A Silent Night - Complete and Abridged

 

How did I get here? That is what I ask myself every day, this bunker that belonged to an old friend who was a Vietnam veteran, he died 6 years ago. I remembered it when I ran from my home, how it all happened still does not register but honestly how would it. I live in the Appalachian region and like most lived on the barest of minimum wage because the government does not care for us veterans.

My story began at my home a few weeks ago and it was just a normal evening for me, I used my skills as a mechanic to make some money, the town is about 40 minutes away so many farmers and normal folks would come to me or ask me to go to their places and fix their machines and things. Bettie, my wife, died 10 years ago due to cancer so being alone get tiring for an old vet. I was sitting in my kitchen reading a book I had gotten from Gillian, my sister-in-law, and sipping my coffee when I heard a knocking on my door. Looking up at my clock I saw it was close to 10 pm. This was odd as most people preferred to stay in at this time of the night, whoever this was needed help.

I got up and walked to the front door and opened it, what stood in front of me forced me to take a step back. The girl looked like she just came in from a warzone, her clothes were like ribbons hanging on for dear life and where there was skin there were streaks of blood. The old memories of the war threatened to resurface but her falling forward stopped that and instinct kicked in, my hands flew forward to stop her fall. I managed to stop the fall and carried her in, as I pulled her in and set her down near my door and I turned to look out the door to see if there was anyone else behind or who was chasing her. The night was still and so were the sounds of the night, I closed the door slowly and turned to the girl. She looked young like maybe 23 years old, I gingerly picked her and carried her over to my sofa and set her down on it.

She did not wake up and any attempts at waking her did not result in any reaction. I decided to treat her wounds and maybe clean her as best as I could, so I went to the kitchen and filled a basin with warm water and took a few towels, looking around and remembered my coffee sitting on the small table, I slung the towels over my shoulders and picked up the coffee. Setting the basin on the coffee table next to the sofa I set about trying to clean the wounds and could see that many were scratches from running in the woods. There was a real wound on her back that looked like it had stopped bleeding but from my touch I could feel that it was hot, so an infection was setting in. It was a long cut like it was made by a claw of some kind, bears were prevalent in my area but given that it was October they were closer to their caves and streams either hibernating or coming out from them. There were 2 other cuts next to the one I was treating, and they were deep, maybe the animal wasn’t able to catch her.

I finished with the treatment as best as I could and covered her with a blanket. I then decided to call the sheriff and let them know about this. I picked up the phone and dialled the number; it rang a couple of times and a lady picked the call. She asked if there was anything she could help with, and I told her about my new guest and if there were any deputies who could come by and maybe an ambulance. She told me the sheriff was in my area as there were reports of animal attacks at the Pine Peak Camp, so she will let the sheriff know about the girl. I thanked her and let her know to call if anything as I was 15 minutes away from the park anyway.

Animal attacks? I know the park was prone to animals prowling close to their boundaries but honestly an attack were rare, if ever. I decided to sit and wait in case the sheriff did show up, being a vet meant sleep was something we got after taking pills because normal sleep was like being sent back to the battlefield and watching your buddies being torn apart by the enemy traps. I fished out my old shotgun, checked if it was loaded and brought out a few more shells just in case I needed them. Whatever had done that to the girl could be near and I did not want to be caught off guard.

I sat down on the armchair that looked out the window and into night, the girl did not stir but I could hear the steady breaths she was taking. Whatever attacked her really did a number on her mind, as the thoughts of the old war floated into my mind I was woken in an instant. There was a sound outside like someone was trying to quietly walk around my house, the steps were heavy like the person weighed over 300 pounds. Thump thump… they went but as quietly as possible, my hand tightened on the shotgun as I waited. It stopped and then nothing, I sat still and waited, the sounds of the clock were getting louder with every tick. Nothing, yet I could feel the air getting thicker and the night darker.

The light outside my garage and workshop did not show anything apart from the flies buzzing about them, there was no wind but it was getting cooler now. I approximated the time to be around 1 and still there were no sounds of the night. Just then a shadow darted past the window, too fast for me to see what it was, there was a noise at my front door like someone trying to push it in then nothing. The shadow then darted past the window again, then the light thumps of footfalls outside, my hand gripped the shotgun tighter with every thump to the point I actually had to release my grip because of the numbing sensation on my elbow.

