Howling Mad

I lived happily in my world, the soft mountains, the room of many smells, the living zone. I thought that my happy days could never end. Then the howling beast came, the fear and noise began..........

The howling mad beast entered my world at two o clock each Wednesday afternoon.

The way it moved unnerved me, its progress across the terrain was a surreal almost ethereal motion. It had no legs, and it screamed in a constant and furious onslaught of anger and shrieking menace. I was terrified by it, not just for myself. But for those on whom I depended; towering and resolute high above me, they had been my protectors for as long as I could remember.

Nourishing me when I grew hungry, repairing me when I was broken. Gladdening my heart when it grew weary. I loved them, and now this banshee had invaded the home I had made with them.

For the longest time I would hide myself in the soft and warm corners of my world.

My ears and eyes would be kept out of range as in the distance I would hear it laughing and shrieking as it progressed about my world attacking all in its horrible path.

Over time I decided that my anger out-weighed my fear.

Better to scream back into the face of fury that screamed at me than run from it.

 

Its attack seemed random at first, but as each visit piled atop the last I began to see a pattern, almost a calculation in its chosen path. Could something that seemed so wild possibly have reason on its side? Each week it would begin in the living zone of my world. Eerily whooshing around the room it would consume all in its path. Unstoppable and glutinous, all that lay before it would be sucked away… To where? Who knows? Even those smaller than me, the little ones with many limbs that you would think beneath its gaze, even they had no escape.

One terrible afternoon I was present when one of the little ones was unfortunate enough to be stood in the path of the rampaging behemoth. Horrified I tried to shout a warning.

But no. Within nought but a moment it was gone. Callously sacrificed on this alter of madness.

My fear threatened to rival my anger once more at this sight. But for the sake of my protectors I had to remain resolute. I would stand firm for them.

Once done in the living zone it would progress to the land of many smells and heat, where it would gobble all of the many snacks that I should like to hunt from its smooth and gleaming landscape. Stealing from my very mouth! Not enough that it should stalk my halls raucously, but also to take that upon which I was so keen. It would never do. Could never do.

 

It would usually be at this point that I would attempt to tackle the beast. Try to wrestle it from its course. It was a bizarre feeling, the creature itself. Its body was smooth and hard, unlike anything I had ever encountered. Yet also it was not warm as with anything of flesh and blood, and when I enclosed my jaws around it in an effort to halt its hammer like motions, my teeth would slip from it, unable to grasp or hold anything. And the taste… The taste was acrid, vile, it caused me to gag and splutter unhappily. I could not stop this horrid and noise conjuring evil. Oh pity is I.

 

Once done in this part of my world it would climb the soft mountains that led to the happiest part of my world. The soft and warm place where I would sleep and rest. How dare it venture there!

Furious and angry I would pursue it across the soft mountains and attempt again to halt it. I could do no good. Still it glided without impediment. Still it swallowed without choking. And still it slid from my every effort to halt it. All was hopeless, all was lost, I was defeated and it was supreme, oh how sad I was, oh how I cried and sobbed and screamed. Where would this end? What did it want? Why was it doing this? I was sure that this was the end. The final end…

 

And then it would stop…..

 

So many times I had been driven to the point of madness and despair, so many times sure that it would consume me into its unseen world of death as it did all others in its path.

As it had the little one. But then it would simply and unexpectedly stop. Why?

My protectors would return and pat my head and bring the smile back to my heart, I would soon forget and recover. Telling myself but never really believing in my heart of hearts that it was gone for good, that I could put the sound of that terrible mechanical howl out of my mind.

That I could move on.

 

But then once a week, every week, back it would come. Back to terrorize and traumatize me.

Seemingly worse and more furious each time. As if my attempts to stop it only made it angrier.

For untold time this continued, untold days and months and hours and time without measure.

I grew old and grey under its reign of horror. I never thought it could change.

 

Then one day I got lucky.

I found the beast while it slept. Large and bold as day it sat, just at the top of the soft mountains it was quiet and still. For once not shrieking at me.

For a thrilling moment I thought that perhaps it might be dead. Perhaps it had choked on all of those snacks of mine that it had stolen, all the little ones whose lives it had ended.

But then no I realised, it was only sleeping. I took my chance.

While it lay prone I bit into it and took chunks from its vile tasting body.

I dug deep and hoped to wound, never again would I fear its horrible wailing.

 

Then my protectors arrived. They did not notice the bites I had taken out the beast.

I felt proud and happy; I thought that they would thank me for my attack.

 

Then to my horror, the truth was revealed. My protector took a hold of the beast from one end, and clicking some unseen switch they brought its terrible howl back into my world with a gut clenching crash. My eyes full of tears and my heart sick at the betrayal I looked up at my protector, who grinned mockingly at me and began to thrust the beast about my world in the familiar hammer like motions. I cried out with anguish and despair. My old and tired limbs collapsed beneath me as I realised the truth. All this time, all of my life, it had been they who had done this to me….

 

Once again my anger returned. I was old and tired and perhaps not long for this world, but in this moment I would be mocked not a second more. My protector was now my betrayer. I growled my fiercest growl and bared my jagged old teeth. I would make them pay now.

 

The beast dropped to the ground as the betrayers grip on it loosed, and the betrayer backed carefully against the wall. I closed in on her as my heart beat faster.

 

Revenge tasted good.

 

 

Author's Note

Thank you for reading.