Skinwalker Valley - Chapter Four

FOUR

After some time Glory managed to fall asleep, the warm comfort of her blankets overcoming the worries going around in her head. Her sleep was soon interrupted though by a strange, uneasy feeling she had. The feeling you get when someone is in the room with you, that kind of energy you cannot explain but are aware of, like a rabbit sensing the nearby predator. She slowly opened her eyes. There was someone there. An athletic, young body. It was still too dark to be sure though. Was it the boy?

“What… what are you doing here?” she murmured.

“I heard you scream,” the person said. But the voice sounded way older, gravelly than the boy’s.

Glory sat up in bed, covering her naked body with her sheets. The person in the room was her dad.

“Are you okay?” Caleb asked her.

“Yeah, I guess. Must have had a nightmare I guess.”

“Well, with everything that has happened the last few weeks that isn’t that strange.”

“Yeah, yeah I guess.” Why did she mistake her dad for the boy. It wasn’t like they looked alike. Even in the dark. She must have been still half asleep or something.

“Okay. Sweeter dreams then,” Caleb said and walked out of the room.

*

The next day Glory found the boy cleaning the stables, which basically came down to shoveling shit and dragging around big stacks of hay. His shirt was drenched with sweat but the didn’t show any signs of fatigue. Caleb was standing there, watching the kid with arms crossed. He looked like he approved.

“Hi,” she said. “I think I overslept.”

“You probably needed it then,” Caleb said.

“Good morning,” the boy said, leaning on his shovel for a minute to make eye contact with her.

“Are you doing okay?” Glory asked him.

“Just fine. Your dad told me what to do.”

“Great. Don’t forget to take a break every now and then. We don’t want you to collapse in the manure.”

The boy chuckled. “Thanks, I’ll be okay though.”

“Looks like we’re getting a visitor,” Caleb said, pointing behind Glory.

Glory turned around and through the open door of the stable saw a grey Silverado pickup truck park. A tall man in a beige uniform got out of it and walked towards them.

Glory and Caleb walked outside to greet him. Glory recognized the uniform of a conservation officer. The officer had a tan skin, looking Native American.

“Hi folks,” the officer said. “Michael Blackcrow, Utah Conservation Office.”

Glory and Caleb introduced themselves. “What brings you here?” Glory asked. “One of your colleagues visited us earlier and he said our slaughtered cattle was a job for the sheriff’s office.”

Blackcrow had a deep, warm voice. “Well. I happen to disagree. My father used to work at the Conservation Office as well. Some things about your case reminded me of something he’d worked on. Something that cost him his life.”

“His life? What the fuck are you talking about?” Caleb asked.

“My father thought he was on the trail of an ancient supernatural being called a skinwalker. The skinwalker slaughtered cattle and according to my father was responsible for a few missing persons. He thought he’d killed them. Worse, he even thought he’d killed some and

Caleb ‘s face reddened. “That’s totally batshit crazy! It’s terrible enough I have to suffer all these stupid tales from form employees and fucking tourists… Now even the Law starts to spout them.”

Glory put a hand on her dad’s shoulder. “Wait, let him speak.”

“I know it sounds incredible. Nobody believed my father either. But he was found dead in his car, his throat torn open. They said it was some kind of wild animal. I’m convinced he was killed by the skinwalker because he was getting to close to exposing him.”

“Tell me more about this skinwalker,” Glory said, intrigued. She noticed the boy had joined them. He looked fascinated as well.

“Yeah,” the boy said. “Please, tell us more.”

Skinwalker Valley - Chapter Three

THREE

The room was small but the bed comfortable enough. There was a small desk, a chair and a radio. The Waldorf Astoria it was not, but the boy had slept on park benches and under bridges during his travels, so it was just fine with him.

“Get yourself comfortable. I’ll fix some dinner after my shower,” Glory said.

The boy massaged his stomach. “Sounds great. I have to admit I’m a bit hungry.”

Glory left his room and entered the bathroom. It held a toilet and a shower, nothing more. She took off her clothes and stood under the shower head. She put on the tap and let the warm water run down her body, cleaning her of the sand that clung to her body after a day of hard work outside.

As she washed her body she thought of the boy. For a kid barely allowed to drive a car he seemed pretty smart and strong. And eager to work. She had a good feeling about him. Hopefully he would stay for a long time. Well, of course she was going to have to see him work. She usually was a pretty good judge of character though.

She put some shampoo in her hair, massaging it into her scalp. As she rinsed it out of her long hair she was suddenly startled by a noise. She stopped washing her hair and strained her ears to hear exactly what the noise had been. Was somebody at the door? There was the sound again. It was as if someone was at the door, indeed. She turned off the shower and walked to the door. She opened the door just a little bit, peeking through it. She saw the boy just turning around the corner in the hallway. Had he been at her door? Had he been… watching her shower?

She shuddered. No, she was imagining things. The boy seemed like such a nice kid. She had to be wrong. She didn’t feel like continuing her shower though. She quickly toweled off and got dressed. Time to fix some dinner.

