Slayer

A Story by Keith C.

Mythical beasts invade present day earth. Things get crazy.

The Slayer

The Chimaera’s serpentine tail came down with a mighty crash. It ripped through the two-story brick house as if it was butter. This one was bigger, about the size of an 18-wheeler. The two goat heads protruding from its back bleated terribly. It strode through the streets on all fours, overturning cars with no effort with its massive paws. The path that followed the abomination was charred and bloody. Bodies of men, women, and children littered the yards and sidewalks of the once tranquil neighborhood. The monster was indiscriminate of who it slaughtered, though it was a more selective in its choice of food. The Beast sniffed the bodies before grasping the tastiest ones in its lion-like jaw and gulping them down quickly, moving on to his next meal. He rewarded the slaughter with a grotesque feast.

This particular Chimaera had emerged from the large decorative pond that adorned the center of this gated community. The local police had gathered at the edge of the neighborhood, knowing full well that they did not stand a chance against the creature. “Where the hell is Hazard!?” yelled the Chief. Atticus Hazard was usually the first one on the scene during a creature attack. “Somebody needs to get him down here before we-“, before the Chief could finish his thought he heard the horn. A large tanker a mile down the road barreled toward the police blockade. The cops jumped out of the way before the gasoline filled big rig crashed through their vehicles, easily ramming the cars forcefully. It was heading toward the Chimaera. The police looked ahead as they saw a figure jump out of the driver’s seat seconds before the rig collided with the beast, too slow to avoid the attack. The cab hit the side of the creature’s torso, slamming into the left goat head as the tank spun around to the side, falling over and exploding on the monster’s fallen body. A fireball reached high into the sky. When the ringing finally left his ears, the rig driver stood up, holding his head. He stared at the flames lighting up the crash site. Black smoke was obscuring his vision as he squinted to try and confirm the kill.

As Atticus came to his feet, he staggered a bit as he lumbered toward the wreckage. “Damn that hurt” he said to himself. “I gotta plan these things out better” He stumbled toward the crash site, the heat beating against him as he got closer. He walked around and saw the Chimaera’s charred body breathing heavily. The monster wheezed and gasped before its last breath left its mouth. Atticus held his chest as he sighed in relief. “Well that was almost too eas-“, that’s when he was interrupted. Everything went red, and then he saw it. Another damn vision, he thought. Through the black smoke, the hissing came first. The living tail of the Chimaera had been blown completely off in the blast. Fighting for survival detached from its own body, Atticus saw the Snake’s head lunge toward him and sink its venomous fangs deep inside his chest.

In a flash Atticus shook his head, and right on cue he heard the hissing. He rolled backwards, anticipating the serpent’s attack, and grabbed a large, smoldering shard of metal. He screamed as the metal seared his flesh, but held on tightly. The Chimaera’s tail sprung toward him, narrowly missing as he bent backward and shoved the jagged piece of metal upward, piercing the throat and thrusting upward straight through the Snake’s head. The Snake slumped forward and fell on top of him. It squirmed a bit before finally succumbing to the mortal injury. Atticus pushed the remains of the beast off of him and winced from his burns the makeshift weapon left on his hands. He looked around and turned to see the cops down the road staring at him. He smiled and raised his hand as yelled “Got him!”

Atticus Hazard had been in the monster slaying game for some time. It was eight years ago that the world changed. War, terrorism, politics. Oh, those still existed, they just got more complicated when a team of archeologists in Greece decided to open up a hole in the ground, which would subsequently open up holes in the ground all over the world that started spitting out things humans didn’t even think existed. The onslaught of so called “mythical beasts” wasn’t a rapid one. The first hole, dubbed “Ground Zero” by none other than the President of the United States, gave birth to an army of Gorgons. Gorgons, Medusa’s offspring, were snake haired creatures capable of turning all that they looked at into stone. All of Athens was petrified before the U.S., ever the one to take matters into its own hands, decided to cleanse the area. Greece is now a literal hotbed of radiation, ruin and God knows what else. The Gorgons were just the beginning. Sinkholes began to open up all across the globe, leading to the formation of Monster Task Forces with the duty of taking down the creatures at all costs. They did the job, but no MTF was as effective as Atticus Hazard. Gifted with the ability to see into the future through a special ring left behind from his slain wife, Atticus was the best Monster Slayer in the Western Hemisphere.

“Lucy?” Atticus walked into his small apartment, clutching his side. He through his torn jacket onto the chair as he walked through the living room. It was quiet, but he already knew what was coming.

“RAAWWR!!” 9 year old Lucy Hazard jumped from behind the chair in an attempt to startle her father.

“Kid, you know that doesn’t work on me. I am psychic after all” Atticus said with a grin.

“You could at least PRETEND you were scared” she said.

“Oh I’m always scared about coming home to the slavedriver!” Atticus grabbed Lucy and gave her a hug while brushing his hand through her hair.

“Are you gonna drive a truck into me too?” Lucy said jokingly.

“You saw that huh?”

“EVERYONE saw that dad. It was so cool!” she said excitedly. “Maybe next time you can fly a helicopter into a Kraken next time.”

“I’ll have to write that one down kiddo” Atticus winced as he sat down. “What’s for dinner Goose?”

“We’re going out to eat, or did you forget? Y’know for being able to see into the future, you sure do have a selective memory!” said Lucy.

“Aw, I promise, we will next time kid.”

“No way! You said dinner, and bowling. You. Said. It.” Lucy was defiant. Her word was law in the Hazard home.

