Cryptid Encounters; The Bray Road Beast; Part one.

Please note: NOT A WEREWOLF STORY!

(Follow link, it's important to the story.) ...And so legends of the past meet the present...

  Jared Paltretsky was just an ordinary kid, living an ordinary life, with ordinary troubles and ordinary friends. (Have I mentioned he was ordinary?) He lived in the small town of Elkhorn, nestled snugly in Walworth county, Wisconsin. He had always been the rebellious type, and now, as he snuck out of his house through the back door, he reminisced in this past morning's events... 

  He had woken up to the blaring of Hollywood Undead, as per his usual morning routine, showered quickly, put on his usual cologne and deodorant, and proceeded to dress in a Black T-shirt and khaki shorts. The T-shirt was sent to him from his grandmother in Oregon, and was a souvenir from the museum in Portland. It had a set of shark jaws on the back, and was inscribed with the words "Bite Me", in bold red lettering, just above the jaws. After his usual breakfast of cold pizza and a glass of orange juice, he set off to the bus stop, hoping that his friend hadn't decided to bail on school today. Reaching the stop within ten minutes, he was delighted to find that Emerson was there, waiting for him in a plain black T-s**t and camouflage sweat pants. They exchanged a silent grin as they locked eyes, knowing they were to soon be paid for winning yet another bet in their ongoing 'war' between to of their school's most well known bullies. Jared was the first to break the silence. "Yo man, wazzup? 'At was some p***y bet, eh?" To which Emerson had responded with a simple, "Yeah, it was." They stood in silence for a few minutes, before the bus came over the hill, it's brakes hissing as they protested the sudden effort of stopping the enormous machine. Jared and Emerson, two best friends among the many already on the bus, sat in their usual seat, the very back, which happened to be right next to their opponents. The two boys, one about four inches taller than the other but both heavily muscled, looked over at Jared and Emerson, before silently handing over the twenty dollars they owed. They then looked at each other, exchanging a quick glance before Jared queried, "So, what do you have for us this time? Something a bit more challenging than stealing the principal's toupee, I hope." Emerson only sneered from behind his friend, honestly scared of the two brothers sitting across from him. They sighed, looked straight at Jared, and spoke in perfect synchronicity. "We're willing to put seventy bucks on the line, that you two can't spend one night on Bray Road." Jared had on a perfect poker face, and was about to speak, when Emerson interjected. "B...Bray Ro-Road? You're insane!!!!" Jared only smiled, not having believed the stories of the best. "You're on, bud." To which Emerson instantly disagreed with, being the superstitious type. "NO NO NO WAY IN HELL AM I SETTING FOOT IN THAT AREA AFTER DARK!!!!!"  
"Don't worry Em, I'll be there. No monster's gonna mess with me!" Jared had said, slightly jokingly. "NOOOOOOOO!" 
Jared sighed, looking at the two boys across from him. "Well, how's this sound? You come with us, and we reduce the bet to thirty-five dollars. Emerson now quieted, looking at the the brothers. "Alright, I'll go if they go." The two brothers had cut short their snickering at Emerson's reaction when Jared made his suggestion, and fallen silent as they debated among themselves. "..." 
"Unless of course, yer a couple o' cowards?" He suggested, smirking slightly at their reactions. The shorter of the two, Nathan, who wore a long sleeved red shirt, and black sweats, quickly piped up. "WE'RE NOT COWARDS!" The taller one, Logan, wearing a white muscle shirt and torn jeans,  had kept his composure, smiling and looking straight into Jared's eyes. "You got it. We'll meet you on Bray Road at eight." With that he sneered, but also felt something he hadn't felt in a long time. A gut wrenching premonition that things were going to go very, very wrong.

