Bane of the Orretosa

Hey guys its Darkness. Yes, yes, I know this isn’t Moonlight Denial. I should bite my thumb off before starting something new, but I couldn’t help it. I’ll give a better explanation as to why I haven’t updated MD when I actually post the next chapter, which I’m hoping will be next week.

For the moment I think I just really needed to write something other than MD and this was just the ticket. It let me get out a lot of stuff and I had great fun working with a new slate. I hope you enjoy this new idea baby, so please, give it a whirl XD

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Elliot knew it was going to be a bad day. He knew it from the moment he rolled out of bed and stubbed his toe to when a flake of cereal lodged in his throat, making him cough and sputter for several minutes.

His mood never went above sour. Of course getting stuck in traffic, being late for work, then being yelled at by his self-loathing, obnoxious blowhard of a boss didn’t call for the meter to rise above sour.

After an agonizing eight hours at the hellhole that put food on his table he steered his car directly to the nearest bar. He gorged himself on the questionable bar peanuts and tossed back a few beers. He grumbled along with the other bar patrons about how unfair life was before deciding to stumble out and return to his little house.

He lived a few minutes outside of the city, which was a nice forested area. He enjoyed the solitude. The bustle of the city would be far too much for him to handle all day everyday.

The car rumbled down the lonely stretch of road that would lead him home. Night had settled in and the headlights cut through the darkness, guiding the way. A mellow tune murmured soothingly from the radio and he was finally starting to feel a bit of peace seep into his skin.

The peace seeped right back out when he saw something strange. Another car was parked along the side of the road. It wouldn’t be so strange, but there was hardly anyone out this way this time of night. What was stranger was that he could have sworn he saw people slip into the woods right as he approached.

He slowed the car and stared at the foreign machine with great scrutiny. Curiosity outweighed his tired indifference and he stopped the car altogether to get a better look. He clambered out of his vehicle and approached the other carefully.

“Hello?” he called out, thinking maybe the car had broken down. The question was why would the owners go into the woods? Help would come from the street not the trees.

“Hey, anyone there? Do you need some help?”

Not even crickets would answer him and the peace he had felt before was now replaced by an eerie chill that had the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. Everything in him told him to flee back into his car and get out of there. His body had only just turned when he was stopped cold by a shrill scream that pierced the air.

It was a woman’s scream. A woman in trouble. Without a second thought Elliot ran back to his car, but it wasn't to drive off. It was so he could get the tire iron he kept in his truck. By the time a second scream reached his ears he was running into the woods. It was dark, but the adrenaline pumping through him made his eyes adjust incredibly fast.

He could hear sounds ahead of him. The sounds of a great struggle coupled with the terrified cries of the woman in need. Then a voice carried through the trees that helped Elliot zero in on his goal.

“Knock it off. What the hell are you whimpering for? Why don’t you fight back before I get bored and just cut your innards out?”

“Please! Please don’t!” the woman shrieked.

“All right, that’s it. I’m done with this. Time to say nighty night.”

Elliot came upon them a second later. He saw the woman on the ground, holding her arm over her face to defend herself while her other arm was held in a bruising grip by a man that loomed over her. Then Elliot saw the knife. The man was holding up a knife, its blade the length from Elliot’s wrist to his fingertips, and he held it up, ready to plunge it down into the woman.

Elliot’s body was humming, making him move faster than he had ever moved before. He was on the man before the other ever saw him coming. There was a sickening crack as the tire iron met skull and the man went down. The moment his body hit the ground Elliot grabbed the woman’s arm and yanked her up.

“Come on! Come on!” he yelled before pulling her through the woods and they ran back towards the road. The woman slowed him down as she tripped and fumbled through the woods, but he kept a strong arm on her. When they were almost to the road he was amazed and terrified to hear thundering footsteps behind them.

“Wait! Get back here!” the man shouted. “You don’t know what you’re doing!”

Elliot must not have hit the man as hard as he thought, but it mattered little. He and the woman burst out of the woods onto the street and he pulled her to his car. He shoved her through the open driver side door and pushed her until she crumbled into the passenger seat. He got in after her and peeled out as soon as the door was closed.

He was panting hard as his car roared down the road. He never thought his heart could beat so fast. It was almost painful. He looked in his rearview mirror just in time to see the other man reach the road and wave his arms in the air and then he was out of sight.

Elliot took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to calm himself. He never thought his normal day could end in such a way.

“You okay?” Elliot asked the woman as she huddled against the passenger door and whimpered. When she didn’t answer he assumed she was suffering from shock, which was fine by him. He wouldn’t know what else to say if she did talk.

