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The Chimera

By FortuneFavors
Created: 2023-04-07 16:15:18
Updated: 2023-10-08 01:05:21
Expiry: Never
/bootleg/

  1. >Another day in your lonely cabin in the woods.
  2. >It was the start of deer hunting season, and you were gonna take advantage of that.
  3. >Bag a few, skin em, freeze the meat and be set on food for the rest of the year.
  4. >You don’t eat a lot and you live alone, so it’ll work out according to your math.
  5. >Something you couldn’t account for however was that you weren’t alone in the woods.
  6. >You had first encountered it after taking out a buck.
  7. >The deer was laid out in the back of your truck, ready to be transported back to your cabin to get to work on getting part of your meat stockpile started.
  8. >The key was already in the ignition when you heard its horn being scraped against the bed before thumping against the ground.
  9. ‘Fuck, better not be another bear,’ is your first thought.
  10. >Before you make it all the way to the truck the thing that’s absconded with your prize has just about disappeared into the thicket.
  11. >It was only a glimpse, but it couldn’t have been a bear, it was far too tall, and far too skinny.
  12. >When the hunched over and quadrupedal thing disappeared back into the woods completely you hopped into your truck and gunned it back home.
  13. ‘Was that a skinwalker or something? Oh god, did I kill its mate? Just me and my fucking luck.’
  14.  
  15. …
  16.  
  17. >You couldn’t sleep that night, you sat facing the door, rifle at the ready.
  18. >The sounds of the nocturnal denizens of the forest could be heard faintly outside.
  19. >You sat there for a while just listening to the chirping of crickets and chittering of raccoons.
  20. >Half an hour passed before they all went silent.
  21. >Your heart began to thunder in your ears.
  22. >Every muscle in your body went stiff.
  23. >If they weren’t, you probably would have voided your bowels when you heard a slow, rhythmic tapping against your front door.
  24. >Tap tap-tap-tap tap
  25. >Tap tap-tap-tap tap
  26. >Tap tap-tap-tap tap
  27. >It goes on, and on, and on, and on.
  28. >It’s waiting for you to either respond or go insane.
  29. >You glance at the clock.
  30. >Sun will be up soon, just gotta wait a bit longer.
  31. >1 minute, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes…
  32. >20 minutes pass and the tapping stops.
  33. >You wait 10 more before you remember to start breathing again.
  34. >The first bit of light from the dawn can be seen from your window.
  35. >You’d survived, but your throat feels like you’ve swallowed sand and your eyes burn.
  36. >One shambling step after another brings you to your front door.
  37. >Dare you open it? Could that beast possibly still be there?
  38. >Against your better judgment, you open the door.
  39. >The sunlight stings your eyes, and you squeeze them shut in response.
  40. >After a few seconds you slowly ease your eyes open and allow them to adjust.
  41. >What your visitor left for you makes you wish they hadn't.
  42. >The bones of the buck you had caught the day before lay strewn across your yard, elongated in such a manner as to resemble the creature itself.
  43. >Is...is it mocking you?
  44. >Pretending to have died of what, boredom? While waiting for you to answer the door.
  45. >You're too tired to deal with this.
  46. >All you wanted was a quiet life in the woods.
  47. >Everything has been getting weirder since those dog-sized, colorful things started showing up.
  48. >Kicking the skull of the buck as hard as you can, you let out a satisfied noise as the antlers snap off once it hits the tree before heading back inside to get some rest.
  49.  
  50. …
  51.  
  52. >You wake, and don't bother to check how long you've been asleep.
  53. >Hastily you ready yourself for the day, grab your rifle and some extra ammunition.
  54. >If that thing shows up again, you'll put it down for sure.
  55. >The rumblings of your truck as you make your way back to your hunting ground.
  56. >You take to your previous hiding spot, the stray deer would show up here and there before, so surely another would eventually appear to replace yesterday's lost catch.
  57. >But there was no such luck.
  58. >Dead silence is the only thing you would find here.
  59. >No chirping of birds, scurrying critters, or even insects.
  60. >Just silence.
  61. >Something isn't right.
  62. >Isn't it only ever this quiet when some big predator is about?
  63. >When the thought enters your head, you feel the hairs on the back of your neck raise.
  64. >You whip around, rifle raised to whatever is behind you.
  65. >And are immediately met with a pair of crimson eyes staring directly into yours.
  66. >Before you can even think you tumble backwards and fire several shots in the general direction of your foe.
  67. >Once you reorient yourself, you look and see that...
  68. >You missed every shot.
  69. >How the hell did you manage to do that at point blank?
  70. >Whatever, at this distance you're able to get a full view of the creature.
  71. >Those crimson eyes from earlier are slitted, either reptilian or feline in nature.
  72. >Even as it slouches its serpentine body towers over you, its face is almost equine, but fangs poke out from behind its upper lip.
  73. >A trio of horns crowns its head, two antlers branching backwards and a long, curved, one with rings seated on its forehead.
  74. >Its greyish-white mane was long and unruly, matted and filled with dried mud and foliage in several places.
