Happy Little Horrors

by Reuben, David

  “Sir, I … I … I just saw a wolf eating one of our own and I shot it. Nothing more.”

  Squatting down, the lieutenant forced Teddy to look him in the eyes. “I don’t believe you, Teddy. I know you saw something that has you spooked. If it were from anyone else, I would just dismiss this as being scared because of today’s battle, but I know you and I know you are not one to fall victim to such things. Now tell me what you saw. If it has you scared then that scares me!”

  “Sir, you are not going to believe me and I am not even sure I believe what I think I saw!”

  A small crowd had gathered around the two as they talked. The lieutenant glanced around him and saw all those straining to hear what was being said.

  “You men, about your business now! Nothing to see here, now back to your posts!” Turning back to Teddy, he said, “Up with you now and follow me.”

  Rising, the lieutenant led Teddy away from the prying eyes and into his dug-out command post. Once inside, he turned back to Teddy.

  “Alright, out with it. Just try to relax and take it from the beginning.”

  Teddy exhaled a huge sigh. He knew there was no denying something had severely upset him, yet trying to explain what had transpired was going to be difficult at best. Taking a seat on the edge of a cot, he faced his commander. He told the story as he remembered it and in as much detail as he could.

  “Sir, I swear to you that what I told you is the complete truth. I shot that creature right between the eyes and I even saw blood dripping down its face! Whatever it is, it sure was not some normal wolf. It was something entirely different and our weapons have no effect on it!”

  ***

  Just beyond the edge of trees in no man’s land, a creature with golden eyes watched the American trench line. It had been careless in allowing a human to see it. The wound in its forehead throbbed. The blood had ceased to flow a few minutes ago and, with a wet sucking sound, the flattened projectile popped out of its skull and fell to the snowy ground. The creature had looked the shooter in the eyes and it knew there was no doubt the American had seen it for what it was. What to do about the American was the question. It had survived for centuries with only a few tales and rumors of its existence circulating. Any human who had seen it up close was dead shortly after having witnessed it in all its horror. Growling in frustration, it considered attacking the American line in order to find and kill this one witness of its existence. Normal bullets could not kill it by themselves, yet if enough of them hit it at the same time, it would tear its body apart and kill it with sheer numbers. This was not an acceptable risk. No, it would wait and find this witness alone and vulnerable. A deep growl of rage emitted from the creature as it trotted away from the Americans and deeper into the woods.

  ***

  Teddy once again lay against the side of the trench. Having spent all day relating his story to a slew of commanders and intelligence officers, he was sent back to his trench to await darkness. It was decided that he would take a squad and hunt down whatever it was that he had shot the previous evening. His commander had promoted him to sergeant, a huge surprise for Teddy since he was sure he would be committed to a mental institution after describing what he had seen.

  The night promised to be well lit due to the full moon and new-fallen snow blanketing everything. Teddy knew, though, that once inside of the trees, the moonlight would not reach and the area would be very dark. It was going to take all of his vast experience from his youth in the woods to even survive this night, let alone find and kill the creature.

  Once night had fallen in earnest, he collected his squad in a dugout closest to the wood line where they would be entering. He wanted to ensure all would be on the same page before they moved out. He had scoured the entire battalion for the most wood-wise men he could find, and he felt confident in their abilities to move through the forest with no noise. In the squad was Corporal Josh Benning from Montana, Private Jimmy Crow Feather of the White Mountain Apaches, Private Bob Wright from Nevada, and Private Eric Townsen from Oregon. Each man had spent years hunting big game that oftentimes hunted back.

  “Alright, this is the situation. Each of you has been chosen to accompany me on this mission because of your experience. What we are hunting will most likely be hunting us, so you all need to be on your toes and heads on a swivel. Bullets from our issue weapons don’t seem to affect it in the least, so I have secured us some semi-automatic big bore rifles. Bob, you will be packing the .30 cal machine gun. Each of us will be carrying extra rounds for the .30 cal in addition to our own equipment. I don’t expect us to be gone long, so we …”

  Teddy outlined what he expected was going to take place and then described what he had seen the previous night. As expected, his words resulted in many shocked expressions and outright disbelief. All, that is, except for Jimmy Crow Feather.

