Chapter 3: And the World Marches On

Joseph bit back an oath as he heard the distinctive sound of his rubbish bin being overturned just as he was about to open the front door to his house.

It was the end of a long day, and this was the fourth time in less than a week that this had happened. It might be the height of summer, and food was plentiful almost across the board, but still, the damned foxes insisted on knocking his bins over so they could get at the remains of his meats, it was like the world was laughing at him!

And yet, he supposed it was a small price to pay for having a house right at the edge of town and that facing out onto the Monts d’Ardeche National Park. The view was beautiful, an uninterrupted vista devoid of any signs of human construction, and his home was great. It was a large building, just shy of being a small mansion, with plenty of rooms, a terrace overlooking a large garden, and even a swimming pool.

He'd bought the house years ago, back when he’d received his first big break. Back then he’d been a fresh-faced newly-wed, convinced that he’d found the love of his life and that the act of getting the house was simply the first step on his path to a long and fulfilling life of happiness and family. Now, twenty years, a cheating wife, and a vicious divorce later, he could only look back on his past self and snort at his naivety. All those promises, all that potential, it had all been a lie!

Still, he could take some satisfaction in having got the better deal in the divorce. After all, he’d got the house, whilst his ex ended up with full custody of the kids.

Another crash of metal on tiles told him that another of his bins had been pushed over. Right now, it was late, the sun was down and the moon was mostly hidden by clouds, leaving the area pretty dark. Out here, away from most of the lights of urban development, the darkness was deeper, more pervasive, and so Joseph had set up a few lights he use. Sure, it meant that some nights the stargazing could be spectacular, but there were times like this when it was less than convenient.

For a moment he was tempted to just leave it, to deal with it tomorrow once he could get a good look at things, but the sound of a third bin being knocked over was the last straw.

Any other time it wouldn’t have been so bad. Since he now lived alone he didn’t have that much trash to worry about, so normally the big bins were mostly empty. Unfortunately, yesterday he’d played host to a big barbecue for a gathering of friends and friends of friends, a large event where there had been much food in the offing. Consequently, all four of his large metal bins had been filled with bags of leftover scraps, bones, greasy disposable plates and cutlery, all things that would draw in scavengers looking for an easy meal. He’d hoped that since it was the season of plenty he wouldn’t need to worry so much, but it looked like he’d been wrong.

Sighing he decided that he really didn’t want to have to deal with a patio strewn with scattered refuse first thing in the morning. He didn’t want to have to deal with this now, not when he was finally feeling the drinks he’d had earlier starting to take their toll, but better now than later.

He headed back to the garage to dig out his large flashlight, then he was making his way around his house, tugging along one of those wheeled lifting devices to move the bins. He was hoping that whatever scavengers he’d have to deal with hadn’t made too much of a mess. Then he turned the corner and the large patio where the bins had been standing was in his line of sight, only they weren’t there. His flashlight was producing a weak beam of light, one that only seemed to show more darkness.

However, as he got closer, he realised that what he had thought had been darkness had been black flesh covered in bristles, the bulk large enough to cover his view of his patio from where he stood. He could not make out details clearly, but that was okay. The light being so dim was a saving grace, since whatever the huge mass of flesh was it hadn’t noticed him yet.

It wasn’t the largest creature Joseph had ever seen, but it wasn’t losing by much. When it moved, it was as though the wall in a room was moving, huge muscles rippling under the dark and bristled flesh.

For a moment he was still as a statue, the absolute certainty that this being was dangerous freezing him in place.

The hand that held the flashlight shook, causing the weak beam to play across the back of whatever this thing was. It didn’t stay in any one spot for very long, but it showed enough for Joseph’s fear-addled mind to start to put them together into an incomplete image.

Big, that was the first thing that he was certain of. Whatever it was, this creature was big, easily the size of one of those moving vans. Muscles bulged upon it, and a hide of bristles that were closer to spines covered its skin, but that was all he could work out. He could hear a snorting noise and the rattle of metal, so he guessed it was going through his rubbish.

It was the sound of rattling metal that galvanized him into motion. He just acted without thinking and took a step back. A step that made the gravel crunch beneath his feet.

It wasn’t loud, but with adrenaline singing through his veins and heightening his senses, it it sounded as loud as a gunshot to Joseph!

Still, it couldn’t reallyt have been that loud, because rather than spinning about and brutally savaging Joseph to death, the hulking mass of muscle and flesh simply continued to snort at the garbage.

Okay, okay, he could handle this, he could handle this. He kept repeating those words in his mind as though if he did so they would somehow come true. He felt his panicked thoughts start to settle into some sort of cohesion! Alright, the . . . thing hadn’t noticed him yet, so if he backed away carefully and quietly then he could get around the house! As soon as he was able to put the entire building between him and that hulking form he could . . . well, he wasn’t too sure what he was going to do. Calling the cops sounded good, , but getting into his car and driving away sounded better. Maybe he’d make that call after having gotten some more distance between himself and this monster! Yeah, that sounded like a good idea! He’d just have to-

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He only had a split second to realize that his hands, which had been grasping the flashlight with a death grip, had somehow twisted something back into place before the wan and pale light of the torch’s bulb suddenly flared to full brightness. The snorting and snuffling that he’d heard before was replaced by a startled squeal, and the huge form before him spun about with shocking speed as it was finally revealed to him.

A boar, it was a huge wild boar!

