Monster

I heard the dark voice again, a chilling command that seemed to reverberate through the marrow of my bones: “Rise.” It was as though the words were not merely spoken, but carved into the very fabric of my being, dragging me from the abyss of unconsciousness with a cold and unyielding grip.

My eyes snapped open, the searing brightness of the midday sun immediately searing my retinas. It felt like I was dropped into existence all at once, as though I was experiencing the world anew, seeing it for the first time. I lay sprawled on my back, staring up into a sky fragmented by the silhouettes of towering trees. Sunlight filtered through the foliage, creating a mosaic of light and shadow on the forest floor.

The forest around me was silent, nothing like the familiar woods behind my home. No bird chirps or sounds of animal life anywhere in my immediate area. The trees here were ancient and gnarled, their massive trunks wrapped in creeping vines and thick moss. The underbrush was a tangled mess of ferns and thorny bushes, a labyrinth of greenery that seemed to swallow all paths of escape. I knew I was far from my property; lost in a wilderness I had never ventured into before.

The position of the sun, hanging high in the sky, told me it was about noon. Its relentless glare burned down through the gaps in the canopy, intensifying the disorientation that clouded my mind. As I lay there, flashes of blood and agony began to rip into the forefront of my consciousness. I saw the shed floor slick with crimson, the torn remains of a deer, and those terrifying black eyes staring into my soul. The creature that had attacked me had eyes like voids, empty and predatory. I felt the phantom pain of its claws, razor-sharp, tearing through my flesh as if it were paper.

I shook my head, trying to dispel the haunting memories that clung to me like a dark fog. I needed to focus on the now, to understand where I was and how I had ended up here. My eyes darted around, taking in the surroundings. Everywhere I looked, there were trees. They were massive, oppressive, and endless. The forest closed in on me from all sides, a green prison that offered no clues.

I had no idea where I was.

I got up from the ground, a little easier than expected, and forced my body upright. My right arm felt healthy, a little tight, but reasonably normal. I examined my arm, twisting it in all different directions, searching for the pain I remembered from the attack. There was nothing. It was okay, not broken as I remembered, or what I thought I remembered, anyway. Yet, my clothes were still utterly destroyed. My shirt shredded, my pants torn, my body caked in dried blood and dirt. How could you explain that? I didn’t understand.

I began to walk through the dense, shadowy forest with no particular direction in mind, each step crunching on fallen leaves and twigs underfoot. The towering trees around me, their branches crooked and hostile, seemed to close in, creating an almost suffocating canopy above. My sole focus was on moving forward, hoping to find some semblance of safety or the possibility of help. Surprisingly, my body felt perfectly fine—no pain in my arms or back, no lingering headache from the brutal impact of my skull against that unforgiving rock. I gingerly ran my fingers across my back, expecting to feel the ragged edges of torn flesh that had once seared pain into my memory. But there was nothing. No cuts, no bruises, no hint of injury.

Confusion swirled in my mind like a thick fog. What was real, and what was merely a product of my fractured memories? Everything I thought I remembered seemed so vivid, so terrifyingly real. Yet, my body bore no scars or signs of the horrors I had endured. My hands trembled slightly as I reached up to my neck, the spot where I remembered the beast's teeth sinking into my flesh. Again, there was nothing—no wounds, no blood, no evidence of an attack.

I meticulously searched every inch of my body, my fingers tracing over skin that should have been marred by violence. The only sensation that registered was a gnawing hunger, a deep, insistent rumbling in my stomach that twisted and churned in desperate need of nourishment. My insides burned with an almost unbearable ache, and I realized I had no idea how long I had been wandering in this wilderness. Time had lost all meaning; I couldn't even recall how I had ended up here, let alone how long I had been unconscious.

As I continued to move through the forest, the shadows seemed to dance and flicker at the edges of my vision, whispering secrets I couldn't quite grasp. The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and decaying leaves, a constant reminder of the untamed wildness that surrounded me. Each step was a struggle against the unknown, but I knew I had to keep moving, to find food, to find safety, to unravel the mystery of my unscathed body and fragmented memories.