  “My people have many stories about this creature.” Jimmy stated after being asked why he was not upset by the news. “My people call them ‘Skin walkers,’ what you white eyes would call a werewolf. My people say they are men possessed by the spirit of a wolf and have changed to become a wolf.”

  “What else do your people say about these skin walkers?” Teddy asked.

  “The skin walkers are most powerful when the moon is full. You cannot kill them with bullets unless you shoot them many times, in effect destroying their bodies, but even then you must remove their heads before they can heal. Silver also kills them instantly but I do not think we have any silver.”

  “Oh man! That is just great! The moon is full tonight!” Bob exclaimed.

  “Hey, calm down,” Teddy responded. “If you don’t think you are up to this hunt then let me know right now so I can find someone else. I don’t need someone along who is too afraid to watch our backs!”

  An angry expression spread across Bob’s face. “Who you calling yellow?” he asked in a low and threatening tone.

  “Not calling anyone yellow. I just need to know if you are up to this hunt,” Teddy said with his hands outstretched.

  Bob backed off, muttering under his breath. Teddy finished getting his squad ready for the mission. He handed out the heavy rifles and got Bob outfitted with the .30 cal and made sure each man was carrying at least a hundred rounds of extra ammunition. In addition, he secured a long machete for each man.

  ***

  Snow-laden branches hung low as their immense load of white pushed ever down. Fluffy satin caressed the ground in untouched splendor upon every surface, hiding the carnage lying beneath. Teddy and his squad moved silently beneath the heavy snowfall as they made their way deeper into the untamed forest. Not a sound could be heard through the muffling of the near blizzard. No birds, no small forest animals, not a single resonance except for the crunching as each soldier’s foot sunk into the virgin blanket. They could not even hear the constant sounds of the machines of war beyond the woods. Each man, his head constantly moving, was on high alert. Even though the moon was full, little could be seen of it through the storm clouds blanketing the sky.

  For obvious reasons, Teddy had chosen Jimmy to take point. Trusting his instincts to warn them all of trouble, Teddy had motioned Jimmy to lead off once the squad had reached the point where the trees became thick. That was now fifteen minutes ago and they had found nothing. No tracks, no claw marks on the trees, nothing. With each passing moment, the soldiers became more and more nervous. Any animal who has found such a food rich environment rarely left, and, as such, tended to move about regularly, leaving sign. The complete absence of any markings spoke of an extremely intelligent beast. It was as if it was expecting the soldiers to come. None of them thought for a moment the beast had left.

  Making their way deeper into the woods, it became next to impossible for them to see the man to their front let alone anything that may be stalking them. With a sigh, for he knew there was no other choice, Teddy quietly called for a halt and instructed each man to pull out their electric torches. He knew they were now going to be advertising
their exact position to anything watching for them, but he also knew whatever they were hunting was more than dangerous. Though he had no choice, he didn’t have to like it.

  After they had traveled for about another twenty minutes, Jimmy’s hand shot up, calling for a halt. Each man took a knee facing out as Teddy made his way to Jimmy’s position. Oddly, Jimmy had remained standing and was staring out into the trees.

  “What is it? What do you see?” Teddy quietly asked as he knelt beside his point man.

  “We are being hunted, my friend. I feel its eyes upon us even now. The skin walker weighs and measures us and I fear we are going to be found wanting. It makes itself known to me as though it knows it has nothing to fear from us.” Turning to look Teddy in the eyes, he stated matter-of-factly, “None of us shall leave this wood alive this night.”

  A shiver ran down Teddy’s spine and not from the cold. “Should we try and return to the trenches?”

  “No my friend, it is much too late for that.”