Then I hear the light thumps again and then there was a shadow in front of my window obscuring the light outside, I saw nothing at first and dared not to move a muscle. The girl was still out and did not move either, I sat and watched the window. It was like a big man looking in, it stood there then hunched down and that is when I saw that face. Like one of those large monkeys my wife would show me in those nature magazines. This face was filled with hate, the eyes were sunken in but there was like a dull red glow in them and the mouth was open, I could not see inside and did now want to. It stood there for what felt like hours but was maybe a minute before it pulled away, I looked like it was about to punch through the window but flashing lights from behind startled it and it darted. It was the sheriff, from the red and blue I knew it was him and he was followed by another car.

I got up and walked to the window and waited for the cars to park, still holding my shotgun tight and waited. The cars stopped and 2 men came out of the first car while the second had just one, who I supposed would be Doc Wilman. The sheriff wore his hat and walked up to my front door; I knew he could see me but decided to knock anyway. I switched on the lights in my room along with the lights outside and opened the door. The sheriff looked tired and from what I could see the deputy behind was the same, the doctor however looked like he was recovering from the shock of his life. No greeting just a nod in the direction of the sleeping lady and I stood back, I knew niceties would just piss them off, so I stood back and waited for all three to enter and then pocked my head outside to see if my other guest was there.

Nothing, so I stepped back in and closed the door behind me and bolting it. The sherif stood behind the sofa while the doctor sat on the coffee table to examine the lady, the deputy had made his way to the kitchen. I stood next to my window and waited. Nothing was spoken for a few minutes then the doctor said she was in shock and should be taken to his clinic, the sheriff nodded and called out to his deputy. He then turned to ask me what happened and I told him everything, the look on his face told me everything.

“Listen Mason, whatever attacked this girl’s camp left us just parts of people to pick and identify, how she escaped is a miracle but honestly, I need more than just a few boys with guns to hunt whatever did this. You need to either come with us or find a better place to stay safe, I got reports that another camp was attacked few miles away a week ago. This sasquatch or whatever the fuck they are calling it looks like it’s on a rampage.”

I nodded and mentioned that I will figure something out but also reminded them that I was a vet so I was prepared for anything. He nodded and motioned for his deputy to help him pick the lady and made for the front door. I watched them load her into the police car and the doctor into his own car. The sheriff took a look around and then to me where he gave me a node and got into his car. After that they left, and the night was silent again. I sat back on the chair and waited for the dawn.

I sat in the relative darkness as I waited for whatever waited out there, the sounds of the night were silent and all I could hear were the soft ticking of the clock. Nothing moved and neither did I, as I sat on the chair, it was getting colder and I had left the fire to die in the fireplace, that was the only light and heat source, but I could do without it right now. The soft and heavy thumps returned but they were more urgent now and I could feel the tremors under my feet, or it could be my heart beating faster. The shadow returned to the front window and the figure moved closer to see inside, my finger tightened on the trigger as I waited. Time froze as I waited for the face to show up again and I was ready to fight, no one or thing is going to scare me inside my home and if they do then there will be blood to pay.

The figure did not move and neither did I, but I could sense the tension as whatever the hell that thing was slowly move back and vanish into the night, the light outside my barn shone brightly and soon I could see the sky lighten. I remained where I was until I could see everything in light. I did not care about my joints cracking as I got up, but I made sure my shotgun was ready to fire in case the bastard decided to test its luck. I walked to the window and looked outside to see if could spot an ambush, nothing, then walked to the kitchen to take a look at my backyard and see if it was hiding in the woods. Satisfied a little but still not letting my trigger go I opened my front door expecting a rush but there was nothing. The birds were chirping and squawking as their usual rituals, but I did not care. I walked out so have a better look at the trail around my house to see if there was a trail, being early winter the ground was solid and so no footprints nor any sign I could use as a trail.

