A Sporting Persuit

As I stand on my hind legs and watch the old woman come down the hill into the forest my mouth starts to water and the need for blood comes back. For weeks now I have gone without food and I am willing to do anything to be able to have a decent meal tonight.

As she enters the forest, I start to creep up behind her. She stops to look about probably thinking she heard something, as she slowly looks over her surrounding she sees me. Glareing right back at her are my glowing 'hells-flame' red eyes.

She screams in fear and trys to run away, but the woman is old, tired and cold so she doesn't get far before falling to her knees gasping for breath.

I make my move - quikily and within a few secound I pounce on her. Right as I do so my arm moves by pure instinct and my right hand claws dig deep into her side. As I land I can feel three of her ribs snap and she now lays there groveling in pain. I quikly lash out with my jaws catching around her neck and she then lays there lifeless. I go for her head almost renching it from the body - the kill is mine. I havn't tasted something so good in a long time

I like the taste of human flesh, so I will just eat it instead of attatching it to myself like I do with my other prey. I use one claw from each hand and stick them into the old womens eyes to remove them, them I slurp them down.

I take the head and remove it from the body, then toss it into the forest. Finaly I am able to contiue devouring the old women, but then I hear a noise in the forest. I look up, and the full moon is almost directly above me and I let rip a deep howl. After that I go right back to my fallen prey - the noise forgoten, and heave it up onto my back to bring it back to my cave.

The howl carries far and clear through the woods to the small cottage where a sick old man still waits his dead wifes return. He twitches and sits up in bed when the howl reaches him, and his sickly scent becomes tinged by fear as it slowly wafts down through the floorboards to me. I know something has happened, and my last master scenses it as well...

"Please lord, if some ill fortune has befallen my wife - let my dying breath bring her justice. Golem - I call you forth."

So long has passed since I was created. My original master made me to protect his new land and the farm he was building from the band of theives who once called the nearby woods home. I took care of them for him, and have waited here in the basement ever since. On occasion a master would come down to introduce his son to the family 'pet', and explain they would one day run the farm with me ever here as the protector. Sometimes, late at night, I would be called apon for some meaningless errand:

'Go put the fear of God into...' This family or that, but NEVER was I supposed to be seen.

'Go and turn the fields for the plantings tomorrow...' Usually followed by some excuse as to why they couldn't.

This master was different. Never once did he call apon me, but there had been many a night when he'd come down restless and then just start talking. Being what I am, there was no responce - I wouldn't have known what to say even if I could.

"I fear the worst my old friend. I can feel it in my bones. Something has happened on the road to my wife, and now I shall die alone..." If words were within my reach - I might have shared with him the simplest of truths then: We all die alone. "Please Golem, go find her and return her to me once you have avenged her. Let us be burried here in the earth that spawned you."

With his desires spoken, I turn and leave.

As I walk down the hill, the prey still on my back, I look up into the sky as the clouds start to gather taking out the sun in its path. As I continue my journey down the hill, my claws digging into the snow, and my fur flowing in the wind - I am ready to enjoy the rest of my feast at my cave.

I think of my past and how many lives I have taken as the boredome following the hunt starts to sink in. How many have suffered from my wrath? How many villagers have been killed to slack my thirst? I laugh at the thought - other emotions are useless now. As I was thinking about the past I recall the night when my brethren were killed by hunters. One by one they fell - either quickly with an arrow to the head that crushes the skull and sends the blood on the fresh layer of snow beneath, or slowly with me watching my fallen brothers and sisters trying come to me in need of help only to give me their last words...

I remember my fathers last words the clearest "Fight til the end my son..."

I had briefly responded that horrid night by saying "I will make them pay father". With that thought stuck ever in mind, he passes away.

Hunters were attacking my pack and they seem to have been doing a good job at defeating us. Looking on as my friends and brethren fell, I made a threatening growl at the nearest hunter and quickly pounced on him riping my claws into his chest, he screamed and all of the rest turned to watch their friend die as I reveal his ribs and parts of his heart. I then burried my face in his chest and took a few quick bites out of him eager to snatch his heart up into my mouth. Once I see it I chomp down savoring it as it explods in my mouth. then I slowly turned to face the other nine men.

They stood there looking at me and their lost friend. My eyes were now locked onto them, and my mouth was drooling for more blood. I took one step forward and they took a step back - I start to charge, and they quickly did the smart thing and ran away. Most of the rest that are still not hurt from the fight follow them, and I turn around to find my mothers body laying on the snow with a thick pool of blood already showing, letting me know she was dead. I look around and see that most of my pack had fallen to these men, and I let out a deep long howl making sure that the hunters would remember it.

As I head into the forest I keep on thinking about that dreadful day and how many lives were lost, but as I get further into the forest I start to feel like something is following me. I continue my journey back to my cave thinking it was only the wind flicking some leaves on a bush, but I stay alert just in case - I am NOT the only bad thing in the world...

Born of the earth, and formed by strong magics mixed with the blood of my creator, I knew inherantly the location of all the family members in my creators line. There were no more living now; the old man passed as I left, but I still knew where his wife was and had been charged with bringing her home - a final task before I could return to the precious soil and the slumber that awaited me there.

