The Chronicles of Beast and Man (3 page)

The beast had completely given up on finding its next victim in the woods. It made its way to a nearby pasture, and it was here that the beast knew he would find his prey. A herd of cattle were often located at the far east corner, and the beast would be able to take one of them down with pronounced effortlessness.

Swiftly it moved through a gloomy fog that covered a large portion of the pasture. It wasn’t long before the herd was found. It only took a moment for the beast to lock on to its primary target. First of course, it studied its movements, its size and its ability to fight back. The beast definitely felt satisfied with the selection so it didn't waste any time.

It leapt up off of its hind legs; snapping its jaws hungrily. Rapidly, it took the bovine down with minimal effort. The beast growled as it used its powerful claws to rip into the dense skin. The cow wasn't even dead when it began to feast upon its soft bloody entrails. Raising its blood soaked snout toward the bright moonlit sky, it howled a vicious howl that lifted up loudly into the night sky and fell back down softly.

-

Twenty miles away, Freddy Alexander and Tyler Zeal walked out of Gaming Plus, the one stop shop for video game enthusiasts. They both were excited with their purchase of Death From Above 4, or DFA 4 as it's known in the world of gamers. The boys had been waiting in line to purchase the newly released game, so by then the time was well after midnight. Neither one of the boys cared what time it was, they were both freshman in college, and stayed up late most nights anyway.

The two young men quickly got in Freddy's car and drove away with satisfied smiles on their faces. They headed out of the busy city of Webster and made their way toward Freddy's parent's house back in Medusa. On the way home the two discussed the reviews and possible new features that had been added to the widely anticipated game.

All of a sudden something dove out of the woods. Freddy slammed down on the brakes, but he was unable to stop and the right side of the Chevy Malibu struck the creature head first.

The two boys sat in complete shock for a moment. They didn't say a single word to one another; they only stared forward unable to see the massive creature lying below their field of vision.

As it rose up, it stood on two legs. It revealed it’s unbelievable size, and obvious supremacy.

In that second, time had no meaning. There was only themselves, the beast, and the utter terror that embodied the moment. With the help of the bright moonlight, they were able to see the creature clearly. It was like something from a depraved, twisted nightmare. Its massive body was streaked with blood, and it was too hard to tell if the blood was its own, or that of an earlier kill. In all its savageness, the beast was as unbelievable as it was hideous.

All of a sudden it dropped to its knees
and then down to the ground. It was obviously still reeling from the collision. Slow and sluggish, it rose back up and stood again as it continued to cross the road, and disappeared into the woods.

“What in the world was that?” Tyler asked.

“It looked like a...”

“Don't you dare say werewolf...” Tyler said bluntly.

“But...”

“Werewolves are not real.”

Very little was said between both of them as Freddy drove the car back home. They both knew what they had seen but neither one wanted to believe it. For one thing, who in their right mind was going to believe them?

Everyone would just assume they were crazy or stupid.

Once home, Freddy called the police and it wasn’t long before
Officer Chapman was there. Right away he began inspecting the damaged vehicle; Chapman was very surprised at the amount of destruction. When Freddy had called the police he claimed that he thought he had hit a dog. After he was finished with his inspection, Chapman questioned the two young men. They explained to the officer why they had been out of town, and why they had been on the road so late. They told the officer their story about hitting a dog, a story that Chapman still wasn’t sure about.

“Boys, if you hit a dog, it had to of been the size of a horse.” Chapman told them.

Chapman’s remark did not change their story one bit. They still insisted that the animal looked like a dog. Chapman had no reason to argue with the two young men and wrote their accounts in his report.

-

The following morning Rod walked in from the bright warm sunlight and opened the door to the police station. He greeted Clara in his usual manner, then took a seat behind his desk and began reading the reports from the night before. Rod briefly read about the Freddy Alexander car accident. He thought very little about it; to him it sounded like a simple small motor vehicle accident. Rod went on to the records of the most recent city council meeting and looked for improvements asked of the police. Very little was said about the department other than a couple complaints about too many police officers, and a complaint that the recently reopened bar and grill needed more security. Rod couldn't help but smile at this, how could they watch over Sheila's Bar and Grill more if they had less officers?

Sheila’s Bar and Grill had been opened six months earlier, and when it first opened it was burglarized twice, but that had been almost four months now. Rod's deputies had been keeping a close eye on the establishment, but had not noticed any activity out of the ordinary as of late.

After reviewing more information and conducting his usual business of the morning he left to go out on patrol. Eventually he found himself outside the Alexander residence, where Freddy's car was still parked. Looking in his rear view mirror, Rod immediately noticed the large dent in the right front side of the car. His first thought was that the damage done to the vehicle couldn’t have been made by a dog.

-

Rod continued driving until he arrived at the Restful Motel, the only motel in Medusa. Rod and Marcy had been meeting at this motel off and on for a month. It was the only place in town where they could meet without anyone noticing. Rod had a key to a room made just for him. He convinced the owner (Stanley Bergthorson) that he should have a copy. The deal was that Rod could use the room anytime he pleased, and Stanley could go on supplying his very potent and very illegal moonshine to his friends.

