Creeeeeak.
I slowly opened the door.
We stepped inside, leaving the wood-planked porch behind us.
It looked home-made, with wood plank walls and floors, nailed together. The flooring was covered in dirty rugs, and the walls were littered with pictures and paintings that were barely hanging on. As I stepped fully inside, I noticed one painting slightly tilted, as if acknowledging our entrance with eerie hospitality. The unsettling movement drew my eyes to the details of the artwork: a faded landscape so ancient it was hard to decipher.
The interior stunk of rotting wood and musty carpets. The acrid smell clawed at my throat, making me cough involuntarily, while my eyes watered as if I'd stepped into a room filled with smoke. A layer of dust coated all surfaces, tickling my nose with each breath, threatening a sneeze. Cobwebs occupied the corners. Each room was bathed in darkness aside from small beams of light that shot through the cracks in the walls in streaks, dotting small spotlights across the floor.
The main entrance was a long hallway stretching all the way to the back door. From here, it looked like one big plus symbol, with a large room in the centre. On either side of us were two rooms with closed doors that were obscuring the interior from our view.
"Fan out, search every room."
I ordered, signalling different directions as I said it.
Miko and I carried on forward, Kaoru and Connie went to the left room, and two other MEI agents went to the right. The wooden floors creaked with every step, moaning as the planks bent under our weight. It felt like walking on thin ice.
Skitter, skitter, skitter, skitter.
I jumped, my eyes darting around, as the beam of the flashlight at the end of my rifle scanned the walls and floors. There was nothing, probably some small rodent.
Gasping in relief, we continued forward.
We stepped into the centre of the open hallway. It was a large room with two sections on either side of us. To the right was a living room; a brick fireplace stood up against the wall, cold—it seemed like it had been cold for a long time. There was a sofa in front of it, and tears on the decaying red fabric freed the cushioning underneath. I stepped closer to the fireplace as I spotted a small family portrait placed on top. It was the only photo in the house so far that wasn't decayed beyond recognition.
The photo was a freeze frame in time in which a man, a woman and their daughter were happy. The man stood with a proud smile, arm placed on the daughter's shoulder, who looked around eleven or twelve. He was a well-built man, which led me to assume he was the owner of the farm. He had short black hair that swept around his head like a hurricane and a thick black beard that coated the bottom of his face, but left enough room to allow the curve of his lips to be seen.
"I wonder what happened to them"
Miko vocalised the thought in her head. I felt her breath tickle my ear as her mouth sat behind it, trying to peer over my shoulder to see the photo.
I placed the photo down and continued my search. We left the room, continuing along the hallway corridor. There were two more rooms on either side of us, mirroring the view at the main entrance. As gently as we could, we pushed the door open.
Crash!
It flopped straight to the floor. Miko jumped back, covering her face with her hands. I peered inside.
There was a bed up against the centre of the wall—ragged and withered, but neat like it had been set and left untouched. The scattering sound of insects and rodents along the wooden floorboards made my skin crawl.
The backdoor swung open.
"Himiko, come check this out."
It was Kaoru. His voice was hollow, but bright. He waved his fingers towards him quickly as he nodded, smiling from ear to ear.
We followed him out the back, jumping over the steps placed in front of the door, leading up to the house's raised flooring.
"What is it?"
I asked Kaoru, who continued leading the way a few steps ahead of us.
"It looks like some hold out or something. Just take a look for yourself."
He led us around the side of the house. There was a protruding external section, similar to a garage. We marched over to the front of it. There was a wooden barn door, slightly ajar, from Kaoru and Connie, who had already been inside. Connie poked his head out of the door. He threw the doors open, standing to the side as he bowed, one arm on his chest, the other stretched towards the entrance, leading us in.
"What a gentleman."
I teased as I imitated a bow; I raised an invisible dress, and crouched slightly, all with the grace of a noblewoman as I lifted myself again.
I stepped inside, shortly being followed by Connie, Kaoru and Miko.