No, Joseph had seen boars in the past, he’d even shot some that had broken into his garden in the past. Boars were wild creatures, but they weren’t monsters, they weren’t like this thing! The creature before him wasn’t just a boar of freakish size, it was . . . more? Less? It was a distorted and warped version of the animal that he knew. It was too big, too muscled, its legs too thick, its trotters too wide, the claws too long and pointed in a way no boars should ever be! Its face was marred by tusks so massive that they were almost comical, but those same tusks gleamed in the light, save where a dark red substance stained them. Even worse, horns grew from its head in a twisted imitation of a bull, horns that were likewise stained!

All of this Joseph saw in a split second as the light flared and illuminated the monster before him.

Then he was running, dropping the flashlight and throwing himself around the corner of his home, breaking line of sight with the creature! Behind him there was a sound that could have been a squeal, only it was too loud, too deep, and too enraged, and it was followed by the sound of heavy footfalls and crunching gravel drawing closer!

He didn’t think, he just reacted. His panic room! That was the first thought to enter his mind as he bolted for his front door. He’d had it installed a few years back as a sort of luxury item, a treat to himself to acknowledge just how well he was doing. The small concrete bunker was on the bottom floor, and not too far from the front door. He’d watched as it was built, so he knew how thick the concrete walls were, how big the steel bars that reinforced it were! That thing might be a monster, but he was sure that it wouldn’t be able to break through.

God, it was a monster, wasn’t it?!

The door was mercifully unlocked. It was a bad habit of his, but one that he was now profoundly grateful for. The door flew open as he slammed into it, and Joseph crashed through, almost tripping in his haste. Behind him there was a rush of wind as something passed by only a few feet from the door, then a loud crash, then the sound of a car alarm which was cut off with almost shocking finality a second later. At the back of his mind, he realized his car must have been hit by the thing, but that was unimportant. Instead, he was more focused on trying to get away, get to the panic room. He tried to turn to slam to the door shut, but his legs tangled up beneath him and he toppled over.

He didn’t go down completely, but he had fallen to all fours as the motion of a loose carpet beneath him helped him lose control! Behind him he heard a sound of tortured metal shrieking, a sound contested by another squealing roar, one that made no secret of the rage behind it, then a thunderous crash and the sound of splintering wood. Almost weeping with a combination of frustration and fear Joseph scrambled forward, his movements a mad mesh of him trying to regain his feet and him trying to dash down the hall. His panic was too much though, and one foot came down wrong, twisting to the side with a grating of bones as he went down, sending pain shooting up his leg and a cry from between his lips.

Damn it! Damn it!! He couldn’t let this stop him! Not now, not here! Fear lent him strength, and adrenaline let him ignore his pain in a way that would normally have been impossible. His ankle throbbed with pain, but he continued to crawl on, no more effort being made to get to his feet. All he needed was to get down this hallway, then turn right down the short corridor and the panic room was there at the end. Once there he’d be safe, able to use the med kit to take some painkiller, use the landline phone to call for help! All he had to do was get to it and he’d-

-Bllnnk!-

The sound was small, but oh so familiar. He’d heard it practically every day for the last three years since he’d had the upgraded system installed. He knew what was coming, and he could do nothing to stop it.

Light dazzled his eyes as the motion-sensor-linked light switch tripped and the series of small crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling illuminated the entrance and the long welcome hallway. To his eyes, eyes that had been adjusted to the darkness outside, it was almost blinding, but was only a secondary concern as his frantic mind made another and much more worrying connection. Rolling onto his back he just had time to stare down the hall and out of his front door.

The front door that was still wide open.

The wide-open front door through which the light of the chandeliers was now pouring out, bright enough to light up the night outside.

The wide-open front door through which he could now see the massive form of the . . . the thing turning to glare at this new source of light!

Joseph only had time for a single short shriek of terror before the huge form surged towards him, the massive body slamming into the doorframe and the walls surrounding it with a force more akin to a runaway truck than to a living being. Wood splintered, plaster shattered, and even the concrete in the walls and frames buckled under the assault. Before his terror-widened eyes the ceiling cracked and bits of dust and debris rained down as the boar-thing tried to force itself through the doorway that was too small for it.

But . . . but it was holding! Steel and concrete were holding just enough that the straining monster wasn’t able to force its way in!

Hope surged through him, managing to bury his terror for the time being. He had a chance! He could live! All he had to do was make it to the panic room and-

Joseph never saw the wooden beam that came down and claimed his life as it smashed his skull. He never saw his house buckle and collapse. He never saw how the panic room was the only thing to survive, though it was buried beneath the debris as his home came down upon it. he never saw any of it, but he did hear one thing before death claimed him.

The thunderous snap as both concrete and metal gave way beneath the monster’s powerful muscles, its weight and force too great to be denied. It broke, then the wall broke, and then the support beams behind it broke.

His house broke. Broke, and came crashing down upon him.

The next morning, when one of the neighbours saw the state of the building and called the authorities, all that could be found of the homeowner was an arm trapped beneath a heavy wooden beam. Of the rest of him . . . well, it wasn’t as though there was no sign. There was a long trail of blood leading out into the woods.

One neighbour immediately began to see to selling his home and moving back into a city, another decided that she’d feel more secure once she owned the sort of weapons normally reserved to kill enraged elephants. Still another asked a priestess of Gaea, a young woman who had only arrived in the area recently, but who had made an impression with the abilities she had demonstrated, to come and bless her house so that it might be protected. So many reactions, and so many different people, but they all had one thing in common.

Their view of the forest was no longer as carefree as it had once been.