  Jared smiled as he came back to reality, grabbing his hunting pack, before walking outside to meet Emerson about a quarter mile down the road. Emerson was driving his 69' Ford Mustang, cherry red with black racing stripes(Yeah, Emerson is from a rich family.). There was only room for two in front, and one in the back, if you were lucky. He floored it, quickly reaching nearly 70mph until he turned onto East Geneva Street, and slowed, knowing that police often frequented this stretch of road. Neither had spoken thus far, but Jared had grown tired of silence. "So Em, you think we'll have a run-in with the beast?"  Emerson said nothing, but in the light of the moon Jared could see him pale, and his hands tighten on the wheel. Finally, they reached the turn... Bray Road now stretched ahead of them, and Emerson kept driving. They were nearly a half-mile down the road before they spotted the flashlights of Nathan and Logan, and stopped the car, getting out quickly and walking over to the other two boys. "Wow, he actually came. I figured he'd be too scared of the werewolf to come!" Jeered Nathan, pointing up at the nearly full moon, and howling like a wolf. It was a poor imitation, but served it's intended purpose. Emerson gave a shout, and looked around nervously, before frowning and aiming a punch at Nathan's jaw. A punch which Jared quickly pushed downward, and away from it's intended target. The punch missed Nathan completely, and Emerson looked rather dejected. Jared and Logan had only laughed at the joke, not scared in the least, though that same feeling of dread lingered in Logan's mind.

  The four of them then proceeded to walk farther along the road, away from Emerson's car. Jared grinned and pulled a camera from his small pack, turning it on, activating the night shot feature, and shoving said camera into Emerson's face. "OK! So, this is our little moonlit walk on Bray Road. Emerson here is terrified of the beast stories, and he and I are here on a bet. We're also with Nathan and Logan," He said, now turning the camera to them. "and they've agreed to accompany us." He looked and sounded like a professional narrator, explaining everything so. "Alright, so now we're like, a half mile down Bray Road, when we got out of the car, and now we're walkin' to god knows where, to find a place to set up camp and stay for the night. I'll update in...a half hour." With that, he clicked off the camera, and the four continued there silent march. About ten minutes later, there was a loud 'CRACK!' from the left side of the road, causing all four of the boys to jump. "JESUS CHRIST!! WHAT THE F**K WAS THAT!?!?!" Came the shout from Emerson. None of them had an answer, but Jared decided it was better to calm him now than to wait for his full blown panic attack. "Don't worry man, it's probably just a possu-HOLY S**T!" Jared dropped to the ground as a large rock came flying from the trees on the left, which passed directly through where his head had been nearly a second before. This sent Emerson over the edge, and he began screaming. "I TOLD YOU THE BEAST WAS REAL! WHAT ELSE CAN BREAK A TREE AND THROW A ROCK AT YOU!?!?! I TOLD YOU I DIDN'T WANT TO BE HERE!!!! LET'S GET THE F**K OUTTA HERE GUYS!!!!" Nathan and Logan looked rather upset at this new occurrence, but Jared just shook his head.
"Dude, calm down. Someone's just trying to scare us." 
"Yeah!? Like who!?!"
"I dunno! Some pricks from school most likely."
"EXACTLY! YOU DON'T KNOW!!! JUST LIKE YOU DON'T KNOW THAT THE BEAST ISN'T REAL!!!"
"WOULD YOU SHUT UP ABOUT THE BEAST ALREADY?!?!?!"
"NO, I WILL NO-hey, wait a minute....Where the hell did Logan and Nate get off to?"
Jared was shocked to turn around and see that Nathan and Logan had seemingly disappeared. "Ok, THAT'S a bit weird..."
"That's it! I'm out of here!" Emerson picked up a small rock and threw it, before turning and beginning to stomp away.