His muscles had just begun to relax when he got the sense that something wasn’t right. The woman had gone strangely still and she made not a sound. His reason told him that she was finally calming down, but red flags and sirens blared off in his head.

He took his eyes off the road to look at her and he regretted that decision to his core. The woman was staring at him and her eyes were otherworldly. They were pitch black, like two bottomless pits, but her mouth was what terrified him. Her mouth was wide open and her teeth had all turned pointed and lethal. An appendage came from the depths of her throat. It was long and the end was in the form of a sucker and more teeth were in the sucker, flexing and drooling.

Elliot screamed as the woman lunged at him. He took his hands off the wheel to hold her off as those teeth tried to reach him. The car rolled into the other lane before going off the road and colliding with a tree.

Elliot and the woman rammed forward from the collision. The steering wheel was not kind to his chest, but he hardly felt the pain. His fear and terror over ruled everything as he tried to open his door, having to use his shoulder to force it open. He was able to tumble out of the car before the woman - no, the monster - could get her bearings.

He ran blindly into the woods and could hear the horrible monster come after him. He had gone from being a hero to prey to whatever it was that chased him. Horrific, animal like shrieks followed after him along with grunts and snarls. All sounds not even the strongest alcohol could erase from Elliot’s mind.

A harsh blow to his shoulder sent Elliot to the ground. He twisted and rolled and before he could even think of moving there was a great weight on his chest. He stared up at the monster that pinned him down. Stared at the mouth appendage that extended further and the teeth inside the sucker began to spin and whirl like a blender blade that inched closer and closer to his face.

Elliot felt the hot drool that leaked onto his face, smelled the foul breath and knew that this was how he was going to die. He screamed like he had never screamed before, but the sound was drowned out by three gunshots going off.

The creature screamed as the bullets hit its shoulders and chest and it scrambled off Elliot in agony. Another shot made it move back further and Elliot was grabbed by his shirt and hefted to his feet.

“Get up, get up,” the man from before said, his arm then slipped around Elliot’s torso to get him up fully.

Elliot tried to stand on his own feet, but his legs felt like they had no bones. He could not tear his eyes off the monster that now stood off with them, growling and hissing.

“Wh-What is th-that?” he stuttered out, holding onto the man’s arm like a vice.

“Your worst nightmare. Not the damsel in distress you were expecting huh, Mr. Knight-In-Shining-Armor?” the man mocked with a laugh.

Elliot had no idea how anyone could laugh in such a situation, but that thought escaped his mind as the monster’s body began to change. Its bones cracked and snapped as it grew bigger and its limbs longer. The long, beautiful hair of the “woman” fell out and its peach skin ripped and fell away and was replaced with a rough, grey hide. Its face elongated slightly, and its lips pulled back, making its sharp teeth more prominent. Its hands were large and its fingers had turned into giant claws that matched the ones that had sprouted from its toes. It really was Elliot’s worse nightmare.

“Hey, now we’re talking,” the man said and Elliot couldn't believe the man didn’t feel even an ounce of the fear that was running through his veins. “Maybe this night won’t be so boring after all.”

“Are-Are you crazy?” Elliot asked, not able to take his eyes off the monster that stretched out its body and appeared to be leering at them. “It’s going to kill us.”

“Maybe you, but I’ll try to make sure you keep most of your limbs. As for your first question; maybe just a little.”

Elliot couldn’t believe how easy going the man was while they were at a stand off with the most grotesque creature he could imagine. His full attention was put back on said creature when it began to snarl and a guttural sound issued from it that sounded like a warped laugh.

“I think you’re little friend is right, Hunter,” it said, its words sounded like a rumbling, slurping mess. Its mouth didn’t move as it spoke, but the words were clear. “I’m going to rip you both apart and devour your insides. The little quivering man is sure to be delicious.” Globs of drool seeped through its teeth as it fixed its black gaze on Elliot.

Elliot grunted as he was tossed back into a tree and the man stood in front of him protectively.

“Yeah, well, in order to get to the entree you have to finish the appetizer first.” He reloaded the gun and grinned widely at the monster. “So come on, good looking. Let’s get this buffet started.”

The creature growled and it’s back arched. If it had hackles they would have raised.

“I’m going to suck out your bone marrow nice and slow. Hunter marrow is always the sweetest.”

It hunched on its powerful legs before lunging at the man. Elliot was sure the man was dead, he was just standing there! When the creature was almost on him the man raised his leg and with a swift kick sent the monster sprawling. He shot at the creature, but it was quicker and dodged the bullets.

