Chapter One

A Chapter by Dustin Burch

Gregory goes off in search of the Beast

He gazed upon the beast as it ran just inside the tree line; a stream of steady snot and gore leaking tentatively out from its left nostril and trailing down its neck. From where he stood he could see the arrow sticking out from behind the left flank, and there too was a source for oozing red matter. The sounds of the forest were like drums, and amongst them was the steady wafting from the monster and its breathing.

But here among all of the bitter things, where the grass and the wildflowers blend crazed with the wild nature of the monster, Gregory noticed nothing but fear creeping in his mind, where the thoughts and emotions running along with him dozed off into a shadowy darkness of the forest.

Somewhere from deep inside the mountains came a gust of wind that blanketed the tall grass around him, and from that Gregory could gather no awareness. His focus was primarily on the creature and its destructive course, and he’d have to move quickly with how the wind was acting so that the beast would fail to notice the smell of his perspiration clouding around him.

With the sword strapped to his back he ran out across the meadow. He felt the tall grass beating madly against his leather leggings and his lungs began to ache from the dreary wind. He wished that he’d thought to bring a hat to keep his ears fine and comfortable, and then cursed himself because he hadn’t. That night would be freezing.

The creature turned north heading deeper into the forest. Gregory slowed as he approached the trees because something gave him that grey feeling of unknowing that he wished wouldn’t surface at all. He had known the feeling would come with the viewing of the forest, but in spite of everything, all the preparation, the feeling always came with a shock. It almost knocked the wind out of him, and all in due time.

He slowed to a stop and unsheathed the blade raising it over his head. Soon he’d be forced to finish the creature. He was sure of it. There was not a chance that he would find the b*****d who shot the arrow, but the pain the creature felt was incredibly evident and all fully responsible for its decayed psyche.

The poor thing he thought. Though Gregory thought against it, because the beast would kill and Gregory wouldn’t have that on his hands. He had been the one to spot the thing, and now he’d be the one to end it.

With heavy legs he moved forward. A hundred feet or so in front of him lay the tree line, and once he crossed into that shadow he knew more than just the trees would follow him inside of it. There were eyes on him even as he walked then, and despite their gaze he went anyways slowly begin devoured by the forest.