I noticed there was a switch on the wall, unlike the rest of the house.
Click.
The light flickered on from a single hanging lightbulb in the centre of the ceiling. It buzzed aggressively as it coated the room in a cold white glow. The walls were constructed with the same wooden planks that were in the rest of the house, but the floor was concrete. It was a carless garage, converted into a base of operations of some kind. There was a large desk in the centre—homemade—with pieces of carved wood placed on top. There were homemade arrows with small pieces of sharpened flint and a thin carved piece of wood, tied together with twine. They were grouped up, wrapped up and placed by the side of the desk, leaning up against the wall.
In the corner of the room, there was a blue sleeping bag—pristine, the opposite of the bed in the house.
"Hey, look, a journal."
Connie said as he pointed to a small book that was sitting on top of another, much smaller, desk.
Beside it was another photo of the daughter, although she looked slightly younger, about eight or nine. She wore a long, white dress with sunflowers dotted all over. I turned it over, and there was small writing.
My dear Millie.
From beside me, I heard the swiping of pages; the high-pitched swiping sound pierced through my ears. I turned my eyes towards the sound. It was a journal in Miko's hand. There were sketches on each page, and underneath was writing.
"What's that?"
I asked, placing the picture back down on the desk.
"It looks like some kind of journal."
She responded
"Documenting the mutants they find in the wild."
"Let me take a look."
I placed my hand out, and it was met with the journal, placed there by Miko.
I swiped through some of the pages. I'm not very good at reading English, so I had to go by the sketches.
There were some familiar faces; the invisible beetles with their insides on full display, rabbit colonies merged in an unholy union, the all-consuming mass of meat and a few others we haven't come across yet. But there was one that caught my eye.
It was a creature, a homunculus. It had the head of a goat, two long branches, rooted in its head, like jagged horns reaching upwards, sharp tips pointing to the sky. The roots wrapped around its head, giving it a helmet of sorts, its head poking out of it. Its body was wrapped up in branches, forming muscle out of bark. Small branches poked out of it, twisting like coils out of joints. It stood on two goat's legs, hooves planting itself into the ground.
"What does the description say?"
I passed the journal to Miko, pointing to the words written underneath.
She observed them herself for a second, her brows furrowed.
Then she started reading.
I'll never forget the first time I saw it. Staring from the undergrowth, eyes glowing bright blue in the evening darkness. I was butchering a rabbit carcass I had hunted earlier, one of the normal ones and there it was, observing. Its body was grey-white; it looked like decaying birch bark. The belly was hollowed out, ribs showing through stretched skin, and from the ribs grew branches. Thin at first, then thickening as they climbed toward the shoulders. The branches didn't stop at the neck. They kept going. Wrapped around the skull. Became the horns. Massive, spiralling, bark-crusted things that swept back like a crown of thorns. The weirdest part was its head; it was a goat's head. It was like the whole thing had merged with a tree, wrapping it up in armour and disfiguring its carcass.
I continued tracking it, finding corpses of animals with slashes all over them; they weren't just any carcass, though, no, they were the big ones, boars, bulls, bears. This thing was going after the top predators. What made it even worse was the fact that none of them had been eaten at all, not even a bite, just killed and left there like the creature was hunting for fun, leaving the bodies disfigured, hanging heads and stringing up guts on trees like some grotesque form of decoration.
The last time I saw it, I made contact. I was exploring the woods and came across the head of a bull. I instantly knew who killed it. What came next was rustling followed by swooshes as it leapt from tree to tree with impossible speed, making deep clicking noises, as if it was toying with me. I slowly stepped back away, trying not to spook it. Then I tripped. I opened my eyes to try and see what it was, and it was intestines, wrapped around the trunks of two trees, reaching across like a trip wire. The bastard set a trap. Before I could get up, it landed, digging its hoof into my stomach. I couldn't breathe. It leaned in, face up to mine, analysing me for a while, and I felt powerless. The lack of oxygen had me on the brink of death, my vision was fading, and I could feel my brain going numb. Then it suddenly left, slowly creeping away, dragging its hooves along the dirt, staring at me until it disappeared in the undergrowth.