I looked up and around the trees surrounding my home and could see nothing, it was as if nothing happened last night and there was no shadow visitor. I took a few more rounds and then mustered up some courage and walked over to the barn to see inside, I heft the shotgun and slowly opened the front door. I let the daylight flood in and looked around, inside was a mix of tools and abandoned projects I accumulated over the years and knew there was very little space for something large to hide in. I opened the second door to let the light in and saw nothing had moved since yesterday, looking up for any surprises I saw the usual few bats who were up in the rafters looking back at me, it seemed they knew also and decided to stay out of the conversation.

Taking a few more steps into the barn I poked about the place and was satisfied nothing had entered so I turned and left. Closing the doors behind me I made sure this time to push the lock bar into place and take another look at the perimeter to calm my nerves. As I stepped back in to my home the phone rang, I closed and locked the door and walked to the phone and picked up. The sheriff was on the line, “Mason, you there?”

I replied I was, and he sounded relieved when I replied. “Listen Mason, we made it back to the station ok, the girl woke up an hour after and went berserk, had the doc up her dosage to get her back to sleep, took over 2 hours but finally she seemed to calm down and talk. Look I know you can handle whatever is out there but honestly, I would rather babysit you than pick pieces of you.”

I assured him that whatever the fuck the thing was had left and I was going to make sure I keep out of sight for a couple of days till the thing moved on. As I thanked him a large bang was heard coming from the barn, I jumped and the sheriff must have heard and he screamed at me to leave immediately. I looked towards the barn and could see the doors were broken out, not in, so the thing was hiding inside the barn but where?

I picked my shotgun and began walking to the window and that is when I heard the loud roar of something, I began to shake at the sound of it. I stopped as I heard it and waited to see what happened next but there was nothing, the silence returned, I was alone. I could hear the sheriff call my name on the phone but I was fixated at the front window. I could not see anything, so I slowly began to move forward hoping the floor did not creak. As I neared the window I scanned the scene in front of me, the barn doors looked like a truck smashed through them and wood pieces lay all round like shrapnel from a grenade and all that was missing was smoke from the explosion. I began looking for the source of all this carnage and could not see it, my shotgun nozzle followed my eyes and I tried to find the fucker.

Then I heard the soft but heavy thumps, they were coming from my left it was standing next to my front door all this time. There was a low grumble coming from there and I took a few slow steps back, I was sweating and I really wanted to run but instinct told me that would be a losing move. I waited and last night’s shadow walked into view, my blood froze as I beheld a dark form of monster. Dark and matted fur cover a man like figure and the head was above my window, so it stooped to look in, that face I saw last night came into view. I was snarling like I just stole its lunch, my face tightened and I brought up my shotgun and waited for it to move first. It saw the shotgun aimed at it and its eyes froze on that, from what I could see it recognised what I was pointing at it and its eyes looked up at me. I wanted to fire so badly but knew by the time I cocked it again to fire I would be in pieces, so I waited for the first move. The expression changed to annoyance and it huffed then rose it’s head and stood for a moment and made it seemed like it was about to move on, my I began to lower my shotgun and it was then a its left hand burst through the window and by instinct I aimed and fired my shotgun. I hit the hand and part of its chest, the pain may have jarred it for a moment as it backed away and I took that as an opportunity to cock the shotgun to take another shot at it moved forward and I fired.

The second round hit it square on the chest and it flew back, falling on the ground. I cocked again and moved backwards, it roared and tried to get up. I moved to the kitchen to see if I could get out the back as staying the house would leave me at a disadvantage with something like this. My truck was in the back and knew that the only chance I had against this thing was to run, my nerves were frayed and I need to run. I burst through the back door as I heard the front of house being broken in by the thing. I ran to the truck and I could hear the thing smashing its way to the back of the house. I got to the truck and jumped in; the keys were where I left them yesterday. (Yesterday, it feels like a lifetime ago when everything was just a normal same shit different day thing.) I turned the key and the engine roared to life and I gunned the truck forward, I did not care where but I needed to run. The thing broke through the back door and I saw the thing in its full height and it stood more than 7 feet tall, it looked like hairy things in the science fiction movies my wife loved to watch, it took 2 shots from my shotgun and looked like it could take a few more without blinking, I stared at it as I drove past the bastard, it began to run for the truck and I gunned my truck forward. It was fast and I was freaking out. I needed to run.

