empty branches as the moon slipped from behind a cloud. Nolan paused and glanced around, hoping that the light might reveal his attacker’s location, but the moonlight only transformed the near total darkness into a shifting shadow play of menacing phantoms. He leaned against a tree and closed his eyes, hoping to catch some tell tale sound of his enemy's approach. It was there, he was sure of it. Some base, reptilian, prey-sense told him there was a presence nearby, but not where. He had only seen it briefly, in blurred flashes of claws and teeth, but he knew it was big, like a bear. How could it move so quietly? Nolan continued to try and calm himself, willing his frantic heart to slow, letting tired lungs suck in long, easy wisps of cool night air. Minutes passed but nothing disturbed the stillness. He was entertaining the fool's hope that the creature had given up on him when he heard an ever so quiet rush of air. From somewhere in the dark behind him there came a series of sharp, quick inhalations; the unmistakable sound of something large and hungry scenting the air.
Nolan scanned the staccato shadow pattern of the trees, searching for any sign of movement, and caught sight of the creature for the first time. It stood in a small clearing, bathed in pale light. At first it seemed like nothing more than some large animal but the longer he looked the more he saw strange incongruities in its form. The rear legs bent backwards, out past the hind quarters, like a bird’s, and they moved with the same quick, avian grace. Large humps jutted up from its back where the front legs met the shoulders and Nolan could just make out the twitch and roll of muscle masses moving beneath the skin. The body ended suddenly in a blunted mound that he could only assume was some kind of head. It pawed the ground around it with long, thin fingered paws that looked disturbingly human, despite each finger being tipped with a thick, sharp talon.
Nolan watched as it awkwardly swung its head back and forth, sniffing and stepping, searching for him. It sniffed once and stopped, head frozen, nostrils flaring, and began to circle around where Nolan hid behind his tree. Had it smelled him? He couldn’t be sure. It did appear to be slowly closing in. Nolan leaned a little further out, trying to keep the thing in sight, and saw something that turned his blood to ice. A faint hissing came from beneath the creature, the sound of something slithering dryly through the brittle leaves. Nolan watched the silhouette of a long, prehensile protrusion descending into the shadowed leaf bed between the creature hind legs. He tried to tell himself it was some kind of tail but the longer he looked the more he knew it was not\; and that was when the real terror took hold of him.
Before he was truly aware he was doing so Nolan had taken off at a dead run in the opposite direction of the creature. There was no thought or plan in his movement, no attempt at cunning or guile; just pure, blind, animal panic. The sight of the thing’s “appendage” had awoken a deeper, more primal, fear than Nolan had ever dreamt of. A feeling rose in him, a half recalled memory, that filled him with such unspeakable dread that his mind recoiled from it before he could fully grasp its meaning. Somehow he knew, without really “knowing”, what was about to happen, and the realization of it wiped away all logic and reason in a single, desperate wave of horrified revulsion.
Behind Nolan the creature turned with remarkable speed and dashed after him. It closed the minor gap between them easily. Within seconds he could smell the rank odor of it, a nauseating mixture of putrid bile and rotting flesh, as its wet, heaving breath rushed in and out in great, hollow pants. He imagined he could hear something else in that heavy breath, something more than just exertion, a sense of exhilaration and… anticipation. The thought sent a new wave of terror wailing through his mind and a fresh gout of adrenaline surged into his veins. Tapping new found reserves Nolan pushed himself faster, dodging and ducking with thoughtless ease, moving on pure instinct.
On open ground the loping thing would almost certainly have overtaken him, but its size proved to be a hinderance in the tight quarters of the forest. Nolan had, without being aware of it, made for a thicker part of the woods, where the trees were smaller and closer together. Behind him Nolan heard an almost constant cacophony of heavy snaps and cracks as the lumbering beast collided with and shattered one tree trunk after another. Unfortunately for Nolan, in spite of the impedance, it continued to gain ground. For all his effort he was having more and more difficulty avoiding obstacles. He felt a sudden, harsh pain rip through his side as he collided with something more solid than himself. Nolan spun, stumbled, and for a moment entertained the notion of righting himself. Then he felt a horizontal line of searing fire tear across the back of his calf as his pursuer finally drew close enough to strike. His wounded leg buckled with the pain and Nolan went sprawling. Rocks and branches tore at his clothes and skin as he fell. He finished his painful dance with a graceless tumble and crashed on to the muddy bank of a shallow stream.
The creature plodded, almost casually, to a stop. It loomed, still breathing in quick pants, and peered down as Nolan sluggishly tried to get up. Through a haze of pain and mud Nolan stared up into its bizarre visage. Three wet, black eyes the size of baseballs stared back at him from the neckless lump of its head. Faint flashes of white light swirled hypnotically like tiny, luminescent fish in obsidian bowls. Fetid jets of steaming breath washed over him from a line of large, mucus ringed nostrils. The lipless slit of its mouth parted rhythmically in time with its breath and he could see two tightly interlocking rows of small, sharp fangs that glowed in the moonlight.
Nolan slowly rose to his knees and the creature let him. There was no tension in its movements. It simply watched, savoring the moment. Nolan stared back while his hands dug hopelessly in the muddy bank for anything that might serve as a weapon. His fingers seized on a short branch and he held it out before him in hopeless defiance, like some crude talisman, still unwilling to surrender.
The beast reared effortlessly up on those incomprehensible hind legs. What Nolan saw there, in the beasts underbelly, was beyond him. His mind denied it, rejected it, refused to accept what it saw. It wasn’t just the “thing” he’d seen before. There was more. So much more. Things that moved and twisted and coiled and twitched and reached out languidly towards him. Terrible, inconceivable things, so much more than such a mass should have been able to contain, and their number grew. He wanted to shut his eyes but he could not. His mind was ensnared, held captive by the sheer impossibility of it all. His pathetic weapon slipped from his now useless fingers. He was undone and what little remained of his mind braced for the terrible violation he knew was to come. Then, in a brilliant flash of light, the beast... was gone.
Nolan knelt, knees sinking slowly, hands caked with black river mud, and blinked in confusion. Two sounds came to him, one from each side, each demanding his attention. From the left came a grating electric sizzle followed by a deep thrumming rhythm. From the right came an inhuman howl of agony. Nolan turned to the howl and saw his assailant writhing on its back in the shallow water of the stream, trying to gain its feet, mewling in pain with each movement. The beast rolled, slipped in the slick mud, and righted itself. Nolan watched as the beast turned towards him. It raised its head and he could tell immediately that he was no longer the focus of its attention. Following the line of its gaze Nolan found himself staring into a swirling mass of arcing electricity. Behind it, lit by the wavering, electric glow, Nolan could just make out a human form.
“GRAB HIM!” a voice shouted.
A pair of strong hands clamped like iron over Nolan’s shoulders and hauled him backwards into the tiny stream. The beast had shaken off whatever had been done to it. Its muscles tensed and it leapt. The air in front of Nolan’s face was rent by a swirling blast of energy followed closely by a smell that reminded him of burning flowers. Two twirling stream of pinkish electricity raced through the air and met the leaping creature head on. There was a moment when the beast hung in the air as energy coursed over its snarling face. Then it flew backwards, flipping end over end in an almost comical fashion, and slammed against the thick trunk of an oak tree. A shuddering vibration rippled through the ground and the beast landed in a smoking, crumpled heap.
The iron hands hoisted Nolan to his feet and spun him around to face their owner. A bearded face beneath a short brimmed cap greeted him with a congenial grin.
“Well now,” said Isaac, “that certainly was exciting, wasn’t it?”
Nolan fainted.
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