Prologue

2018

It started off as a regular beautiful day. Where everyone would either go for a jog in the morning and rush to the metro to not be late for work. The sky was clear, and the animals were too, being their usual self. A clear indication of peace and the perfect weather and atmosphere for those nature lovers to go on a love hike to admire the world around them. The day went by as per normal for most…till evening came. 

Who would have thought that was the beginning of an interesting finding?

Interesting or…chaotic or…deadly?

Who would have thought that Katy Trail in Rocheport would be in this chaos? 

Who would have thought that there was danger lurking in the corner of nature? 

Everyone who were strolling, exploring at Katy Trail or around the area were instantly requested to be evacuated due to the unknown threat that awaited them. The gust of wind enhanced the temperature. It was suddenly colder and more ominous in the near dark, and it surely wasn’t making the situation any better for anyone especially when the one place where peace was its natural habitat due to the naturistic environment is now a red zone, fully barricaded with police cars and SWAT vehicles at the edge of the woods on Katy Trail.

If the SWAT was there…it wasn’t fool’s play. It looked as if life or death seemed to be hanging on the line. The police quickly wore their bullet-proof vests while glancing into the depth of Katy Trail, trying to have a slight grasp of the situation as they checked, double checked that their weapons were all loaded. Naturally they couldn’t show that they were anxious. There was…there was something off about what happened deep inside Katy Trail. Nonetheless, at least they were well equipped with handguns by the regular uniformed while the rifles and shotguns were controlled by the SWAT members. 

They were prepared.

Or so they thought. 

Before the dispatch, screams filled deep into the area. Since it was late in the evening, one could assume it was a ghost sightseeing but…no one would call for a dispatch just for that and cause a hiker to be in her worst state.

Did something attack her? 

“No injuries other than some scratches, assuming she fell a few times or bumped against the trees as she ran but otherwise, she’s very rattled, I’m not sure if we’ll be able to get any information from her.” Thankfully, the officers were able to retrieve the shaken hiker in one piece.

“Miss?” The office in charge looked at the hiker with as much empathy as he could build up since he didn’t want to risk the amount of time lost which may result in the dangers spreading to the city. It wasn’t a good sight if the whole population was in a state like the hiker. If they could contain it right here and right now, they should cautiously jump at every chance and protect the civilians. 

“Miss, can you tell us everything you saw? Maybe a mere glimpse?” The officer tried his best to give a soft reassuring smile and an understanding tone to the hiker who was trembling like it was winter. She managed to ease down her hyperventilation, but her eyes were still teary and focused on the ground while her mouth opened and closed to describe what she unfortunately saw. But every time she wanted to say a word, her stomach quenched and turned while her heart seemed to want to escape her body. As much as she wanted to be of assistance to the officer and the team…she couldn’t seem to find the words. She couldn’t seem to get the words out of her. All she was able to do was to point out to the direction where she was deathly startled and to count on the map for a little more specific direction. That was the best she could give them. There wasn’t any other useful information…there wasn’t any information at all from the hiker.

There wasn’t any information of who or what she saw.

What was the danger that lurked?

He could always press her for an answer, but he’d doubt that he would get anything out of the hiker, and they would only spend more time comforting her and allowing the danger to grow, possibly increasing the chances of the danger rising.

If this was the state after what she saw…they did make the right decision to call on the SWAT team for assistance. If need be, they would call for further backup which should already be on standby.

After giving a little more time for the hiker to answer, the officer concluded that there was no use in relying on the hiker to provide an image of what she saw even though he couldn’t blame her shaken state. At least she gave them the directions so they wouldn’t waste even more time wandering around on a humiliating wild goose chase. They couldn’t afford to waste any more time and they must decide to make a move inside before the worst could ever befall on them. The officer quickly updated each group of their positions, hoping to surround and catch whatever was in there and finally end the day to head back to their warm waiting homes.

“Alright, let’s move in carefully. We don’t want to announce our presence yet. We find out what’s lurking and causing these scares then control them to the best we can.” The officer in charge gave the signal for the groups to move in at a time since they couldn’t risk losing everyone at once.

That was the last thing he wanted.

Crossing the barricade, the group of police, a mix of regular and SWAT members, entered the woods carefully with their weapons ready for any second of attack, at the same time ensuring their footsteps were soft yet firm to stand their ground in case of an attack. Even the velocity of their breaths was carefully controlled. But unfortunately, they had to switch their flashlights on since it was getting darker, and the late evening was not making their situation any easier. The least the light could do is allow them a clear view of what was lurking so they could then relay the information to backup.