*

The boy had just put on another shirt, this one sporting the Thrasher logo. He always traveled light, alternating between three shirts and two pairs of pants. That made sure his backpack was light so it was easy to travel and nobody would mind him hitching a ride because he had to much with him. He felt he should look clean for dinner. Especially to a lady as nice as Glory.

There was a knock on his door. He opened it and Glory was standing there. Her hair was a bit damp and she was wearing a dress and cowboy boots. She looked good in a dress.

“Dinner is ready,” she said.

“Awesome!”

“Did you maybe want to take a shower?” Glory asked.

“After dinner that would be great, thanks.”

“So not just now. Half an hour ago?”

“Half an hour? No, I was still resting on the bed.”

“Oh, that’s strange.”

“Strange?”

Glory shook her head. “Never mind, let’s have dinner.”

*

Glory turned out to be not only a beautiful woman but a great cook as well. The chicken, mashed potatoes and vegetables were great. The boy had a big glass of iced tea to go with it. The table was shared with Caleb and Glory. During dinner Caleb explained him what he was expected to do tomorrow. It sounded like a day of very hard work. He noticed Glory was a bit absent-minded though. He wondered what was bothering her. He decided to ask, no fear of course.

“Are you okay, Glory?”

The young woman blushed. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

“You seem… Preoccupied by something.”

“My mind just wanders sometimes, never mind,” Glory said.

“Preoccupied. You use fancy words for a kid,” Caleb noted.

The boy shrugged. “I read a lot when travelling.”

“Well, fancy words won’t get any work done. You’d better go to sleep right after dinner. There’s a day of hard work waiting for you tomorrow.”

“I will,” the boy agreed. He was also pretty sure something was bothering Glory, even if she said it wasn’t the case.

Skinwalker Valley - Chapter Two

TWO

The boy declined the coffee Glory first offered to him in the ranch’s kitchen. Unfortunately she didn’t stock Cherry Coke so he settled on a Diet one. Glory had one herself.

“Your father was pretty jumpy,” the boy told her.

“We’ve had a very unfortunate incident recently. A lot of cattle was slaughtered.”

The boy enjoyed the sound the can made when he opened it. He always did. “Slaughtered? How?”

“We’re not sure. It must have been a coyote. But I’ve never heard of any coyote with that much of an appetite an viciousness.”

“Sounds like a scary predator,” the boy thought, unable to curb his enthusiasm.

Glory shivered. “Yeah. I still have nightmares of discovering the slaughtered remains.”

“Oh, you were the one to discover them? I’m sorry about that!” The boy might be devoid of fear, he understood it could be quite upsetting to come upon a whole bunch of maimed animals. He loved animals.

“It was pretty… Distressing, yeah.”

“I guess I can imagine your dad getting a bit careful after something like that.”

Glory lowered her Coke after a sip. “Exactly.”

The boy took a long drink of Coke, thirsty after the long drive over to the ranch. “I guess I’d better cleaned up. I must reek after being cooped up in that truck for so long.”

“Truck? I didn’t see any car with you?”

“I hitchhiked. I don’t own a car.”

“Oh, really? You hitchhike a lot?”

“Most of the time, really. Cheapest way to travel.”

“Doesn’t that get scary sometimes?”

The boy smiled a wry smile. “Never.”

“You go ahead and drink your Coke and I’ll show you to your room. The shower is near that. You’ll have to share it with me and dad though.”

The boy couldn’t help but think sharing a shower with Glory wouldn’t be all that bad. Of course he understood he wouldn’t be sharing it at the same time. And that she was too old for him. He had a feeling he was going to have to repeat that a few times to himself in the days to come.

“Is there anything being done to find out what killed the cattle?”

“We had the sheriff come over but he figured this would be more of a job for the local conservation officer.”

“Conservation officer?”

“The game warden. It’s his job to investigate poaching and track wildlife. The conservation officer thought it was more of a job for the sheriff’s department. Figured the deed would have to be done by some person who bares ill will to us.”

“Anyone have a reason to?”

Glory raised an eyebrow. “You’re curious kid, aren’t you?”

The boy shrugged. “I guess.”

“Dad suggested there might be some guys who wouldn’t take my no for an answer that could be behind it. I can’t imagine though.”

The way Glory said it showed the boy how unaware of her beauty she was. “There’s some crazy folks out there. You never know.”

Glory gave the boy a playful push. “Aren’t you the wise old man?”

The boy blushed. “I’ve traveled a lot. But the conservation officer didn’t really investigate?”

“Let me say I didn’t think his heart was in it. He just went through the motions.”

“What about those talks of UFO’s and ghosts hanging around here?”

Glory rolled her eyes. “That thing again… Believe nothing of it. Just tales of farmhands that couldn’t stay off their liquor. I hope we’re not going to have that kind of issues with you.”

“I’m not even allowed to drink,” the boy chuckled.

“Right. Another good reason to hire you,” Glory said. “Come on then, let me show you your room.”