Rod sat and waited for almost half an hour until Marcy showed up at five minutes after one o’clock. She was on her lunch break and only had time enough for a quickie, the third one this month. Their little meetings had really started to become more and more frequent. It might have been a little out of the ordinary but Rod couldn't help but get excited at the thought of seeing Marcy again.

After the intercourse was over, the two of them lie naked together on the stiff and uncomfortable bed.

“Do you ever wish you could go back?” Rod asked.

There was a long pause before Marcy answered him. “You mean…do I have any regrets?”

“Yes.”

“You were the one who messed things up; you called off the relationship. I was in it for the long haul.”

Rod didn't continue his questions and chose to remain silent.

Without another word, Marcy buttoned up her black uniform and exited the room without even saying goodbye. Rod felt pleased, and enjoyed watching her move about the motel room. In some kind of strange way it felt right
;
that is, until she left. When she closed the door behind her Rod’s smile melted away. He felt guilt pile down upon him. He felt really bad, not for her husband, but for her two kids. It was then that Rod realized that he didn't even know their names. He knew one was a boy and one was a girl. Hell, he didn't even know which one was older.

“Oh god, who cares? I am the piece of shit that their mommy cheated on their daddy with.” Rod said to himself.

             
G
abrielle Parker was running through the park trying to hold back the tears that were about to burst out from the corners of her eyes. She had just been told the most awful thing she had ever heard. At the young age of sixteen that wasn't too hard to do, but this had come from her boyfriend, Owen Kelly. She had told him that she was pregnant and that the baby was his. In reaction to Gabrielle’s words, Owen asked her if she would like him to punch her in the stomach, or if she wanted someone else to do it. She couldn't believe he had said it; she didn't care if he had been drinking tonight. No amount of inebriation should cause such words to leave his mouth. She didn't believe that anyone who truly loved someone would say something so cruel. Gabrielle was only sixteen and already, she feared what the future might have in store for her.

              It was then she heard something moving around in the brush behind her. She wiped a tear away from her face and looked for someone following her. It was dark, but she was sure that there was no one close. She then heard a twig snap; she turned to see nothing but the big red slide that she had once played on when she was a much younger girl.

The thought of herself as a young girl, sparked thoughts of what the child she was carrying might be like. She wondered if it would look like her or maybe her mom. If it were a boy, maybe it would look like her dad. At that moment she didn’t care as long as it didn’t look like Owen.

              Gabrielle heard several twigs snap as if they had been stepped on. It was then that she came to the conclusion that someone had to be behind the slide.

              For a moment Gabrielle thought that it might have been Owen following her and maybe he wanted to apologize for what he had said. Just then a terrible feeling came over her and she could feel a presence like she had never felt before. She started walking faster, trying to escape whatever it was that watched her from the shadows. As she moved a little quicker she looked back to see a massive creature standing up right on two feet moving toward her. She began to run, but within seconds a pair of strong arms picked her up and threw her back on the ground. Suddenly it was on top of her and as it took one swipe at her face, it ripped through the flesh with ease.

              Gabrielle screamed out, but she was quickly silenced when the beast bit down on her throat and ripped away everything but her spine. With persistence it savaged the young girl until there was only a pile of bloody and torn flesh, matted hair and bones.

-

              As Rod walked toward his truck to go to work at the station, his cell phone began to ring. How odd, Rod thought when he recognized the number.

              “Why are you calling me on my cell Clara?”

              Clara then told Rod about the remains of a body that had been found in the park. It had been mutilated, probably sexually assaulted, and cannibalized. She had already been in contact with Officer Chapman and he was already on the scene.

              “Rod, I am really worried.” Clara said in a very sober tone of voice.

              “What is it?”

              “Evelyn and Ricky Parker have both called the station this morning. They say their daughter is missing.” Clara explained.

              “Oh…”

              Rod started his vehicle and drove toward the park as fast as he could. He hoped that things were not as bad as Clara had made them sound. But after working with her for several years he had learned that she usually did not exaggerate.

              The sun was shining bright when Rod turned down Oak Street. The sky had turned from a dark red to a bright orange.

              Rod parked his truck and approached Officer Chapman who was standing beside the remains that were covered with a large plastic blue tarp.

              “How bad is it?” Rod asked.

              “Let’s just say it couldn’t get much worse.”
              Rod peaked under the tarp to see the terrible mess of bloody twisted and torn flesh. Rod studied the design of the clothing the person had been wearing
, (what was left of it).
He could tell that the person had been wearing bib overalls, probably ones designed for a young woman. Rod was becoming more convinced that it was the remains of Gabrielle Parker.

              He stood up and moved around to the other side of the body and once again lifted the tarp up. This time he saw her face, any shred of doubt he might have had was immediately gone, it was indeed Gabrielle.

              “Son of a bitch.” Rod said out loud as he realized just how awful the situation was.

              “Yeah, it is the Parker girl, isn’t it?” Deputy Chapman asked.

              “Yes, yes it is.” Rod said reluctantly.

              Rod’s thoughts shifted to Dusty Welker’s dog Zero who had been slaughtered a month earlier. What if the two incidents were connected?

             
That couldn’t be
, Rod thought to himself.

              An ambulance and the coroner arrived.

              “Listen, I will inform the Parkers
about their daughter. Don’t you worry about it.” Rod told Officer Chapman whose shift had ended an hour ago.