The Monster of Creasy's Hollow (Defenders of the Rift Book 1) (8 page)

Maybe that was one of the reasons he immersed himself in
his video games, he thought, as he tried anything to distract himself
from the vision of horror in front of him. The games he played, while
violent, were just that; games. And Alvin knew that. Unlike some
people, Alvin had no trouble simply leaving a game behind and moving
on to something else. He enjoyed playing, and had made 'friends' with
other kids, and even a few adults, online playing in tournaments and
role-playing games. He'd never meet them, of course, but they all
came together in the virtual world to play.

That was all it ever was to Alvin. Play. But this. . . .
This horrible scene was real, and he had helped cause it. He could
have absolved himself by saying he hadn't wanted to do it in the
first place, and he had been reluctant. But in the end, he had wanted
Waldo back as badly as anyone, and he had put his misgivings aside to
try and help make that happen.

Looking at the monster he and his friends had loosed on
the world, Alvin finally understood that some things are better left
as they are.

*****

Donna felt her mom's presence behind her, and fought
the urge to turn and yell at her. Belinda hadn't moved much, but she
was fidgeting, and that could cause a disaster.

Donna loved her mom, she really did, but there was no
doubt in her mind where Donny got his flightiness from. Their mom was
a nervous bundle of energy at the best of times, and these were not
in any sense of the term the best of times. Donna was scared too, but
she was determined to do her part. She appreciated her mother's
desire to be here, with her, supporting her children in a time of
dire need, but. . .honestly, Donna wished she was here alone. She
would still be scared, but her own nervousness wouldn't be compounded
by the presence of her mother.

On the other hand, if she were with Donny, it would
be worse,
Donna
thought suddenly. She spent a few seconds imagining the scene of her
mother and twin brother standing together as the monster walked into
the clearing, and decided that it was better that their mom be with
her.

There was no way the two of them could have remained
still and silent enough to prevent being seen.

*****

Chuck tensed as Monusuol reached the goat. It was
obvious that the monster was still cautious, and expecting a trap.
There was nothing else he could do about that. They had taken every
precaution possible and now had to hope it was enough.

He reached out mentally to his son, trying to will Chip
to start the incantation. The longer they waited, the more likely
they were to fail. He was at the point of calling him when he heard
Donny start to whisper.

*****

Chip began the incantation, forcing himself to be calm,
recalling each word just as he'd practiced. He wished he'd had more
time to study, but desperate times called for desperate measures his
father had said. If this wasn't a desperate time, Chip didn't know
what was. He knew
he
felt desperate, that was for sure.

He whispered into his voice activated microphone,
leading the others just as he had the day before yesterday. No one
else was using the VOX system, so only he could be heard. It wasn't
necessary for the others to speak over the radio, just to repeat what
they heard Chip say.

They had practiced as well, and knew the incantation
almost as well as Chip did, but in their first attempt, Chip had led
them. That meant he had to lead them now. Each of the others waited
for Chip to finish a stanza, and then repeated it word for word, as
quietly as possible.

Fighting the urge to hurry, Chip dutifully counted after
each stanza, allowing a given amount of time for the others to say
the chant, then started on the next. He wanted to run through the
lines as quickly as possible so he could run away, but that would
cause them to fail, and probably be eaten by a monster.

The idea of being eaten by a monster was enough to keep
Chip from rushing through the chant too fast. He just hoped that
everyone was doing their part correctly. His father had said they
would only get one chance.

Behind him, Stacey watched the monster devouring the
goat at a rate she found alarming. It had been a large goat, and
everyone has assumed that it would take time for Monusuol to gobble
it up. That wasn't looking like the case to her as the beast consumed
the goat far too quickly for her liking.

Her mind raced through options, but found none. There
was nothing she could do to slow the beast from eating, and no way to
aid Chip in the incantation. All she could do was stand and watch.

*****

Chuck was watching Monusuol's eating habits with the
same alarm his wife was feeling. He had known that once the creature
had taken the bait, he'd do so rapidly. He hadn't had goat in a
while, after all. And despite it's size, it was only one goat.
Monusuol was huge, and probably hadn't eaten much in the last two
days. But the goat was disappearing much faster than Chuck had
anticipated.

Listening to Donny repeat another stanza, Chuck realized
that the kids were about three-quarters through the ritual. It was a
race now, to see who finished first. Monusuol with the goat, or the
kids with the incantation. There was no prize for second place.

Monusuol's eating slowed, almost as if he realized that
he was nearing the end of the delicacy and wanted it to last as long
as possible. Chuck almost sighed in relief, but caught himself in
time. That little bit of indulgence might just make the difference.

And then, it happened.

Donna cringed as she heard her mother step on a dry
stick behind her, breaking with a loud snapping sound. She finished
her part of the stanza before turning to glare at her mother, then
turned right back to. . . .

Monusuol's head was up,
the goat forgotten in his hand. For the first time Donna noticed how
unnaturally
quiet it was in the woods around them. The normal night sounds were
absent, the animals and insects driven away by the presence of the
beast in their habitat.

A beast that was now alerted to the fact that he might
not have the forest to himself after all.

Belinda, for her part, froze solid, trying desperately
not to move again. The stick was still under her right foot, and she
struggled to keep her weight on her left foot instead to keep from
making any more noise. It was all she could do to keep her balance.

