Dead Man's Tales: HSOTD

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Early in the morning, when the darkness still clung to the edges of the sky, Takashi's SAT vehicle sped along an empty highway.

"Water, please," Rika murmured, her voice hoarse. Takashi reached into the glove box without taking his eyes off the road, retrieving a bottled water and handing it to her with practiced ease.

"Didn't Rika eat today?"

"It's 5 o'clock in the fuckingmorning, who eats at this time? And better yet, who in God's green earth eats this shit," Rika grumbled, eyeing the packet of dry wheat biscuits that another teammate had offered earlier. She waved the unappetizing snack in dismissal and took a long drink from the bottle.

"I like those biscuits."

"Someone like you seems like they hate their life," Rika joked. Takashi just rolled his eyes in response.

"So, what's the call?" Rika's tone shifted, becoming more serious as she brushed aside the crumbs of their earlier conversation. She knew Takashi paid more attention during the briefing while she struggled to focus, especially at such an ungodly hour.

"An hour back, police received some civilian call about a truck on the road and then what was described as some kind of attack, which prompted police to be dispatched. And they went missing," Takashi explained, his voice low.

"Missing?"

"Yeah, the last known call was the police car approaching, and the call ended as if something destroyed the police car like a—" Takashi paused, searching for the right words.

"Bomb," Rika finished for him, her tone somber.

He nodded, his grip tightening on the steering wheel as he considered the implications. This was why the SAT had been called in—to investigate whether this was a matter of national security or merely a wild animal attack.

"Couldn't find any more agents?"

"We were the closest ones," Takashi replied, his eyes fixed on the road. "Don't worry, the police have surrounded the area so that nothing but us can come in or…"

His voice trailed off as the scene unfolded before them, more gruesome and chaotic than either had anticipated.

Exploded police cars and debris littered the road, casting eerie shadows in the dim light of dawn. At the center was a truck, or what remained of it, looking as though it had been viciously slashed apart and destroyed. The metal was twisted and torn, evoking images of monstrous claws rather than human tools.

"What the?" Takashi murmured under his breath, his hands tightening on the steering wheel as he brought the car to a stop. He hadn't expected this level of devastation; it was like something out of a war zone.

"Are we going up against a bear or something?"

"I don't think bears can do all of this," he replied, scanning the wreckage with a critical eye. His training in the SAT hadn't quite prepared him for whatever could cause this sort of destruction.

It was otherworldly, unnerving.

"I'm taking out the big guns."

Takashi nodded, feeling a grim resolve settle over him as he opened his door and stepped out into the chill morning air.

As Takashi moved towards the scene, every sense was heightened, his training kicking in to assess the situation. The air was thick with the smell of burnt metal and rubber.

As Takashi surveyed the chaos, his gaze fell upon a disturbing sight—a blood trail leading from the wreckage, smeared across the asphalt and disappearing into the woods. The trees themselves bore signs of violent passage; branches were snapped, undergrowth was trampled, and the path looked as though something large and forceful had charged through it.

Strange, he mused, his instincts prickling with unease.

Could Rika be right? Was this the work of a bear?

He continued his examination, moving towards the front of the truck which, unlike its savagely torn rear, appeared largely intact. As he collected blood samples from the trail and the smeared remnants on the windshield, something caught his eye—an object glinting amidst the debris. It was a phone. Intrigued, Takashi bent to pick it up, his movements cautious and deliberate.

As his fingers closed around the device, a sudden growl sent a chill swept over him, causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end. He paused, holding the phone up, its screen cracked but reflective enough to reveal a horrifying image behind him.

Reflected in the dim light of the phone's screen was a creature so grotesque and unexpected that Takashi's breath hitched in his throat. It was neither bear nor human but some nightmarish hybrid of the two—a towering, menacing figure cloaked in matted, dark fur. Its arms were disproportionately long, dangling with unnatural, sinewy muscle, ending in clawed hands that seemed capable of rending metal as easily as flesh. The skull was partially exposed, bony and grotesque, with small, deeply set eyes. Its mouth was agape, revealing a row of jagged, uneven teeth, poised as if ready to tear into its next meal.

For a moment, time seemed to stand still, Takashi's life flashing before his eyes.

He was frozen, caught between disbelief and primal fear, his training momentarily forgotten under the creature's ominous gaze.

Then, the silence was shattered by the echoing boom of a shotgun.

The sound was sharp and thunderous, breaking the spell that had immobilized Takashi. Instinctively, he ducked, the adrenaline surging through him reigniting his instincts.

Takashi's instincts kicked into high gear as Rika fired her Remington M870 at the monstrous figure retreating into the shadows of the forest. With his heart pounding in his ears, he leaped over the car hood, which Rika was using as a makeshift shield. His fingers closed around the grip of a Heckler & Koch MP5, his movements fluid despite the tremor of adrenaline that surged through him. He swung the weapon up, ready to fire, but the creature had vanished, melting back into the dense forest with unnerving stealth.

Smart, he thought grimly.