Since then, I've been searching, trying to figure out what it wants and where it came from.
"You're telling me that thing is creeping around here?"
Connie said, voice a little shaky.
"What if it's hiding around here, watching us?"
"Relax,
Kaoru responded.
"I don't think it has any interest in us. It came for the guy in the journal twice and never killed him."
My brows lowered slightly, and I began to bite the inside of my cheek. Why not?
"We don't know for sure."
I said in a low voice.
"This thing kills for fun after all."
I stepped outside to get some fresh air. There were too many bodies in there; it was getting too stuffy. I looked around to see if there was anything else we missed. In the distance, I saw two small spots.
"Guys,
I called the squad.
"I see something in the distance, I'm gonna go check it out, be right back."
"Alright, watch yourself out there."
Kaoru called back.
I made my way through the field. The silence was deafening. My feet dragged through coiled bramble and thick grass on the way, but I finally reached it.
There were two wooden crosses dug into the ground. There were mounds of dirt in front of them. I walked around the front to see who they were. There were names carved on the front along the horizontal cross.
Emma
and Millie.
I stared in silence at the names carved into the wood.
There was a creak in the tree line, the sound crawled up my spine.
Halfway across the void, Devon Harden felt the same sound crawl up his spine.
He led sixteen agents, one Gurkha, and ten drones
"Where are we even going?"
The agent behind Harden whined and moaned as he asked.
Harden bit his lip; he didn't like this any more than they did. The horrors he'd seen: disfigured deer, mounds of meat that consumed anyone who touched it—slowly—and giant mutated boars who attacked anything in their path in the rage of a dog infested with rabies. And even worse, the screams, gargled shrieks as creatures lived in constant pain as their bodies stretched and tore. He didn't think this was what he was going to see when he signed up to MEI.
"We'll find out when we get to the core. Now shut up and keep your eyes forward."
The undergrowth rustled, as if it was toying with them. Furthermore, there were creaking sounds coming from the branches around them, like they were buckling under the weight of something. They were coming from random directions, the sound leaping from one wall of trees to another.
"Captain Harden, sir, Smith and Jameson are gone."
It came from the back, from Singh. Harden looked back at the rear guard, and there were only two agents, looking around frantically.
"Where did they go, how did we lose them?"
"They were trailing, sir."
Another agent, Hale, added.
"Did no one want to say-"
"What's that over there?"
An agent, Reyes, interrupted Harden, pointing ahead with a shaky finger.
Harden looked ahead, eyes squinting. It looked like a body hanging from a tree. He signalled the group to continue, slowly. They crept forward cautiously, slowly crunching colourless leaves under their boots.
"Dear god..."
The body was that of a young man with blond hair, shaved at the sides. Eyes once emerald green now lifeless, staring through us.
Drip... Drip... Drip...
Blood dripped onto fallen white leaves, painting them crimson. The blood dripped from large gashes in the chest of the young man. The drips clogged Harden's throat, causing him to choke.
He was hanging from a tree, but the rope used to hang him was pink, fleshy and painted in blood.
"T-that's Smithy."
Reyes' voice was shaky and hollow.
One of the agents fell to their knees, releasing the contents of their stomach onto the grey soil.
"What did this? Is it toying with us?"
"We continue."
Harden shouted, cutting off the murmurs from the frightened agents. They quickly stopped talking, but their eyes were wide, and their hands shook as they guided their rifles through the undergrowth.
Suddenly, the ground rumbled.
"Weapons sharp."
Harden shouted.
The rumbling continued, violently. We scanned the area, weapons flailing frantically.
Then silence.
The rumbling faded; only the hum of the Gurkha's engine and the swaying of rifles could be heard.
"What the hell was that?"
Singh shouted, and we relaxed and slowly stepped away.
"Must've been an earthquake."
Hale said before the ground took him.