 It was a slight walk since the hiker mentioned it was in the depths of Katy Trail. They moved as one group each, guarding, listening, and eyeing at every angle. They didn’t have time to take a leisure stroll either, so their feet were constantly swift even on the uneven ground, hiking up the route that was guided for them. 

It was after a few minutes when they finally breached deep into the woods and within their sight, was a middle of a clearing that was built into the side of a hill. The officer wondered if it has always been there…a cave-like opening. It was too neat to be forced yet too disorderly to be planned. Not only the entrance was humongous but the vast darkness through it indicated it wasn’t a mere cave for a shelter, there was something residing inside. It couldn’t be something recent since that would take ages for a human being to dig out that deep.  Even if it was an animal such as a bear, the opening wouldn’t be more than 5ft. 

The entrance of the cave looked as if it was double the height of a bear or more, causing the officer and his teams to wonder, what on earth could have created that and input possible trauma onto innocent hikers. They didn’t want to believe that it was something out of the ordinary but at this state, all options should and must be considered. 

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

The officer thrusted his hand forward to signal to the rest to keep moving. But alas they were halted when a horrendous deafening roar nearly pushed them back. Some of them were already shaking at the sound of it. 

“S…. stay. It might just be a bear or, or a mountain lion. Based on the size of that cave it could always echo-.”  Before the officer could continue, a deeper rumble was heard that slightly shook the ground, it wasn’t enough to make them fall but it was more than enough to spark the vibrations of fear within their bodies, making his words shifted into a choking gasp when he saw what emerged from the cave that caused the deep rumble.  

A monster, KaVahl, towered 10ft high and proud over them while sending chills down their veins. KaVahl’s figure nearly blended in with the dark, the only thing visible about him was the deathly glow in his eyes and the shine from his jagged teeth and claws and his entire body only made the evening darker than the night. The officer in charge managed to glance in the cave without moving a muscle, noticing a glimpse of what seemed like a dungeon.

If there was a dungeon…wouldn’t that mean that there would be more of…more of that hideous creature?

Did that mean that they were,

No…he didn’t want to believe that they were doomed…

They could stop this monster…

They can…he knows they can…

Right?

“Sir…what, what is that thing…” One of the officers stammered. Even the SWAT team were stunned at the sight of a ghastly beast. His features were enough to make a whole city evacuate without a second thought, the deep growls that emerged through his teeth were only filling up the anxiety in the officers that they finally began firing, not knowing what else they could do.  

The once peaceful park was now filled with loud gunshots which was no different from an ugly firework. The bullets from the handguns, rifles and shotgun did not once miss KaVahl’s huge frame…but that was the problem. It never missed but it also didn’t break into his frame. The sound of the metal crushed and the thud when the bullets merely fell onto the ground, forming a pathetic pile of lead at his feet. KaVahl glanced at tit with a mocking growl before looking down at the officers who were still shooting as if they didn’t get the message that whatever they did wouldn’t hurt an inch of him. It was even more amusing watching their rushed states load up the guns again. At least he could internally compliment how some of them tried to use the flashlight to blind him, but of course it never worked. As soon as they had their share of attack, KaVahl’s dark face had a sinister smile, clearly displaying large, jagged teeth with a mocking laugh.

 After 25000 years…humanity still hadn’t improved enough to take him down. 

They never once learnt from their history. 

With the urge to shed blood from those pesky humans, KaVahl gladly indulges himself since it was also a form of entertainment when he was bored and especially since they dared to cause such a commotion while he was resting, what better than now to make them dig their knees into the ground. All it took was a blink on an eye for KaVahl to grab the officer closest to him who was shooting with the miserable looking handgun. He immediately dug his claws into his abdomen, enjoying the musical screams as he ripped the man’s guts out of him, allowing a rain of blood to splatter all over the ground and the officers then tossed him harshly against the small mountain of rough rocks. Some of the unfortunate uniformed officers made the unfortunate haste decision to flee from the hell only to be crushed mercilessly by KaVahl when he slammed his foot against them, turning them into an unrecognisable mush of blood and flesh packed in the soaked clothes. His deep growls turned into a dark sinister laughter, smashing down each officer, especially the ones in the normal uniform as if they were discardable dolls. 