  “What do you suggest then? I for one am not about to just roll over and die. There must be something we can do to even the odds.”

  “You are correct, my friend. We may die, yet if we plan correctly, we just may take the skin walker with us.”

  Motioning the rest of the squad to come forward, Jimmy outlined his plan. Once finished, each man knew exactly what was expected of him when the moment arrived. All they could do now was pray they could take the beast with them when they left this world to face their Creator.

  ***

  Teddy motioned the next man, Eric, forward. Since the planning stop, the squad had adopted a bounding overwatch formation. This allowed the squad to have the most firepower available at a moment’s notice at all times. The going is slow yet effective.

  “The skin walker is confused by our movements.” Jimmy whispered to Teddy. “It hangs back and watches. It has not ever seen such movements by prey before and it is wary. I suggest we find our spot soon before it becomes aggressive again.”

  Teddy nodded as his turn to bound forward came. Crunching through the snow, he slowly walked ahead, ever watching for the perfect spot in which to make their stand. Just as he was bending down to take a knee, a horrific roar split the night! A scream of pure terror echoed through the trees a moment later. Josh, the last man left to bound forward to their new position, stood and began firing his heavy rifle into the trees. Emerging from the trees at a dead run was the beast, heading straight for Josh. Bullet after bullet from Josh’s rifle kicked up snow, impacting with trees and breaking branches before his aim was finally true. The last two rounds in his magazine impacted into the face and chest of the beast, knocking it aside for a moment before it corrected itself and slammed into the standing body of Josh, throwing him through the air. His body impacted against a tree with enough force to send blood flying out of his open mouth. He tried to scream again but the broken stub of a tree branch sticking through his chest cut off his air. With another ear-piercing roar, the beast closed the distance between itself and its prey in a flash. With one mighty swipe of its clawed hand, Josh’s now dismembered head flew through the air to land less than twenty yards from Teddy’s feet. Every other member of the squad had frozen in shock upon seeing the beast for the first time. Not a single shot was fired. Once the head of their friend came to rest in the now pink snow, each veteran hunter snapped out of their shock and began to fire into the roaring beast standing before their dead comrade. The impacts of the bullets from the heavy rifles spun the beast around. It stood there for a moment as if in disbelief the humans dared fire at it before snapping its teeth at them and bounding off into the woods. Rounds from the .30 cal chased it into the trees until nothing could be seen of the beast.

  Each man, lost in his own private horror-filled thoughts, stood motionless as they gazed upon the prone body of their now dead friend and comrade. Each had lost countless friends in combat in the recent months, yet none had ever imagined they would lose one to a beast they had until recently thought to be the stuff of legends. Even Jimmy, who was well-steeped in his people’s lore, had doubted the existence of the skin walker. Finally, Teddy turned to the men.

  “We must find a place in which to make our stand. If we do not move and move now, we shall all be joining Josh. All we can do is …”

  “What is the point, man?” Eric asked in a voice bordering on panic. “We don’t stand a chance against that thing! You all saw what it did to Josh! How easily it charged through the hail of bullets unleashed by him! THEY HARDLY SLOWED IT DOWN!”

  “Eric, get a hold of yourself!” Teddy snapped. “We are here and there is nothing we can do about it so buck up and act like a man! If we give in to our fears then that is EXACTLY what that creature wants us to do, and it will kill each and every one of us just like it did Josh! Our only hope is to keep our heads and stick to the plan.”

  Eric’s wild eyes soon began to calm down as Teddy’s words sunk in. Although still terrified, the squad gathered themselves and prepared to move out, leaving the body of their comrade for later recovery. The small unit moved only a few hundred yards before Teddy found exactly what he was looking for. Here, they would make their stand.

  ***

  “It is coming.” Jimmy whispered from his position. “Make yourselves ready.”

  The remaining soldiers of the hunting expedition huddled within their defensive position, shivering in the bitter cold. Steam from each breath billowed out as if smoke from a campfire. All the preparations that could be made had been done; the rest was up to God. If He wanted them to survive this night then they would. If not, then each man was determined to meet his Maker knowing he did his best to support and defend his comrades-in-arms.