A thick root, the size of a forearm, erupted from the soil, coiling up from his ankle to his waist and yanked. He screamed, but it was cut short, muffling as he submerged into the Earth. Dirt splashed like a coin dropping into a fountain. The hole closed before anyone could even try to pull him out.
Every agent spun frantically.
"Hale!"
Reyes shouted.
Harden's voice turned deep, firm like steel.
"Form up. Back-to-the-van. Eyes on the ground and the trees."
The formation tightened, outlining the Gurkha. The turret spun, snapping to every rustle.
Everyone panted loudly through their mask. Reyes muttered continuously under his breath.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck."
The group moved, slower now, every step carefully considered. Eyes darted, muzzles followed shortly after. Trees rustled. Some agents swore they saw a figure leap from tree to tree.
Ten minutes later, Reyes was taken too.
Thud.
Something landed in the ground, a couple of meters ahead of them.
A head.
"That bastard!"
Reyes shouted
"Calm down, Reyes, maintain formation."
Harden ordered, grabbing his shoulder to calm him down. He threw Harden's hand off.
"Fuck you. That's Jameson's head. I'm taking that bastard down."
He ran ahead, and he squatted down in front of the head.
"Dammit... Jameson."
He whispered through trembling lips.
He rose to his feet. Gripped his rifle tight, pressing deep into his shoulder. He widened his stance, feet firmly in the ground. He was anchored and ready, determined to face the creature head-on.
"Hey, Bastar-"
A figure flashed past him, too fast to make it out. His weapon fell to his feet. He just stood there.
"Reyes?"
Harden called.
He stepped one foot back and swayed, nearly tumbling to the ground. Then another step, finally responding with a gargle.
"Reyes? Talk to us."
Harden called again.
Reyes turned to the group, almost collapsing to the floor as he did so.
Blood poured down his neck, cascading in rivers of crimson. His head flopped off, hanging only by a thin layer of flesh and muscle fibres. He finally flopped to the floor, body still twitching as it failed to catch up with his lifeless brain.
Singh screamed.
"It's in the trees!"
A roaring symphony of gunfire sang. Bodies spun. Muzzles flashed. The air stunk of hot metal. Splinters flew off trees from bullet holes.
Singh's knees were trembling; he looked like he was going to collapse any second now. His eyes shot in different directions, like he saw something.
"I can't take this anymore!"
"Calm down, Singh!"
Harden shouted. His rifle trembled; it was coming from his hands.
"Dammit."
He muttered under his breath, grabbing his arm tightly to stop the shaking.
The rustling had stopped for a while now, as if it was listening.
"I'm not staying any longer."
He cried, throwing his gun to the ground, slowly stepping backwards towards where the group came from.
"Singh, god dammit, you pick your gun up right now and get back in formation!"
"Or what? If I stay here, I'm dead anyway. If I run, I might be able to get out—get home."
Thud.
Singh hadn't noticed it yet.
"Singh. Slow down."
Harden had.
"No. Fuck you. Fuck MEI. I'm leavi-"
He finally noticed once he backed into it. He spun, stepping back as he did so, taking a look at what his back made contact with.
It was tall—too tall—easily seven feet. Its legs were goat-like, bent backwards, ending in cracked black hooves. The torso was elongated, wrapped in bark-textured skin that ran like wires over its body, grey-white like dead birch; underneath the branches was flesh, stretched over ribs and muscle. Branches grew from its shoulders, thick and gnarled, sweeping upward to merge with massive branch-like horns that curled like a crown of thorns.
Its face was still goat-like—horizontal pupils glowing faint blue, square jaw—but stretched, distorted, almost human in its cruelty.
Singh screamed. He turned back to us and ran to us, stumbling with every step.
The creature's arm slowly stretched out, curling along the floor like a long tendril.
It swung. Singh's head flew into the air.
Harden fired—full auto. The others joined.
The creature wrapped its tendon arm around Singh's corpse, raising him in front of its body. Bullets carved deep into Singh's body, turning him into a chunk of Swiss cheese.
