Cold Stone
by
Nathanael Smith

Bill Watterly and Tina Gayle had been packing their backpacks all that morning, and shortly after lunch they waved their farewells and left the lodge. This was a long-expected and long-planned weekend, a weekend to get out into the great outdoors and experience nature at her best.

The two followed the road for over a mile. Just before the exit from the campground, they turned and followed a five-strand barbed wire fence, which had been erected to keep cattle on one side and campers on the other. There had been some mix ups some time ago, until one camper had been found dead, gored to death.

But right now nothing was farther from Bill and Tina's minds. Bill was leading along a deer trail, and Tina was looking for daisies to brighten her room in the cabin, which was far enough from civilization that it was rarely stocked. Bill had the weekend's supplies packed in his ALICE bag, a favorite of his since he found it in an army surplus store.

Tina saw the cabin first, and ran down the last short slope. Inside it was bare. Nothing but a small table and two doors to two different rooms. The one on the east, she decided, was hers.

Bill walked in shortly, with a fist-sized stone. On one side there was a shape, like a cow's head, and on the other was a splotch of dark brown, "Maybe that's blood!" he said, trying to frighten Tina. He put it on the table, and went to rearranging his stuff.

That evening a storm blew in. Lightning reflected off the hills around them, and thunder shook the cabin. Tina and Bill had finished supper and were sitting around, doing nothing. Suddenly, Bill's rock began to glow. It got brighter and brighter, until, with a crash, the house fell in. It rolled off the table and along a faint trail. Bill was surprised, but soon began to follow it. Tina was a little more leery, but followed Bill.

"If nothing else, we can find a tree to sleep under tonight," said Bill, but continued after the rock.

"That tree looks good," Tina pointed to a large elm in the center of a clearing. The stone rolled into some dense bushes. Bill looked disappointed, but they moved towards the tree.

There was a blinding flash of lightning answered immediately by a roar that shook Tina off her feet. Bill instinctively raised his arm to protect himself. A ripping pain shot through his arm and shoulder as a falling tree branch hit it with a sickening thud.

The struck tree burst into flames, lighting up the landscape with an eerie glow.

In the bushes behind them there was a loud crunching noise, as a hairy giant stood up. It had horns protruding from it's massive, almost bovinary head, and it's only clothing was a rough belt from which dangled the skull and backbone of a human, and a number of wide bracelets pushed up over his arm. It had a large, chipped, wicked blade in one hand, and large stone ring on his other hand. It's feet were the thick hooves of a large horse, and it's face was long like a dog's.

It grinned, showing it's fangs, then leaped at the sitting Tina. She fainted and fell instants before the creature could spear her with it's gruesome horns. It caught the flaming tree instead, and spun around. Tina rolled over and was washed down the hill by the torrential rain.

Bill picked up a flaming branch with his good arm and swung at the beast. It caught the branch, but was knocked off balance, and fell downhill. Bill forgot to let go of his end of the branch, and was jerked after it.

Moments after, Bill was rammed up against a tree standing on the side of a gully. He slowly stood up, rubbed his head, then his arm, and called for Tina.

"I'm here," came the shaky response, then she stood up.

A deep growl answered her.

"Bill? are you OK?"

"That wasn't me," he replied in a whisper.

A large shadow was lit up by a flash of lightning. The monster stood not five feet from the tree which the kids were under. Bill backed up the hill a short way, and Tina squirmed to the other side of the tree.

The monster turned to face the boy, who was clawing at a bramble bush. He caught his breath as he grabbed a handful of thorns, then twisted to face his adversary. Gloating yellow eyes stared back at him, and a great hand with a stone ring glistening in the fitful light was raised, and he wondered if dying was all that painful. One look at the skewer-horns on the beast's head and he knew that it would be. It lowered it's head and began it's rush.

Time stood still.

Out of the corner of his eye, Bill saw Tina spin around the tree, then begin an infinitely slow run towards the animal. He opened his mouth to scream, trying to stop her before she killed herself. No noise came out, or she didn't hear, but kept running.

Wicked horns flashed again with the lightning, and yellow eyes gleamed out.

A human blur, which was Tina, gleamed for an instant, then fell back into the darkness of the night.

Bill fell onto his knees, grasping for something, finding the brambles.

A crunch indicated the fact that Tina had reached the animal, ramming it with all her might.

It faltered, then stumbled, tripped, and fell, sliding down the slick slope. If fell down the ravine, causing a rock slide, burying itself under tons of cold stone.

Bill stood up.

Tina stood up.

They looked at the precipice over which the creature had fallen, then turned to face each other.

They made their way back to the fallen cabin, picking up their wet and dirty gear, then turned and followed the deer path back to the road, followed the road back towards the lodge, the adrenaline in their systems keeping them from sinking to the ground in weariness.

Bill stumbled, leaned hard on Tina's arm. Tina wavered, then leaned back onto Bill. Together they pushed on together they reached the lodge. Together they collapsed onto the porch.

In a daze, they got up, crawled in, were greeted by the homey aroma of chicken and dumplings, by a roomful of smiling faces.

Bill tried to focus his eyes. "It tried to get us. We ran. It fell. rocks." He slid to the ground in a heap. Tina, losing her support, fell too.

* * *

They were revived, told their story, were laughed at. But they weren't laughing. They had seen too much, would see more. For far below, in a newly filled ravine, rocks rattled as a hairy arm, with a cold stone ring, pushed out of the rubble of a landslide. The bestial body followed, the eyes emitting a deadly light...