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Monstrous - Chapter 3
🕑 Added 2022-03-04 11:28:44 +0000 UTCAlrüna’s eyes slowly fluttered closed. Having survived the endless night, she wanted nothing more than to fall asleep and never wake up again. Her body seemed to sink into the soil; the indentation underneath her was like the softest, most comfortable mattress. A stone chip dug into her neck but, in that moment, she couldn’t care less.
As her eyes closed, she caught a hint of something: movement. The forest was still dark, but the spell had set the area around her on fire, allowing her some vision in the flickering orange light.
The beast had twitched. She stared at the corpse with a single half-lidded, bleeding eye, hoping that it had just been her imagination. One shattered leg twitched again. A corpse would sometimes have muscle contractions after death, or so she tried to convince herself.
The twitching slowly increased in intensity and frequency until the corpse was practically vibrating where it lay. Alrüna would have panicked, had the sight not been so strange. This whole situation was ridiculous. She started chuckling, everything suddenly becoming extremely funny to her. After a few breathless chuckles, she had to stop as her sides were in too much pain. The demon had likely broken one of her ribs earlier.
She coughed up a small amount of blood, her eyes still fixed on the beast. Something was happening to it. Its flesh wriggled under its skin, like a pile of maggots underneath a rotten rag. Bones snapped as they were realigned and reset. Tendons reattached themselves. Black blood flowed back into wounds that closed up shortly after.
She watched this happen with indifference, too emotionally exhausted to care.
The thing shambled to its feet, its bones creaking under the strain. It was much thinner now and looked weaker; the damage was clearly not something it could shake off. Still, it had survived.
Something looked… off about it, aside from its thinner appearance, although Alrüna wasn’t sure what exactly that ‘something’ was.
After a long pause, it made a motion as if sniffing at the air. Smelling something, it froze. Its owl-like gaze slid to where she lay - it had smelled her blood. With an uncanny leap it arrived near her, its landing completely silent.
She could see its chest moving as if struggling for breath. Its mouth opened, dripping ice cold saliva and drops of black blood on her arm. It bent down swiftly, its jaws opening wide to chomp down on her – or so she thought.
Instead, its long black tongue exited its mouth to lick at its own wounds. It shivered as it did so; whether it was in pain or disgust at its own rotten blood, she had no idea.
Next, the long fingers rolled her over slowly. The movement reminded her of how the hunter boy’s neck had been slit, making her body twitch a little in remembered fear.
It lifted her up and held her in the crook of one limb. She noticed that its chest was now expanding and contracting at a frightening rate, as if experiencing a panic attack. Its saliva continued to drip down onto her, soaking her hair and face. It was extremely hungry.
She looked up at it with glassy eyes as it sniffed the air, tufted ears twitching on the top of its head. It was desperately looking for something. It had started shaking terribly now, so much so that it had to hold her tightly to its body to keep her from being dropped.
That proved to be the wrong move.
Alrüna let out an involuntary pained shout as she felt something sharp dig deeply into her side - most likely a broken rib. The pain was so excruciating that it made her vision turn white, hot blood rising up her throat as she choked.
Unable to endure the pain, she fainted.
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She dreamt a peaceful dream.
On a beautiful spring day, she followed after Rahl as they walked through the forest; he pointed out the different useful and dangerous plants to her.
“Do you see these leaves? Never handle that plant unless it’s been boiled. It will cause your skin to burn and itch terribly. Once properly treated, it becomes useful for treating burns. A little strange, isn’t it?” She nodded, not really paying attention. She was happy just listening to his low and soothing voice.
“This stalk doesn’t look like much, but it’s quite edible. It doesn’t taste bad either.” He bent down to grasp a long, almost grass-like plant, his other hand going to his back.
Her mouth bent into a grimace. She wasn’t too fond of eating plants.
Rahl glanced at her over his shoulder. He likely knew what she was thinking, but he didn’t call her out for her picky eating habits. He’d always spoiled her like that – giving her his portion of meat and taking the bitter vegetables for himself.
They continued to walk until he suddenly stopped at an unassuming spot covered in snow. Taking his staff, he began to dig and scrape at it. She came over to his side to look down the shallow pit he’d made. “Snowberries!”
He nodded his head with an amused huff. “A lot of them, too. Why don’t we eat some here? We can’t carry them all with us.” He pointed at a grassy patch nearby.
They sat there in comfortable silence, soaking in the sun that had finally revealed itself after a few long months of rain and snow.
Rahl cleared his throat, causing her to turn and look at him as she munched on her berries. “We had a rough winter, didn’t we?”
She nodded her head, juice flowing down her chin as she struggled to speak. He chuckled and motioned for her to continue eating, turning to watch the golden clouds moving across the horizon.