The man kept shooting as the monster jumped from tree to tree, making the bark explode as the bullets hit the trunks. The gun went flying as the creature got in close and smacked it from him. The man followed as the monster grabbed him and hurled him, causing him to hit a tree hard and fall to the forest floor. He didn’t get up.

The creature was about to go for the man, but he caught sight of Elliot. To Elliot’s horror the monster stalked towards him.

“I wanted to save you for last, but you’re just too tasty. I’m going to gobble up your insides, crunch up your bones and slurp up your blood until your nothing but skin.” More drool dribbled to the ground and all Elliot could do was cower against his tree and wait for the monster to make good on its promise.

A gutsy cry sounded and the fallen man jumped on the creatures back. He pulled two of the knives from before from his belt and held them up high.

“You’re not done with me yet!”

A high pitched squeal came from the creature as the man sank the knives into its shoulders. Elliot scrambled away as it thrashed and twisted, trying to get the man off. It jumped around like a bucking bronco, slamming into trees, but the man held on.

“Come on, is that all you’ve got!” the man yelled, obviously enjoying the ride. That was until the creature got an idea and rolled over, crushing the man between him and the ground. When it got back to its feet it reached up and yanked the knives out and tossed them. Before the man could get up the monster took hold of his feet and whipped him into a tree and then another and another.

“What’s the matter, Hunter? No more fight in you?” it asked with a cackle. “No gun. No pointy knives. Nothing more you can do.” It held the man up in the air by his feet so they were eye level. “But I grow bored, so I think I’ll just suck out your brain now.”

That dreadful razor toothed appendage came out and the teeth began to spin as it drew closer and closer to the limp man’s forehead. Elliot sucked in his breath and begged the man to move, to do something. His prayers were answered when the man’s eyes snapped open and he grabbed the appendage before the teeth could make contact.

“Didn’t your mama ever tell you that sticking out your tongue is rude? I’ll take that.” With a great yank and a disgusting rip the toothed appendage was ripped out.

The man was dropped as the creature reared back with a deafening shriek. In mid fall the man turned and landed on his feet then held up the tongue tauntingly.

“Oh, what’s this? Can’t suck out my brains without your little tongue, now can you?”

The creature let out a roar, blood and drool both gushing from its mouth. It swiped at the man, but he jumped back and the claws raked through his clothes, but missed his skin. He then lunged forward, releasing the useless tongue and punching the creature in the throat.

To Elliot’s confusion blood sprayed from the creature’s neck. It was then he realized the man was wearing gloves that had small spikes coming from the knuckles. More blood came as the man punched again, but he had to retreat as the monster got back its senses and rushed at him. They came Elliot’s way and his only defense was to curl into a ball on the ground. Luckily the man was able to jump over him and the monster didn’t step on him as it went by.

As the creature past something hot and wet splattered on Elliot. He looked down at himself and found it he was covered in the monster’s blood. Black thick blood. It was on his chest and arms and he could feel it on his face. He tried to wipe it off, but only managed to smear it onto his mouth and it touched his tongue. The foul substance seemed to coat his taste buds and he gagged. It tasted like decay and tar.

The fighting pair got close to him again and he had to forget about the blood and shuffle back so as not to get trampled. His hand touched something hard and cold and he looked back. It was the knife. The blade glinted in the moonlight and Elliot could not tear his eyes away from it. It was dangerous. It was deadly. It was beautiful.

Elliot cried out and all of his joints locked up as it felt like every cell in his body turned to ice. Then just as quickly he grew hot, hotter than coals, hotter than fire. It was as if magma coursed through his body and made him feel as if he would burn up and turn to ash.

All at once the feeling past and he felt normal, but strangely different. It was as if he was awake for the first time. He was hyper aware of his entire being. The way his lungs expanded and contracted. Every beat of his heart. The rushing pulse of blood in his veins. The tensing in his muscles. He could even feel every hair that was on his body. It was exhilarating.

The scuffle only a few feet away caught his attention. He looked upon the two and he focused on the creature. He saw it with new eyes. Yes, it was still disgusting and grotesque, but it did not fill him with the fear it had before. Instead he had the desire to hurt it, to make it bleed more. It was an abomination. It needed to die!

Elliot’s fingers trailed down the blade of the knife until he touched the hilt. He wrapped his fingers around it and slowly rose to his feet. The man had punched the creature a few more times, but he now had his own scratches over his body. The monster had its back to Elliot, possibly forgetting that he was even there. Big mistake.

