Fossil Lake: An Anthology of the Aberrant Read Online Free PDF Page A

sickness.
    It considered leaving the other two-legs be for that night, but it needed something to take the foul taste from its mouth. If the next one proved as vile as the last, though, it would just slaughter them all and leave them for the crows.
    Powerful arms and legs propelled it shoreward, skimming beneath the surface with the speed of a loosed arrow. Cautiously raising its head, it sniffed at the air.
    Alarm gripped it upon finding its prey had seemingly vanished, the two-legs gone from the valley while leaving their four-legs behind. Then it detected a single two-legs still there, by the burning fire. The two-legs smelt old and tired, not the best meal, but it would have to do.
    It crept from the water, staying low in the grass, closing in on the circle of wagons and the fire where its prey sat unaware. It lurked for long moments, watching. The old two-legs seemed to be dozing.
    Splashes of steaming drool hit the ground as it ran its tongue over its fangs. Its muscles tensed, pushing it forward in a great leap. A mighty arm struck at the unsuspecting back.
    The beast let out a confused snarl as its clawed hand smashed through a coat and hat draped over a bundle of sticks shaped like a two-legs. The snarl changed to a scream as a wire snare hidden among the sticks snapped tight, cutting deep into slimy flesh. The other end of the snare was affixed to one of the wheeled contraptions the two-legs used, so heavy that even with all its strength the creature could barely budge it.
    As it shrieked, as it roared its pain and fury into the night, something that smelled of the manure of four-legs appeared.
     
    *     *     *
     
    Eugene Verner thought he was ready for what he’d face when, covered in ox-shit, he rolled out from under the wagon with a gun in each fist. Some kind of deranged cannibal giant, perhaps.
    And, struggling against the snare was a giant, yes. Ten feet tall at least, and with the basic form of a man … but there the similarities ended.
    Its spine was twisted and misshapen, more suited for running on all fours than standing straight. Its skin, glistening in the firelight, alternated between patches of scales and sodden fur. Each toe and finger was capped with a razor sharp claw. On its neck, gills flared in gulping anxiety. Two batlike ears poked through the strands of a long, tangled mane.
    The face was almost human, almost. Beneath a wide flat nose, the bellowing mouth bulged into a snout. A snake-tongue flicked through rows of yellow fangs
    The eyes, though, the eyes were the worst. They were not the eyes of a mere animal, but contained a baleful intelligence, a cold cunning, and a hatred of everything that walked, swam, flew, or crawled beneath the great blue sky.
    Verner froze at the sight of those eyes, the blood draining from his face. A heavy tightness clenched his chest. His arms lost their strength, the gun barrels tipping down.
    The monster lunged toward him with such force that the wagon wheels skidded sideways across the ground. The snare cut deeper into its trapped arm, thin blood flowing. Its deadly jaws snapped the air. Its claws flailed just short of Verner’s stunned flesh.
    It uttered garbled sounds that, though barely recognisable as words, were some dialect of the Indian tribes. Hearing that, hearing this abomination trying to speak, Verner jerked from his stupor. Fighting the hot ache in his chest, he put forth a Herculean effort to raise his leaden arms.
    The guns rang out again and again, each shot hammering home into the monster’s chest. Flowers of blood bloomed on its skin, though the impact barely seemed to slow or affect it.
    All too soon, Verner’s guns were empty. Still the beast stood, hauling itself and the wagon ever closer. Resigned to this final struggle, Verner let the guns drop. He clung to the side of another wagon, supporting himself with one hand while drawing his hunting knife from his belt with the other.
    The beast lunged again. Verner leaped to meet