#and she follows it thru the woods until she comes across a temple. and a monument with her face carved in stone upon it | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

ecotone99 · 5 years ago

Text

[MF]Blood Feud

Rory knelt on the cold, wet ground holding the flowers he had bought for his wife. He read the words on the grave marker again still trying to comprehend what had happened. It read "Sarah Bramlett: Loving Wife and Mother." We all meet our end at one time or another. He knew that everyone did as no one escapes it. However, not like this. Just another senseless causality of a blood feud that had been raging in these mountains for longer than most could remember. The war would cool for a time before turning hot again with dead bodies strewn all over these hills.

The Calhoun's and Roberts had been killing one another for years. The feud had started over a slight from one patriarch to the other. No one could even remember who let loose the first insult. The only thing people were sure after all this time was shouting soon turned into gunfire and Saul Roberts eldest son fell when his head exploded from a shotgun blast. His blood and brains splattered old man Saul's face as he was sent flying backward from the force of the buckshot. More shots rang out, and several family members from both sides lay dead or wounded. That was three generations ago. At least half of each clan had gone into the ground because of the feud. Even thru all the killing, some lines were not crossed. That was until a few days ago.

Rory laid the flowers on the freshly turned soil. A cold wind stung his face sending a shudder through his body. Scanning the cemetery, he saw the names of dozens of Roberts spanning several generations. Rory was sure the Calhoun burial ground looked similar. Both families had been in this country since before its founding. Some even said the bad blood came with them from the old country. No one knew for sure.

Rory was an outsider to these mountain clans. He was, as they thought, from the valley or “down below” as they said. Rory had met Sarah when she had come with her folks into one of the small towns that dotted the valleys. She seemed so small, almost frail alongside her father and brothers. He was only making his way through, just stopping long enough for the odd job and wait out the winter before moving on. Rory could not remain in one place for very long, no matter how much he had wanted to sometimes.

When Rory looked into Sarah's dark eyes that day, he lost himself. It was then and there he decided to risk doing the one thing he knew he shouldn't stay. It took Rory almost a year to convince her father Jacob to consent to the marriage. They would risk being caught sneaking off to be together when they could. He had almost eaten the end of the old man's rifle one night in the process. However, Rory finally won him over after he got into a fight with Isaac Calhoun for making crude advances towards Sarah. Isaac could not understand the thought that Sarah would turn him away in favor of an outsider such as Rory feud or not.

Isaac had bedded a couple of Roberts' women over the years. Something that wasn't talked about yet was common knowledge with those women being ostracized by the Roberts clan afterward. Life was hard in these mountains and made for hard people as the elders ruled their people with an iron fist. Decisions were made others would not understand. In the end, the family bond was intense and at times all these people had to see them through.

Isaac was big and burly as most men in these mountains and known for his strength. He very nearly dwarfed Rory's lean six-foot frame. He put down the big man with relative ease. This shocked everyone who had gathered to watch the fisticuffs. Ducking a huge right hand, Rory slammed the point of his boot into Isaac’s groin followed by a blow to the temple. It was over before it started as it had been agreed upon when one man couldn't get off the ground that would be the end of it. The mountain man didn't realize who or what he was dealing with this time. Rory later explained to Jacob that it was an old Army trick he learned while in Service. He had earned an enemy that day but also the respect of the mountain folk as well. Rory could have easily killed Isaac, but at the time, he thought there was no sense in turning the feud hotter than he already had. Many of those in the cities and even in the valleys frowned upon such things calling it barbaric. Rory thought so as well, but it was an effective way to settle things he had to admit. Moreover, it got that ape of a man away from Sarah.

Sarah had not only been his wife and soon to be the mother of his unborn son, but also his savior. She had tamed the beast that lived within him. A thing that had befallen him in France while on furlough from fighting in the Argonne Forest. A drunken night led him to places he should not have been, following a pretty, young French girl away from his friends. Rory didn't remember to this day, what happened or how he survived that night along with the following two weeks. He just remembered waking up in a hospital bed with bandages covering half his body and several hundred sutures beneath. His friends found him on the ground outside the barracks torn to shreds and had almost bled to death before they could get him to the doctors. There was an investigation with half the small hamlet brought in for questioning. Nothing ever came of it as the town’s folk said nothing out of contempt or fear, Rory or the investigators ever knew which. His fellow soldiers never saw nor heard a thing. He soon recovered which surprised the doctors who were ready to discharge him. Rory came through it stronger, and a better soldier than even he thought possible. He made it back home in one piece after the bloodletting ended without so much as another scratch.