Shifting the gears and just flooring the gas would not have worked and I knew I had to build up the speed, my mind was racing through every form of PTSD and my body wanted to freeze. It was a cold morning but from the fear and adrenaline I did not care as I pushed the truck to the max, I passed the thing, and it began to run behind the truck. It was fast and I wasn’t exactly a mile away from it, so it managed to catch up with the truck and hit the side of the truck. The impact was not exactly earth shattering but it still caused me to momentarily lose control, since the ground was hard from the cold I managed to keep some control and pushed it forward. Looking at the rear view the massive hand of the thing was holding on to the rear door. It slowed the truck a little but the adrenaline in me kept the gas pedal down, I could feel the strain on the tires but honestly it didn’t make much of a difference as it had to let go from the strain and I bolted forward.

I darted for my gate and onto the main road out, I kept one eye on the rear view and could see it running forward after me. Once on the main road I gained speed and saw that it could not catch up, then after a few steps it disappeared into the woods, after that I kept my eyes on the road but knew it will probably be stalking me. After a few miles I could feel the adrenaline withdraw and the fatigue kicked in and my hands were shaking from all this, my vision was also slowly fogging as I wasn’t exactly at peak health, so I knew I needed to stop and catch my breath. After another 20 minutes I saw a few cars coming my way with the sheriff’s car at the front, I hailed at them, and I could see they were slowing and I did the same and stopped in front of the column of cars.

I then placed my hands over the steering wheel and my head on top of it, I needed to breath and could hear the sheriff call my name. What felt like a second was a few minutes as the sheriff had run out of his cruiser and found me slumped over my wheel, he opened my door and with the help of the few locals brought me out and lay me on the side of the road. The doc was with them, and he gave me an jab of something to wake me up, I opened my eyes and looked up at the grey sky trying to remember where the actual fuck I was but I guess the rush of memories was just waiting for me to fully wake up. I was helped up and could see several men walking around looks towards the woods as if something was about to jump out.

The sheriff squatted down and handed me a tin mug of coffee which I took and enjoyed its warmth, I then realised I was only dressed in a flannel shirt and jeans. The cold was creeping in further and my joints felt like they were out of lub. It took a few sips and could feel the memories walk in and then recounted exactly what happened after I dropped the phone, the men were also listening, and none spoke till I finished. The older of the group I knew as Old Jeb spoke first, “looks like you had a run with the ‘squach Mason, this one looks like he must be pissed at someone. Your shots may have just ticked him off further, you still breathing may give us some hope but we need to head on over to your place and see if we can finish this thing.”

The other men muttered their agreements, the sheriff stood up and spoke, “I know y’all want to finish this fucker before it gets to your places, but we need to do this with a plan or we all die. Marsh boys, Jeb and Tom you move on forward and keep an eye out, anything moves fire first, we need to either end it or maim it. I don’t want to go back with  less men you got that. Mason you will be with me, your truck will stay here, that flat you got will not take you any further anyway.” I looked at my truck but did not see where the flat was, I got up and walked over to the other side and saw, there was a large dent on the back and the flat was worn down to the rim. It was parked on the side of the road and the men were already pilling into their cars and I followed the sheriff to his cruiser.

I checked my shotgun finding a round was ready loaded and was fully reloaded for me thanks to the Marsh boys. I sat back and waited for the sheriff to start, he radioed to his station on the situation and asked for more units to be sent in case things got out of hand. I looked at the men in the trucks ahead and they looked angry and ready to butcher anything that stood in their way. Blood will repaid in blood in this place, there was not simpler solution here unless there was a reason for it, there have been generations of families wiped out by this simple rule but there were others that rose above. My family descended from farmers that worked the hard land and lumber here. The sheriff handed me some jerky, “you need to eat something, whatever that thing is I need you to be sharp. It may be a sasquatch but only care to know what it really is after its dead. I heard the body count in the other place was as high as 10 people so whatever it is I would rather have it with an extra hole in the head and on the ground dead.”

I asked about the girl and the sheriff mentioned that she was to be air lifted out as there was nothing the doc could do for here, also the state troopers refused to assist as they had too few to spare along with the park wardens. We were on our own, like I said our government did not care for us small town folk, fuck them. Blood for blood.