Strangely, although I was aware that her life had been extinguished, I soon realised that she continued to move. The only thing my mind could see as reason to explain this was that she'd been killed by an animal, and it was now dragging her off to feed on somewhere else - but what kind of beast does such things? Moving to cut off my dead mistress and her killer, I headed deap into the forest near half a mile ahead of them so long as they hold to their course.

A beautiful young woman once - as humans go - I watched her grow old with my master. They had shared a deap and lasting love, and although there were no children their lives were none-the-less complete. She had never known about me though, and the master had aften expessed regret to me of his fear in sharing with her the family secret. She was '...delicate...' he'd often say.

Finding a small clearing just downhill from an old bear cave and right in line with my targets path, I decide to wait there in hiding. Sinking into the soil below me I watch hidden, appearing as nothing more than a small mound. My wait isn't long...

Allong the way back to my den I pick up a scent that I am not familiar with. I stop to observe my surroundings and try to pick up were this scent is coming from but I am unsuccessful as it leads me to nothing more than a mound of freshly turned soil. I sniff around and decide that this is of no concern to me, but I don't let my guard down due to past events with matters like this.....

I had an encounter once with a vampire that I barely escaped from....he was in his bat form and of course I picked up the sent, but it looked like a feeble bat. When I left it, he transformed into its true form and hit me with an aerial attack. Bleeding critically from my side and fading in and out I used the skin of a recent kill to cover the wound and staunch the bleeding while running for cover. I quickly dodged the second attack, and was lucky enough to snap my jaw on the arm I'd just avoided. He quickly yet foolishly turned back to his bat form and I pounced on him riping a wing off . I left it twiching on the ground slowly dieing - a fitting end for something that caused me so much pain. Taking one final look back I saw that my enemy had vanished. Shaking my head, I thought to myself that one day we'd meet again.

Leaving the mound, I head into my dark cave. Something about the mound doesn't seem right though... it smells familiar. Sniffing at the pray slung over my back I realise there was a small scent that was the same between the two...

I look back at the mound, but it is to late. There it is standing not two feet from the cave entrance: An earth golem, and it isn't looking happy...

With eyes formed of the earth I've made myself a part of - I watch the werewolfs aproach from below a leaf. As the creature - another abomination like myself in some ways - draws near smelling or senseing something about me I realise it carries the dead husk that once was my beloved masters dear wife, and the rage rises within me.

Dispite my feelings, I am able to hold back and wait for the right moment. After sniffing at the mound of fresh dirt that is in fact me for a moment, the creature turns and walks away toward the cave. I realise that must in fact be its lair, and figure it'll just drop the body for a snack later - now must surely be the best chance I'll have to gain an imediate upper hand and make this a quick fight...

I rise up in silence building my form larger from the ground around me, and in doing so take note of the dead matter that is found so abundantly here - past kills of my pray. I start to move in just as it enters the cave, and see it sniff at the womans old lifeless body as it prepares to drop her.

As the beast spins in surprised realisation I lung the last few feet into the cave catching it mid section. We both tumble under the weight of my assault, and the body that I was charged to collect and bury for my master is thrown off to the side.

As I get to my feet, recovering from the thunderous charge I received from the Golem, I see my meal has somehow ended up right at the monsters feet. I slowly circle the creature and decide to try talking to it. I ask, "Why are you here? Did I do something to disturb you Golem? Or... Are you one of those pathetic creatures, whom serve a master?"

The Golem slowly looks up at me, then back down to the tattered and torn carcass of the woman. It finally clicks and I tell the beast "Ah, so you are one that serves a master. Did he order you to return the body of this woman? If so I do believe I can't let you do that. You see, I haven't had a decent meal in ages and there is still quite a bit of meat on her. I'll tell you what, why don't I finish her up and then I will let you have the bloody remains, okay?"

Outraged by the beasts suggestion, I grab it up bodily and pin it to the twisted trunk of a tree that was a few feet behind it just seconds ago. With a silent roar I pull back a hand consciously reforming it into a stone spike.

I'll waste no more time on this despicable creature - it deserves nothing from me but to die.

I hear the tree behind me groan and start to crack with the force the Golem is exerting against my chest, and the pain wells in my chest. The sound I quickly recognise as a few of my ribs also cracking under the presure is soon followed by my uncontrolable yet still shallow caughs that leave my lips stained with my own blood, and I feel myself start to black out.

With a last wild surge of the animal instincts that have kept me alive so long I start thrashing wildly at my opponent somehow severing the spear of stone it was about to impale me with. I realise just as the darkness starts to overwhelm me though that the damnable monstrosity still has me, and in all likelihood there will never be another sunrise or sweet feast...

Should there have been a witness to our short exchange, the watcher might have been able to discern the slight grin that speads across my face when my mark is able to sever the spike I intended to kill it with. In its stead, the stump grows wider until there is a huge mallet swinging towards my pined adversary.

At the last second, the beast in my hold slumps, and instead of a killing blow I just graze it. Most of the force of my swing comes down on my own hand, and breaking the hold I follow with my gaze as the creatores body slumps to the ground.

Preparing to swing again - a blow that should surely finish this - I see the damnable thing stir...