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This is my adopted goth fetus named "Cringe". Hooray fetus!
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| The Beast |
| 07.12.04 (6:51 am) [edit] |
We sat huddled together, as much for a feeling of protection as for warmth, listening to the sounds of the night. There were none, save for crackling flames, the patter of raindrops on our tents and the low, incessant moaning that occasionally picked up to a panicked shriek. Our fire was burning brightly, despite the constant drizzle of rain that had been falling from the dark sky since noon, and our stockpile of wood was rapidly dwindling.
As I threw our last log on the fire, I saw McStinky looking at me, a haunted expression of worry on her face. We both knew what would have to be done. Niether one of us much liked the idea of leaving that fire to venture into the darkness in search of more firewood, but we didn't have a choice.
With a heavy sigh, we started up the hill to the car, loathe to leave that comforting globe of warm light and enter into the blinding darkness beyond. We climbed the hill and were swept with relief as the doors closed, with a reassuring thud, as soon as we were tucked safely inside. The beams of the headlights sliced through the sodden darkness and shon eerily off the trees lining the deserted road leading down the hill to the wood pile.
As quickly as we could, we loaded the trunk with wood. I heard the slow scraping sound of footsteps somewhere in front of the car, and stopped to turn and investigate. A smallish figure was appraching, slowly. He appeared to be only a shadow and indeed, if I hadn't heard his lopsided gait as he shuffled through the gravel, I would not have noticed him at all. I grabbed McStinky's arm as she neared me, carrying an armful of wood. I could not speak. All she could see, by the vague light of our lantern, was my pointing finger. There was a clatter as the wood she was carrying fell to the ground, and as the figure came into view, we both gasped.
A small old man, of about 65 years, stood before us. His beady eyes sparkled from his scowling face, in the lamp light. The unidentified thing in the forest let out a horrible shriek that echoed through the entire valley. He grunted at us and looked up into the sky. In a cracking, sandpapery voice, he said, "Do you know what that is?" Droplets of rain water sprayed from our hooded heads as we shook them.
"That...Is the Minotaur of Redberry Lake. You want to watch out for that there. Yes...yes you do. Powerful creature, that. And fierce. I know. I haven't fed him for a while." He raised his hand in a strange parody of stroking his white-stubbled chin. The scars shon in the rain where his fingers and thumb used to be. We gasped in shock and he laughed at our surprise.
"Now, you owe us some money. You didn't pay your entry fees, and my wife is some bit of upset about that. You don't wanna upset my wife, no sir. She knows things. She can do things you just never knowed she could do."
"So, the sooner you come an pay up, the better for you. It'd be a shame for that beast there to getcha all. Yep. Surely would. I don't know if he'd stop at your fingers though."
Turning quickly on his heel, he receded into the darkness in the direction from which he came. McStinky and I had not uttered a single word during the entire encounter, and we could not bring ourselves to do so now. The look on McStinky's face was enough. We left the wood on the ground where she dropped it and got back into the safety of the car. We had enough to last until morning at least.
That was when the bad things started happening.
We arrived back at our site and unloaded the wood. Because it was wet, I had to chop it so that it would burn quickly and keep our fire going. I was setting up a new log on the block when, inexplicably, the blade of the axe came down on my hand. It sliced through the layers of flesh quickly and painlessly, leaving a gaping wound about an inch long and deep enough to almost touch the bone. A vision of the old man's fingerless hand swept through my mind. We quickly disinfected and bandaged the wound, resolving to return to the city the next day for more medical supplies.
Neither one of us slept that night.
We woke early the next morning to see that, though everything was drenched, the rain had stopped. So had the infernal bawling of the Minotaur. After a hearty breakfast, we packed our gear and set off on a treck to try to find the beast. We walked and walked with no luck at all. The sounds had been coming from all directions last night, so we did not even know which direction to look. Finally, we found some tracks in the soft, claylike mud near the water. We followed them around the waters edge to the other side of the lake, but we came to an impass and could go no farther. After being mercilessly attacked by hoardes of giant, man-eating mosquitoes, we abandoned our search and decided to call in reinforcements.
Continued later...
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posted by: McStinky (reply)
post date: 07.12.04 (2:45 pm)
I think we should go looking for the minotaur again soon. I have aug 2nd off work (that's a monday) and if my calculations are correct, you should be leah-less that weekend. perhaps we should bring more offerings to the keeper...bring some new recruits with us...and then we can visit wayne again! (o:
posted by: mgareau (reply)
post date: 07.13.04 (6:00 am)
Ooooh, that might be a fun idea
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