He raced forward; dagger poised and rammed it into the creature’s back. It arched back and howled as blood bubbled over the dagger hilt and drenched Elliot’s hands. More. He needed more blood to spill. It was intoxicating.

The monster twisted around and swiped at him. With reflexes he never knew were possible, Elliot pulled out the knife and jumped back, dodging the claws completely. The other man was by him in a second, his expression finally showing something more than casual indifference.

“What the hell do you think you’re do…ing.” He trailed off as he looked into Elliot’s eyes. He must have seen something there. Maybe he saw what Elliot felt. A grin spread across the man’s face. “You have got to be fucking kidding me. Is this really happening?” He hooted and pumped his arm into the air. “This is officially the most awesome night ever!”

Elliot didn’t know what he was talking about, nor did he care. The monster was moving. He didn’t see it. He could feel it moving. He turned and watched it as it limped back, turning its black eyes from him to the man and back.

“No, it can’t be. You? You are a Sleeper?” it said, still trying to move back. “An Awakened Sleeper. No, no, Hunter is bad enough, no Sleeper.”

“Oooh are we shaking in our clawed boots now?” the man asked. His eyes flicked over to Elliot. “Though I didn’t see this coming either. How do you feel, Buddy?”

Elliot still had no idea what they were talking about and he couldn’t express in words what he felt. He just knew what he had to do. It was all that mattered.

“It has to die. It has to die,” he muttered over. His voice sounded strange and foreign to him, but he believed in the words he spoke. His grip tightened on the hilt and he took a step forward. A real growl rumbled from his chest when the man placed his hands on Elliot’s shoulders.

“Down boy, down. Yes, it does have to die. It has to die right now. But don’t rush and hack and slash blindly. You have to know what you’re aiming for. You have to aim at the chest where it glows. Can you see it?”

Elliot focused on the creature’s chest. At first he saw nothing, but then he saw it. It was like he could see right into its insides. In the center of its chest a red spot began to glow and shimmer. It was in the shape of a drop and it was bright red. He could see it underneath the grey skin. The bullet the man had shot previously had missed it by only an inch.

“That’s its core,” the man said. “The best way to make sure to kill one of these things. Stab it there and it’s done for. You up for it?”

Elliot’s body was growing hot again. He had never felt such a rush or more satisfied with just the thought of killing the creature. He had to kill it. He wanted the ecstasy it would bring. He knew it would be better than sex.

“It has to die,” he said again.

“One track mind. Newbie’s are so cute. I’ll leave you to it then. Remember, aim for the chest.” The man took his hands away and he stepped away, leaving Elliot with the creature.

It appeared to get some of its bravado back as it stopped backing away and squared off with Elliot.

“You are Awakened, but still weak Sleeper. Not trained, not strong, still fragile. The Hunter can kill me, but not you. I will eat you.”

“Kinda hard to do that without your spiky tongue,” the man said. “And he may be fresh, but you’re wrong if you think he can’t do some damage. If you doubt me you may want to take a look at your back.”

Elliot growled again and lashed his head back and forth. So much talking. Too much talking. Not enough killing. He would rectify that. With a cry that didn’t sound like himself he ran forward with the blade ready to cut. Cut. Cut!

The creature sprang away, but he followed easily. He was amazed by how he could track the monster’s movement without much difficulty. Every move of a muscle didn’t surprise him and he was able to keep up without breaking a sweat. When it stopped running and attacked him he put the same principles into motion and was able to dodge flawlessly and got a few cuts into its arms as it reached for him. The blood that came from those cuts excited him even more.

With cockiness comes sloppiness, so it was no surprise when the claws finally found its mark and they raked across Elliot’s forearm. His own blood flowed from the gashes, but he felt nothing. No pain. Nothing. So it made it that much easier to ignore and he lunged forward and drove the blade into the creature’s thigh. With his weight and momentum he was able to knock into it simultaneously and they were both sent tumbling.

With the creature on its back Elliot yanked the knife out and climbed up its body. He straddled its taut, sinewy stomach and raised the dagger above his head. His eyes focused on the glowing red drop in its chest. It seemed to burn brighter, as if in response to his gaze. It burned brighter than the sun.

With a fierce cry he brought the knife down. He felt the delicious resistance before the blade pierced the chest cavity and pierced the red drop. The creature screamed in pure agony and its limbs flailed helplessly, but Elliot could not be thrown off. He wanted to hear more of its pain. He wanted it to howl.

