Within the Mind of the Beast

It is getting dark. Soon I will be able to move undetected. The shadows will hide me from them. I feel the hunger beginning to grow. It is always so strong when I first wake up. I will find one of them. There is always one or two that go where they should not. They are brave and stupid; prey that walks on two legs. They think they are so great, but there are many creatures more powerful and glorious than they are. They think they are all alone, but someone -- something -- is always watching them. Tonight, it is me.

Not much longer now. Very soon there will be only the dim street lamps to light the area. Someone will come and I will take them. I love how they fight at first. The women kick and scratch sometimes. The men use their fists and even knives. It always ends the same. I cover their mouth and nose with my claws and allow the liquid to escape. It pours into their nostrils and evaporates into a gas. And then they are asleep. Once that happens I open their flesh, exposing the tender meat and organs. Then I begin to feast. The muscles and tissues in the legs provide a great appetizer. They are rich and the meat is dark. The blood flows quick and warm. It is a great drink that fills me with energy and life. Once the blood has stopped I clean the legs to the bone. Then, for the main course, I begin to devour the internal organs. They are still fresh. Some of them are saltier than others. The heart is my favorite. It seems to stay a bit warmer than the others and always contains a bit more blood. It is sort of like a juicy filling. The way the blood bursts out as I bite into it is so wonderful. The arms are usually too skinny and full of tendons, so I skip those and finish with the brain. It is so easy once I sink my claws into the back of their neck. I can feel the spot where the spinal cord meets the brain. I wrap it around my claw once, twice, a third time, I jerk it down then upward quickly. The brain comes out easily and the cord snaps off at the first vertebra. By this time it has become a cool dessert. I finish it quickly and leave the carcass behind to be discovered by whatever, or whoever, happens to come by.

They always blame it on some psycho; another one of their own. They do not believe in creatures like me. Not like children do. Once humans became adults, they stopped believing. Not because they really think we are not there, but because it is easier to push away the fear by pretending we do not exist. They try to make themselves believe something is not real, but they will always remember it when they are alone in the dark. They cannot escape the truth. Only those that see and survive know, but no one ever believes them. They are always dismissed as crazy. The fluids I release do something to their minds anyway. If they survive, they will never really be coherent ever again. But I hardly ever lose one. The last time was three sunsets ago. I saw the human stop his car on the wrong side of the gas station. The dark side where there are no lights. He left his headlights on and his car running which made it easy for me to sneak into the back and not be noticed. When he returned a short time later, he was carrying a small paper bag with something in it. I did not care about that though. The gas station was secluded so I knew we would be out onto the dark road soon. And we were. As soon as I saw the gas station disappear behind us I reached out and grabbed the man by his face and upper torso. He tried to pull my claws away, but I had already begun to release the fluid. The car went off the road and crashed into a tree. It did not hurt me, but his face broke free of my claws from the force of the impact and I caught his right eye with my claw ripping it out. Another one of my claws snagged his throat and ripped the skin from his neck while the claws on his body destroyed the flesh on his torso. He smashed his head on the steering wheel. I climbed over the seat in time to see him peering up at me with his only eye. Fear shone in the eye for a moment and then he was unconscious. Once the eye closed, I commenced the ripping apart of his legs. Just then I saw light. A car was approaching. I would have continued, but the car began to slow down as it approached. They usually do not stop. This was an exception. It is better to get away in cases like this. I did not know how many were in the car, but I would not have enough fluid to take care of more than one of them. I eat once every few sunsets. That is why I wake up very hungry. I sleep the rest of the time. I restore my fluid used that way.

It is dark now. I think I already see my meal tonight.