Chapter Text
Grave Encounter
“I don't know how this happened to me.” Anthony heaved.
“Well actually I do.” He tried to chuckle but the pain in his abdomen worsened.
He glanced down again to take a look at his wound. The large stake pierced through his lower torso, far left of his belly button. Although it seemed like it missed all of his vital organs, the wooden sharp root that pierced him was deeply connected underground and impossible to remove. He thought he could just sit up and be fine but his fear of bleeding out scared him to no end, and the root jutting from his body was a bit too large. He thought about waiting for help but no one knew he was out here. He didn't have a wife or kids who would worry about him. His parents were in a different country on a vacation.
“Shit, I don't even know where I am.” Anthony commented.
Most of his blood had stayed inside his body after the large fall from the hunting stand. The stand still clung to the tree by a few bolts and his rifle landed far left of his current spot. His newly conjoined root was coated in a crimson blood. The thick red fluid started coagulating as he had been laying there a while now. The light had begun to fade as dusk turned to night. The air grew frigid and biting and the various animal sounds started to echo through the rustling trees. The ground felt hard to lay on and was cold since it was the eve of winter.
Anthony knew he was going to die alone and cold in the middle of these god forsaken woods. He felt sorry for any person that found him weeks from now. He also felt a great fear that maybe an animal would get to him first before he would bleed out.
“Oh god if a wolf or coyote gets here they are going to start with my hands or feet and then rip apart my neck.” Anthony began to tear up.
“Birds will probably start pecking and gnawing at my eyes."
“Or god forbid a bear will just begin tearing pieces off me in random order." Anthony sobbed.
“I can't believe it came to this.” He cried, still struggling to accept his impending doom.
“No wife. No kids. Mediocre job. All my friends moved on without me." Tears streamed down his face. His reddened and puffy cheeks stricken with the salty water. His regrets just seemed to mount. The wasted days studying, the lack of high school parties or romance. Missing out on young love. Missing out on marriage.
Anthony tired himself slowly but surely as his energy began to wane. The loss of blood and pain combined with the overwhelming dread and emotions had tired him severely. The lack of water for the past hour or two he had been stuck, had left his mouth full of cotton. He had grown pale and weak, he struggled to lift his arms now and could barely move his legs at this point. His tattered clothes were covered with dirt and the dry leaves of the large trees surrounding him. The ominous black trees jetted toward the darkening sky. The branches coming from each one sporadically pointing out in every direction reminded him of thin and boney fingers and arms. Anthony knew the lack of leaves signified the ending of autumn and the beginning of the usual long winters in these Appalachian mountains.
—
As another hour, or two, or ten passed, he couldn't tell how long it had been. Anthony's vision started to deteriorate. The black at the outer rims of his vision creeped closer and closer to the center. The various wild howls and moans of animals and the forest could no longer keep him awake and aware.
“Ahh…. I don't ... .uhh. I can't…. anymore. I'm sorry….” He whispered, his fatigue reaching its zenith.
He glanced to his left one last time and saw the expansive darkness with his rifle in the distance. The scope seemed to be shattered from what little he could see but it might still shoot.
“Might still function, unlike me.” He laughed to himself causing his wound to hurt once again.
Out of nowhere, he heard the creaking and crunching of wood and leaves to his right. He looked and saw a large wolf sniffing and prancing around his area. It was a beautiful creamy gray with surprisingly bright eyes to be so dark. The brown pupils stood out ominously against the pitch black backdrop of the forest. The wolf saw Anthony and began growling and barking. It bared its sharpened canine teeth and its grayish gums. As it approached closer the wolf realized the human's incapacitation, smelling and spotting the blood on him. Seeing Anthony as the easiest meal of the night.
Anthony sighed, completely defeated. Finally accepting the quicker death at the hands of a predator was good enough for him.
“Better than being killed by a twig.” He smiled to himself.
“Circle of life and all that shit.”
The large wolf continued its growling and approached the injured Anthony tentatively.
His final moments were interrupted however. A large terrifying shriek or scream rattled through the woods. It sounded sort of human, but was so shrill and violent surely he had to be mistaken. The wolf heard this noise and immediately panicked. Its ears flattened and tail tucked between its legs. Its fur ruffled out of fear. It turned around on a dime and darted into the underbrush at breakneck speed.
“What the hell was that? Hallucinating while dying?” He asked himself as that warm permanent sleep started to pull on him stronger now.
A large thumping now started to radiate across the ground. Anthony could feel the thumps of something large coming towards him. The dirt beneath him was growing colder and still felt wet from the morning dew. The last things Anthony saw before slipping into that forever nap, was the rustling and swaying of bushes and a cute white deer with large and ornate style antlers he had never seen before. Anthony assumed it had to be at least a 12 or 16 pointer.