"Jump onto the hood!"

The elevated position of the car's hood would give them a slight height advantage, improving their line of sight and reducing the chances of being ambushed from behind. Without hesitation, Rika and Takashi scrambled onto the hood, positioning themselves back to back. This setup allowed them a 360-degree view of their surroundings.

"Any idea what that was?" Rika asked.

"Bigfoot."

"Takashi!"

"I don't know," he admitted, scanning the treeline. The forest was eerily silent, the usual sounds of wildlife conspicuously absent. Was the creature hiding, or had it retreated further into the woods?

"Any plan?"

"We can send out a flare for reinforcement," Takashi suggested, though he was acutely aware of the double-edged nature of this plan.

"It will attract that thing."

"Then get on the wheel," Takashi decided quickly, knowing they needed to prepare for every contingency. He opened a hatch on the hood of the car, where emergency flares were stored. Rika nodded, slipping down from the hood with practiced ease to take the driver's seat.

Takashi, half inside the hatch, retrieved a flare gun. He loaded it with a swift, familiar motion, his hands steady despite the undercurrent of fear. He glanced once more at Rika, who gave him a tight nod, her hands gripping the steering wheel with white-knuckled intensity.

Raising the flare gun, Takashi aimed it skyward. He pulled the trigger, and the flare shot into the sky, a brilliant burst of red light that tore through the morning, arcing high.

The light from the flare bathed the area in a ghostly red, and for a moment, the forest seemed to hold its breath.

Takashi's heart lurched into his throat as Rika threw the car into reverse, the tires screeching against the asphalt. The monstrous creature charged directly towards them from the front. Takashi braced himself, firing his MP5 in a desperate attempt to stop its advance. His initial surge of hope plummeted as his rounds seemingly bounced off the creature, as ineffective as if they had struck an armored vehicle. Underneath the matted fur, it seemed the beast was shielded by something akin to an exoskeleton.

As the creature bore down on them with terrifying speed, Rika executed a sharp drift, the car swinging violently to the side. She quickly pulled out her Desert Eagle, took aim with practiced precision, and fired a single shot at the monster's eye. The bullet found its mark, piercing the creature's eye with a sickening squelch. It let out a deafening scream of pain, a sound so raw and powerful it vibrated through the air.

Seizing the moment, Rika twisted the car back on course, but the creature, driven by rage or desperation, grabbed the roof of their car. Takashi fired relentlessly at the creature's arm, the bullets sparking off its hide without any apparent effect.

Why did the eye pierce and not this arm?

In a horrific display of strength, the creature tore the roof off the car. Takashi, who was halfway out, was thrown with the torn metal. Time seemed to slow as he found himself airborne, the cold night air rushing past him. He twisted his body in mid-air, reaching out to grab anything that might stop his fall. His hands clutched the jagged edge of the remaining car roof, his fingers gripping tightly. He swung himself back into the relative safety of the car with a grunt, the adrenaline surging through his veins dulling the pain that screamed from his palms and arms.

Landing heavily in his seat, Takashi barely had a moment to catch his breath when he saw the creature turn its wrath towards Rika. She fired her shotgun at point-blank range, but this time, the monster was quicker, its movements almost a blur as it dodged the blast.

Takashi scrambled to reload his weapon, his hands shaking with the dual rush of fear and urgency. He knew they were outmatched, but there was no question of giving up—not while they both still breathed. As he slammed a fresh magazine into his MP5, his eyes met Rika's for a brief second, a silent vow passing between them to fight this horror to the end, no matter the odds.

As the confrontation escalated, Takashi's mind raced, adrenaline sharpening his focus to a razor's edge. The creature was undeniably intelligent, its movements calculated and purposeful, its strength and speed formidable. Yet, its reaction to certain stimuli—particularly the phone and specific shots—hinted at vulnerabilities. Everything has a weakness, Takashi reminded himself, clinging to this thought as chaos unfolded around him.

Amidst the chaos, a crucial memory flashed through Takashi's mind—the growl emitted by the creature when he first approached the phone. It could have killed him then but chose not to. Why? What was so special about this phone? His thoughts were interrupted as he continued firing at the monster, though his shots seemed only to provoke rather than harm it.

Rika, ever resourceful, executed a daring backflip out of the demolished roof of the car, landing with feline grace. The monster, distracted by her movement, momentarily raised its arms—a mistake it wouldn't repeat. At that moment, the phone in Takashi's pocket began to alarm, piercing the night with its shrill tone. The creature's reaction was immediate and visceral; it turned sharply towards the sound, its earlier ferocity replaced by an almost desperate attention.

Seizing the opportunity, Takashi pulled the phone from his pocket, brandishing it high like a trophy. The monster, fixated on the device, let out a pained scream, its body tensed as if to charge. Takashi feigned a motion to smash the phone on the ground, and the creature halted abruptly, its actions mirroring his movements.