  "But...Em...wecan't just leave them. We have to at least make sure they're alright." With that, Jared removed the camera from his pack and aimed it at the rock, then to where the other two should have been standing. "Things are starting to get weird. We heard a loud crack, and then something threw a rock at me. And NOW The other two are missing." He then pointed the camera at Emerson, who had an exhausted and fearful look upon his face. "No, I'm going home." Jared grimaced and swung the camera around, the night shot still on, to reveal anything out in the open. "See, there's nothing here. And if you leave, you're going it alone. I'm looking for them." Emerson was stunned. Jared had never been the selfless type, and always had his own back before anyone else. But now he was willing to go search through a dark, and possibly dangerous, area? This wasn't like him, and Emerson wondered whether his friend believed more in the legends than he said.
"....FINE!!! I'll go! God damn it...How do you always manage to guilt me into things?" Jared just chuckled, patting his chest. "Because, you believe there's something out here, and you know that if that thing is dangerous, it's safer to stick with me." 
"You're right on that." They both fell silent soon after Emerson's acknowledgment, moving farther along the road. Jared did not put the camera away this time, but instead set it to sleep mode, and left it strapped to his hand. "Oh, Emerson?"
"Yeah man?"
"I brought my baby, just for you." Emerson's eyes widened at this. Jared never left home without some sort of protection, but he had never brought his baby, his prized possession, his pearl handled, silver plated, and engraved .25 magnum revolver, inherited from his great grandfather, who had used it for small game hunting. It was beautiful, a piece of art. Most of the metal on the gun was silver plated, and on the handle was inscribed; "Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica, in nomine et virtute Domini Nostri Jesu  Christi, eradicare et effugare a Dei Ecclesia, ab animabus ad imaginem Dei conditis ac pretioso divini Agni sanguine redemptis. Non ultra audeas, serpens callidissime, decipere humanum genus, Dei Ecclesiam persequi, ac Dei electos excutere et cribrare sicut triticum . Imperat tibi Deus altissimus, cui in magna tua superbia te similem haberi adhuc præsumis; qui omnes homines vult salvos fieri et ad agnitionem veritaris venire. Imperat tibi Deus Pater; imperat tibi Deus Filius; imperat tibi Deus Spiritus Sanctus. Imperat tibi majestas Christi, æternum Dei Verbum, caro factum, qui pro salute generis nostri tua invidia perditi, humiliavit semetipsum facfus hobediens usque ad mortem; qui Ecclesiam suam ædificavit supra firmam petram, et portas inferi adversus eam nunquam esse prævalituras edixit, cum ea ipse permansurus omnibus diebus usque ad consummationem sæculi. Imperat tibi sacramentum Crucis, omniumque christianæ fidei Mysteriorum virtus. Imperat tibi excelsa Dei Genitrix Virgo Maria , quæ superbissimum caput tuum a primo instanti immaculatæ suæ conceptionis in sua humilitate contrivit. Imperat tibi fides sanctorum Apostolorum Petri et Pauli, et ceterorum Apostolorum. Imperat tibi Martyrum sanguis, ac pia Sanctorum et Sanctarum omnium intercessio." (Literal English translation will be in the author's notes).  They had shot targets on Emerson's grandfather's farm before, but Jared had never carried it on his person anywhere else. "You brought it? Why?"
"Because, Em. I knew you'd be totally freaked out, and didn't want to listen to constant complaining. So I brought it, hoping it would put your mind at ease."
"Well, it's doing a good job...How much ammo?" 
"Umm...The six in it, and six more rounds."
"Well, it's better than none." Emerson smiled to himself; the gun really did put his mind at ease. 

