Becoming Dinner

Copyright 2010 J. Alexander

First Edition November 2010

Published by J. Alexander at Smashwords

All rights reserved

Cover design: Fantasia Frog Designs.

Http://fantasiafrogdesigns.wordpress.com

Photos by photos8.com

Special thanks to my family and friends for
their support of my writing endeavors.

License Notes

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters,
places and incidents are solely the product of the author’s
imagination and/or are used fictitiously, though reference may be
made to actual historical events or existing locations. Any
resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business
establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

*** Becoming Dinner is a short story intended
for adult readers only. ***

Don’t move, don’t make a sound.
I
repeated these words over and over in my head. I stood immobile,
frozen with fear. My back and head pressed hard against a tree, the
rough bark scraped my skin. A bead of perspiration rolled down my
spine and another between my breasts. It was completely dark in the
pocket of trees and bushes I hid among. The large moon would be
visible again only if I emerged on the other side of the forest. If
I survived.

Being caught in the forest after dark was a
mistake. I hoped it wouldn’t turn into a deadly one. After visiting
a nearby village, I left on my own to return to my people. I
misjudged the journey back to my tribe and found myself still a
great distance away at full dark. I was alone, barely armed, and
being hunted by a very hungry and determined beast.

If it smelled me, if the creature lumbering
toward me discovered my location, I'd be dead in an instant.
Don’t move, don’t make a sound.
I forced myself to repeat
these words again in an attempt to slow my breathing. It was no
use. As I inhaled, my lungs screamed for more air. I exhaled
through my nose trying to avoid releasing any smell of my
breath.

The creature I hid from still came toward me.
I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself. My heartbeat flooded my
ears. The thud of each footstep grew louder and louder. Small trees
and branches snapped with each stride. At least I could hear this
one and knew where it was. There was another in the forest
somewhere, hiding, waiting to rip me apart. These creatures usually
hunted in pairs; one on the move and the other waiting to ambush. I
had only seen one but I knew the other was somewhere near.

I closed my eyes to try and calm myself but
my heart beat so loud that it flooded my ears. The insects of the
dense woods landed on my sweaty skin but I could not move to brush
them away. My flesh shivered as the legs of a sizable bug slowly
crept onto the back of my neck. Step by step it made its way
higher, heading for my hair.
Don’t move.

Panic set in as I pictured the monsters with
their large cumbersome legs, long arms swinging low, and a round
middle. They are tall, incredibly strong and always hungry. The
distance between us faded. I listened carefully to the creature
approaching, trying to gauge its position. A chill ran down my
spine as I realized it was walking a straight path to where I
stood.

My legs shook, threatening to collapse under
my weight. Two possibilities entered my mind. If the monster
rounded the cluster of trees, passing in front of me, I wouldn’t
have a moment to scream before it ripped into my flesh. If it
passed behind my hiding place, I would live, at least for the
moment.

The sounds of breaking vegetation grew
louder. I felt a sickening stab in my stomach. I heard the wet
wheezing sound of its large mouth, breathing heavily, drooling
freely. The stench of the creature sent a wave of shock through my
body. I had to hold my breath to keep from gagging. The last two
steps shook the ground with their force. I stifled a scream as a
small branch snapped next to me and raked down my face and
body.

Don’t move, don’t make a sound.

I held my breath, squeezing my eyes shut for
what seemed like an eternity.

I don’t know how long I stayed immobile,
barely breathing. A cool and wet feeling on my hands brought me out
of my daze. My legs seemed to be sinking into something soft. I
realized, as I opened my eyes, that my knees buckled and I
collapsed to the ground, falling onto the wet forest floor. The
creature passed behind me.

Off in the distance, I heard my attacker
moving away.

Moving aside damp, decaying leaves I found
mud and a small pool of water, collected some between my hands, and
spread it on my neck and shoulders. The cool mud felt good as I sat
and assessed my situation.

Alone and in the forest, my chances of
survival were not good. Being human was definitely a disadvantage.
If I weren’t careful and didn’t do as I had been taught, I would
find myself in the teeth of one of the beasts of the forest. My
people trained me well. My life depended upon my ability to do as I
had been instructed.

The pain in my lungs and legs reminded me, I
wouldn’t be able to run much longer. Lengthy training sessions made
me strong and skilled. I was quick with a knife or spear but
running for long periods was my weakness. While more than one male
in my group had been shamed by losing to me, these skills would do
little good against an attacker twice my size.

I stood, determined to continue on to my
target location. The humid forest air permeated my lungs as I took
a deep breath. My anger rose. I wouldn’t let them capture me. As
long as I kept some distance between me and the beasts, I would
safely reach my desired destination.

I will not die at the hands of a monster.

The mud dried and cracked on my skin. I
walked quietly through the brush and thick trees. A breeze blew and
the noise of frogs and animals of the night surrounded me.