With the monster distracted, Takashi's fear mingled with determination. He stretched out his hand, his fingers spread wide in a gesture that was both a challenge and a taunt. His heart hammered against his ribs, each beat a loud echo in his ears, but his resolve was clear. As he moved forward, Rika, coordinating without needing words, hurled an object toward him. In the same fluid motion, Takashi tossed the phone like a lure, and the creature, driven by whatever attachment it had to the device, leapt to catch it.

Capitalizing on the monster's distraction, Takashi aimed and fired at the creature's other eye, the shot precise and debilitating. At the same time, Rika rammed the car into the monster's hind leg, sending it crashing to the ground. The creature roared in agony, its attention divided between its pain and the precious phone.

As the creature howled, the sound of the phone breaking under its weight marked the final straw. With expert timing, Takashi threw the grenade directly into the creature's open mouth, shouting defiantly, "How dare you touch Rika's glorious tits?"

He didn't wait to see if the creature understood his words. He aimed his rifle at the grenade lodged in its mouth and fired. The bullet struck the grenade, and a moment later, the monster's head erupted in a gruesome explosion. Blood, bone, and remnants of the creature spewed into the air, painting a macabre picture against the night sky.

As the immediate danger subsided, Takashi felt the adrenaline that had fueled him through the confrontation begin to ebb. The sudden withdrawal of the hormone left him staggeringly aware of the pain radiating through his body. He sank to one knee, the hard asphalt unforgiving against his joint. His breath came in sharp, ragged pulls, each inhalation searing his lungs as if he were inhaling fire rather than air.

As he tried to stabilize his breathing, Takashi became acutely aware of the foul, chemical stench that pervaded the air. It was the monster's blood that coated his clothes and skin—an overpowering, acidic odor that seemed to cling to the inside of his nostrils, mingling with the scent of bone shards scattered around the gruesome scene. The smell was thick and unnatural, speaking of things that should not exist in nature, things that the human body was not meant to withstand.

"You sure know how to give one-liners," Rika quipped sarcastically as she squatted beside him. Her frown was evident, clearly not appreciating his comment about her tits.

"Hey, it sounded better in my head," Takashi replied, managing a weak blush as he struggled to regain his composure.

As she opened the cracked phone, Rika remarked, "We were pretty lucky to survive." Takashi could only nod in agreement, his mind still reeling from the close brush with death.

If the monster hadn't cared about the phone, they would have certainly died.

Rika's frown deepened as she showed him the wallpaper on the phone—a picture of a father and two sons.

"This all started with a missing trucker," she said, her gaze shifting towards the intact front of the truck cabin, visible from their position. It was eerily untouched compared to the chaos surrounding it, still housing personal possessions and pictures that hinted at a life once lived.

Putting two and two together, Takashi couldn't shake the bizarre, unsettling conclusion that crept into his thoughts. "That monster was the missing trucker, but how can a human turn into that?"

Rika nodded, her eyes narrowing in thought. "Looks like some nerds are going to be really happy to find out."

Their contemplation was abruptly cut short by a sudden sound—the whistling of an arrow slicing through the air. Before they could react, the monster's corpse, which lay a few meters away, exploded into flames. The blast was sudden and intense, sending a wave of heat over them and illuminating the morning with a fierce, unnatural light.

As Takashi shielded his face from the heat, his mind raced with new questions. Who had fired the arrow? Was it meant as a cleanup measure, or were they still in danger?

High up on the mountain, the figure who fired the arrow stood in stark contrast to the natural landscape. It was the corpse of deer yet creature towered on its hind legs, an eerie mimicry of a human stance, its forelimbs morphing into what appeared to be human hands. The most unsettling feature was its face, or rather, what should have been its face. Instead of animal features, there was a smooth, bone-white mask, devoid of expression, resembling a blank human visage.

As it watched the two humans below scrambling for cover and preparing for a fight, a deep, unspoken contemplation stirred within the creature.

Tick, tock, goes the clock, in whispers low,

Each second a secret, hastening the woe.

Beneath the veneer where shadows play,

Desires twist, birthing monsters from the fray.

Just you wait, humans, with eyes so blind,

To the creeping dusk that stalks behind.

The gears of chaos grind with grace,

As society crumbles, leaving nary a trace.

Cities once teeming, now silent and lost,

Embraced by chaos, at unfathomable cost.

Towers that scraped the skies with pride,

Now but graves of dreams that inside them died.

May Chaos take the world, a lover's embrace,

Turning order to ash, leaving but a trace.

Where once was law, now wild winds sing,

And from ruin's soil, dark blossoms spring.

Tick, tock, hear the clock, its laughter cold,

As it counts down to stories left untold.

The end of days, the final scene,

Where nothing's heard but the keen.

Enjoy the calm before the storm,

The silence sweet, the air yet warm.

Cherish the peace, for soon it fades,

Into chaos's sharp, serrated blades.

Enjoy your order, structured and clear,

For soon it shatters, replaced by fear.

What once was whole, will fracture and split,

In chaos's hands, all order will quit.

May Chaos take the world!

(Image #1 here)

(Image #2 here)