Striped Shadows

Shadows

II.SHADOWS

She followed the tracks, vengeance swirling on her mind. The mysterious beast or whatever it was that prowled the night air was made of flesh and blood. And she knew that by the end of the day she will taste it and have its beating heart around her claws. She crouched in the shadows of the trees that surrounded her. A whiff of ash and burnt wood overpowered her senses. And farther ahead, her reverie was disrupted by an unnatural scene.

A large expanse of land burned by fire caught her attention. Blackened trees edged the scorched clearing like broken grave markers. At the center of it was a large canal of torn brown soil that cut through the coal black clearing. It led towards a steep crater big enough to accommodate two village huts. The huntress craned her neck but her limited range of vision didn't afford her the chance to see if the accursed beast was present inside the crater. She circled the edge of the treeline, careful not to make any sound. Careful not to snap any twig or ruffle any dried leaves strewn in her path.

She waited, her patience eating her very soul. She wanted her vengeance now but this had to be done. A necessary thing to survive the ordeal, she convinced herself. An impatient hunter is no hunter at all, she added. The skies darkened as hours passed and the first drops of rain fell as she waited. And then something emerge from the crater. Its clawed limbs bit the mud like sharp stakes as it ascended the steep path. Its long neck slits ended in fangs unceremoniously arranged in the place where the head should've been. The eyeless beast had a mouth full of daggers and a yellow fork tongue.

Cruelty aside, it was the most grotesque thing she had ever encountered.

The huge thing stood on all fours, its gray streaked hide drenched by the rain. An unearthly abomination. A creature from the worlds beyond. The beast from the stars swiveled its head from left to right. Its movement synchronized with the rumbling thunder from the distance. The granite skies opened up once again as tumultuous rain fell, harder this time, filling the crater with water.

The abomination shivered, expelling vapor from its maw. From the distance lightning flashed, illuminating the denuded ground as the thunder drummed louder and louder. Taking its cue from the heavens, the huntress started its first assault. Shades of orange and brown pelage leaped from the edge of the trees like a fiery blur.

The huntress' soaked white ventral fur and distinctive vertical black stripes, unique only to her, blended with the darkness as she zigzagged her way to the beast. Light and darkness alternated as the discharge of lightning peaked, confusing the soulless brute, adding a little madness to the huntress' mission. She sprung towards the beast's flank. Her feline claws digging through the beast's thick rhino-like hide. The huntress expected it to fall down but the beast shrugged her off like a rag doll. She flailed in the air and landed with her muscled forelimbs in the mud. The huntress bared her teeth and flattened her ears. Her dilated pupils and yellow iris glowing in the darkness like jade gemstones exposed to sunlight. She circled her quarry almost sensuous in her grace.

One step at a time, the huntress thought. There was no need for her to rush things. She would slowly break her enemy without it knowing. She would defeat it. And she would be victorious.

The unearthly beast didn't follow through as he tried to orient himself. He didn't like this place. It was too loud and too confusing for his hearing. His senses were all in disarray.

It roared a fearsome challenge. He could not believe his luck. All he wanted to do was escape his cruel captors. Flee from those tentacled poachers and their vicious shock wands. But an accident occured on their ship and his pod was badly damaged. Unable to control his only means of escape, he landed on this unknown sector of the void. The piece of rock where he crashed was teeming with life. Countless of them. Some flew in the thick atmosphere. While the others crawled or even swam in its cold waters. It was a most strange place so unlike his silent home planet. He did not like all this. Life brought dangers. Life brought complications. He did not know who to trust. He could not distinguish the dangerous from the benign.

He huffed and coughed, expelling vapor and spittle from his neck slits and mouth. The place was too wet too! he thought. It was hard for him to concentrate. It was harder for him to think. He scanned his surroundings again using his accute hearing. All he knew was something attacked him, something he can't locate. Something he can't punish.

Where is it? he asked himself. What is it?

He feared something like this would happen to him earlier. So, he tried to scare the native creatures around his teritory off a few days ago. He tried to dissuade them by making a bloody example. It was a precautionary measure. But this still happened.

Life. It'll always find a way.

He shrieked and turned his head waiting for the echo but the sound was too muffled to decipher. The mud splashed as he brought his leg down in irritation. The thing that dug its claws in his chest was taunting him. Another bolt of lightning followed by and a resounding thunder fell, confusing him even more.

The huntress took the chance again and attacked. She vaulted in front of the prey sinking her stout fangs where she thought the artery was. The beast reacted with a swipe, pummeling her. She landed in the lip of the crater, hurt by the enemy's blow. As she tried to regain her composure, she slid down the pit, rolling in the slosh, covering her fur with gray mud. She tried to grab on to something... but to no avail. The huntress fell and landed with a splash in the dark waters.

Hearing her struggle in the muck the beast swooped down, his dagger like teeth snapping with eagerness. He stopped where the water met the mud and started striking. He was sure this would scare away his attacker. If not, then he would settle it the only way he could. With fangs and claws drawn.

The huntress stopped her movement as the beast began swinging his taloned limb. This was unexpected. But fear already left her. She dodged the vicious blows and retaliated, dragging the beast down the water, every muscle of her body straining to do so. She gritted her fangs as she gave her last ounce of energy at pulling the monstrous beast down.

Luckily, gravity and the slippery layer of muck aided her intentions. The beast began to slide down. He tried to struggle back to the surface but the huntress sunk her teeth on his neck slits. Finally, it drew black blood. And in their struggle, both creatures fell and sank in the water, only one of them ready to face its freezing bite. With a loud splash the fiend from the stars fell, submerging down the deep water. Its weight made him sink faster than the huntress.

The unearthly beast wailed in distress every time his head pierced the surface of the water. Again and again he cried, but the huntress pulled her back using her sharp retractable claws. A frantic call for help escaped the abomination's maw as he fell in the gray water one more time. Then, the rains stopped and the last gurgled breath of the beast from beyond bubbled in the surface like transparent globes, creating small ripples after they burst into nothing.

The huntress' face emerged in the middle of it all, orb eyes glowing in the darkness. Thick vapor rushed out from the victor's nostrils as she slowly made her way to the muddy surface, her striped tail helping her steer as she swam in the cold murky waters of the pit.

The tigress limped towards the lip of the crater, sinking her claw on solid ground. Then, she raised her head to the cold night sky and cried as though she was challenging the heavens itself. Her true roar echoed through the night, heard by the myriad creatures of the forest. And this time, no one answered back, no one challenged her call. She roared again for the last time, signaling the end of the great hunt.

THE END

***A/N***

Reading a couple of Lovecraft stories inspired me to write this one. Basically, its about Shere Khan and the Predator's house cat/dog/"something" dueling and duking it out. I'm a bit biased so, I let the cat with a home court advantage win. This relaunch is the fixed version. I'm not sure if I spotted all the errors, so for that I apologize.

Did you LIKE it? (Any comments? Suggestions? Don't be afraid to sound off your opinions. If you want to give your critique or review, go ahead.) Have a nice day!