And so, after about another quarter-mile of walking, the two stumbled upon a wet, and ripped up, red sweatshirt. Emerson paled to an extent that he looked in danger of fainting, but he held it together, as Jared rested his hand on he handle of his revolver, while switching the camera on. "Em... What kind of dangerous animals live around here?"
"Wolves...uh...cougars...and sometimes bears..."
"Dude... I think this is more than we bargained for." 
"No s**t, Sherlock." Suddenly, as if on cue, a chilling howl rose from the trees on the right, and both boys spun to face the sound. There was then a loud thump as Jared was tackled from behind, and a nice loud snap as a nose was broken. When  Emerson turned around, Nathan was lying on the ground below Jared, bleeding profusely. Nathan shouted a few profanities, before shoving Jared off and standing up. Meanwhile, Logan and another of their friends had stepped from the trees, laughing loudly at Nathan's folly. The new person was named Eli, and he had on camouflage sweats, and a camo coat. Jared looked up from the ground and growled angrily. "YOU B******S!!!!" 
(Eli) "Hahaha, we got you two, admit it!" Emerson had finally put two and two together (not the best at math, this one), and looked straight at Eli. "You were the one who broke the branch and threw the rock earlier!!!!!" 
(Eli) "Yeah, and I scared the s**t out of you!" Eli and Logan continued to guffaw at Nathan, Emerson, and Jared, while the three of them felt foolish, and Nathan gingerly prodded his still-bleeding nose. He winced, but shrugged it off, he had always been good with pain.  
(Jared) "That wasn't funny! You idiots could have easily gotten Nate here shot!" He opened his coat, showing the handle of his pistol. This only served to make the two laugh louder and harder, and Jared turned, beginning to walk the way he had come. "Let's go, Em. Nathan, c'mon, we'll get that nose checked out. Oh, and Logan?" Jared reached into his pocket, pulling out a small wad of cash, and throwing it into the bushes on the side of the road. "There's your money."  
(Logan) "Oh come on, don't be such a spoilsport!" Jared ignored him, Nathan and Emerson slowly moving to follow Jared. He realized that he had left the camera on the entire time, and rushed to shut it off in an attempt to conserve battery life. As he pulled the camera up, he saw, through the bright green haze on the screen, a large, dog-like animal run across the road not twenty yards from the small group, and he stopped dead in his tracks, instantly breaking out into a cold sweat. "Please tell me you guys saw that too?" 
(Em) "Saw what?" 
(Nate) "I didn't see anything. Though, I AM still trying to realign my nose, thanks to you." (Em) "Why, what did you see?" The other two ha fallen silent, and were now following and listening to the conversation. "I thought I saw...Well...I don't know...It looked like a dog...but something was off about it....Here, look." He held the camera out to the others, and rewound the tape to the point he had seen the animal. Indeed, at first glance it looked like a dog, but once Jared paused the tape, they could clearly tell that it was running oddly on all fours, as it's front 'legs' appeared to be longer than it's back. Otherwise, the shadowy, green profile look like any wolf common to the area, just much, much larger.  
(Em) "Th-that looks like the b-beast..." Even Logan and Eli were worried by this, though they tried not to show it. No one spoke, nor moved, for a long while after Emerson's comment. Finally, Eli chuckled. "So, we're all going to sit here, scared to death of a deformed wolf? Jared, you said you have a gun? Well, let's set up camp, and we'll take turns with the gun and the camera. Y'know, like a lookout." 
(Nate) "Yeah, that's a good idea. And hell, if we do see that thing again, get a better video, we could become famous." 
(Em) "NO WAY! THAT'S SOME FREAKY S**T!" 
(Jared) "Em, c'mon dude. We've come this far already, why not just finish the job?" 
(Logan) "I'm with these three." 
(Em) "FINE! But only cuz I know there's safety in numbers." 
(Jared) "Thanks man, I don't think I could stand a night alone with these guys." 
Emerson chuckled, and looked straight at Jared, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We're best friends man. We're like brothers. We don't abandon each other. That's why i'm staying." Jared smirked, walking to the left side of the road, the side that animal had crossed from. "Yeah? I thought you decided to stay cuz there's safety in numbers?"  
(Em) "Only a part of it. But I figured i'd tell you that now, because odds are i'll die of a heart attack before the night is over..."    "These friggin' lunatics." He added, casting a long glance at the moon. Jared gave a slight smile, as the five stepped into the forest, and set up their camp in a nearby clearing, climbed into the two tents, Emerson and Jared sharing one, while the brothers shared the other. Eli was the first to keep watch, and he found a nice stump to sit on, which overlooked most of the camp, except the east corner of Jared's tent, and the west corner of the brothers'. Their camp was invisible from the road, it had to be, for what would someone say if they saw a group of five teenage boys camped along Bray Road, one of which was obviously carrying a gun? 

  They had switched watchmen twice now, it was Nathan's turn. He took the same spot as Eli and Logan had, looking through the camera to get a better look. Nothing had happened thus far, and he was tired. He was having trouble staying focused, and kept drifting in and out of consciousness. Jared's wrist watch beeped, alerting him that it was time to switch with Nathan, but when he shook his head and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, his stomach dropped. Just outside his tent, was the silhouetted profile of the same creature he had caught on film so briefly. It wasn't moving, apparently having been alerted by the beeping of his watch, which he hadn't stopped. This beeping is what caused Emerson to awaken, and he managed to notice Jared's terrified silence, looking at the silhouette on the side of the tent just in time for it to stand upright, and place both hands on the tent wall, pressing on it, as if searching for an opening. The hands were so clearly visible that they could distinctly note where each of the beast's five fingers curved into a wicked claw. Jared, thinking fast, cupped his hand over Emerson's mouth just in time to muffle his terrified shout, which came out as a "MMMPHHHPHH!!!!", and only managed feed the creatures curiosity. It pressed harder on the fabric, which eventually ripped as a claw pierced the tent. Emerson literally had tears streaming down his face as the hulking beast jumped back, visible in the moonlight through the large hole in the fabric.

