The Monster's Lair

I was very tired; hungry, I pressed both hands atop my left and then right

knees to help my exhausted leg muscles climb the the last four feet,

cresting the hill, dense woods and brush giving way to clearing of

massive proportions. I thought to myself, "How in the world did this

change in terrain come about? ", as a drip of sweat dropped from my

brow onto a patch of grass at my feet, I realized that thirst was

overwhelming me. The hunger subsided. In that same instance, I saw

first the smoke, followed by the impossible scene beyond.


Before I could process the image I had just stumbled upon, the hair on

the back of my neck, arms and legs stood at attention, my legs already

weak from my trek, buckled and I crumpled to the ground in fear and

disbelief.

Before me was the great city of the indigenous Amoukasin. A peaceful

people amoung the indigenous who have risen to a population of over

750,000, trading fur, earthenware, and artwork of unmatched intricate

design, beauty and heartiness.

What I saw chilled my bones to their core as the image took

my breath away, sickening me beyond tolerability. What I witnessed

before me was the entire city in ruin. Smoke billowing from

homesteads, harvest stores, buildings of every type nothing more than

charred debris, crumbling beneath so many towers of smoke that the

number was more than could be counted.

I succumbed to the spot i had fallen, eternity passing me as I looked on;

paralyzed, shocked. What happened here? An unknown never before

confronted by man now materialized, more real to me than the

blackness enveloping my mind, embedding my body and etching my soul;

unbound evil; paramount.


I was not sure how long I froze there, but shadows were long now, light

fleeting to the west quickly. The smoke spewed on, relentless and

undying. It was this moment, my senses returning at last, that I could

hear the trickle of water from an underground spring close by. The well

head was intact even though the block assembly, winch and bucket had

collapsed, burned, yet still smoking.


I made my way to the well persuading uneasy muscles to hold my weight

and although straining, they inched onward rewarding me by reaching

the well without collapse. Fortunately, I had a twine rope with me and a

vessel to lower down the well and after some sewing, I was able to

catch water. A few dips with my vessel and an hour later, my thirst now

quenched, strength slowly returned to my body and mind.

I no longer was fearful and marched forward to investigate the first of

many horrible scenes.


As I approached the first scene, what was once an impressive

homestead, now a smoldering ruin charred beyond recognition. Toward

the far edge of the homestead were two corpses. One male, who had

been drawn and quartered, the innards tossed out upon the dirt only

attached by some strands of intestine. His eyes were cut out and the

skull was missing the lower jaw. One female, her throat was slit, her

scalp and fingers missing; dried blood was everywhere and the stench

was thick; intolerable.


The city reached for 4 miles and the scene repeated itself exponentially.

The strange thing was that with all the carnage, there was no sign of

any children. Not one. However, many pieces of clothing and noted

items of child sizes and interests were abundant.

As I continued, now close to the far side of the city, things started to

change. There were now, rather than the gutted and slit corpses,

humongous piles of rotting bodies, the tallest reaching over 60 feet high.

Funny that no scavengers had approached any of the slain. I could only

fathom that there was something of this evil that repulsed even the

most scavenging of animals from this place.

Then I saw it.


The last pile. Humongous above all others at the

outbound path leading from the city to the mountain trails cut into the

steep rock climbing the mountain side to a plateau rich with fruit trees

and berries.

I had reached a state beyond fear, worry, the unknown and the

possibility of death. The state I had reached was beyond anger, beyond

fury, beyond rage. I had reached a place no predator could fathom. I

was now the grim reaper of evil.

Beyond the trails scaling the mountain I noticed a cave entrance that

was a new cut in the rock. This had to be the lair of whatever

slaughtered the 700,000 Amoukasin now lying slain in the city behind

me.


There was a trail of blood leading to the cave entrance and as I

approached, I reached for my knife; the only weapon I owned, and

readying myself to enter, I clutched my knife with both hands, my back

pressed against the cave wall adjacent to the opening. I gathered my

thoughts, my strength, my focus. The time was now.

I turned into the mouth of the cave, knife drawn, challenging the evil

within, I let out a roar...

"Honey, wake up! I think you are having a nightmare." voiced Gail, my

wonderful wife. She continued, "You were hyperventilating and making

wierd noises. Are you O.K.?" I was now awake. The nightmare over. I

will always wonder though, what happened in the monster's lair.

That was VERY well written..... Thank you for sharing!!! It drew me in, and kept me there with the character.
Quite bold also - in the sense that you allowed it to be a dream (something that my old English teacher would have absolutely hated!! hehe!!) Me on the other hand.... I enjoyed reading it!!
Keep writing!!
~ Rascal

S & F

a reply to: imd12c4funn


I Liked This Very Much!!! Very Well Written and The Pace was Superb!!!
I too have ended a Tale or few with it being 'Only A Dream'...
Star and Flag here for You!!!
(if ATS would Let Me, I'd give You Multiple S and F's!!!) Syx...

a reply to: SyxPak

Thanks..I think.
I was unaware that ending as it was a dream was so controversial.
The strange thing is, this is based in a true story. Had I changed the ending,
it could be likened to the red vs yellow VW in The Shining.