Blood and screaming; screaming and blood. The
horrors of the image before her assault Jordan’s senses, overwhelming them to
the point where she must scream herself. It wouldn’t matter if she did -- the
young girl fighting for her life wouldn’t hear her. Neither would the monster dismantling her
body piece by agonizing piece.
She’d fought valiantly. The girl – she couldn’t be
more than sixteen – obviously wasn’t the type to roll over and die. The monster
liked that. Fear made her flesh sweeter. Her hair is plastered to her head with
sweat. Her breathing labored, coming in short gasps. Tears cut tracks through
the grime and muck on her face. Jordan figured she’d been on the run for at
least an hour or more.
Her time is coming to an end, though. The blood loss
is too great – she’s weak. Jeans, which were once faded blue, are a saturated
burgundy now. She had lost what was left of her shirt a while back. Strips of
skin flap loosely above and below her bra strap. She’s barely able to stumble
through the trees. The monster allows her to get as far as fifty feet away
before it pounces again, using powerful claws to rake what’s left of the flesh
from her back. Its long, black tongue snakes out, lapping up her blood. Its
putrid body shivers in ecstasy under the bloated moon.
The girl barely whimpers this time, but sound
carries in the silent woods. The monster stops feeding long enough to place a
gnarled, heavy foot on her back, snapping it like dry timber. There will be no more running for either of
them this night.
Enormous wings unfurl from the creature’s body,
webbed and veined -- not unlike those of a bat. Fully spanned, they reach at
least twelve feet across. Jordan knows she must get a closer look. With the
thought, her body moves, drifting on the currents of the gentle breeze created
by the pines and oaks. Soon, too soon, she is floating right above it.
As if it can hear or sense something is near, the
thing raises its massive head, sniffing the air. Its face resembles a gibbon,
but the mouth is wider – distorted and stretched to hold rows of wicked-sharp
teeth. Yellow eyes capture the moonlight, reflecting it like any other animal,
only more brightly. Its body is covered in gray feathers or scales coated in a
slimy substance. The smell is unbelievable – a mixture of skunk, feces, and
ammonia that make her eyes water. Jordan’s seen enough.
Before she moves away, she takes one last look at
the girl lying broken on the ground before her.
She is bruised and shattered, her blonde hair streaked red with blood.
Was she beautiful before? Maybe she was a cheerleader for her school’s football
team. She could have been a straight -- A student on her way to a full
scholarship to Vassar. It didn’t matter. She was someone’s daughter, perhaps a
big sister…someone’s friend. Jordan wishes she could comfort her, stroke her
brow or squeeze her hand – something to let her know she isn’t dying alone.
However, it is against the rules. The most she can do is make sure her death is
not in vain.
As she moves away from the nightmare, the creature
lets loose a scream, raising goose bumps along her arms. AhOOOoool! Probably a victory
yell for a successful hunt, Jordan thinks to herself, wishing she could sink
a silver knife in its gullet. She feels herself begin to fade from this time
and place, a sensation of being guided somewhere else. Go ahead and celebrate, you bastard. That poor girl will be your last meal.
I have always been a huge fan of anything
supernatural, paranormal, or just plain spooky. I’m the type who will sit
through hours of Lost Tapes on Animal Planet and Monster Week. When deciding on
a paranormal-type monster for my book, I decided to research cryptozoology for
creatures people have actually claimed to have seen. The one in the excerpt is
called a Kongamato. Descriptions of it vary, depending on what part of the
world the people are from who witnessed it. I chose a description that would
best fit in with my story. Does it really exist? I can’t say for sure, but
considering how many times it has been seen soaring in the sky or perched on
branches of trees as it waits for unsuspecting prey to wonder by…I wouldn’t
count it out.
Author
Bio and Contact Links
Nicole Storey lives in Georgia with her
wonderful husband, two prodigious kids, and a plethora of pets. When she isn’t
traveling to magical realms with potty-mouthed pixies or fighting demons, she
enjoys reading and reviewing books, gardening, cooking, and planning for her
favorite holiday – Halloween! She is an author of juvenile fantasy and YA
paranormal books and is published with Inknbeans Press. Her books can be found
on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Sony, and Smashwords in e-book and
paperback.
Contact Nicole:
Facebook: http://on.fb.me/vdebQE
Blog: http://bit.ly/Muj3Me
Publisher: http://bit.ly/LIQnPV
Amazon
Author Page: http://amzn.to/KThYif
Official
Website: http://bit.ly/15oJb2y
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1593otp
Twitter: http://bit.ly/1593v8d
LinkedIn: http://linkd.in/136P45X
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