“Beautiful….” He whispered with his last breaths. He slipped into that ever familiar deep dark. It felt as if his mind was sinking, like only his soul or thoughts were slipping away and his heavily injured body was left behind. The deer was a large blur as it approached closer to him and then everything went dark.
—--
Anthony stood in the dense and pitch black forest. He was very familiar with the woods. He had grown up in them, but where he was now he didn't recognize in the slightest.
“Where am I?” Anthony asked himself. His breath was visible in the dark as it seemed to get colder and colder. He hugged himself tightly and it felt like pins and needles in his fingers tips and toes. Anthony glanced down and saw his lack of clothing. He panicked. His toes dug into the cold and wet dirt and he noticed his fingers started to turn black and die. He tried to move but every step of his was sluggish and labored. The darkness was all consuming, it even started consuming his limbs as the frostbite affected his toes now. Anthony stumbled, catching himself on a dry and cracked tree. A short distance away he could see a dim light emanating from a small cave in a cliff face. He approached slowly and weakly. He walked into the cave relaxing in the minor warmth compared to the outside. The light flickered from a small fire in the center of the cave. The light danced across the darkened slate walls and ceiling. Small pictographs and drawings covered the walls and seemed to be drawings of people and hunters and animals being eaten. Anthony lowered his dead hands to the stone and felt the odd texture through his palms. The rocks were extremely smooth like polished gems from those witch stores he used to see. Anthony fell to his knees now curling into the fetal position. He was so tired and cold.
“Somebody….please.” He spoke softly, staring at the dimming flame.
Then Anthony heard it again. The loud horrific shrill cry coming from outside of the cave. It sounded like a lady screaming but with the bravato of something else. The noise sent tingles down Anthony's freezing body and his hair stood on end. Something didn't feel right.
A massive gust of icy wind whipped at the cliff face. The wind penetrated Anthony's secluded spot, completely snuffing the fire in the center of the cave. Anthony inched to the very back of the cave and continued to hold himself tightly. It didn't help, there was no cover inside from the frozen wind. His hands and feet were completely black with frostbite now. The dead flesh connected to his body seemed to affect the rest of him as well like a terrible sickness. It continued spreading and reaching higher and higher up his appendages. The disgusting limbs clicked and clacked on the smooth stone like metal on glass. He was bathed in pitch black once again.
Scratching on rocks and rustling trees were all he could hear. The rustling of the bushes outside of the cave mouth grew louder and louder. Something was approaching. Anthony couldn't move. He stared at the cave opening with immense fear.
The small head that suddenly appeared was just that sweet albino deer from earlier. Anthony sighed in relief, until it contorted and the rest of the being came into full view.
It wasn't a white deer. It was a deer skull with dark and empty sockets that lacked eyes at all. The ornate antlers were large and scratched across the rocks on the cave ceiling as it approached. No longer seemingly beautiful like he thought before but more like an imposing looming dread. They shot upward and outward in an odd twisting and spiraling style that seemed unnatural for a regular deer. Its teeth trailed all around the jaw of the skull and were pointy and sharp. Every tooth seemed like a canine. Its sharp clawed hands braced itself using the stone walls for support. The fingers cut rather smoothly through the stone. The rest of its body was almost entirely black and furred with even larger tufts of fur at its neck. The fur circled the vacant skull much like a lion's mane. It seemed extremely emaciated as most of its bones were visible through the various skin and fur. Anthony continued to stare in shock and fear as it drew ever closer. Anyhony saw its peculiar feet with each step. They were digitigrade like many animals, but had very elongated toes with its own set of razor claws on each end. Its thighs were large, round, strong, and flexed with every step. It loomed over him as its chest heaved and the breath was visible slipping from its deer bone jaw. It leaned closer and closer bringing the ashen skull to Anthony's face. His fear was palpable and he was frozen in place. His skin that wasn't tainted by frostbite was white out of fear. It stared deep into his fearful green eyes and he stared back into its dark abysses. Then it clicked and chortled odd sounds. The rest of the world seemed to die off while the creature made its noises and moans. The moans sounded like moans of death and pain and echoed into his chest. Its sounds changed pitch and volume over and over until something parallel to English was spoken.
“H ...e - llLL….p – Y….u-U.” The beast uttered in a chattering and gurgling tone.
—--
Anthony awoke suddenly in darkness. He was sweating profusely and the pain in his abdomen was still somewhat prevalent. His body was soaked and he glanced around nervously looking for that formidable creature.