  This beast was enormous, standing nearly eight feet tall. It had a long, wolf-like muzzle, which was no doubt filled to the brim with sharp, serrated teeth. It's ears were long and pointed, sitting on the top of it's head. The facial features were in deep shadow, and invisible to the two boys. It was heavily muscled, and though neither were willing to test it, they were both certain that this thing could easily overpower and drag away a full grown man, let alone two adolescent boys. After nearly ten seconds of simply staring, the beast took a step toward the boys, and an idea struck Jared (across the face). He reached into  his small hunting pack and pulled out one of the bottles of Axe, and held it out to the beast, spraying it right in the eyes. The beast then put it's hands over it's face, let out an unearthly scream, sounding like a banshee, before running off into the trees. Jared let his hand fall from Emerson's mouth, and they both climbed out of the tent and ran to the on that Eli and Logan were now sharing, which was shaking steadily as the two climbed out and looked around in a panic. (Eli&Logan) "What in god's name was that!?!?!?!?!?!" Emerson was just staring out into space, his jaw hanging limp. 
(Jared) "WE SAW THE BEAST!! IT RIPPED A HOLE IN OUR TENT!" 
(Logan) "You saw what? What did it do?! What did you do!?! 
(Jared) "Now's not the time for explanations. I pissed it off." 
(Eli) "What did you do!?!?!" (As for those of you who find their belief without proof illogical, think about this; when you're scared shitless, your adrenaline is pumping, and you're in an area with widely believed reports of a sometimes aggressive, unknown creature, would you stop and evaluate a story?) 
(Jared) "I sprayed it in the face with Axe....I thought it was going to eat us!" Emerson had remained quiet, having gone into a state of shock upon having his greatest fear realized, but he finally piped up...one simple word, that sent a shiver down the spines of all the others; "Nathan..." Logan stopped short of what he was going to say and took off, away from the other three, and to where his brother was stationed. Eli and Jared followed suit, but Emerson was still in shock, and so was drug along, which hindered the others' speed greatly. 

  Upon reaching where Nathan was last seen, they found nothing. They spread out, not too far, and searched the general area. They found a small pool of blood, the pistol with a bloodied handle, two extra rounds (meaning that there were two on the ground, aside from the six in the gun itself, meaning they were now down to eight), and the camera with the viewing screen smashed. It still worked, though the night shot was useless for their needs now. Logan turned around, tears in his eyes for his brother, honestly terrified for the first time in years.

Author's Note

Ok, ok. So, this is my first story (like, part one, part two, part three, running story etc.) ever. Please forgive me if it isn't great or it has some bad parts, or typos, though anything of that sort I would love for you to point out.

I do apologize for the horrendous length, I went into as little detail as I could stand to in order to reduce it's length.

And the English translation for the engraving is (AND IN NO WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM MEANS THAT THIS STORY IS RELIGIOUS): "We exorcise you, every impure spirit, every satanic power, every incursion of the infernal adversary, every legion, every congregation and diabolical sect, in the name of and in the power of Our Lord Jesus Christ, rooted up and be persecuted by the Church of God, from the souls of the image of God and redeemed by the precious of the divine redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Shall no more dare, cunning serpent, to deceive the human race, persecute the Church of God, and God's elect and sift them as wheat. The Most High God commands you, to whom, in your great insolence, you still like to be had previously endowed | you take; who wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. God commands you, the Father "; God the Son commands you; God commands you, the Holy Spirit. The majesty of the commands you of Christ, a | pinch the Word of God, was made flesh, who for the salvation of your envy of our nation lost, He humbled Himself facfus hobediens, even unto death: he that his Church, a | built upon a firm rock, and the gates of hell against it, that never has any previously endowed | destined to avail the failed to register, He would remain with her all days, even to the consummation of sa | And for the second.Commander in chief to you the mystery of the Cross, of all Christians | power of the mysteries of faith. Commands you the high places of Mother of God, O Virgin Mary, in memory of | your proud head from the first instant without spot, | his | concept into by her humility and he broke in pieces. The faith of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and of the rest of the apostles. Commands you blood of the Martyrs, and the pious holy men and holy intercession of all the."

Depending on the responses I get from you, I may be prompted to write the ending, which I plan in making more gory and horror-worthy than this little suspense builder.

Once again, i'm very sorry about the length, and I hope this doesn't deter you from reading!

Reviews

[Novram]

The Beast of Bray Road is a cryptid creature, like the Michigan Dogman. It is similar in appearance to a werewolf, but it is something different. We also have a Dogman type creature in Maryland, called the Dwayyo.