Before he could continue, Alrüna suddenly felt a sharp pain in her side. “Ow.” Her hand reached down at the spot, her fingers feeling something hot and sticky. Blood. While bringing her fingers up to her face, she let out a long groan. The pain had struck her in an instant.
Rahl was at her side immediately. His hands went to uncover her ribs, revealing an open wound that wept dark blood.
She screamed in agony. It felt as if something was digging around inside her.
She glanced up at Rahl, his mouth moving to say something she couldn’t hear or understand. She grabbed at his wrist with a white knuckled grip, attempting to resist the pain. Something flowed into her wound, making her hiss at the unpleasant sensation. The substance felt like an icy, viscous liquid. She blinked as her eyes went down to the wound at her side, trying to see what it was.
The world around her suddenly changed. She was no longer sitting under the sun in a grassy field – instead she was lying on her back with a featureless blackness hanging over her head. Her eyes rolled around in panic and confusion as she attempted to understand her new situation.
Around her, sharp spires of rock rose from the wet, rocky floor. The place was dark, but there seemed to be a light source somewhere nearby. She almost missed the dark silhouette that loomed over her with one of its arms extended.
The arm that hung over her was bestial in appearance, with a spider-like taloned hand at the end. A similar hand covered in red blood gripped the arm tightly, its claws sinking deeply into its flesh. Black blood flowed from it in large quantities and splattered onto her, staining her whole waist area with the colour.
It was incredibly cold, not at all the temperature one would expect blood to have. Her addled mind somehow managed to recognize that the thing was pouring its own blood into her wound, causing the unpleasant sensation. On the edge of consciousness, she watched dumbly as the wound at her side started to knit closed.
She felt a buzzing sensation in her head.
Suddenly she was back in the field, Rahl crouching over her with a concerned look. She tried to say something, but she could feel the strength and heat leave her body. Her lips and tongue were completely numb. She barely managed to croak out a single word.
“Cold…”
Rahl’s hand pressed against her side where the now healing wound was. He looked her in the eyes while smiling, his expression a little sad.
“Some winters are harsher than others. However, as long as we persevere, spring will always arrive. I only regret that I won’t be able to see yours.” His tone sounded like someone preparing for a final parting.
Alrüna felt tears well in her eyes. Her hand fell on his as she shook her head weakly, pleading with him not to leave her. However, he closed his eyes in concentration, ignoring her forlorn gaze.
She could feel something warm flowing into her from the centre of his palm – a rush of energy that drew her back from the brink of death. Rahl’s body seemed to dissipate as his energy flowed from himself into her, becoming more and more transparent as he depleted his strength.
As the rays of the sun fell upon him, it caused the last dregs of his ethereal essence to disperse into motes of golden light.
His final remains where carried away by the spring breeze, a few whispered parting words hanging in the air.
‘Farewel, Alrüna. And thank you for your forgiveness.’
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The beast stared down at the sleeping woman at its feet. A moment ago, it seemed as if she would not survive. Then, like a bolt of lightning out of the blue, a strong lifeforce had flowed into her body. While the beast had been able to heal her wounds, her massive blood loss wasn’t something it could remedy. The mysterious energy had done what it could not – she’d been returned from the brink of death.
The beast watched her while reaching over to its side, grabbing the severed leg of a massive animal which it chewed silently. Its hunger was sated for now. It felt weak and feeble after its rebirth, and needed to feast and rest to restore its strength.
After chewing through the leg, even going so far as to crunch and swallow the bone, it laid down some distance away from the woman and slept.
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The beast woke up to the sound of something shuffling silently across the cave floor. The sound would have been undetectable if not for the beast’s supernatural senses. It did not open its eyes, being able to track the source of the disturbance without the use of its sight.
The girl was escaping.
She truly had been healed. It was unbelievable, given how damaged her body had been. Though, she should still be very tired – not to mention hungry. The beast listened thoughtfully as she tried to find the cave’s exit. Unfortunately, they were rather deep inside the cave. It was pitch black down here.
It was necessary to flee the forest. The place was very dangerous, even to the monster, given its weakened state. There were old creatures inhabiting the forest, beings that had fed and grown strong for countless years.
Searching for a shelter, it had discovered this empty cave. A sharp feeling of danger hung in the air, and the beast had almost fled without giving it a second thought. However, the aura seemed… old. As if the thing that had once inhabited the cavern was no longer there.
At the time when it discovered the cave, beast felt a debilitating wave of hunger surge through its frame. The feeling that had until that point been gradually been growing in strength had suddenly become overpowering. Its pupils contracted into two black slits, gaze fixing on the bloody woman that hung in the crook of its long limb. Countless jagged teeth slid free from black gums, like a snake’s fangs.
There was no time.