“Keep firing!” The officer in charge wasn’t ready to give up yet. 

He should have now.

Even if only one person could make it out alive, there would be someone to relay the information.

No matter that they did, the bullets wouldn’t do a thing to KaVahl.

Did these officers really think that it would be like those movies where you can instantly take down a creature from a few tiny spinning metals?

KaVahl let out another insulting deafening roar before snatching one of the rifles and stabbed it through the SWAT member’s helmet and penetrated till it came out of his stomach. What made it even frightening for the men, was that the tip of the rifle was never sharp enough to create a clean penetration like a sword or dagger, yet KaVahl did it as if it was nothing more than a sewing needle. That led to some of them making the mistake of getting distracted by it that KaVahl merely pinched their head, causing it to explode and decapitating them cleanly so that even their brains and eyes turned into a human smoothie. KaVahl’s whole body took over in the massacre and it seemed as if he was dancing with the horrifying screams of deaths from those who were trained to protect their city. The police officers were scrambling to call for backup but all that was heard was the screams before each one was cut off from the radio. At this moment, it wasn’t worth sending a backup if they weren’t prepared for this kind of threat where they had no idea what they were up against and weren’t prepared for the strength and cruelty of KaVahl.

How were they supposed to fulfil that when they couldn’t even protect themselves?

At long last after toying with the human’s fear, KaVahl proceeded to grab one SWAT member at a time from their shoulders, grinning and snarling at their faces. Their face of terror was such a drive that KaVahl once again, laughed sinisterly while they begged and begged for him to spare them. The tears that ran down their face was such a blissful sight and the loud thump in their chest where their heart was made KaVahl want to bounce it for himself. 

And so, he did. 

“No-, NO PLEASE-!” The SWAT member pleaded with an ugly sob when both of KaVahl’s claws secured tightly on his shoulders and within a second before the man could process, KaVahl brutally ripped him in half down the middle where there was yet another rain of blood, letting some of his organs and especially his heart fall onto the ground with a mocking squish before stepping on it that cause the blood in the vessels of the heart to explode all over the ground…like the other organs. The heart was still beating for a few more seconds before it finally stopped, signalling that the man was gone from the world. The shiver and rush made KaVahl crave for more. He used his large foot to hold down the rest of the members by crushing their legs. Either way, they wouldn’t be able to escape their agonising death. 

KaVahl ensured that the rest of the men were watching as he continuously ripped each of them like the precious SWAT member, making their tear even more brutal as each person was taken that the remaining few wished that they were one of the first ones to enter heaven. One of his preferred methods of brutally executingis victims. Surrounding the SWAT men were bodies of their comrades that were ripped in half, smashed with organs lying around freely. Their body armors and shields were never considered a 0.1% chance of going against KaVahl. Even the trees around them were damaged since KaVahl decided to throw their body against the tree. If such a strong tree could fall from a mere throw as if the body was a baseball…

Then there was never a chance for them to win against him even if they were to bring over a whole tank.

Screams after screams and men after men, soon only the officer in charge was left. His legs were beyond recognizable that he had to pathetically drag himself away from KaVahl who was watching his entire progress. It was a miracle for the officer to be alive from all the pain when his legs were mercilessly crushed and with the amount of blood he lost, it was indeed a dying miracle. The officer let out reluctant laughs as his brain was filled with victory that he was able to escape but deep down, his guts were poking and screaming at him that this was going to be his last breath, it was going to be his last sight.

He REFUSED to believe it.

He had to return home; he promised the men that they would return home-

Alas, his laughter turned into desperate wheezing screams when KaVahl grabbed him and placed both his claws in position where his shoulders were. Before the office was able to mutter a word, KaVahl once again ripped him in half before dropping his body, leaving his final second to end in such painful anguish. The pin drop silence was enough evidence that not a single soul survived or died in one piece. 

KaVahl walked away from the large pile of corpses and the strewn appendages that stained the lovely grass and ground. His eyes glanced at the direction where the police came from. 

How careless of them to leave subtle tracks.

Deciding that it was enough to stay in that cave, KaVahl slowly made his way towards that very direction where it would lead him out of the woods, stepping on the corpses and further crushing their bones. A deep growl rumbled out of KaVahl’s mouth as he made it halfway through the woods but before he continued, KaVahl let out another boisterous roar. Soon after, like a pack of wolves, similar roars emerged from deep in the dungeon, signalling to the world that KaVahl wasn’t alone.