“A - a dream?” He panted.
He reached down towards his wound and found that he was no longer speared. As his eyes adjusted he saw that his wound was covered in some kind of dressing and that he was no longer in the middle of the woods. His shirt was missing but his pants were still on. It was very dark and all around him were stone walls and floors just like the cave in his dreams, they just lacked the random scribblings. However, Anthony began to panic.
“Dammit where am I? What happened?” He asked himself.
Anthony struggled to move his fatigued and injured body. He felt around the floor in the cave still trying to gain his bearings. He heard the dripping droplets of water echoing somewhere in the cave. He felt the various dry foliage and sticks littering the cave floor like a bird's nest. He glanced behind him to see the cave opening . Through the vines hanging over the entrance the sun was already setting in the far off distance. The last light cast eerie shadows across the cave walls.
“Sun set? Why am I in a cave? What happened? Who saved me? How long has it been?” The questions flooded his mind.
Anthony noticed the nip in the air hadn't left and he searched the room for his shirt or anything to cover himself with. He turned away from the cave entrance and trudged carefully towards the dark end of the cave. Unfortunately, he wasn't careful enough and tripped on something hard like a root or stick, falling chest first into the solid ground.
“ow…. Fuck…. You think after almost dying by impaling myself I would be more careful.” He wheezed nervously.
Anthony sat up and dusted off his pants. He rubbed his arms and chest making sure nothing was on him, or he hadnt stabbed himself….. Again.
He looked down at the peculiar first aid covering his wound, except his attention was grabbed by what he tripped on.
All around him were bones of animals. Various ribs and deer and bear skulls littered the entire section where he stood. Fear and panic rose to the front of his mind. He stepped backwards stepping over leg bones and spinal vertebrae. He looked down at his feet and right between his steps was another skull…
A human one.
“Fuuuuuck i have to go.” Anthony panicked. His breath picked up and his temperature rose. He turned to run out of the cave shirt be damned. As he did, he slammed into a firm yet soft….. Something. He was knocked down and stared up at whatever he had run into. Fear consumed Anthony's face. The creature from his dreams was right there before him. The color drained from his body and goosebumps littered his skin. The deer skulled abomination, stood tall and had to hunch inside the cave to fit. It stepped loudly into the cave. Its clawed toes echoing after each step. The antlers occasionally graced the cave ceiling in a nails on chalkboard manner. The being glanced down at Anthony with those black and vacant eyes and stared directly into his soul. Anthony, horrified by his nightmare come true, scrambled backwards on all fours until his back slammed into the smooth stone walls. His body and hands were fumbling over the bones of what he assumed were previous victims.
“Ill be joining y'all soon," he thought to himself.
The terrifying creature reached its sharp clawed hand towards Anthony. Anthony reflexively closed his eyes, resigning himself to his fate.
He waited….
Expecting those sharp claws ripping through his throat, or piercing his eyes into his skull, or stabbing directly into his heart.
He waited still.
Then he felt a small fumbling and gentle touch right around his wound. He opened his eyes to see the deer monster prodding and checking his injury and the wet dressing around it. The sharp claws made him doubly nervous but his confusion was louder than his fear. The bandages were extremely rudimentary, mostly just a clump of leaves and moss that actually worked somehow quelling his pain. However, Anthony winced at the touch on his tender bloodied flesh. The creature reflexively pulled back but growled deep and guttural, causing Anthony to gulp.
“Sorry I can't help it…. That hurts.” He whispered, now confused why this creature was helping him and checking him.
The being bent down further towards Anthony's wound. It made small huffs and sniffs around his injury. Anthony remained still, confused and slightly concerned. The creature perked up quickly after its examination, the dark crevices for eyes staring deep into Anthony.
“Uhh what?” He whispered in fear.
The creature cocked its head diagonally. Huffing a large breath right into Anthony's face, until it turned around and dashed out of the cave, now on all fours. On all fours the monster didnt seem to have issues like it did when it walked around bipedal. Its antlers weren't in the way and it was obviously faster by leagues.
“Uh okay.” Anthony spoke as fhing dissappeared into the outside world.
He rushed to the cave opening peering out into the barren forest. He stopped abruptly as he realized this cave was very high up on the edge of a cliff. A few pebbles cascaded down the cliff side taking several long seconds to reach the ground. He had no way to get down on his own, and no way to climb higher either as the face was extremely sheer.
“Son of a bitch. I'm stuck here with that thing.” Anthony huffed nervously.
“I gotta get outta here before it gets back.” he panicked.