It fled into the cave like a black bolt of lightning, the wind whistling sharply with the speed of its movement. Finding a relatively flat spot, it deposited the woman’s body shakily before flashing back into the forest.
It ran, clambered and glided through the endless trees, led by its animalistic senses in search of prey.
Imagine the monster’s surprise when, instead of ambushing a prey, it was ambushed by something instead. The wild animal burst from beneath the dirt: a giant armored mole. It jumped at the skinwolf-thing with unstoppable force, as if it wished to splatter the wolf’s innards all over the forest.
However, its prey twisted in mid-air like a spider, long limbs sending splinters of wood and leaves flying as they pulled and pushed against the surrounding forest. It spun like a tornado, four clawed paws slipping between its attacker’s armored plating. Blood spurted into the air, the armadillo crying out in pain as it tried to retaliate without success. The thing attacking it was like a falling leaf – impossible to catch.
Indeed, the prey had become the predator.
Before long, the armadillo was bleeding the last of its lifeblood out on the forest floor, its breaths growing weaker and weaker. Jaws filled with endless teeth clamped down its jugular, ripping it out and scattering gore and pieces of chitin into the air.
A horrifyingly thin shadow fell across the corpse, practically burying into it as it started devouring muscle, blood and organs. Any observer would judge it impossible for something that thin to swallow such a large quantity of flesh. There simply was no room for all that food anywhere in its body.
Amazingly, as the unnatural beast feasted on the wonderful bounty in front of it, it started growing in size. It was as if the biological matter sliding down its gullet was transfused directly into itself: muscle ballooned and corded beneath its skin, faded hairs regained their inky blackness and veins wriggled and pulsed as blood flowed strongly once more.
In record time, the predator-turned-prey had practically been reduced to a bloody skeleton. The, now larger, wolf ripped off a remaining fleshy leg before disappearing back in the same direction it came from. Now, it could attend to the woman without having to endure the temptation of devouring her down to the last hair.
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As the woman silently departed, the demon stood up. The cave’s geography was treacherous, with endlessly deep, jagged tears running through some parts of the floor. In the darkness, the girl would certainly encounter some kind of hazard and doom herself.
The beast followed behind her as she carefully made her way through the cave. To its great surprise, she somehow managed to traverse the lethal environment. Her pace was glacially slow and careful, doing her very best to not make a single sound in her escape.
The demon felt admiration well up in its chest. Well, an emotion that could pass for admiration, in its case.
Not only did she have some means of navigating in the dark, but she’d managed to keep her composure in a situation that would have seen any other human debilitated by panic. Infrequently, she would stop to rest and to calm her own nerves before continuing.
A long time passed like that, her travelling through the darkness while it followed behind. Eventually, the beast could feel the fine hairs on its hide twitch as they were touched by a breeze. They were close to the exit. It watched the woman silently, almost as if it were pondering something.
Finally, they reached the exit of the cave. Seeing the prick of sunlight, the woman almost lost her composure. In an act of incredible willpower, she stopped herself from sprinting towards it. Still, she couldn’t keep her pace from speeding up slightly.
She could no longer restrain herself when the first rays finally fell on her face. She ran out of the cave, sobbing softly as tears ran down her cheeks. She fell down on her knees, running her palms through the green grass outside.
After a few minutes, she seemed to remember her situation. She scrambled to her feet, likely intending to flee as far away from the cave as she could. Unfortunately for her, the beast had also exited the cave. Well, technically it now stood at the cave entrance, mostly hidden in shadow.
She shouldn’t have looked back. Yet, she did.
The beast watched as she became completely paralyzed with fear, finally realizing that it had been following behind all this time.
Contrary to expectation, she did not scream or run. Instead, all the joy and freedom that had manifested themselves in her visibly drained from her body. It was much faster and stronger than her; she knew this. Additionally, whatever malaise that had gripped it was now gone. It was completely rejuvenated.
It prowled toward her, leaving the dark cover of the cavern behind. The woman was unable to break eye-contact with it, dragging herself clumsily backwards as she tried and failed to keep her distance. The beast stopped some distance away from her, dropping to its haunches. It was still holding on to a piece of meat from its catch, uncooked and bloody. It held out the meat towards her, the piece of flesh hanging from a sharp, protruding claw.
The girl stared at it, uncomprehending of the beast’s intent. Seeing her confusion, the beast cut off a piece of the meat with a sharp claw before tossing it into its mouth. It held out the rest of the meat towards her again.
Alrüna’s brow furrowed as she looked at the incomparably strange scene in front of her. The beast had made its intentions clear, yet she made no move to accept its offer.
The beast seemed to realize something, its ears twitching on its head.
The meat was raw.
