"The Nest" by Sean Walusko

Ellie had been on the run for hours. Every step she took with her bare, scarred feet left an imprint of broken twigs and blood-soaked leaves. The rustling of bushes and cracking of branches as she made a desperate escape from her pursuers drowned out the birds and flowing water of the nearby creek, and soon, the sun would come up and this nightmare would end. 

    She was caught earlier in the evening, half past dusk, when the sky relieved its orange hue for a pale violet. They’d been after her since sundown, three in total, and had given her a head start.

    The hunters were no less than a hundred yards away, trudging through muddied pits littered with fresh corpses. Flies buzzed around the dead, their exposed innards and open mouths glazed with mucus and their faces locked in a permanent grimace of pain. Ellie could hear the hunter’s heavy boots thud through wet intestine and bile as they pushed through the gore.

    “Over there,” one of the hunters yelled out.

    An arrow flew past Ellie, barely missing her head as she stumbled over thick brush and netted vines. A few dozen feet ahead of her was a steep drop into a ravine. She ran to the edge and looked back to see the three of them reveal their woodland camo and mechanical crossbows in the morning sun. The drop was about a dozen feet, and at its base was a slope lined with jagged rocks along a winding path that veered into the heart of the forest.

    “Don’t let her jump,” another shouted.

    Ellie dropped over the cliff’s edge and kept her balance for a good part after the fall, landing to a sprint, until her legs buckled and she fell, gashing her forehead open against one of the sharp stones. Her wrist broke with the final tumble but was numbed with a harsh, stinging cold once she splashed into the creek. The hunters were at the top of the ledge looking down at her, and she wasted no time getting back to her feet.

    “Fuck. Let’s go around. We can’t lose her,” the lead hunter ordered.

    Sunlight pierced through the treeline, beating its golden rays across the forest floor. The hunters scattered into the coming dawn, giving Ellie precious time to push forward. A few dozen yards away from the creek, hidden beneath a shaded canopy of overgrown redwoods, was a small grove tucked away from prying eyes. Spider webs and twisted vines covered the trees and bushes. Ellie crawled beneath fallen logs and over bits of rotten meat and bone until she came upon a faint wailing echo. She followed the cries to a hollowed-out tree, its opening seemingly carved out by design instead of nature.

    Within the shadows of the tree, the thing writhed and twitched, moaning and growling yet unable to lash out. Outside, the sound of heavy boots cracking against the ground came back. Ellie pushed herself into the tree and came upon a man, bound and gagged, staring at her wide-eyed with fear.

    “She’s gotta be around here,” a voice said outside.

    The man groaned louder through his gag, and Ellie placed her hand over his mouth. He continued to struggle despite Ellie’s attempts to keep him quiet.

    “Hey, I think I got something,” the hunter yelled out.

    “Yeah, she’s here alright,” another responded.

    Ellie’s blood boiled while the man’s breathing grew heavier and more desperate. He took the last bit of strength he had to shove his head into her and push her down. Ellie tried shoving him away, but he was relentless in his attempts to get away. He was on top of her, thrashing and growling, trying to slither his way over her and to the opening. She grabbed him by the face and neck, wrapping her fingers around his throat. He pulled himself up and felt the cloth around his mouth tear. With the gag loosened, he screamed out an audible “HELP ME!”

    In an instant, his throat was ripped out and torn open, flayed apart with almost zero effort. Blood spilled out into Ellie’s mouth, and she drank as much as she could, gulping entire mouthfuls. She pushed him off and wiped the blood from her lips, swallowing the last drops before jumping out of the tree. She saw the closest hunter near the entrance and lunged out, tearing her claws across his thigh.

    “Fuck, she got me,” the hunter yelled out.

    “Heart or head, make it count. Don’t let her bite you,” the leader shouted.

    Ellie stuck to the shadows, avoiding patches of sunlight escaping through the trees. She moved like a mountain lion, on all fours, then to her feet. The hunters took her bait and were separated while she circled them. Several arrows flew past her until one hit her in the ribs, taking her down. She pulled it out, blood gushing from the wound, and hissed an unearthly tone.

    “She’s hit, move in,” one commanded.

    Ellie laid in the mud, pretending to be in pain as she clutched her already healed wound. The closest hunter closed in, hovering over her, pointing his crossbow at her head.

    “Die, you bloodsucking bitch,” he said.

    The other hunters watched as Ellie tore their brother’s head off and ate the meat from the stump that was once his neck.

    “DANNY!” the lead hunter yelled out.

    A volley of arrows flew past Ellie as she took the hunter’s corpse back to the hollowed-out tree. The two remaining hunters followed her trail and came upon a mass grave surrounding the tree. Bodies dissected and drained of blood were scattered all around.

    “Goddammit Danny. Fuck,” the hunter said. “What now, Jim?”

    Jim looked at the gruesome sight, at his brother’s severed head amongst the pile. “We go back and let the others know we found the nest. Then we burn every last fuckin’ one of ‘em.”