The Baited Breath Of Beasts (A Short Horror Story - Part 2)

_{Part One}

The small island was the safest place she had found. A smattering of towering old oaks encased the ruins of an old monastery. Most of the roof had fallen through, but she had managed to extend the few tiles still clinging on with branches and brush. There was no food, no fresh water, but she was beyond the reach of the creature prowling the lake. Beyond the reach of the armoured beasts that thundered over the hills. The woodland, the creep of nature over stone, offered as much camouflage from the sky as she could hope for.

The miniature skiff carried her across the waters to resupply. She took her life in her hands then, but here, she had the sanctuary of sleep.

As lonely as the island had ever been, it was worse now he had left. Nothing lived here, the birds once associated with the monastery’s legends had vanished before she had got there. His absence cast a constant shadow across the isolated island. She struggled to get herself out of her makeshift bed. Dried leaves and precious blankets a sparse comfort she didn’t have the heart to part with. She had managed on her own for so long, no matter how she tried to convince herself she could do it again, she couldn’t believe it any more. The callous world had taken everything from her, once, the great creatures had claimed it all, and she had accepted that.

He had made her happy, the silence he left behind rang acutely in her ears, slicing with each breath.

---

That first night, they had got back to the island with barely the energy left to stagger up the shore with the skiff between them. He blindly followed her footsteps to the ruins. With each step she felt ready to drop, her entire body visualising the waiting bed. Her arms sighed in relief as she lowered the skiff between the trees. She could barely remember those last few steps, one foot in front of the other until they fell together onto the cushioned pile.

She woke early the next day in a daze. The soft iron scent of blood mixing with an unfamiliar musky smell, a warmth she was unaccustomed to. It felt like the last wisps of a dream on the cusp of slipping away, yet it did not. An arm pulled her closer as awareness rushed back to her. The heart she had denied hope for so long swelled in a surreal happiness.

The sun had brushed through morning clouds before they had surrendered the impossible moment they had awoken to. The lake already bubbled with the movements of a hunter, the great beast on morning patrol.

The small island seemed lush in the haze of summer sun. The silent woods dappled light across thick grass in dancing spheres. The end of the world had barely encroached on nature’s grip. The abomination in the depths of darker water inadvertently protected them, devouring the splashing beasts drawn by the light of her fire. She had developed an unintentional symbiosis with the watery brute, luring the things it hunted, keeping her safe from them. That did not make her safe from it. The undiscerning creature would engulf them in an instant should they ever risk stirring the water.

They always waited for the glass lake to mirror the sky before they risked approaching the shoreline. It was considerably more, and less, dangerous for them to venture out together. The water rose high on the hull of the skiff under their combined weight, the agony of slow passing danger pulsing with each stroke.

It took over half an hour to cross the lake, intense concentration in every stroke. The care taken to slip the slim edge of the oar into the water without rippling the surface, the slow, strong push, gently edging them forwards. The beast stalking their minds with each passing moment.

The derelict town had been obliterated in the rampages of unrestrained destruction. The great beasts torn through brick and mortar in full pursuit of their prey. She had picked the crumbling remains clean when she first found the island. Food was at least a days hike, there was a village she had found, but they would have to get there, and back again.

He had been living between the baited breath of beasts since it had happened, making her acutely aware of how her sanctuary had dulled her senses. She made this trip every few weeks, yet as she followed him, darting and hiding through the scattered stones of broken lives, she wondered how she had made it so many times.

He paused, noticing things; distant movements in the sky, the slightest faint sound, letting her direct him to a partially intact building.

---

“What direction are we heading?” he asked, scratching the line of the shore in the dirt.

“Up this way, through the hills,” she took the stick from him as she talked, outlining peaks to the north. Drawing stick trees beyond the hills, she continued,

“There is a dense forest in the valley beyond, a stream at the bottom, the village is further up, here”, she marked a square house in the dirt.

He stared at the ground, his forefinger pressing his lip in thought. His voice shifted a little as he spoke,

“I skirted the edge of that valley along the ridge, the forest is thick with Them.”

She nodded, “I go low and slow, just like the boat”

---

Halfway up the mountain, he stopped her. The path was lined with sporadic trees, walls providing cover from a distance, but nothing was close enough. It took a moment before she caught the faint disturbance in the wind that had warned him. He spoke without sound leaving his moving lips, his motions recognisable as words.

“Don’t move”

She hadn’t planned on, the faint brush on her skin, the slight twitch in the breeze had frozen her.

Death was passing above.

The enormous wings of the beast could be felt from a distance. It’s heavy stroke like a steady breath in the wind. It’s huge eyes took in every detail, noticing the vaguest movement. Hairs rose down her neck as the gusts intensified. It’s long shadow raced over the fields towards them. Her eyes darted to his, staring back at her.

She held his gaze as the shadow crossed the last wall, willing her peripheral vision away. Her weightless stomach dancing behind her ribcage, shaking with her pounding heart. Cold sweat prickled her back as the darkness reached them, sickness rising in her throat as she held his intense gaze.

The chill of the shadow filled her bones, she closed her eyes, letting the breath ease in and out of her, sinking in the darkness of her own creation. The heat of fear still danced on her skin, flushing her with adrenaline. Every muscle jumping to move, as she forced herself to remain frozen mid step. The smallest motion would bring it down upon them.

She recoiled in terror at the sudden light touch of his hand on her arm,

“It’s gone,” he whispered, the relief visible on his face as she opened her eyes.

Air escaped her chest in a deep sigh, he put his arm around her, a smile on his face as he joked,

“Isn’t the worst part supposed to be the forest?”

She returned his smile, although it wasn’t really a joke, they both knew the worst was still to come. Something leapt inside her, she reached out and pulled him close, hugging him as he wrapped both arms around her. Standing against him for a moment before stepping away,

“Let’s get going then,” she said, starting off towards the mountain pass.

I feel like part two is the weakest out of the sections I have broken this down into, but don't worry, it all gets to it in the end. I am still not certain about this posting in parts, it took a force of effort this morning not to post the rest, but it helps I found two good pictures to use.

These are two more nameless characters, but there is a fair amount of reasoning behind this. In this world, where man has given up on each other, each person surviving alone, their names don't matter. They are the only people to each other, they had both given up on trying to survive with someone else. A name cannot encapsulate who they are to each other.

This part needs a thankyou to @svashta who's great contest has pushed me to try and use dialogue, it will get there in the end :)

Photo Credit - this user has a small but great collection of images, including one I have picked out for the final installment.

Thank you for bearing with me

Love and Sparkle