I had been walking for hours and hadn’t been able to find my way out of the woods. I stopped to sit down in the thick layer of dead leaves, leaning against the base of a tree. Sweat was running down my face and body, but it wasn’t from the heat, I felt sick. A cold chill shook my muscles that hung from my frame. My insides were gurgling, twisting, and compressing as my body yearned for food. I had to figure out a way to get out of the woods and get something to eat. I breathed slowly, focusing on regaining control of my mind and forcing the hunger back.

As I breathed steadily, I could hear my heart racing with a relentless intensity, each beat echoing like a drum in the stillness. Above me, the cacophony of birds squawking pierced the air, each individual call distinguishable, as if I could tell the exact species and their locations. The ambient noises enveloped me, a symphony of rustling leaves, distant water trickling, and the faint hum of insects, each sound sharp and clear. It was overwhelming, and a ringing started to take hold and overpower everything else. I placed my hands on my ears and tried to shut it all out.

With a deliberate exhalation, I drew in another long, hard breath, focusing inward. The external world dimmed, the myriad of sounds fading into a soft, indistinct murmur. I honed in on the rhythmic pulse of my own heart, the steady thump-thump grounding me, pushing the chaos of noises into the background. For a brief moment, I wondered if I was slipping into shock, the sensory overload threatening to overwhelm me.

Then, cutting through the fading noise, a new sound emerged, rising above the remnants of the natural chorus. It was subtle at first, a gentle, rhythmic rumble that grew steadily louder. Tires rolling across a paved road. The sound was so distinct, so vivid, it felt as though the vehicle was just beyond the trees to my left, the vibrations almost tangible.

My mind raced, the possibilities swirling in a chaotic dance. Cars meant civilization, and with it, the promise of food, safety, and a semblance of normalcy. The sheer clarity of the sound filled me with a renewed sense of purpose, guiding my next move with an almost primal instinct.

I jumped from the base of that tree and bolted through the woods. I ran through the first dense layer of trees and suprisingly saw more trees. It had to be on the other side of the next thick band of forest, but it wasn’t. I could still hear the cars moving, and only getting louder, but I couldn’t see them. I ran for probably half a mile, through many thick groupings of trees, until I finally came to a road.

As soon as I burst out of the dense foliage, a car went blaring past. I couldn’t believe how happy I was, barely dodging a car and an early grave. Finally, I had found help. Unfortunately, they didn’t see me and kept going. But that was okay; it was only a matter of time until someone would stop, especially for a man that looked bloodied and beaten.

I saw a sign and immediately knew where I was, but I didn’t know how I had gotten there. I was on I-35 about ninety miles north of Dallas, near the Texas and Oklahoma border. I saw a sign for the town of Gainesville. I knew exactly where that was, but ninety miles? I couldn’t understand how I had gotten that far while unconscious. Nothing made sense. Even stranger, how did I hear the cars passing from so far away?

I just started strolling, hoping to hitchhike back to the safety of my house, and my family. I needed help.

I had no clue what was going on. I thought that if I could get home, then Vicky could look me over, figure out what was wrong. She’d know what to do. I just had to get to her.

The longer I walked, sticking my thumb out just for the world to pass me by, I noticed something. Past all the hunger, past the panic and confusion of it all, I felt different. I couldn’t quite pinpoint it, but something wasn’t the same. I felt strange; excellent, but definitely different.

It was dark out on the long, black road. I had been walking for hours, and the sun had already made its way to the horizon. I was watching headlights pass me by every couple of minutes. Nobody trusted hitchhikers anymore. I couldn’t blame them though; half of my clothes hung shredded, and the bloodstains had turned light brown. I looked like a dirty bum, so I stripped my shirt. I tossed it in a ditch after a while, but then I realized even fewer people would probably pick up a bloodied, shirtless man over a bloodied man. My clothes made the memories of the brutal assault hold their anchor in reality, and not pass on like some strange dream.

Finally, I saw the beams of someone’s headlights cut around me as they pulled up behind me. I turned to see a truck pulling off onto the shoulder. They were still a way back, but I knew they were headed for me. I thought that my luck was finally turning around and that this was my ticket home back to my beautiful wife.

The old rusty-blue truck pulled to a stop right beside me as I stood on the dark shoulder. The brakes behind the big mud tires screeched as they came to a complete stop, and then the window slipped down.

“Hey man, where you headed?” a dark-haired man in the back seat asked.