After the war, Rory ran into his old Sergeant from the Argonne. The Sergeant told him he wasn't the only one found in such a shape. His unit had even come across several German soldiers in the same condition and worse. They had no sign of gunshot wounds and some had been partially eaten which was passed off to scavenging animals. The Army never uncovered the reason as to what happened to him or the others. Some of the German POW's were heard talking about the incidents, but their interrogators could get nothing from them. As far as anyone knew, the case had been closed after the war and passed off to the French authorities. Anything uncovered by the investigation had been kept quiet.

A few weeks after he got home strange things began to happen. Dead livestock started turning up with each one torn to pieces as the men in the Argonne. Talk began of something stalking the woods that would soon to turn from cattle to people. Hunting parties, more like angry mobs were quickly organized of which he was a part. The only thing ever found was more slaughtered animals. Wild stories began to circulate of a monster on the loose. Rory discovered he was that monster as he watched himself in the mirror one night turn. He soon left his home as a way to protect those around him. As far as Rory knew, this thing within him had never taken the life of a human. Yet, he couldn't take that chance. He kept moving and whenever he felt the thing within begin to grow Rory would wander off deep into the forest and away from people. There it could run wild and harm no one.

Rory had never told Sarah the truth behind the scars he carried from that time. Instead, telling her, they were war wounds. In a sense, he guessed they were. There was no reason to ponder that terrible night any longer. It had come to the point now that this thing no longer wanted loose. It was as if it had found peace as well.

After Sarah's funeral, the Roberts clan loaded their guns and was on their way to do what needed doing. Rory stopped them and told them he would take care of it and above all else to stay home this night. Jacob, always prime for an argument with his rule challenged looked into his son-in-law's eyes and blinked. Gathering his family, the old man told them what Rory had said. There was an uproar among the Roberts men but for only a moment as Jacob forbid any interference. Looking back at Sarah's marker Rory closed his eyes. He had not wept since her death. There would be time for grieving tomorrow. Right now, it was getting late, and the sun would be gone soon. This night was the time of the new moon. The night would be long and dark, the best time for hunting.

Rory made the short distance back to their home in a light rain that was quickly turning to sleet. It was small and Spartan in its appearance, but it had been theirs. Walking through the broken door, he saw the ransacked inside. He had not attempted to clean or straighten anything. Rory wanted the memory of what he had found there to be fresh as an open wound. Dried blood still stained the floor where his son had been stillborn after his wife was raped, beaten and left to die. He had wanted to stay with her and just let the others go down the mountain for winter supplies. However, she told him she would be all right; Mamaw was just down the road if she needed anything. The old woman was everything to everyone. She had been a doctor, and teacher to all in the Roberts family for most of her eighty-plus years. The man, the thing that had done this must have been waiting for months for this chance. The guilt Rory now carried would be with him always. There would be no other Sarah. It was her and her alone that had made him a whole man once again. Rory set a chair back upright. He sat down and looked out the window into the fading light. “I know you're in there, it's time to see what you're made of,” Rory said to himself, almost begging the beast to come forth.

“Rory Bramlett,” said a loud voice from outside the cabin invading his thoughts. Rising from his chair, he stepped through the door to see Abraham Calhoun standing several paces away. Rory didn't know how old the man was, but he was starting to bend in his back, and his hair was snow white.

“What do you want old man?” Rory said coldly.

Abraham was taken aback by Rory's tone but quickly set it aside. “Isaac got drunk last night and told what he did. We Calhoun's don't take too such as any on this mountain wouldn't,” Abraham said. An icy stare met the words that sent a chill over him. “I know the Calhoun's and Roberts have been goin’ at it for years now but I ain’t 'bout to stand for nuthin like this.”

“Tell your boy I'll be seeing him soon,” Rory said turning and walking back to the cabin.

“You come after my boy you'll have the whole family to deal with,” Abraham said. Turning to walk away, the elder Calhoun wished he had brought his gun. He would have ended this right here and now. There was something about that young man in the cabin. He scared Abraham, truly scared him in a way he had never known. Looking into his eyes just now was like looking into the hell that preacher talked about when he came through each month. The Calhoun's and the Roberts hated one another, but this went beyond anything he knew of or had ever seen. Abraham needed to get back and warn Isaac. He had done a terrible wrong even by the standards set by others over the years. Isaac would face banishment from the mountain but he was still his son, and he would see to it that this low lander did him no harm.

Sitting back down, Rory heard the old man’s words through the still opened door. He expected as much, hoped for it even. He sat there looking out the window as the last rays of light disappeared into the darkness. Breathing deep Rory could still smell the stench of Isaac in the room. Images of him on top of his wife ran through his mind. The rage began to build, and he could feel the animal within start to grow. It had been a very long time since he last felt the beast wanting to take control. Each time it had filled him with fear and dread. This time, however, was different. This time it felt good and right. Looking down Rory saw a hand that was no longer his. Claws replaced fingernails, a snout filled with thirsty teeth sprang forth, and thick gray fur soon covered his skin. What remained of the man within the beast leaped from his chair and ripped off the remainder of its tattered clothing. Standing there now was a thing of legend and nightmare that would end this feud for all time and have its revenge.