He yanked the knife out and felt the creature’s flesh suck on it, trying to keep it in. When the blade was extracted the blood flowed freely. It poured out of the wound and it was all Elliot could do not to slurp and lap it up. He wanted more. He drove the knife in again. More shrieks and more blood. He stabbed over and over and kept it up even long after the creature stopped moving.

Finally, when there was a gaping hole in the chest cavity, Elliot plunged the knife in it one last time, pushing it in as deep as he could. His body trembled as he leaned back, tilting his head towards the sky. Such pleasure. Better than anything he had ever felt. He was soaked in the black blood. He could feel it dripping from his chin and running down his neck and limbs. It was glorious.

“Man, that was hot,” a voice said, ruining the moment. It was the man. Elliot had forgotten his existence. “I feel like I need to pay you for that show.”

Elliot opened his eyes and looked at the stars that peaked through the branches. They seemed to twinkle brighter than he could remember. He brought his eyes down to the creature. At the dozen of holes in its chest and how its head was lolled back and its mouth was locked open, blood still oozing from between its monstrous teeth.

Then, like a bucket of ice cold water, reality washed over him. Whatever had come over him vanished and he realized that he was sitting on top of a monster that he had just stabbed mercilessly. He had killed it. He was covered in its blood!

With a terrified yelp he scrambled back and fell of the body. He then shuffled as far as he could from it until his back met a tree. His body started to shake, but not with pleasure this time, but in disgust and fear.

“Oh God, what have I done? What did I do? I couldn't have…How?” The words spilled from his mouth with no rhyme or reason.

“Awe, have you ridden out your high already?” the man asked, walking over to the creature and pulling out the knife. He wiped the blood off with his coat and shook his head. “I hate dealing with this part. Please don’t have a total meltdown on me.”

He sheathed the blade and went to go find his other one and his gun, leaving Elliot to his shaking and muttering. When the man was all situated he went to Elliot and grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him to his feet again.

“Come on, up you go.”

“No, no don’t touch me. Get off,” Elliot said weakly, but had no energy to push the man away.

“Oh, you’re going to be just fine.” He got Elliot’s arm around his shoulders and led him away from the scene and into the woods. “You did great for a newbie, really. I was expecting to have to help you, but you were just beyond words. I’ve never seen such strong instincts. I’m actually kind of jealous.”

“Stop talking. Please, just stop talking.” Elliot was exhausted. He could hardly get his feet to move and he had to lean completely against the man. The other ignored him and just kept prattling on as they navigated through the forest.

They soon emerged from it and the road stretched out before them. The man led him to a car, but it wasn’t Elliot’s car. It was the one he had seen before. The one that had made him stop in the first place.

The man opened the passenger door and deposited Elliot into it. He flinched when the door closed. So loud. The man got in behind the wheel and the car soon rumbled to life and was heading down the road. They soon came towards his car that was off the road and he could see the damage the tree had done, but it could have been worse.

“My car,” he said feebly.

“I’ll come back for it later. It looks like it might still run.”

Elliot leaned into the door and pressed his head against the cool glass. When he closed his eyes the creature jumped out from beneath his eyelids, so he kept them open.

“You going to be okay, Buddy?” the man asked.

He wanted to say no. He was never going to be okay, but he wanted to talk about something other than how he felt. Anything else.

“Who are you?”

“The name’s Jack. Jack Zitter. How about you?”

“Elliot Loy.”

“Nice to meet you, Elliot.”

“What was that thing?”

“An Orretosa.”

“What’s an Orretosa?”

“I think that’s a conversation best to have when you’re not in shock.”

“Hmm, that’s probably true. I think I’m about to pass out.”

“Do you think you can tell me where you live before you do that? It’d be nice to get you somewhere you’d be comfortable.”

Elliot gave Jack his address and directions on how to get there. Then he made good on his word and gave into the fuzziness in his head and let his eyes roll into the back of his head and slumped into blissful darkness.

Yes, it had been a very bad day.

===================================Ch. 1 End

Mwahahaha I had so much fun writing this. I think I just needed to write something very violent and Elliot was perfect for that. So, the question is what the hell just happened? What was that creature, why did Elliot have a psychotic murderous rage, and who is this mysterious Jack? All questions I’ll be happy to answer as we go along the way. Though, I still have to work that out for myself. I’m not quite sure where this story is going, but I’m excited to find out where it’ll lead.

So, I’m deeming this story as my little pet project. I’ll make sure to just work on this on the side, since I still want MD to be my main focus. It’s just nice to have something different to think about, you know what I mean?

I hope you enjoyed the carnage and the confusion. The next chapter will clear a couple of things up. Thanks for reading! *huggies and lickies*