"Blood and Rocks" by Andy Holberry

Blood and Rocks

by Andy Holberry

It was right there!

There inside the rock, egg...whatever the hell it had been.

Behind me, I could hear its grunting pants as it followed.

I ran into the dark, covered in the blood of my friends.

But, I'm getting ahead of myself.

You want to know what happened?

What did I see?

Okay.

My friend called me up a few days ago, I hadn't heard from him in a while and it was good to hear his voice.

What?

Oh. Michael, his name is…was Michael Foster. He would have been the big guy that you found. That's right, nearest the fire.

A friend from college. We had hung out together over the years. When he moved away, I didn't think I would hear from him again.

Like I said, it was a nice surprise.

He wanted me to go down to his place, go camping, catch up…that sort of thing.

He had this girl, you see?

Going to marry her. He wanted me to meet her.

I guess friendship still counted for something, right?

Yeah, right.

She was so beautiful.

Anyway, I drove down the following day and met him at the cabin.

Yes, that one.

I remember it okay! I don't need to see the damn photo again, alright!

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to shout, I'm upset is all.

I can still see them, still smell all that blood.

Oh God.

Just…just give me a second here.

Water?

Yes, please.

Okay, where was I?

Oh, the cabin, yes that's right.

When I arrived he was just finished packing the supplies and gear. We were going to hike a trail he knew of, and I was looking forward to it.

That was the first time I met Beth.

Such a pretty woman.

Yes, I've seen that picture too. 

That's not Beth. 

At least, not now. That's just what was left of her.

What that thing didn't eat.

No, there was nobody else. Like I've already said; it was just the three of us.

She was very friendly.

We said our hellos and grabbed what we were taking.

It was about three hours into the hike when Beth tripped.

No big deal; the path is uneven in places. Shit, if I had been where she was, it would have been me who landed on my ass.

Anyway, it was Beth who tripped over it.

At first, we thought it was a rock, an unusual rock, yes, but just a rock.

Then we took a closer look.

The thing was smooth, but warm to the touch.

The sides were like tanned leather.

Michael dug it up to take a look.

He was always interested in rocks.

Holding it in his hands, he said it was light.

No rock that size could ever be light.

It was unlike anything any of us had seen. And he had been hiking these trails for years.

Sorry?

Oh, right.

Like I told you before it was the size of a beach ball, but probably weighed the same as a soccer ball.

I know, weird right?

At least that's what he said at the time.

He decided to take it with us, fry and figure out what it could be.

We carried on for another hour and decided to pitch camp.

Michael put his bag with the rock near the fire.

Then he broke out the beer.

Just remembering his smile and her laugh, knowing that was the last time I saw them alive.

Jesus!

We had a few to drink, and told old stories from school. Beth hung off his arm…they looked good together. I knew he had made the right choice.

They went to their tent around one, or maybe two in the morning.

I had the last beer and passed out in front of the fire.

It was warm and I was always going to sleep outside.

It was a little later when it happened.

The wetness woke me up. The splash of…of…

I'm sorry. Do I really need to go through this again?

Okay, just give me a second.

Something splashed against my cheek and woke me up, as I've said.

My brain was still fogged with the beer and so I  wasn't sure what was happening at first.

That's when I turned to the tent, thinking it must have started raining.

I saw Beth first.

She was hanging just ahead and above me. The drops of her blood had been the wetness on my face.

She…she didn't have a face.

Instead there was a raw, red mask where it used to be.

Her eyes were just…gone.

She swung there, one foot trapped in the branches.

There were these…marks all over her body; bite marks. They were huge and bloody.

Michael was near the fire, on the opposite side to me.

Something was stooped over him; a thing from some deranged madman nightmare.

It was all teeth and claws.

Its body was constantly moving, refusing to keep still.

No, I already said it wasn't a bear! Don't you assholes listen?

It was black, but it wasn't fur. It seemed to blend into the night. The light from the fire was pulled into it. That's the only way I can describe it.

Then I must have moved or made a sound, because it turned and looked at me.

My friend's face fell from its jaws and made a sizzling sound as it dropped into the embers of the fire pit.

I can still see those eyes; those red, hellish pits.

There was no pity there, only a hunger unlike anything I'd ever seen, and something else.

It was intelligent.

I ran.

God help me, I left my friend and his girl, and I ran.

Oh God, oh God.

I don't know how I got away.

But I will tell you this and I know you won't believe me…it's still out there. 

And it's still hungry.