As we drove back to my place, I was started to go over all the details in my mind and trying to figure out how it managed to hide in the barn or was it that ripped out the door looking for me. I was running the whole situation in my mind as the convoy drew closer to my home. One moment I was looking out the window with my shotgun ready the next I hear loud bangs from the front cars, they were firing at a particular spot in the trees, looked like they saw something move. The sheriff stopped the cruiser and ran out to signal the men to stop firing, he turned to see where they were firing and there was nothing there, I got out and joined him. Walking over to where he stood I looked down at the door and could see where my truck had passed there were black gouges on the road, looking back I never thought I would be in such a situation but here we are. I stood next to the sheriff and looked over to the spot that was smoking from all the firing, walked forward without thinking to take a better look and the sheriff put a hand on my shoulder to hold me back. There was nothing there just a shattered trunk and fallen leaves, I looked around and could feel the eyes of something on me. It was here or it was just the paranoia but I could feel a tightness in my chest and now my blood was freezing. I turned to walk back to the cruiser along with the sheriff as something flew out of the forest and hit the first car, it was a broken branch and I dove for the ground as the men in the second car began firing at the direction of where the branch flew from.

After a few seconds the firing stopped and then there was complete silence in the air, a loud roar was heard coming from the woods and that just about froze everyone. One by one the men got out of their cars and huddled together in every direction, their guns were ready, and they were scared now. Whatever courage they had was unloaded in the first round of bullets and now all that was left was raw fear and the instinct to survive. They muttered prayers and curses under their breath, slowly looking at everything and anything, I was up and looking around to see and I noticed the shadow moving the woods and I pointed my gun at it. Noting where I was looking the men also followed my line of sight and aimed their guns, it was then another thing flew out of the woods from another direction knocking a couple of men to the ground while the others scattered and began firing haphazardly into the forest, the sheriff tried to stop them but the fear had a complete grip of these men. I knew this tactic as it was used by the Vietcong to split platoons of soldiers, the simplest tactic but the most effective. This however shattered my mind, there were more of them, I turned to the sheriff and shouted “there are more of them, tell the boys to get back into the trucks we need to get out of here or we are dead sheriff.” Just as I finished the line something darted out of the woods and grabbed one of the closest man and yanked him into the woods, his screaming could be heard and then a snap silenced it.

The silence returned at it was like a landslide that covered everything; the men were in total shock now and it looked like we were ambushed. One by one the men slowly began to huddle again and move towards where the man I knew as Tommy Wilkes was taken. I followed them as I did not want to stand alone, we crossed over into the woods and in the shade it was another world of shadows and foliage. As we trudged forward all the men were quiet and looking in every direction. I looked around and could feel my heart pounding in my chest and my breath felt like I was breathing in hot sand.

We found Tommy’s remains and a couple of the others lost their breakfasts, Tommy was ripped in two and his entrails were scattered around the corpse along with all the blood and viscera. To me it looked like a rpg hit in the stomach, I walked closer and began to examine him better while the sheriff tried to gather the rest to bring some order, a couple of them were screaming at him while others were crying doom. Tommy was ripped in two but by different hands and now I understood completely what was happening, one hid in the barn while the other ripped the doors out thinking it was saving the other. I got up and told the sheriff we need to leave now. I heard the roars again but this time there was one more.

The roars seemed to come from all directions; I began to panic just as everyone else were beginning to retreat to their trucks. They began to run and without a thought, I saw the sheriff run even faster than I had ever seen him before. The forest felt like it was closing in and I was running behind the group but I kept my distance as I wanted room to manoeuvre in case I needed to and was right when I saw one of the Marsh boys being dropped by a thrown off by a thrown tree trunk, I did not stop as I narrowly missed hitting a tree when I tried to look at the direction the trunk came from. A scream emanated from the front as I saw Old Jeb being picked off as he just broke through the tree line, the other Marsh boy was firing in every direction in a panic. There were now five men that remained who broke through the treeline and were scrambling to get into a single truck, a couple of them scurried to the back and began aiming at the trees waiting to see if the things would come out. I ran to the sheriff’s cruiser and it was then I noticed he wasn’t anywhere to be seen. I stopped for a second to look around and could not see him, I turned to my right and that is when I saw something fly out of the woods.

