Hunting Season

The Monster

It was taller than God, and much more grotesque than anyone expected, though God himself was unfazed.

The being limped as it slowly marched towards God and Adira, almost stumbling as it pushed past trees. It's thin, deformed limbs swayed from to side as it lidless eyes and lipless mouth widened in unison. God protectively shielded Adira, making sure she didn't see how foul the creature was.

He knew the cult was involved with it. They had tried to play God and upgrade mortals into something like him. The outcome was a crazed, deformed, monstrous human- if you could even call it that.

Behind God, Adira was having problems controlling her breathing as her chest became became heavy with fear and anxiety. She unintentionally squeezed the end of his jacket, burying her face in the fabric as she heard the new creature's breath become louder.

"Adira."

She blinked a couple times, wondering if she was hearing things until the familiar voice called out to her again, this time behind her. She stiffened and slowly turned, swallowing uneasily when her eyes rested on a rather strange looking man. He was partially standing behind a tree far off, but no matter the distance Adira knew who she was looking at.

"K-Kevin?!" She whispered harshly, almost letting go of God until Kevin wasn't where he used to be. She looked around frantically, jumping when she noticed he had gotten closer. He was now standing to the right of her, seemingly completely oblivious to the chaos unfolding next to them.

"We were wrong to come here," Kevin spoke in a raspy voice, and it was then that Adira noticed dried blood on the sides of his mouth. He looked so pale, so sick, so...dead.

"Get out of here, Kevin!" Adira wasn't keeping quiet anymore, and she felt God grab a rough hold of her arm.

"What are you doing." He snapped, keeping his voice down as the thing in front of him began to hunch down, noticing the human that had been hiding.

Adira didn't understand why God couldn't see Kevin, but she stopped when her eyes landed on the deformed abomination that was now glaring directly at her. Her jaw fell open in disgust and horror, causing a hand to fly to her mouth as she tried to suppress a shriek. It wasn't due to the fact that the monster was so hideous, but rather because she recognized it. She had seen it in her dreams not long ago, when Kevin had taken her into him and Conrad's camping area.

Adira carefully turned to Kevin, who was still where she had last seen him. He was slowly unbuttoning his shirt now, a sad hopeless look on his face as he exposed what was left of his stomach. Nothing but a mangled mess of spine, blood, and guts.

"After Mitch, they found us, Adira. They locked us both inside a place. He went mad and ate me. He escaped them...and hid in a cave until-."

Adira felt her whole body become petrified, and she was completely out of touch with reality until she was pushed on the floor.

God had managed to save her from getting grabbed by their attacker, and now held a firm grip on the thin but strong arms of the creature Adira realized was Conrad.

She immediately got up, tears streaming down her face at the outcome of the three men.

Once united, they were now completely torn apart. Kevin had been eaten by his friend, Conrad transformed into a monstrosity, and Mitch's soul was sacrificed for God.

It was too late for any of them now, and in her heart she felt time had run up for her as well.

Adira looked at her hands, down at the necklace that once belonged to her lover. She had forgotten she grabbed a hold of it. With shaky fingers, she opened up the locket and painfully read the message inside.