Anthony gazed out and saw the forest below was foggy and blackened. The trees all seemed crooked and dead and bark was an unnatural color. The area was gloomy and made Anthony uneasy just looking at it.
“Where is this? I have been all over these woods but I have never seen a forest or trees like these ....” Anthony questioned.
Anthony watched as the sun set behind the distant mountains bathing him and his setting in a vast blackness. The usual howling and animal noises were nowhere to be heard. It was eerily quiet. The lack of insects or bird noises exacerbated Anthony's fears. Even the wind didn't seem to blow around or rustle any of the bushes or trees.
“Okay okay lets think. Maybe I can make a weapon out of these bones.” Anthony postulated.
“A club? A sharp spear or knife?” Anthony runs through and examines various bones of the dead animals and humans. He felt sick digging around the remnants of what used to be living beings. He found various leg bones that could be used as clubs. Several were smoothed in certain areas from the constant rubbing on the stone floor. Other bones were bleached and many were demineralized due to the acidity making them brittle and crack easy. Anthony test swung a few and many shattered on impact. He found some smaller arm bones like radius and ulna and hoped to make a dagger or knife. He found the least brittle ones and quickly began grinding them across the stone floor to create some sort of edge. The grinding bones on stone made Anthony cringe but he soldiered on. He had no idea when the monster would return.
The darkness didn't really affect him much as his eyes were adapted well at this point. The silence was alarming and concerned him greatly. Anthony secluded himself carefully in a small alcove inside the cave. He hoped he was invisible enough that he could surprise the beast or maybe even slip by and take a chance climbing down the rock face. He waited and waited, biding his time to strike when the monster appeared.
It crept into the den, different compared to last time. Behind it, it dragged the carcass of a large brown bear whose head was almost completely severed. The neck was barely hanging on by a few strands of muscle and flesh. The bear's body was bathed in dark blood and trailed its fluids all across the rocks. The creature skulked creepily with its prize and the deep empty sockets had an luminescent red fire in the center this time. It peered around the cave quickly, looking for him he assumed. The creature seemed to panic as it hadn't seen him yet. It dropped the bear's body completely on the cold floor and scampered around the cave desperately in search of its human pet.
“Why is it searching so frantically?” Anthony asked himself.
The monster looked around the bone piles and saw nothing. It checked the mouth of the cave for any signs he might have left. It seemed confused and returned to the center of the cave. It paused and stood oddly still. The red dots in the center of its hollow eyes seemed to dim more and more. It growled and snarled slightly. Its long wiry tongue snaked out of its deer mouth and seemed to taste the air like a snake.
“i swear I have heard of descriptions of a creature like this….” Anthony thought to himself.
“it couldn't be though…”
The being lowered itself to all fours almost in an attack style position. It scraped its clawed hands and feet across the stone creating jarring noise. It examined the surroundings again hoping to see him.
“A wendigo?” Anthony whispered in his mind.
As soon as the term echoed in his mind the creature cranked its neck 180 degrees in an instant. The red dots in those abyss for eyes stared at him creepily, burning holes right through him. Anthony clutched his homemade knife tighter. His fingers white knuckling on the makeshift weapon.
“Foow UN d…. -yyyU” the beast gurgled as it dashed straight for him on all fours at top speed. It seemed like the animal was going to slam right into him or cleave him in two like it had the bear. Anthony braced himself after the shock of the creature's speech, ready for his annihilation as it bolted toward him. He held his knife out shakily, not ready for whatever he had to do next. However, he miscalculated again, and the being pounced on him. It yanked the small bone from his hand and looked down at it like it was some weird gift or trinket. It slammed its hand into a fist, crushing the bone instantly with little effort, and almost turning it to dust. It then grabbed him by the neck, the long claws surprisingly gentle nestled around his throat while the cold palm held the nape of his neck. It dragged him across the cave towards the bear cadaver, while he kicked trying to support himself but his feet mostly dragged behind him. The being released him in front of the bear corpse and Anthony gasped slightly with a little more access to oxygen now.
“What do you want?” Anthony asked the wendigo. Now aware of its small capacity of speech.
“Eee -t” I growled.
“Eat?” Anthony glanced down at the cold bear body. Then back at the wendigo, shaking his head no.
The wendigo did not respond but lowered its head towards the bear's open throat. It opened its big deer jaw and tore at the deep red flesh and muscle inside the bear. It plunged its hands into the cadavers sides and tore open the flesh. Its intestines and guts spilled outwards onto the cold cave floor. The wendigo's all white skull was covered and stained with the red blood as it continued slicing and ripping at the flesh with its claws and teeth.