  “How far out is it? Is it within our perimeter?” Teddy whispered to Jimmy.

  “It is not far. It has stopped and is watching us from behind a tree just outside of the perimeter.”

  “Okay, you know the plan, so when it comes within our defenses, you open the show.”

  Jimmy silently watched the creature. What had him worried was that the beast was making no attempt at concealing itself, as if to say, I have nothing to fear from you. You are MY prey. Golden eyes swiveled back and forth, surveying the human position. Even at this distance, Jimmy could see the pure hatred emanating through the skin walker’s every move. There was no mistake, Jimmy knew he was looking at the face of pure evil that had come to prey upon the living. An involuntary shudder passed through his prone body as fear and panic threatened to take hold. The abomination’s eyes immediately focused in on him and Jimmy knew its night vision was superb. His faith in their plan took a huge hit as he now knew any chance of fooling the beast would be a long shot at best.

  Suddenly, it was gone. One second it was there staring directly into his eyes and the next, NOTHING! Jimmy frantically searched the area around where it had been and found nothing. No telltale mist of its breathing, no fur sticking out from behind a tree, simply nothing. Seconds passed as his tension rose and his mind screamed at him to run. He was outclassed and he knew he no longer was the hunter in this hunt, if he ever had been. Panic threatened to take control as his muscles tensed to elevate his body off the ground to run screaming away from this madness. The total silence roared in his ears, blocking out everything except his pounding heart. The sudden roar and shriek of terror was so sudden and heart-stopping that it caused him to lose control of his bodily functions.

  The warm sensation between his thighs was not noticed as he rolled to his side in a blur just in time to see Eric’s torn and bleeding corpse flying through the air. The body hit the frozen earth with such force it bounced a good three feet off the ground where it again landed and slid through the snow until it came to a violent stop against a tree.

  “NOW! THROW THEM NOW!” Teddy screamed.

  Lit bottles of hard alcohol, brought along to warm the soldiers up during their hunt, flew from their position and burst into piles of branches and wood they had prepared earlier. The spr
eading alcohol ignited as it splashed through the piles. The wood, carefully gathered from under trees where it had been protected from the snow and was dry, burst into flames, illuminating the entire area. Bob, grabbing the bottle prepared by Eric, threw it into the last pile. The fires roared with heat and, more importantly, life-giving light.

  Caught in the middle of the sudden brightness, the beast was caught in all its demonic glory. Unprepared for the burst of light and the subsequent ruining of its night vision, all the creature could do was stand there shielding its eyes, for it had no idea where to go.

  “THROW THE GRENADES!” Teddy yelled.

  Three fragmentation grenades arched out and landed at the feet of the beast. Concussive explosions ripped through the night in bright flashes. Blast waves washed over the soldiers as they hunkered down behind their prepared positions. Following closely upon the rippling invisible blast of air was the roaring of the profane evil in wolf form. Bob, having collected himself first, opened up with his .30 cal. Streams of copper-jacketed death reached out for the writhing hair-covered mass. Ripping relentlessly into its body, blood, fur, bone, and body parts rained down. The mind-numbing roars and ear-splitting howls become more and more strained as the steady torrent of projectiles from Bob and those added by Jimmy and Teddy tore the creature apart. Each man was terrified to stop shooting and soon the once mighty creature was turned into a mass of quivering, blood-soaked fur. Finally, Teddy yelled for a cease fire.

  “You all cover me. I am going out there to finish this,” Teddy stated, rising from his firing position.

  Hesitantly, Teddy made his way to the now still form lying amongst the pink snow. Rifle at the ready, he made a complete circle around the body, ensuring there was no movement. Satisfied the creature was not playing possum, he pulled his machete and approached. Bending down, he reached for the head with one hand and readied his instrument of death with the other.