It scratched at its long jaws, retracting its blades to avoid slicing through its own throat. The many fingers traced the lines of its bony maw as if in thought. It blinked its eyes, having thought of a solution.
It placed the meat on a nearby stone before slicing a tree into smaller pieces and tossing them around the stone in a single, skilful motion. It then pointed from her to the stone.
The girl hadn’t twitched so much as a finger while she watched the spectacle. It seemed as if she wasn’t sure whether she was still unconscious and dreaming.
The beast snapped its fingers loudly, shocking her from her daze. It pointed from her to the stone again, this time more insistently. Alrüna understood what it wanted her to do. She would obey its wishes for now in attempt to stay alive; Rahl’s wanted her to live, so she would do her best.
She stood, dusting the grass and soil from her legs while carefully walking over to the makeshift stove. She didn’t look at the beast directly, but kept it within the corner of her eye. Arriving in front of the pile of wood, she held out her hand and started gathering her power.
After a short pause, a spark of flame lit itself on the tip of her outstretched index finger. She bent down stiffly and held the flame to a dry piece of wood. Eventually, it alighted. She moved her finger towards some of the other dry pieces, setting them on fire one by one. Afterwards, she packed some of the thicker pieces close to the flame, taking care not to smother it.
The beast had carefully retreated while Alrüna attended to the fire. It now hung upside down from the branches of a nearby tree, eyes closed as if it had fallen asleep. Soon, a sizzling sound could be heard as the large piece of meat started cooking. A delicious smell filled the air.
Sweat dripped from Alrüna’s brow as she carefully used a pair of branches to turn the meat to keep it from charring. This continued until the meat had been cooked, the process not taking too long as the flames were rather hot. After it was done, she tossed leaves, dirt and rocks on the fire to smother it. She stepped back from the food, looking at the demon wolf as if unsure of how to proceed.
Hearing her cease all movement, the beast opened its eyes to stare at her. Its gaze alternated between her and the meat.
Alrüna avoided eye contact – the thing’s slitted, owl-like eyes were too unsettling to look at. She retreated further, not wanting to anger it by standing too close to its meal.
For a moment, they were both silent.
Then, it dropped down from where it had hung. It prowled over to the large piece of food, extending a single razor-claw to slice it roughly in half. It took a portion for itself before retreating back to its perch. It nibbled on the cooked meat slowly, eyes shifting between her and the remaining portion.
Seeing her remain unmoving, it let out a sound somewhere between a huff and a growl. Having managed to fix the girl’s attention on itself, it pointed between the remaining portion and her.
As frightened as she was, she made no move to accept the offered meal. The monster, seemingly losing its patience, again dropped down from where it hung. It bounded over to the meat, before snatching it up and practically shoving it into her hands. It was so swift that Alrüna’s fear of being attacked had barely registered before it was back in the tree.
She stared white-faced between the meat in her arms and the beast, frozen.
An outside observer would almost be able to feel some pity for the beast. Why was it so ridiculously difficult for it to get this woman to just eat the food in front of her?
It made an exaggerated motion of lifting the remaining meaty bone to its maw, deliberately placing it in its mouth and slowly crunching on it. Chewing and swallowing the mouthful, it rubbed its abdomen while letting out a throaty purr. It showed both empty palms to her, before motioning insistently towards the meat in her grip, nodding as it did so.
‘Just eat the food.’
Whether she had just gotten the message or had decided to give in to the demon’s persistence, she sat down and numbly bit into her meal. The beast watched as the eating process gradually became more animated, the woman’s famished state finally hitting her. She almost seemed to forget her situation as she hungrily tore into the meat, her face shining as it became covered by juice and fat.
She was visibly disappointed when she bit down only to find bone, all meat, fat and skin having been stripped from it. She looked at it forlornly, her stomach letting out a soft growl as she did so. The beast sneezed in amusement.
It pointed at her and then at the sunlight clearing, gesturing at her by placing both of its palms together and holding them to one side of its head. It closed its eyes before making a soft wheezing sound interspersed by quiet snorts.
Did it want her to sleep?
The monster that had done nothing but slaughter and rape until now had decided to feed her and was now telling her to rest? Alrüna was so befuddled by what was happening to her that she didn’t bother to question it. This had to be a dream.
She couldn’t deny that she was beyond tired. It was all so surreal, so nonsensical. She didn’t know what she would find when she woke up. Would she be lying injured in the blast-crater with the beast’s dried out, blackened corpse some distance away? That seemed more plausible.
She felt the warm rays soak into her tired body. It reminded her of the days she’d spent playing outside the hut as a child. She would often fall asleep like this, listening to the sounds of the birds, insects and the rustling breeze. It was wonderful.
The monster watched her like a stone sentinel as she dozed off in the afternoon sunlight.