Monusuol sniffed the air again, as he had when he'd
entered the clearing, tasting the air for some scent of whatever
might be out there. He had heard the noise but had been so intent on
the goat that he wasn't sure which direction it had come from.

Chip had heard the snapping of the branch, and saw
Monusuol start, but managed to stay on track, moving to the next
stanza right on time. Stacey was proud of him for that, at least in
that small part of her mind that wasn't scared beyond rational
thought.

Everyone followed on cue, as the group came one stanza
closer to success.

*****

Monusuol lowered the goat, though he didn't relinquish
his hold on his meal. There was something out of place. He could
sense it, though he couldn't see it, not as yet. He had learned to
trust his instincts, and right now those instincts were warning him
that trouble was nearby.

Cocking his massive head to one side, the beast listened
carefully. There was a slight noise, just too low to hear clearly.
For some reason the sound was familiar to him, something he knew he
should recognize, but didn't. Not yet.

Slowly, reluctantly, the beast let the carcass in his
hands fall to the ground. He could not afford mistakes in this
strange place. If there was the possibility of a threat, then he had
to investigate.

Besides, the goat would still be here when he'd taken
care of whatever was in these woods with him.

*****

Chuck held his breath as he saw Monusuol first lower,
then finally release the goat. This was bad. The creature had
obviously heard the broken branch, and decided to investigate. The
only thing that had saved them so far was the monster's inability to
pinpoint exactly where the noise had come from.

Right on cue Donny whispered the next stanza, still
following Chip's lead. Chuck was proud of the young man, and of his
son. The kids were showing a great deal of courage here. He wasn't
sure he could have mustered that same courage at their age.

But their courage would be for naught if Monusuol was
allowed to move outside the trap before the incantation was finished.

*****

Even as he spoke the next stanza, Chip realized that
things were coming apart. Monusuol was moving. There were still three
stanzas to go before the chant was finished. The monster had to be
kept inside the trap until the incantation was complete. At the same
time, he had,
had
to keep the chant going. If he stopped, the
spell was broken, and they would have to start over. There definitely
wasn't time to start over.

What to do? His mind somehow compartmentalized the
problems as he began the next stanza right on time, accurate as if he
were still sitting in his living room. A tiny portion of his mind
wondered at how he could stay calm, keep the chant going, and still
try to figure out what to do about their current problem.

Monusuol had apparently decided he knew where the noise
had come from after all, because just then the monster started moving
toward Donna and Belinda his gait steady but slow. Chip knew he had
to do something before the monster reached the two, because while
Chip was sure that Donna would hold on to the last, he was equally
sure that Belinda would lose her mind completely.

Without thinking, Chip stepped out of hiding. Behind him
he could hear his mother's harsh whisper, but held a hand up,
silencing her, as he finished the stanza. Two more to go. He had a
few seconds while the others repeated it.

“
Hey! Ugly!” Chip called, but then stepped
right back into cover. He saw the beast's head whip around, looking
for whoever had spoken. When no target presented itself, the creature
sniffed the air, then stalked slowly toward Chip's general direction.

Chip managed to start the next to last stanza right on
time, although his fear factor had just increased a hundred fold.
While he was sure he done the right thing, he had also just made
himself, and by association his mother, targets of the beast.

*****

Chuck almost had a heart attack when he heard his son's
voice calling out to Monusuol, and looked in Chip's direction on
instinct alone. Just in time to see his son disappear back into the
brush he had been hiding in. Chuck could only wonder at what had
possessed his son to call out to the monster. . .unless.

Chuck slowly shook his head in admiration of his teenage
son. Knowing Belinda as he did, Chip had surmised that the flighty
woman would be one step short of fleeing in terror before Monusuol,
and so had distracted the beast.

Of course, now Chip and Stacey were the beast's target,
instead of Donna and Belinda.

He was about to tell Donny to stay put when the teen
began whispering again. Chuck had to marvel. Chip had managed to do
all this at one time. He definitely needed to pay more attention to
his son's abilities when this was over. Multitasking didn't begin to
cover this.

Chuck left Donny to do his part, and moved slightly away
from the teenager, picking up a large piece of broken branch as he
did so. He stopped twenty feet or so from Donny and threw the branch
as hard as he could behind Monusuol, directly opposite of where his
wife and son now hid.

The monster whirled at once, looking for the source of
the sound behind him. Chuck could tell that Monusuol was wary now,
obviously expecting a trap of some kind. The trap was so big, and the
kids so spread out, however, that Monusuol would have a hard time
discovering what was going on.

I hope,
Chuck mentally crossed his fingers.

*****

Monusuol was becoming agitated. More so with each
passing second. Not only had someone dared interrupt his feast, but
now they were simply annoying him. It passed through his mind that
there must be a reason behind this, but anger clouded his judgment.

Had he been thinking more clearly, Monusuol would have
wondered who would have the courage to tempt and try him, especially
this close to nightfall, traditionally the time that humans would
fortify themselves against his kind until sunrise. In his anger, the
beast forgot the observation he had made that very day. Forgot his
uncertainty of the beasts that prowled the human settlement without
fear. Forgot the way that humans went about unconcerned for their
safety.

For the moment, there was only a monstrous beast who was
accustomed to humans showing him fear. To all other creatures
standing aside from his path, paying homage to his strength and his
dominance.

He was being taunted. And that made Monusuol angry. Very
angry indeed. Angry enough to throw caution aside.

Angry enough to act stupidly.

*****