Short Stories

The Killamannilla

*FLASH FICTION*

It was woman against beast. A monstrous creature chased after young Abigail, hungry for a meal. It didn't help that she was plumper than average, not the ideal running for her life body type. She ran, her lungs on fire and sides stinging with pain. It was going to have to end, the chase. The question is: Will the beast get its meal?

Abigail hopped over dead logs lying in her path. She jumped rocks to cross the river and ran around the caves instead of going through. They were always dead ends. The beast was still on her tail. It was something out of a fairytale with its horned head, mannish face and cloven feet. It let out unholy shrieks, its long furry tail thrashing behind it in rage.

Abigail didn't know what it was, but she knew it was an evil thing. "Stay away! Get away from me!" she'd scream, along with, "Help! Someone help me! Please!" Yet, no one was near to hear her pleas. She was all alone with the beast.

It chased her into a corner, growling and hissing. The fact it had a man's face terrified Abigail. Was it born this way or did it take some poor man's identity?

The beast in front of her had been chasing her since she left her home. It only watched and followed until she reached the city. Then, it chased her to the woods, trying to take her down. It can finally eat its meal, Abigail stuck between the beast and the large rocks behind her. She was trapped.

No one talked about Abigail after her death. There was nothing left of her, but her clothes. A hiker stumbled across it and told everyone he knew about what he'd found. But they figured out what had killed her and kept quiet since then. They knew that if they spread the news of its power and name to the outsiders of the town, it'd come back and take another. Its name was Killamannilla. It was a devil beast. If people spread its name and legend, it would go and claim a person from each town or city or even a small neighborhood. It's what happened to Abigail. She heard of its tale from a coworker in the city. The coworker didn't know any better and Abigail had told her friends and neighbors the tale. Then, they told their friends and neighbors and the chain continued.

At the end of the month, about thirty-five people died in the state. Some knew and believed the legend was responsible while others were skeptical.

Abigail's funeral was tense. Her family was torn between how it had happened to her, but they never uttered her name.

If they spoke her name, the newly birthed Killamannilla with Abigail's face would appear. It would stalk them until it decided who to hunt down and create another Killamannilla. It had Abigail's face, but none of her kindness, her sweetness, and her honesty. It was just a beast.

The victims' families got together one day to be the hunters of this time. They loaded their shotguns and pistols and rifles. Extra bullets were in pouches that hung at their waists, ready to give more much-needed ammo. They finally called the names of their lost ones. How did they know that it would work? One of the children of a family had found a book, a short one. It was written on the beast known as the Killamannilla. The child showed her mother the book and she read through it, seeing how it was connected and explained the legend and what truly happened to the victims. The mother told the other families and off they went to hunt down the beast.

Seeing Abigail's face on this monster was heartbreaking and anger-inducing. Abigail's sister, Stacy, shot the creature, about five times in its side. The beast howled in pain, its blood a dark red. Its muscular form seemed to deflate until it was nothing but a pile of flesh. They didn't see anything about this in the book.

From the pile of flesh emerged a naked woman, tears in her eyes, blood coating her skin, and fur slowly peeling off her neck and chin. She had a frightened look as the tears poured down her cheeks.

"Abigail!" Stacy screamed with joy and worry. It was her sister! The naked woman looked over, sobbing as she saw her sister. Stacy ran over, hugging Abigail tightly, crying as well.

No one knew that there was just one Killamannilla and it turned its victims into versions of itself, using them to make more and more. It was a being that spread like a disease, but they knew about it now.

The families shot every Killamannilla they saw. But it was always a victim underneath. They never found the original, the only true Killamannilla.