“South, back down towards Dallas,” I answered. “I know it’s far, but I’ll take any ride you can give me,” I said.

“Yeah, come on, man, hop in,” the driver said.

Without hesitation, I got into the back seat of the truck. There were three men in total. The driver looked to be in his early thirties along with the others, but he looked like the leader, the other two passengers were quiet but observant. They both had their eyes on me. I thought that they were just careful with a stranger in the car. The driver talked to me through the rearview mirror.

“I appreciate the ride, man,” I said to the driver.

“Not a problem at all,” he said courteously. “We ain’t going all the way to Dallas, but we’ll get you a little further down the road a stretch.” He eyed me in the rearview mirror, “You alright? What happened to you?”

“I’ve been walking for a while… and it was hot,” I prayed this would be enough of an excuse.

I didn’t see the need to tell them what happened to me since I was still unclear on the subject. Plus, I had my ride. I didn’t want to freak them out and put me back on the ankle express. I wanted to get home to Vicky, to safety. I knew she had to be worried sick. She probably called my mom and dad and the rest of my family too. I just had to make it to her. She would take care of me.

“Why are your pants all ripped up?” the guy to my left asked. “And why are you so bloody, and covered in dirt? You look like you’ve been living in the woods.”

“I cut through the woods and got caught up in some bushes and thorns.”

“Does anyone else know you’re out here?” the driver asked, seeming genuinely concerned.

“No, I haven’t been able to get a phone to call anyone. I got lost out in the woods for a while and wasn’t sure where I was. By the time I found my way to a road I got a little messed up.”

All three of them glanced at one another, sharing some kind of quick signal.

“Do any of you guys have a phone I could use?” I asked.

No one answered.

Then the driver started slowing down and veered off onto a small dirt road that darted back into the cover of the trees. I wasn’t sure what was happening, but before I could even think, we came to a stop on a small two-track trail just off the main highway. It was probably someone’s hunting trail.

All of a sudden, the guy sitting beside me pulled out a silver revolver and pointed it into my temple. He had his finger on the trigger. I felt the cold steel press into my skin with force.

“Get the fuck out,” he said coolly. It was like he had done this before.

The other two were already out of the cab and converged on my door. The rust bucket’s door flew open, and the two men pulled me out of the truck. The gun holder crawled out through my side to keep his aim on me. They knew how to stay in control.

“Give us your wallet,” the driver said.

“What?” I said, still in shock at what was happening.

“Your wallet mother fucker, hand it over,” the gunman barked.

I felt for it in my back pocket, but it was gone; probably lost somewhere between us and the woods behind my house, or on my nightstand. Not sure where it was.

“I don’t have it,” I said, staring at the barrel of the gun.

That was a mistake. The third man, who hadn’t said much except for when we first met, came around behind me and hit me over the head with something hard. It knocked me to the ground, and I landed on my back in a daze.

It was dark, almost pitch black under the canopy of tree branches overhead. The moon was the only light source that trickled through the trees. I could make out what they were doing, but I couldn’t see the details. They drug me deeper into the woods. There, they were checking my pockets for my wallet, keys, and anything of value, scavenging me like vultures over an already dead body.

I had heard about these kinds of lowlifes recently. They’d pick up hitchhikers, or lone wanderers, and take them somewhere secluded to rob them, rape them, or kill them. Somehow, of all the luck in the world, I ran into them after I had just been attacked and found myself in my current predicament.

“He doesn’t have jack shit, man. No fucking wallet, phone, nothin’. Shit, he barely has clothes,” the third man said.

I could see in the light of the moon that he had a lug wrench in his hand. That was what bounced off my skull just a few moments before.

“Fuck em’,” the driver said, throwing away my existence.

The gunman looked at me, straight-faced, and pointed down at me with his gun.

“Wait, wait, wait, I can get you money…” I couldn’t even get my whole plea out before I heard three loud cracks sound off.

All three bullets entered my chest cavity and ripped through me. The pain was searing and intense. I thought I was going into shock since I couldn’t even scream.

The three assholes who just killed me acted like it was just a casual Sunday outing. They talked as they continued to check my pockets, just in case they missed something. They wasted their time on me. The driver, covered in frustration, kicked me in the ribs one hard and vicious time. Once they realized I didn’t have anything, they paced back to their truck. I couldn’t hear what they were talking about after they stepped away, the pain was too great.