  75. >Its arms extended into an almost hand-like set of wicked talons.
  76. >Flared out were two wings, akin to a bat's, about as long as it was tall.
  77. >Two hoofed legs propped it up, slightly burying into the dirt under its own weight.
  78. >Just what the hell was this thing?
  79. >And why isn't it attacking?
  80. >It stood there, unblinking, unmoving, the pose it struck reminded you of the advice people are given to scare off bears.
  81. >"Make yourself look bigger to scare them off"
  82. >If your heart wasn't pumping in your ears you might have laughed.
  83. >This thing was scared of you?
  84. >After everything before this, it had the gall to be afraid of you?
  85. >You'd put it down if you could, but you were pretty sure you needed to reload, and whatever this thing was, it either didn't know how to count, or didn't know how guns work.
  86. >Truck's too far, and trying to use your rifle as a club would be beyond fucking stupid.
  87. >How the hell do you get out of this?
  88. >Hmm, if it was smart enough to try and fake its death, maybe it's smart enough to communicate.
  89. "What the hell are you? Do you have a name?"
  90. >The questions themselves were crude, but something behind the creature's eyes lit up for a brief moment.
  91. >Its claws reach up to lift the mass of fluff around its neck and chest, revealing...
  92. >A metal shock collar, emblazoned with the Tellman logo and "D-DB-NM-C" etched into it
  93. >That's not even a name, even if it was, you're not even going to try and pronounce that
  94. "I'm not even going to try and pronounce that, also you didn't answer my question as to what you are."
  95. >A huff comes out of its nostrils as it taps the collar, which lets out a ‘tink-tink-tink- as its claws make contact.
  96. "Again, that doesn't answer my question, use your words- do you even speak English?"
  97. >The light behind its eyes fades a bit, and it gingerly pulls the collar down and the neck fluff up
  98. >Through the fur you could see a thin pale line indicating a scar.
  99. >You glance at it and then back at the beast's face, its eyes trembling a bit.
  100. >It opened and closed its jaws in pantomime words, before taking its claw and tracing along the scar.
  101. >The meaning of the gesture is clear.
  102. "Jesus Christ," is all you can say in response, "W-well what about the skeleton on my lawn, you trying to scare me, or trick me into thinking you had died of boredom or something?"
  103. >Its eyes go wide and it begins to shake its head vigorously, reaching into its mane and pulling out a bone from God-knows-where, and unceremoniously snaps it in half with its teeth before offering the remaining half to you.
  104. >What.
  105. "What?"
  106. >It was trying to share food, you've gotta be kidding?
  107. >You collapse into a sitting position as all of the previous tension in your body evaporates, to which the creature mimics as best as it can with its length.
  108. "Okay, okay, alright, give me a minute," you mutter, "this is a lot to take in at once."
  109. >You sit there and think for a while.
  110. >The thing that had scared the everlasting shit out of you is not only some...escaped lab experiment, but it was a /friendly/ escaped lab experiment.
  111. >Even willing to break metaphorical bread with you.
  112. >It's intelligent, and able to communicate, if ineffectively due to supposed damage to its throat or vocal cords.
  113. >It's on its own, and clearly can't take care of itself if it has to steal food from you.
  114. >You seriously aren't thinking of doing what you think you're thinking of doing, are you?
  115. >Are you really going to invite it to stay with you?
  116. "Shut up, I've got a duty of care, right?"
  117. >The chimera looks up from whatever it was drawing in the dirt and cocks its head at you.
  118. "Ignore me, thinking out loud."
  119. >It goes back to whatever it was doing and you go back into your headspace.
  120. >Are you seriously considering this?
  121. >A weird thing to constantly disrupt your quiet life?
  122. >Your quiet, extraordinarily boring, extraordinarily lonely, life?
  123. >...
  124. >Fuck it
  125. “Hey.”
  126. >It looks up at you again, wiping the dirty claw in its shaggy mane to clean it off.
  127. >Well I guess that partially answers one question.
  128. “You need a place to stay?”
  129. >Suddenly it goes ram-rod stiff, the only thing moving are its eyes, flitting around from various objects within their view.
  130. >It tends to linger on the rifle you just remembered you’re still clutching.
  131. >You unload your rifle and sling it across your back, pocketing the one bullet still in the chamber.
  132. “No hard feelings,” you ask, hands raised.
  133. >A moment passes before you’re suddenly slammed into the ground.
  134. >The creature's arms are over your shoulders and wrapped around your neck, its torso partially coiled around your own, and tail binding your legs, leaving your face buried in downy dewlap.
  135. >God dammit, you let your guard down and now you’re going to die.
  136. >But you’re not going to die without a fight, momma didn’t raise no bitch.
  137. >Reaching up to grab a hold of the offending mass of fur, you find your fingers sink into it.
  138. >And keep sinking.
  139. >Despite there being no logical way for the fluff to be that deep, your arm has disappeared up to the elbow in it.
  140. >What the hell?
  141. >How the hell?
  142. >Realizing that you’re well and completely fucked, you begin to scream.

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