Next to a small stream, I found the remains
of a feast, which had rotted in the sun for days. I rubbed as much
of it as I could over my body, trying to cover myself with the
stench of the carcass. I hoped the beasts couldn’t smell me;
couldn’t smell the living, breathing part of me.

Before leaving the pile of remains, I picked
up the bloody hide and tied it tight around my shoulders. Dangling
chunks of unclaimed, rotting meat added to the stench.

I needed to smell dead because my sweat
emitted a scent of live prey; fresh blood. The beasts were known to
go days without feeding, refusing the remains of dead humans,
animals, and creatures to wait for a fresh kill.

The smell of the pelt made me gag. I tried to
move forward quickly so the odor flowed behind me. Making my way
through the trees, I listened for any sound from the two creatures.
Coming upon a clearing, I stopped and crouched behind the last
clump of bushes. Moonlight bathed the meadow and I was able to
assess my surroundings. Across the grass, I could see the point I
needed to reach. The edge of the canyon and river below were my
escape.

Closing my eyes, I listened to the faint hum
of rushing water. There was something else; a low moaning sound. My
heart pounded rapidly as I deciphered the noise. It was a grunting,
sucking sound of breath and drool from the creatures.

I bolted from the bushes and ran as fast as
my tired legs could go. Out of the corner of my eye, across the
open area of grass, I could see the two attackers gaining on me. I
sprinted for the outcropping of rocks ahead of me.

They found each other and were now working
together to capture me. The beasts made awful guttural sounds as
they closed in on me. If captured, my death would be instantaneous.
Two beasts fighting over one piece of meat is a messy, horrific
scene.

Gaining speed in order to make the leap, my
leg muscles screamed in pain. There was no use in drawing my knife.
I had only brought the small one tonight, and against the large
creatures stomping up closer to me, it would do little damage.
Their thick skin deflected arrows. A blow from me would barely be
noticed. Outrunning them was my only hope. If I couldn’t maneuver
up and over the rocks smoothly, my life was over. Two or three
quick and well-placed foot falls would bring me to a point of
possible escape.

A growl sounded not far behind me. I knew
better than to turn around. I sped up as much as my body allowed.
Three long final strides brought me to the base of the rock wall. I
leapt up on the first rock, and then angled sharply up and over to
a second. Moving swiftly higher, I was careful to pull my trailing
leg forward as fast as I could. My unexpected change in direction
caused the closest creature to slam into a lower rock. I heard his
arms hit. A spray of dirt and pebbles landed just below me. The
last rock I chose was farther out of reach. My success in reaching
the top meant I was only one step away from surviving this
night.

Without hesitation, without looking down into
the void in front of me, I leaped out into the darkness.

As I fell, the rush of night air cooled my
sweaty flesh. I felt the moisture in the breeze and began counting
as I always did, waiting to plunge into the cold water. Four,
three, two…

Suddenly the wind was knocked out of me.
Instead of feeling a rush of water, I felt a forceful blow across
my midsection as I was folded in half. An arm surrounded my waist
and carried me up and away from the river. One well-timed grasp
from a new monster undid my earlier efforts of survival.

The creature that held me landed on a ledge,
leapt and landed briefly on another shelf of rocks. While stopped
on this platform, I listened for a sound, a clue as to what held
me. Pushing off a final time, we soared up through the cool night
air and landed smoothly somewhere high on the canyon wall.

Whatever held me could fly. I searched my
mind and tried to recall what type of monster this size could fly.
It lowered into a sitting position and I was placed in front with a
firm, grounding plop. Strong limbs surrounded me in an unyielding
grasp.

I knew I was about to become a meal but I was
not sure for what type of beast. Considering I was covered in mud,
a dead animal skin, and rotting meat, this creature wasn’t picky.
It knew I wasn’t dead. I was sure it heard and felt my heavy
breath. Forming into a semi-limp ball, I tried to take on the shape
of an animal in the hope that the creature would bite first into
one of the fleshy chunks of dead meat hanging from me. This would
give me an opportunity to reach for my knife. I knew I had to kill
quickly or it would strike again. Death was near – the creature’s
or mine.

We were in a pocket of shadow sitting on the
ledge. The moonlight didn’t reach us, which I hoped increased my
odds. As I was patted and examined, I slowly moved my hand toward
the knife. The touch of the hands and the feel of its limbs made me
realize this beast had a human form. Adding this fact to the
information I already knew of the creature, I came up with a few
possibilities, none of them good.

The inspection stopped and cool hands rested
on my slumped over back. It pushed aside the hanging fur and felt
the skin beneath. In quick movements, the creature located my
shoulders and brought me upright. I was held tight and could barely
move. There was no chance to reach my knife now. The breath on my
cheek was erratic. I soon realized it wasn’t breathing; it was
sniffing me. The creature tried to decipher what I was. Trailing
its nose close to my skin, it suddenly froze. The sound of the male
voice made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.