They killed me and then just walked away and left me in the dirt like I was nothing. It was easy for them; the men had no care for what they had just done. I was their prey, just like countless others. I was never going to see Vicky again, or my brother, my sisters, or parents. It was over. How many others had they done this to now? What number would that make me? The tenth? The twenty-fifth? I waited for the black to come and claim me again.

Then, something in my mind shifted, a seismic upheaval that sent ripples through my consciousness. The pain in my body, once sharp and all-consuming, was replaced by an overwhelming tightness that swarmed through every fiber of my being. It felt as if my muscles were caught in a relentless tug-of-war, each one pushing and pulling against the others, expanding and contracting in a terrifying dance of transformation.

The sensation was visceral and brutal. My muscles bulged, stretching my skin taut, as if they were fighting to break free from their confines. I felt my bones and joints popping in and out of place, the sickening crunch reverberating through me. Each dislocation and realignment was a flash of white-hot agony, my body warping under an unseen force.

A searing burn spread across my hands and face, a fire beneath my skin. I watched in horrified fascination as long, black, bonelike claws emerged from the tips of my fingers, tearing through flesh and nail. My hands themselves twisted and grew, grotesque and massive, almost unrecognizable. The once familiar color of my skin darkened, a creeping transformation turning it a ghastly greyish hue, as if all the life had been drained from it.

Everything was changing. My jaws and teeth ached with a fiery intensity as they morphed, elongating into a nightmarish maw. The pain was excruciating, a constant reminder of the monstrosity I was becoming.

Then, the dark woods around me lit up in a way I had never experienced before. Where once there had been impenetrable shadows, now there was a world bathed in stark clarity. The colors drained away, leaving a monochromatic landscape that resembled an old black-and-white photograph, but with a level of detail that was almost overwhelming. Every leaf, every twig, every tiny movement in the underbrush was visible to me with perfect precision. Nothing could hide from my enhanced sight in the shadows of the night.

I stood there, transformed, in a body that was both foreign and frighteningly powerful. The world had shifted around me, and I was no longer a mere observer. I had become something else, something formidable and terrifying, ready to face whatever came next with a newfound, predatory clarity.

I could see the three men walking back to the truck, completely unaware of what was happening where they had left me. They had no clue what was coming.

I didn’t feel like myself, and I didn’t feel in control. I felt like there was something else taking over. I knew what It wanted and what It was about to do. I didn’t want to stop it from happening. The crushing hunger I felt all day had surfaced to become my only priority.

In the oppressive darkness of the woods, I exhaled a long, deep breath, the sound reverberating through the night with a resonance that was unearthly. It was a guttural growl, an inhuman rumble that seemed to vibrate through the very ground. The three men, alerted by the unnatural sound, turned back, their faces still masked by ignorance, unknowing of the terror that awaited them in the shadows.

I straightened, feeling the sinewy bands of muscle beneath my skin shifting, sliding into their new, unnatural places. Each movement was accompanied by a sickening squelch, a grotesque symphony of my body's transformation. As I rose to my full height, the reality of my size became apparent. I loomed over the men, a dark colossus in the gloom, my form barely distinguishable yet undeniably imposing.

They could now discern the outline of something formidable, something monstrous standing before them. The fear began to creep into their eyes, a flicker of realization dawning. I could see them clearly, their features twisted in confusion and growing dread, but they could only see the silhouette of their doom.

My muscles, still twitching and adjusting, filled me with a sense of raw power. I could feel the strength coursing through me, each sinew and tendon ready to unleash violence. The tightness across my skin felt like a suit of iron, every movement a reminder of the beast I had become.

I took a deliberate step forward, the ground beneath me trembling with the weight of my presence. The men flinched, their bravery faltering as the reality of their situation became clearer. I reared back, preparing to strike, the predatory instinct taking over. My claws glinted in the faint light, ready to rend flesh from bone.

In that moment, I was no longer bound by the fragility of humanity. I was an apex predator, a creature of the night, and the three men before me were nothing more than prey caught in the web of darkness. The woods, once a place of concealment and mystery, now served as my hunting ground. And the hunt was about to begin.