The creature leapt into the trees, taking Singh with it.
Harden placed his hands—rifle still gripped with one—to the side of his head.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck. Casey, drones now."
The female agent looked at him, her eyes were wide, it looked like she had forgotten her job.
Harden grabbed her shoulders and shook.
"Casey! Drones! Now!"
"Ok-ok-ok-ok"
She screamed the words out.
Casey dropped her back to the floor. She opened the bag as fast as she could, hands struggling to grip the zip as her fingers trembled. She finally opened it and grabbed the tablet. But lost grip, causing it to fall to the floor.
"For the love of..."
Harden crouched down, picked it up and placed it in her hands aggressively.
She raised her right arm, hovering just above the screen. Her hands rotated quickly, side to side. She went to tap the screen.
Thud.
Casey fell to her knees, screaming. She raised her hands to her face.
Red stubs, torn flesh, snapped tendons. Blood poured down her forearms. Harden looked down to see what happened.
He saw Casey on her knees. Sitting in front of her knees were her hands.
"Fuck."
Harden looked to the tree line. And it stood there, eyes glowing bright blue, turning its head as if it was studying them.
Harden paused for a moment before grabbing his radio and throwing it to his mouth. By the time he looked back, the creature was already gone.
"We're in trouble. A-a-a tree goat. Fuck."
"Slow down, slow down."
The muffled voice on the radio responded in a calm manner.
"Slow down?! My men are dying here."
The turret whirred. Firing at everything. But the creature wasn't in the trees anymore. It landed on the roof of the car, hoof soaked in blood, buried in the gunner's skull.
It tore the body out, tossing it onto one of the other agents.
It leapt into the hole where the gunner once stood, infiltrating the Gurkha's interior. Blood sprayed, soaking the inside of the windshield.
It leapt out of the back of the van, tearing a gaping hole through the armoured plating.
It slashed through two agents on either side of the hole; everything above their waist began to levitate into the air.
The creature grabbed one of the agents' torsos, launching it into another, sending them both flying into a tree. Blood painted all up the trunk, splashing up into the leaves above.
There were seven agents left, eight if you include Casey, who lay on the ground, rolled up in a ball, staring blankly at the bloody stubs.
Harden and the six other agents stood in a line, backing up slowly. Their guns trembled in sync. Hunched over, the creature began to stride over to them, one hoof after the other. Dirt sprayed in the air as it stomped, making a loud rumbling stomp every time.
The six just continued backing up; no one was willing to pull the trigger.
One agent made the first move.
He turned and ran as fast as he could.
Whip!
The agents turned to look at the one who ran.
He stumbled his way into a standstill before flopping to the floor in two halves.
The final five looked back at the creature, but soon realised they were only four.
While they were distracted, they failed to notice that the creature grabbed the one beside Harden.
He was now lying on the floor a few metres away, his head a bloody pulp under the creature's hoof.
The creature waited.
The agents panted, muffled under the masks.
Harden slowly stumbled backwards, placing himself a few steps away from the others, who were frozen solid.
The creature jolted slightly.
The three in front of Harden turned, but they weren't fast enough.
The creature leapt, grabbing two of them by the head and punted the one in the middle into the tree line, bouncing from branch to branch, leaving him a distorted mess on the floor behind us.
Harden stumbled back, falling to the floor. He let out high-pitched whimpering as he stared at the creature, holding the two other agents in the air. A skull in each hand.
The agents struggled, waving their arms, smashing their hands into the beast's thick wooden forearms, shattering every bone in their hands.
Crunch.
It was like crushing a packet of crisps. The bodies flopped to the floor, twitching slightly.
It turned its attention to Harden, frozen on the floor. It stepped forward.
"No... P-please... Don't"
He shuffled back, hands sliding along the soil.
It didn't make a sound, just marched.
It raised its hoof, dripping with blood.
"No... Do-"
Silence.
The radio crackled.
"Harden? Do you copy? Harden?"