Anthony stood there awkwardly, staring in disgust and horror. The wendigo caught his lack of ingesting and shredded a large muscle across the bear’s back and offered it to him. He gestured against it, feeling sick.
“No, no thank you.” He stated calm as can be, trying not to make an enemy out of it.
The wendigo stared back at him inquisitively. Or angrily, he had trouble reading this thing. The red dots seemed to grow brighter. It aggressively grabbed Anthony by the shoulder and pushed down on his body hard. It forced him to his knees and Anthony crumbled. It then gestured towards the meat again demanding he eat it.
“I…. Uh…. I can't." He stated with a begging tone, hoping it would show some mercy.
Its eyes grew even brighter and it stopped eating completely. It stared into him and waited and waited. Never turning away waiting for him to eat.
“N …-ooow.” it growled deeply, scaring him to his core.
Anthony took the meat from the wendigo's hand. The sliver of muscle was grossly cold and very wet. The blood slid past his fingers and dripped to the floor. The beast stared still. Anthony brought it to his face hesitantly and opened his mouth. The stench was horrible and heavily metallic as well. He sunk his teeth in the raw red meat and gagged immediately. He didn't pull away but powered on. He struggled with his blunt teeth to slice and cut through the strong and thick muscle. He pulled and pulled tearing away a decent chunk that slid around in his mouth with copious amounts of coppery blood that seeped from it. His body was rejecting it and he kept gagging over and over. He was ready to spit it out when the wendigo wasn't looking, but the monster was still eyeing him.
“Good…” he tried to throw on his best smile, holding the cold blood flesh in his cheek.
The wendigo didn't fall for it. The red fire in its vacant sockets dimmed a little bit but it did not turn away.
Anthony braced himself and swallowed. The meat slid down his throat and he swore he could feel it land in his stomach. He gasped after his ordeal of a meal. His eyes watered. The wendigo, now pleased with his consumption, turned away and continued with its munching. Anthony wiped away the red splotches around his mouth before it started to harden. Anthony shuddered from the meal and the metal taste in his mouth. He wandered over to the alcove he was hiding in earlier. He wasn't trying to hide again or anything he just wanted to sit and think, and the small section made him feel the most guarded.
—--
The chomping and gnawing continued for a while until the wendigo had stripped it down to nothing but bones. To Anthony's shock, it even ate some of the smaller bones crunching and grinding them around in its mouth. Its face was still covered with blood until its long tongue snaked out and cleaned its boney face. It threw all the large bones over in the corner where the rest resided. It was dark and it had been eating for a while. Anthony was tired, but his body wasn't letting him sleep around such an anomaly. It traveled to the other end of the cave towards the weird makeshift nest of dead foliage and sticks that he had woken up in.
“Oh so its its like a nest…” Anthony thought to himself.
It laid down much like a human would. Its appendages were tucked in tight like a fetal position; initially facing him.
The wendigo growled harshly and loudly now. Anthony stared in concern at what was wrong. It stared right at him. The red fire in its eyes was completely gone, replaced by the familiar dark hollowness. It eyed him closely.
“What?” He asked with a hint of concern.
“Rrr– ess …T.” It snarled at him.
“Oh, um alright.” Anthony accepted the situation and laid down exactly where he was in the alcove. The lack of shirt was rough and no blanket made it even worse. The cold stone chilled his bones and skin was covered in goosebumps. Luckily, the wind was still nonexistent, but it was icy nonetheless.
The beast gurgled and grumbled even louder now, seemingly upset still. Chattering its teeth in anger? Anthony guessed
“What? I'm doing what you said….” Anthony questioned, his words hanging in the air.
It didn't respond a second time, instead it turned its form completely so it faced away from him and was pointed directly at a cave wall. It stopped its sounds and steadied its breath.
Anthony watched the back of the being facing away from him. Its slender black furred body was a peculiar one. It had an oddly hourglass shape for such a voracious eater yet skinny frame. The fur seemed almost pristine and was probably soft.
“You would think the fur would be all matted and gross but it looks pretty nice.” Anthony commented in his mind.
“Wait what? What am I talking about?” he questioned.
Anthony watched the small heave of the wendigo's body as it breathed softly and calmly now. The sudden exhaustion pulled at him strongly. Staying up and the still painful wound made him weak and sleepy. He felt nervous sleeping around such a monster but he figured if it was going to eat him or kill him it could have done it when he was impaled on that stake.
“Why didn't it?” Anthony mused.
His thoughts were interrupted when the wendigo made a few loud snoring noises that echoed around the cave walls signifying its deep sleep. This calmed Anthony down and he slowly slipped into his own much needed rest.