Of Dogs and Monsters

Howls and screeches greeted David when he stepped outside, as did some of his men who waved or gave a friendly "hello." Many were hard at work either transporting large crates filled with squealing livestock, or reinforcing the barbed wire surrounding the farm. While the work might've been tough David paid and treated the farmhands well.

Dressed in a t-shirt and trunks David made his way to a baby blue Mercedes. Business was booming for the past couple of years, and this was one of the few perks he enjoyed. Every now and then; however, he liked to take some time away from work to enjoy a jog. “Now let’s see what’s on the radio,” David said to no one in particular, before backing out of the farmstead’s lengthy driveway. A few catchy tunes caught his ear followed by some local news. The anchorman spoke of a string of grisly deaths at the hands of a wild animal, but the police were confident it would be caught.

When the fancy automobile came to a halt David exited the car. Unlike the other runners, David preferred to visit when there weren’t many people around. Luckily for him, fewer people had been showing up by the day, worried that they too might end up spirited away. Upon quickly surveying the park, the farmer saw a couple of people. One person it seems was sitting alone, a fifteen-year-old boy of african american descent. Although his thin build and youthful features suggested someone several years younger.

There was something odd about him as well. Whether it was the coat he wore or not David couldn’t be sure. It wasn’t cold, but the weather was fair and it was a very light jacket at that. He sat a great distance away from the others, with earbuds half sunken into his hair. Dangerously far some would say, but the youth didn’t seem to mind.

“ Do you have the time?” Unfazed by the sudden emergence of another person, the boy simply retrieved his phone. “It’s 5:21 pm,” he replied in a fittingly little boy voice. With the ice broken, David engaged his new friend in conversation, all the while keeping track of the ever-dwindling number of people.

“So what are you listening to anyway?” asked David.“Random shit from the internet. It’s the playlist of my soul.” Replied the boy. A roar of laughter emerged from David before he gave the park one final sweep. His laugh while genuine masked a blacker purpose. When everyone departed save for the adult and boy, David’s demeanor darkened. “You know kid I like you, but…”

“But?” asked the boy, puzzled by David’s revelation before the older man asked him his name. “Alexander, but most people just call me Alex,” unsure of what else to do he answered the adult’s request with an obvious hesitation in his voice. David smiled wickedly before elaborating further. "But I am hungry."

Alex would’ve run at that point if he weren’t cowering before the sight of David’s true nature. Brown irises sunk into a rising sea of red until only a deep crimson remained. Fair skin followed suit with its own transformation, becoming leathery and turning an ashen gray. David’s muscles flexed, expanding outward into almost cartoonish proportions. Bones snapped and twisted as unnatural forces reshaped his musculature into something more akin to a large canine than a man. His ears curled inward before flattening, and extending upward until they resembled a wolfs'. It was around the point that the farmer’s teeth sharpened to a knife-like point that Alex found the courage to flee. Right before he could witness coarse black fur consume the man’s body, completing his turn.

Fueled by fear and adrenaline Alex ran into the forest behind him. David on the other hand simply smirked as he saw his prey foolishly run ahead. Whatever salvation the boy sought he wouldn’t find it there. The farmer’s toothy maw overflowed with saliva, at the thought of sinking his teeth into the youngster. After fully finishing his “rebirth”, the newly inhuman beast wasted little time in running after him. He knew these woods quite well, so young Alexander’s chances of escape were nonexistent.

It took mere minutes for their game of cat and mouse to end in a clearing. The newly reborn David stood before Alex, claws, and fangs on display with a feral growl in his throat. However, it suddenly donned on him that the boy’s face no longer read of dread, but delight. This both puzzled and angered the transformed farmer, who merely snarled in return, preparing to pounce. At least he would have if not for what happened next.

Alexander’s coat started violently shaking, almost as if some wild animal was concealed beneath it. “Wanna see?” he asked the werewolf, who was suddenly unsure of what the youth was up to. Without hesitation Alexander tore off his jacket and shirt, uncovering countless small tumorous growths that peppered his tiny body. All of, which pulsated with a sickly green brilliance, covered in a veiny network that scoured the boy’s tummy and chest. Most disturbing were the twelve that resembled gaunt human faces, each more withered and ghastly than the next. Adding to the sheer eeriness of their existence, were the characteristics they held such as moles, or teeth. The grotesque “things” trembled, parting the layers of cancerous tissue where eyes would be, revealing black pools. Upon seeing the beast before them their collective expressions twisted into a pained rage.

In his need to deny the reality before him, David contemplated if Alex was wearing some sort of elaborate costume. However, when the living lumps spoke, shock grasped the pig farmer, freezing him in place. Pus pooled at the corners of their “mouths”, dripping down like saliva. “Join us in silence,” they communicated in unison, speaking in an ancient rasp that wavered between male and female.

“Within us, there is no pain. No death. We promise only everlasting peace,” said the many-headed things, undulating with anticipation. Imbued with supernatural haste, six of the tumors flew from the teenager's body, sinking their teeth into a stunned David. Wrinkled mounds of fat plastered in infected sores served as their "heads” and their necks were narrow columns of flesh tied to Alexander’s belly.

“In case you were curious. I am a mutant created for the sole purpose of terminating creatures like you. I was sent here to eliminate whatever was threatening the civilian population in this area. After a little investigation, it turned out that threat was you. I just didn't want any witnesses.” Alexander said, with a noticeable arrogance in his words. Acting on the teen’s command the creature’s worm-like bodies expanded and retracted, as they pumped some unknown fluid into the unfortunate man-beast. From the horrors’ mouths flowed a river of thick, viscous yellow sludge, which upon contact with the werewolf’s skin burned him. Searing hot mucus melted away fur, eating its way through layers of tissue and tendon.

The surges of pain from the abominations’ bites seemingly kick-started David’s brain, awakening him from his trance. Instinctively, the farmer attempted to bite through the neck of the monstrosity closest to his right, causing the young boy to tense up in pain. Seeing the child falter, David used this opportunity to tear the vile extremities from his form. Clawed digits found homes in inflamed meat, flailing wildly about. It was all he could do to try and escape. Screw this kid the farmer thought. He’d rather be starving and alive than dead. Worry replaced Alexander’s confidence, and he hurriedly pieced together a plan of action. After regaining his composure, the teen willed more of his malignant “growths” to act.

From the maws of the remaining six faces emerged swarms of insectoid-like “things”. Held aloft by small wings, their forms were coated in throbbing blood vessels. A small hole resided upon their underbellies from, which a throng of antennae hung. They bore a great resemblance to butterflies only their flight lacked the silent grace of such a creature. Instead, the hordes’ flight was marked by screams. Matching the swiftness of their comrades, they’d already overtaken David, pouring into any visible orifice.

His nostrils and mouth were flooded with them by the dozens. The feelers at their bellies anchored into the werewolves insides, filling them with eggs. Shortly after being laid they exploded into thousands of carnivorous larvae. As the monsters chewed away at his intestines, David knew it was over. The man-beast couldn’t even muster an anguished cry due to the living nightmares clogging his throat. When there was no longer any space inside the man’s head, parent and larvae alike spilled forth from his skull.

“Ok, that was bomb as fuck.” Alexander said before his posterior collided with the ground. “Hurry and eat him up.” barked the teen at his inhuman appendages. More than happy to comply with their freshly pubescent overlord, the creatures hastened their pace, greedily devouring the corpse’s remains.

A buzzing in his pocket tore Alexander’s attention away from the fuzzy mess before him. “Hello” He answered, his voice losing its youthful luster in favor of a more serious tone. “Yes. I have neutralized the threat, and I am now moving on to the farm.”