Looking at its surroundings the beast vaguely recognized where it was. Then it caught the scent sending it into a blood-mad rage. Throwing its head back the creature roared in both pain and anger. A roar that was felt all over the mountain and heard by both the Calhoun's and Roberts alike. When Jacob's youngest granddaughter asked what made that awful sound, he merely said, “Hell is walking the mountain tonight.”

The beast bounded through the door and began to follow the trail. It was several days old but fresh in its mind. Through thick brush and along winding trails the beast moved gracefully with each muscle in perfect harmony. It did not try to hide or run in stealth as this was not a hunt for food. This was to be a hunt for blood.

The scent led him to a cabin. The smell of his quarry was everywhere. The beast stopped and listened. There was no sound save that of frightened livestock. The object of his hunt was not here, but there was blood for the taking. The smell of his prey was on these animals, and they would die as he would. Crashing through the door of the barn the beast tore each animal to crimson pieces. Now with the salty taste of blood in its mouth, the killing frenzy had taken hold. The only thing to satiate the bloodlust now was the death of the one he sought.

Once again, the beast picked up the scent of its hunt. The smell of his quarry soon began to mix with that of others and led it to another house. A ramshackle of a place two stories high filled with people standing in the way of what was to be his. There was another scent coming from the house. One that it was all too familiar with, guns. It knew what they could do, but the beast cared not if it lived past this night. Off to the side as with the first home he came to, there was a barn. If anything in the house survived this night, it would starve before winter was gone. Smashing through the doors the beast began its bloody work anew.

The sounds of slaughter mixed with a hellish growl caused everyone in the Calhoun house to shout with both fear and anger. Abraham walked to the window and pulled the curtains open. He had never heard such a sound, and it made his blood run cold. His stomach began to churn as he listened. Without the animals, there would be many empty stomachs this winter and turn them all into beggars.

"Zechariah, Malachi, you boys get your guns and go see what's after them animals,” Abraham said to his sons. “Whatever it is you fill it full of buckshot. You hear me?” He knew it couldn't be Rory. No man-made those types of sounds. However, his sons were armed, and both were excellent marksmen, he had seen to that.

Grabbing their guns both young men, not much more than boys looked at one another wide-eyed and hearts pounding. Slowly they went to the door and opened it. An eerie silence met them as the sounds from the barn ceased as suddenly as they had started. Both turned and looked at their father hoping he would change his mind. However, from the look on his face, they knew what they had to do. They were deathly afraid of what might be out there yet more fearful of their father. Even though they were both practically grown by mountain standards, the old man wouldn't hesitate to pull his belt and lay it across their backs. Everyone in the family had the scars to prove how bad his temper was. Both clicked the safeties on their shotguns off and stepped into the cold night air.

The closer Zechariah and Malachi came to the barn the more their hands trembled. What in God's name was walking the mountain this night and why had it come calling here? They knew what Isaac had done. But that was no Roberts' man that made those sounds. They didn't believe it was a man at all. The whole family thought the same thing but was too afraid to speak the words aloud.

"You shouldn't have sent just the two of them. God only knows what's out there,” Rebecca, Abraham's wife said. She never got her answer as the screams of their two sons, and the blast of a 12 gauge shattered the still night.

Before Abraham could say anything his youngest son, Isaiah, threw open a window and began firing wildly. “I see it Pa, I see it. It's comin' round this side of the barn.”

“Stop that you damn fool,” Abraham shouted. As the words left his mouth, he saw his youngest son snatched out the window by a clawed hand. The awful silence soon followed his screams and the tearing of flesh mixed with that hellish growl. Abraham and Rebecca raced to the window and looked down to see the mangled corpse of their youngest son. Steam rose from the still-warm blood that flowed from the gaping wounds to his throat and stomach. Both cried out in horror and stunned disbelief at what they saw. They could only imagine there other two sons had met a similar fate.

"Where's Isaac?” Abraham said, in a shrill voice while at the same time trying his best to remain calm. His question was answered by the heavy footfalls of his eldest clumsily bounding down the stairs carrying his shotgun. “I ought to kill you myself. You brought this on us cause you couldn't stay away from that Roberts wench. Now your brothers are dead.” Abraham said with tears streaking his cheeks. “Whatever that thing is out there will be coming for the rest of us. Now, where's your sisters?”

“They's hid in the closet. I put 'em there myself,” Isaac said through short breaths.

