Costly Obsession: Animalize

  Chapter Two

  ...grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.

  Acts 20:29

  Dark figures slithered silently within the void of darkness that surrounded him. Only the beating of his own heart provided any sense of humanity, for what was lingering just beyond him was in no way human. It was stalking him; he could feel its eyes leering intently upon his flesh. Its presence was all around him. A cold dense fog rolled in clutching at his ankles then climbed higher to engulf his legs, torso, then eventually all of him. The thick, undulating mass glowed a dirty white and it seemed to live and breathe just as he did. It clung to him and no matter how fast he waved his arms the fog never left him. The thing in the shadows moved closer to him, hiding within the white blanket, darting in and out as if to say “I’m here and there’s nothing you can do about it, you can’t even see me though I’m right beside you.”

  He could feel it darting in front of him then behind him then beside him, yet when he swung towards this invisible demon it would spring back into the depths of the abyss. Finally, another sound began to drown out that of his own wildly throbbing heart, a low menacing growl had encompassed him and was growing louder and deeper, and it was getting closer. The terrifying snarl seemed to come from everywhere, even above him and panic began to fill every inch of him. He tried to run, to escape the unseen monster but he was frozen, paralyzed in that very spot. Whatever it was he would have to face it like it or not, he was at its mercy. Time slowed as the taunting continued, then without warning everything ceased. The growling was gone and the fog dissolved into nothingness, leaving him once again in the pitch black void of nowhere. His rapid breathing slowed to normal and his heart took on a slower, steady beat. His body had been returned to him and he once again surveyed the emptiness that surrounded him. He looked left, then right, satisfied that the nightmare had retreated into the recesses he relaxed and looked ahead… directly into the yellow snake like eyes of death. Its rancid hot breath filled his sinus and turned his stomach. The thing must have been hunched over when it rose to its full height it towered over the petrified boy. In the center of each of the gleaming yellow eyes rested the black cat like slits of a hunter and when the beast opened its foul smelling mouth it revealed its bright teeth, its razor tips, and the blood from victims both old and new. The boy could feel its clawed hands wrap around his head pulling him off the floor and closer to the face of evil. Hot liquid ran down his leg and the smell of fresh urine wafted up to both his and the creatures noses. Too terrified to be embarrassed he kept his eyes fixed on the thing before him as it smiled with the pleasure of the fear reeking from every pore in the boy’s body.

  Images invaded the boy’s mind as if sent to him from the mind of his captor. Flashes of death and destruction, blood and tears. Severed limbs scattered along a blood soaked plain; piles of still living tortured souls stacked one upon another high into the blackened sky. Living corpses still walking as chunks of flesh melted off their rotting bodies. Wails and moans filled his ears from the inside out as he witnessed bodies being gutted while their owners looked on in horror and excruciating pain. Hearts, livers, intestines, and entrails of all kinds littered the ground as skin and bone creatures that were once human picked through it all fighting for the food that was the dead and dying. Flashes of humans, long tortured to insanity, tearing at those still sane and eating their flesh sickened the boy, yet the images continued to invade his mind raping his sanity. He saw fresh, still moving bodies and parts of bodies impaled on stakes surrounding him showering him with their blood. The warm, sticky goo ran over his face and he struggled to keep it away from his mouth. He witnessed the damned bursting into a flame that would never be extinguished. A tunnel of lost souls writhing in agony lay before him and it was at this moment that he realized he was seeing the very essence of Hell. Hell was no longer a mythical place made up to keep children from misbehaving, it was no longer the fantasy of religion, but the true province of pain and suffering that he had heard of in so many stories. He could even smell the sulfur amongst the rotting flesh and garbage that blanketed everything as far as his mind’s eye could see. His own wails and cries mingled with those of the condemned as he begged for mercy.

  “Please… no more… no more. I can’t take it… please stop… please. What do you want? Please… please…stop. Leave me alone… please.”

  The flashes and screams died down, all that was left was his own pitiful sobs and the inhuman laughter of his tormentor.

  “Look at me child.”

  He could not bring himself to open his eyes to the beast after such an attack on his mind, but the thing would not be disobeyed and shook him violently, then continued to speak. “Open your eyes and look. Look at me child and know the face of evil!”

  Terrified to look, but more terrified not to he opened his eyes to behold a mutating form. From monstrous to near human the thing morphed slowly before him. Then, just as the face began to become somewhat familiar he awoke in a cold sweat, safely in his own bed. By the morning he would forget all about the dream and its horrors and continued to enjoy the summer warmth and the company of his friends. The book had been tossed aside and all had forgotten it while they spent their days swimming and watching the girls in their revealing bathing suits and their nights spent either dating or palling around. Life had returned to normal in Epson, South Carolina.

  Until…

  The lightning streaked like a whip through the newly blackened sky causing the lake to illuminate like day, yet the creature required no light to see. Still it felt strange, its senses were strong, but they held an unfamiliar feel that unnerved it ever so slightly. Suddenly a flow of hatred and anger washed over it and all that was left was the undeniable urge to purge its rage with blood and suffering. It let out a powerful cleansing howl then dashed stealthily through the woods to a farm miles from the small South Carolina town. Scorching saliva dripped from its mouth at the sight of fresh, living prey. It closed its eyes and listened to the many heartbeats of the livestock just yards away. A swift frenzy began within the fence as the animals sensed an unearthly presence invading the safety of their meadow and a stampede soon ensued as the intruder’s presence spread throughout the farm. Bleating and the horrified shrieks of the cattle, horses, and goats rang out, only to be drowned out by the mighty storm that played nature’s violent game.

  Each innocent animal, running and fighting to live fell to the ground one by one, blood gushing from their vastly open wounds, gasping for every breath. Many had their throats torn completely from them, spurting blood into the mouth of their murderer; some lost their heads all together. Others watched as the thing slashed and tore colossal masses of flesh and bone from their bodies then smiled at the terror in their eyes before dying. One by one the creature ravaged the trapped animals until not one was left alive, then it returned to the carcasses to further mutilate them and feast upon the still warm meat. Bones crunched between its teeth and soft tissue oozed while the not yet coagulated blood tricked down its greedy throat. It had been so long between meals and this was indeed a feast. Yet there was something missing. The stupid cattle could satisfy his hunger, but not his lust for fear, for torture. For that he would desire and require a being of intelligence… a human being. It made up its deranged mind that next he would feed on the tortured remains of a human … the sweetest meat of all.