“Holy shit,” one of the men yelped.

The one with the gun aimed it at me and began firing the rounds he had left. The shots rang out in the night, but I was already moving, my body a blur of speed and fury. I launched myself at them with a feral snarl, my claws ready to sink into someone. The bullets tore through the air, some grazing my skin, others embedding in my muscles, but they did little to stop me. The pain only fueled my rage.

I crashed into them, a whirlwind of destruction. My claws swiped with savage precision, ripping through flesh and muscle, shredding them to pieces. My jaws clamped down, fangs sinking deep into their bodies, tasting the hot, coppery blood as I tore chunks of meat from their bones. I grabbed one of them, his lifeless body limp in my grasp, and flung him at the truck with such force that when he hit, the back wheels slid three feet through the dirt, leaving deep gouges in the ground.

The other man lay between the gunman and me, still gasping for breath. I pounced, my massive frame crushing him beneath me. My clawed hands plunged into his chest, and with a sickening crunch, I felt his ribcage collapse. Blood sprayed in a fine mist, the air escaping his lungs through the jagged holes I had torn. His eyes bulged, a silent scream frozen on his face, as life ebbed away.

Before the gunman could empty his revolver, his two friends were dead, their bodies torn apart and scattered like broken dolls. I rose from the carnage, my breath heaving in powerful, ragged exhalations, drenched in blood and gore. The gunman fired his last shot, the bullet striking me squarely. I felt it impact my flesh, but it didn't deter me. Instead, it only added to the grotesque tableau, the flash from the muzzle momentarily illuminating the crimson-soaked monster that stood before him.

He had just enough time to let out a strangled scream before I slammed into him, pinning him to the ground with my full weight. My jaws closed around his neck and shoulder, and I bit down hard, the crunch of bone and tearing flesh echoing in the night. His blood flowed into my mouth, hot and thick. It wasn’t the blood itself that was satisfying; it was the act, the primal fulfillment of the beast within. It was the kill.

The hunger that had driven me to this frenzy began to recede, the insatiable craving easing off my mind and sinking back into the dark depths of the creature I had become. I continued to tear into him with my powerful jaws, ripping and shredding until there was no life left in him, his body a mangled, bloody ruin beneath me. It wasn’t to eat or feed, it was just a frenzy of unstoppable rage.

As the last vestiges of life flickered from his eyes, I finally pulled away, my hunger sated. The quiet of the night enveloped me, a stark, eerie calm settling over the woods, which seemed untouched by the carnage that had just transpired. The moonlight cast a cold, silver glow, illuminating my silhouette. A monstrous figure against the tranquil backdrop of the forest. The predator within me lay dormant, momentarily at peace.

But peace was fleeting. The shifting began again, a visceral sensation that clawed at my senses. Instead of the grotesque expansion that had characterized my earlier transformation, this time, I felt my muscles contracting, the once-bulging sinew pulling back to their original, human size. It was a brutal compression, as if every fiber of my being was being forced back into a smaller, more familiar form. My teeth and fingers burned with a searing intensity as the claws and fangs receded, slithering back into their hidden recesses beneath my skin.

Bones and joints protested with every shift, the sickening cracks and pops echoing in the night as they realigned into their normal positions. My tough, dark hide, once a protective armor, faded back to its normal color, shrinking with the reduction of my muscular mass. The hide was left pallid and raw, a stark reminder of the beast I had been.

As the transformation neared its end, I felt the return of control. The monstrous entity that had taken command of my body was retreating, slipping away into the recesses of my mind where it lay in wait. A lurking specter ready to emerge again. The sensation was both a relief and a source of dread.

I stood in stunned silence, gazing at the blood, chaos, and death all around me. The ground was a grim mosaic of splattered gore, shattered bodies, and scattered remnants of what had once been men. I stared at the scene, struggling to comprehend the magnitude of what had just happened. The weight of my actions pressed heavily on me, a burden of unspeakable violence and carnage.

A chilling fear gripped me, gnawing at the edges of my consciousness. I was lost in a fog of confusion, trying to make sense of the monstrous change I had undergone and what lay ahead. My voice trembled, barely a whisper in the oppressive silence of the woods.

“What the fuck…”