"Get yourself, ready boy. Whatever that thing is will be coming for us next,” Abraham said while gripping his rifle tight.

The front door exploded with the full fury of the beast. Abraham looked into eyes he recognized and knew who was standing there. With a slashing hand, the old man lost his head. Another slash sent Rebecca to the beyond as her intestines hit the floor by being ripped from groin to throat.

Isaac watched his parents butchered. His father’s blood splashed across the walls while his mother lay in a torn heap on the floor. With a low rumbling growl, the thing slowly turned and looked at him. He held his gun and braced the butt against his hip pointing it at the chest of the monster. His mind screamed at him to pull the trigger. He was frozen with fear while looking into eyes that were like the gateway to hell. His brain, scream though it could not process what stood there nor what it had just witnessed.

The beast looked into its wide-eyed prey. It knew somewhere in its mind that if the man pulled the trigger what would happen. However, that was of no consequence. The rumble in its chest worked its way upward into that of a snarling growl that revealed teeth that were sharp and ready to finish the job it had started. Drool mixed with blood fell from its mouth with anticipation of the kill. To take vengeance on the one who had brought it more pain than if he did shoot. A part of him wanted the man to pull the trigger yet the hatred and bloodlust burned stronger.

The beast lunged at Isaac. It was not a full-on assault however it did have the desired effect. It caused him to flinch ever so slightly making the slug in the chamber miss its mark when he pulled the trigger. Instead, the blast left a large hole in the wall beside the door. Before his prey could gather himself long, enough to re-aim and fire again the beast grabbed the barrel of the gun. The heat from it burned its palm as he tore it from Isaac’s grasp and threw it to the side. Now, nothing was standing between it and the blood of the man sentenced to death before him.

Isaac's mind, clouded with fear of inevitable death fast approaching could not come to terms with what was happening. The basic instinct for survival took control and forced his frozen limbs to move in an attempt to escape. He had heard people talk about how their bodies would freeze when confronted with life or death. He had always laughed at them as nothing scared him until now. Now Isaac truly understood.

The beast saw his quarry turn and try to flee. It lunged and sank its teeth deep into his calf ripping out a mouth full of flesh. Spitting out the chunk of meat the beast watched with some satisfaction as the man hit the floor. Blood poured between his fingers while he tried in vain to plug the gaping hole. The beast used his claws to open up several more wounds on Isaac's chest and stomach. They were deep but not enough to kill. They were meant to inflict pain as this was to be a slow death. It watched the man scream as agony shot through his body.

Isaac held up a hand and began to beg for his life not realizing the thing standing before him felt no pity or remorse. A pair of crushing jaws met his effort that severed the hand from his arm. Isaac screamed in pain and shock as jets of blood spewed from the stump left behind.

The beast looked at the remains of the man on the floor. Muscles tensed as it crouched down and prepared to finish the work it had started when a noise from behind a closed door caught its attention. Going to the door and ripping it off the hinges, the beast looked down to see two young girls no more than eight or nine. Both had tears running down their faces and were screaming mad with fear. It looked for a moment and started to raise its hand. It wanted desperately to kill all of the Calhoun's. The bit of Rory that was still left inside stopped the beast. The terror along with the loss of their family and minds would suffice. With a snarl, it turned and made its way back to Isaac. It was then that even in its blood mad and confused mind it realized there was a more fitting thing to do. It raised its head and roared before turning and walking away leaving Isaac where he lay, screaming and bleeding to death.

***

Jacob sat in his chair by the warm fire reading his Bible. No one in the house had made a sound since hearing that awful roar the first time. Not even after, they heard the sounds of gunfire. The sound of the roar a second time made them all jump and gasp.

“Everyone settle down,” Jacob said calmly. “It's done.”

Setting his Bible down on the table beside his chair, Jacob stood and walked to the door. Opening it, he stepped through to stand on the porch. He braced himself against growing cold. He soon felt eyes looking at him causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end. There was something moving in the brush just beyond the faint light cast by the fire. He couldn't see it but knew it was there just in the shadows. A low growl brought his attention to a figure stepping to the edge of the light. Blood stained its hands and fur. Jacob fought back the urge to run back inside and grab his gun. Yet, there was something that told him neither he nor his family had anything to fear. The feud was finally over, and his daughter and grandson could rest in peace. And, too, he had just lost a son-in-law. The thing raised its head and let out a long and mournful howl that sent shivers down his spine. When the beast had finished Jacob watched it turn and disappear back into the darkness. Looking up into the sky, he saw the sleet was turning to snow. With a heavy sigh, Jacob picked up some firewood and walked back into the house closing the door behind him.

submitted by /u/Lochinvar45 [link] [comments] via Blogger https://ift.tt/2nhAR9n

#Blogger #Story

0 notes