It landed a few feet away from me and it was a head ripped of its body, I did not have to have a second look and ran for the cruiser. The balding head was too obvious and I did not have time to mourn an old friend’s brutal end, managed to get to the door and that is when I heard the firing from the already moving truck and roars from the woods. Getting in I did not have time to see what was happening in front as I started the car and wanted to get as far from here as I could. The engine started and I looked up, the smaller of the 2 things was racing to the moving truck and the men were concentrating fire on it, looks like what they were doing was working because just a few feet it dropped like a stone. A roar again emanated from the trees and a tree trunk flew at the truck but it missed they were gone. I hit reverse and gunned the cruiser’s gas pedal. I needed to get out of here, the radio came to life it was the lady at the station.

She was calling for the sheriff, I was too busy to pick as I looked back to where the other truck was the bigger one was running for me now. I spun the wheel and shunted the gears to forward and turned the car to move away from the carnage, I needed to get out of here and that thing was baying for my blood. Blood for blood right? I guess my blood is what it wanted now and it would not stop.

I picked the radio and spoke “Paige, this is Will Mason, Sheriff is dead I am sorry. Those bastards got him, one of them was taken down by the boys and the other looks to be coming for me. I am going to lure him to Nelson’s place away from town. If anyone can help, please let them know where I am.” I dropped the radio and drove. Nelson’s farm wasn’t far from where I was and there was something there that I knew gave me a chance to survive.

I drove while keeping an eye in the rear view making sure I did not get a surprise I did not want. I was scared but knew this was the only way I could survive, I could not fight that monstrosity and knew no one is going to help either. The radio was a buzz of requests for help but there were no replies, no one comes to our assistance because we were considered lost people here in the Appalachia. As I neared the farm I remembered that Nelson’s wife could still be at home so I needed to make sure get her out of the house. I stopped the car in front of the house and ran to the front door. I knocked on the front door and waited impatiently but there was no answer, I looked around the place and saw her car wasn’t around. I ran to their shed and tried to open the door but it was locked, I had no choice but to smash the lock.

I heard the familiar roar and knew the thing was close and I did not have time now, I grabbed the nearest object I could use and hit the lock repeatedly, the roar was closer now and I was sweating heavily. With a final smash it opened, and I ran in, at the end of the shed was a door built into the floor. That door was unlocked thankfully so I opened it and ran in locking it behind me. I was lucky as I heard the thumps from the thing just outside the shed. Once inside I hear the front door of the shed getting smashed in, I stood behind the bunker door and waited.

Nothing happened for the first few minutes but once the thing realised, I was in here it began trying to smash the heavy door in. Nothing could break that industrial door I installed with Nelson, he was also Vietnam veteran like me but it was like he never left the battlefield. He built this place to appease the paranoia and have a place to hide when his mind went mad with the old memories, his wife let him build it as a way to work off the anger and fear within him.

I made my way to the main room knowing there was a radio I could use and wanted to let the station know I was safe and that they should find Nelson’s wife and keep her there. This thing was walking around the property trying to find a way in and I was stuck until it was out there. The old ham radio still worked so I tried a few channels I knew of and managed to find the frequency of Barker who lived near the town.

“Barker, you there?”

Static.

“Barker, pick up you old fuck!”

“Barker here, is this Mason?”

“Yeah it is, listen. Call the station and let them know I am in Nelson’s bunker, see if they can find the wife and keep her from coming back here. Do this first then I will tell you what the fuck is actually happening.”

He replied with a yeah and then I waited for him. It took 20 mins before he came back to me, “hey Mason, I told them what you said. They sounded scared shitless, what the actual fuck is going on there? I heard sheriff is dead?”

I told him everything, he listened and when I finished he whistled. “Looks like the ‘squach you pissed off wants your blood brother, no one here wants anything to do with it. Listen if you can hold out for a while I think someone might be able to do something but I cannot promise you anything.”

“I don’t care, as long as this thing leaves this place I am good but right now I am out of options.”

Barker told me to sit tight. I had nothing else to do. I sat and looked out the observation slits, it was noon by now and I saw the shadow move across the slit. I knew it was looking for a way in, I was the mouse and this was my trap. How am I going to survive I don’t know.