“I can get beat up all day by monsters, but I just don’t know if I can take losing a bowling game to you tonight Goose” Atticus sighed and sat for a few seconds before he finally caved. “Alright fine. Grab your gear and let’s hit the lanes”

“Hell yes!” said Lucy. She held her dad’s hand up and forced a high five before grabbing her gear.

The Father and Daughter were 6 frames into their second bowling game that night. For Atticus, it was a welcome distraction from trying to fend off whatever horrors came knocking that particular day. For Lucy, well, it was just something fun to do with her dad. She was barely a year old when her mother was killed by creatures. To her, this world was the normal. Her Dad taught her how to survive if things got bad, but lucky for them attacks have been dwindling lately.

“Steeeee-rike!” The pins crashed as Lucy did her best victory dance. “C’mon dad. Put that magic ring of yours to good use and give me a real game.”

“Alright Goose, I’m gonna bring the thundah!” Atticus, still very much in pain form the day’s earlier encounter, tried to swallow it all to have a little bit of fun with his daughter. A lot of parents merely put up with their kids wants and act like they are having a good time. That’s what made Atticus different, he legitimately liked hanging out with his kid. They were best friends in a world where not many people had a lot of friends left.

Atticus grabbed the bowling ball from the return. He clenched his teeth as his hands were still bandaged from earlier. “Don’t look away kid, you might learn something.” He held the ball up and waltz forward and threw it down the lane with a fancy twist. It would only make it halfway to the pins before a large jolt knocked the ball over into the gutter. “Aw that was a surefire strike! I saw it and everything,” said Atticus.

“Don’t start making excuses old man. A zero’s a zero” Lucy said as she marked his score down. The bowling alley shook again harder, making Lucy scratch off to the side of the scorecard. “Ok what gives?”

One last large jolt shook the building when a creature burst from the floorboards of the lanes at the end of the alley. A large, brown humanoid hand rose up from the ground followed by a set of large horns. People screamed and fled as the beast bellowed loudly. Its tail whipping side to side as it locked eye with its target. The Minotaur’s hooves pushed off the ground and charged toward Atticus and his daughter.

“Dad, I think he wants to meet you,” said Lucy, smiling a big toothy smile.

“Yeah I don’t think he knows who I am,” said Atticus grinning slyly. He grabbed one of the bowling balls and held it in his hand. Weighing it, he nodded approvingly. Heavy, this’ll do, he thought. He turned back to his daughter, “Alright kid, I’ll be right back, it’s your roll now.”

Atticus closed his eyes as visions of the oncoming monster’s attacks flooded his brain. The powers inexplicably imbued within his wedding band allowed him to get the jump on his enemies. A final gift left behind from his wife. It had been 8 years, not only since beasts burst from the earth, but also since Suzy Hazard was brutally slain at the hands of some of the first creatures to arrive in the United States. Her death awoke something within Atticus though. Wherever these monsters came from, they brought things that were unnatural to our world. This is what gave Atticus’ ring, the last reminder of his wife, the power to see glimpses into the future.

Atticus opened his eyes, now privy to the Minotaur’s attacks. He pushed off his right foot and gave charge. He lept over chairs and tables as he rushed the beast. His right arm held the bowling ball tightly, his eyes locked with the creature’s. Atticus reached top speed before he planted one foot onto a ball return and jumped high into the air. He spun to the side, bringing his arm around, swinging the dense, 16 pound ball toward the monster’s face.

“Graaagh!” Atticus yelled as a loud crack was heard when the ball slammed directly into the Minotaur’s left horn. It was shattered into pieces. The monster was flung down one of the alleys, ragdolling before stopping halfway down. The Minotaur grunted as it staggered to one knee, grabbing the jagged stub where its horn used to be. “That was rude, wouldn’t you say?” Atticus walked toward the Minotaur down the alley. Still holding the bowling ball, he approached the beast and grabbed the still intact horn. “People are here, just trying to enjoy a day with their families, but you just wouldn’t let it be.” He yanked the beast’s head back and brought the bowling ball down hard onto its face. Black blood sprayed from the lips of the bull and coated the slick wood flooring.

“Hey dad! You nearly finished over there? I need you witness how badly I’m killing you!” Lucy yelled to her dad from across the building.

“Proud of you sweety!” Her father yelled back. “You see that? I love that kid too much just to let you get away with trying to interrupt our quality time together.” Atticus kicked the Minotaur in its gut and shoved his foot down on top of the monster’s horn. He raised the bowling ball high and smashed it hard downward where the horn connected to the head, severing it instantly. “Ouch!” taunted Atticus. The creature bellowed in pain. Inhuman screaming echoed throughout the alleys. Atticus picked up the broken spike from the ground as he dropped the ball with a loud thud. He clenched horn tightly and pressed his boot against the Minotaur’s chest, pushing him into the floor. He looked down at the beast, looking quite un-beastly as it yelled and writhed in pain. He was savoring victor-

“Dad!”

“What?!” He yelled.

“Hurry the hell up! I’ve skipped all of your turns. You’re gonna have to roll prit-tee hard if you want to make a comeback!” Lucy teased her dad.

Atticus rolled his eyes and looked back down at the Minotaur. “Alright big guy, hate to cut this short, but I have a child that needs to learn a lesson in losing.” Atticus laughed and in one quick motion, buried the monster’s horn deep into its forehead. He looked down, picked up his bowling ball and looked back up towards Lucy. “Ok kid, I’m ready.”