Postmortem: Two Thousand Years Later

[unscratchedfoot]

Wooooo scary! he's going to follow the groove to the beast! This story reminds me slightly of The Invisible Man which I read in elementary school. Here's the link if anyone wants to read it: The Invisible Man

Uh, has anyone else been getting a fantastic number of pop-up ads on this site? Even had 2 of them interrupt me making this message.

[vovan]

Well, folks, I am glad you like the story so far.

Now, I am leaving today, till next Monday. And I won't have access to the Internet (or a computer, for that matter). Therefore, I will not be able to post another part of this story till a week from now, at the soonest. So, enjoy this next part, for there will be a long break after it. Hope you don't forget the plot till then

[vovan]

Postmortem: Two Thousand Years Later

I followed the track out of the gate and into the street. The groove was deep, and in some places was swinging from side to side, as if the person dragging the body did not know which way to turn, or maybe was so tired that he was almost literally falling off his feet. That nasty feeling of fright once again returned. A big snowflake fell on the back of my neck, sending a cold drop of water trickling down my spine. I shivered. It felt like somebody’s eyes were fixed on my back. I quickly turned around but of course there wasn’t anybody there.

As I made my way following the track, occasionally slipping on the ice, it seemed somebody else’s feet could be heard behind. But no, it was just my mind playing tricks on me, trying to force me to turn back. I caught myself whispering encouraging phrases. Again. I chuckled: truly, this situation is driving me crazy -- I’m already talking to myself.

All of a sudden, I heard a howl. I raised my eyes. The snow clouds have been blown away, and a full moon was shining just above the horizon. The howl repeated. It seemed to be closer this time. Wild dogs have never been a problem in our town, but wolves sometimes wandered in. I then heard some kind of barking mixed with another chilling howl. No, it wasn’t a wolf. Wolves don’t bark. I then thought I heard laughter, a sadistic kind of laugh -- the kind that a kid makes, tying a can to a kitten’s tail. I shouted in the general direction where the sound was coming from: “Claw, you little son of a dog, stop it!” More barking was the response. Then it was quiet.

I turned back to the road and stopped in my tracks, petrified by some primeval fear: there it was. The body. Lying in the snow. I couldn’t make out the details. I was standing under a light-post, and the body was right outside the circle of light, so I could only see the silhouette. There was nobody to be seen around. So, how did the body get there? If somebody dragged it to here, why did they drop it in the middle of the street? I wanted to come closer to examine the body, but some force was keeping me standing there in the light, unable to do anything but stay motionless, staring at the silhouette in front of me. Fear. That was the force.

They say fear has large eyes. I was all eyes then, that is for sure. I was trying to make out as much detail as I could from where I was standing. But the thing in front of me lay in some shapeless heap, and I couldn’t even understand where were the feet and where was the head. In fact, the only reason I thought it was the body was that I couldn’t see the track continuing beyond it. Nothing else betrayed this heap of dark matter as a dead body.

I must have spent at least ten minutes standing like a statue, not daring to make the slightest motion, as if I could scare somebody away. My eyes were getting tired, but I thought I could now make out that the person was lying on the stomach, his legs towards me.

Suddenly, I thought I had seen the body move. Involuntarily, my whole body jerked. I strained my vision and could now definitely see movement. It was as if the man was trying to get up. He was like some animal, standing on his knees and supporting himself with the hands. He also started to make some noise. He was growling. It was a terrifying, unhuman growl. It sounded like a carnivore tearing at the flesh of its freshly killed prey. The image I had earlier in the night watch’s booth returned. The monster, killing an unsuspecting person, and then consuming the corpse in the middle of the street stood in my eyes.

Blood started rushing into my head. The growling subsided and I could only hear my own heartbeat and the hiss in the ears -- a sign of rapidly changing pressure. My heart was racing faster than ever, and it felt like it was jerking inside my chest, trying to break free. My legs barely held me standing, and everything around me looked like some veil had been thrown over my consciousness. I could hear a whisper saying to me: “Run away, what are you waiting for?” And the voice of superstition hissing: “Maybe Claw was right? Maybe there are werewolves? Stay inside the circle.” And yet a third, high-pitched, voice screaming: “Attack! He has not noticed you yet.” I don’t know if I was saying any of that out loud... The whole scene was dancing around me in circles. I became dizzy and thought I would faint or throw up.

The sound of the church bell abruptly brought me back to consciousness. It beat twelve times. The killer lifted his head. As his eyes slid from my toes to my face, a cold shiver ran down my back. I could now see them. His eyes. Two large round eyes, with big pupils, glowing in the dark...

[ChrisiusMaximus]

No more for a week Well vovan we will be here waiting for more when you get back. At least we will if that killer thingy in your story does'nt somehow slide through the internet connection when were online and rip our throats open Watch out Scratch I hear beasts like Eskimos.

Hurry back vovan


AGHHHHH! WTF WHAT IS THAT HELP SOMEBODY HELP!!

[TheGuitarist]

::huddles nervously in chair, looking behind self every so often to check for terrifying beasts::

[unscratchedfoot]

I'm okay. If the beast makes a move in my direction I'll send Bush after it to beat it senseless.

Seriously now, doesn't it seem fishy that at this point in the story vova would disappear for a week? Uh Chrisius, Guitarist, I wouldn't make light of looking over your shoulder and checking for beasts behind your furniture.

Do you think you know where vova is right now?

[ChrisiusMaximus]

Yes youre probably right! I think I will keep my eyes peeled painful though that may be.

[unscratchedfoot]

I reckon that monster thing may be a caveman dude the miners chopped out of the ice in the mine or something.

Or the beast is vova. Like there's no guarantee that it isn't right? Nobody here's actually seen him have they?

[ChrisiusMaximus]

Hes not posted here for a couple of days now so you never know Scratch. He could be outside your house right now sharpening his claws!!

[TheGuitarist]

Well that would certainly be unnerving now wouldnt it...

[steamthunk]

I read the last 4 segments or so all at once and the one thing that came to my mind was that this read more like a story for an FPS game than Civ3. Either that or I missed one hell of a patch for the game. Nevertheless, its entertaining and worth reading.

[unscratchedfoot]

Originally posted by ChrisiusMaximus
Hes not posted here for a couple of days now so you never know Scratch. He could be outside your house right now sharpening his claws!!

I REFUSE TO BE SCRATCHED!!

I wish vova would hurry on back so I can take down the barricades from my doors and windows. Also, I'm getting tired of holding this shotgun, not to mention dwindling food stocks.

[vovan]

Well, folks, I am back.

Steamthunk, why you didn't buy PtW? Heh, well, it is true that the way it is, the story has little to nothing to do with the game. But rest assured, it will evolve into a historical thing

Unscratchedfoot, you can get out from under the table now, I am once again sitting in the room with my comp.

Well, I hate to disappoint you people, seeing the reaction, but I am facing an almost certain writer's block right now... It might have something to do with the fact that this week I have two essays due, and the next one is the week of final examinations for the semester. Well, I'll see if I can cook something up for you all any way

[ChrisiusMaximus]

Hurry up please vovan I'm scared to leave the house and weve got hardly any food left in the cupboards.

[unscratchedfoot]

It's good to hear I'm not the only one suffering from EBDSS (Extended Barricaded Dwindling Stocks Syndrome). Vova, are you really having writer's block? I thought you already wrote this story and were just feeding it to us in scraps (why is it I feel like a dog whenever I read this story?). Do you want me to finish it? Hehe, not!