Skinwalker Valley - Chapter One

ONE

The boy walked on the ranch, carrying just a small backpack. The truck that had given him a lift was now just a dot on the horizon. The boy liked to travel light and had little in the way of possessions anyway. All the money he earned doing odd jobs was used to pay for his travels and the extreme sports and activities he did during those. A few days ago he’d been hang-gliding. He’d hoped it would give him some sort of jolt, something akin to fear to hang in the sky like that. Unfortunately, he just liked the feeling and the view from above. Fear, he’d felt none. As usual. That was his curse. This curse might make him the ideal candidate to work at this ranch though. After paying for the hang-gliding he was badly in need of funds to be able to travel further. When he’d come upon the advert hanging on the bulletin board of a local grocery store, where he’d stopped to buy some Cherry Coke, he didn’t think twice of reacting. He asked the store clerk if he knew the ranch. The clerk told him he knew about it all right. There were quite some interesting tales going round about it. Some said it was haunted, others said UFO’s were seen there. People just didn’t like working there anymore. The boy assured the clerk that was not an issue for him. In fact, it sounded like an extra incentive to work there. It took only one phone call to the ranch to be invited over.

“Stop right there,” a voice said.

The boy complied. A man in his fifties with a sun weathered face and a grey beard, wearing a Stetson stood in front of him. He was aiming a rifle at him. The boy didn’t blink at the barrel aimed at him.

“Relax. I made an appointment. I’m the new farmhand,” the boy said, calmly raising his hands.

The man squinted. “You don’t look like one.”

The boy looked at his Ramones T-shirt and Converse All-Stars. He shrugged. “What does a farmhand look like?”

“More muscular. More rugged. Older.”

“I spoke to one Glory Chambers. She told me my age wouldn’t be a problem as long as I was willing to work hard,” the boy said.

The man sighed. “That whole cattle decapacitation thing must have really shook her up then. Should never have allowed her to be in charge of hiring new personnel.”

“Sorry you feel that way. But I assure you I’m a hard worker. I think you can lower the rifle now, by the way.”

The old man grinned. “Rifle scare you, kid?”

The boy almost yawned. “Do I look scared to you?”

The man lowered the gun. “As a matter of fact you don’t. That might be a good thing. You been hearing about the strange things happening here?”

“I heard some rumors about UFO’s and hauntings, yeah.”

“That doesn’t scare you?”

“I don’t get scared.”

The old man raised an eyebrow. “You’re a cocky little shit, aren’t you?”

“I’m not being cocky. I just don’t get scared. Period.”

The sound of a horse’s hooves sounded, heralding the arrival of a beautiful young woman on horseback. Lustrous brown hair danced in the wind. Long, tanned legs in shorts were wrapped around the horse. She was absolutely one of the more striking females the boy had ever seen. She said, “Dad, stop giving that boy such a hard time! Be glad finally someone wants to work at our ranch!”

“I was just jostling a bit,” the old man said. He extended a hand for the boy to shake and told him his name was Caleb Chambers.

“I’m sorry about my father,” the young woman said and with an athletic swing of her legs slid off the horse. She shook the boy’s hand, “Glory Chambers. We spoke on the phone.”

“Nice to meet you.” That was no lie, although she was probably a few years too old for him.

“Come with me and we’ll get you to drink first,” Glory said.

Skinwalker Valley - Prologue

PROLOGUE

Glory Chambers had been living on the ranch all of her twenty years. She enjoyed working with the animals there, riding horses and even cleaning the stables. She couldn’t imagine working in store or behind a desk. Nothing beat the crisp open air and just getting some dirt under her fingernails. A lot of girls in Skinwalker Valley didn’t understand. They wanted to get out of the small town, move to Salt Lake City where they could dance in clubs and make a career in anything from advertising to modeling. Glory had the looks and smart to do either according to her friends. She’d never admit that though. She liked wearing cut-off jeans and simple checkered shirts. Her hair was long and unkept. She never wore make-up. Still, she’d had her share of suitors from the farmhands working there. She wasn’t interested in them, though. She loved the farm, the animals. She had no need for a boyfriend.

There had been a long line of farmhands who came to work at the ranch but left after a few weeks. They were seriously lacking at the moment, but a new one was supposed to start in a week. They were scared off by the strange sightings the ranch had become known for. There had been talks of strange lights in the evening, unnatural predators scouring the grounds and even of ghosts. She had never seen any of those, though. She figured the farmhands had just been drinking too much whiskey or smoking too much pot. She did neither, preferring a healthy lifestyle.

Whistling, she walked to where the cows grazed. They were very quiet this morning. In fact she couldn’t see them move at all. As she got closer her heart started to race. This couldn’t be true. She started to run, tears already in her eyes. As she reached the gate she saw her worst fear had become reality. There was no cow alive anymore. All of them had been viciously slaughtered. The grass was filled with their entrails, the green grass turned red from their blood. She got down on her knees and screamed.

Unleashed! Chapter Thirteen

THIRTEEN

When Baxter opened his eyes he was looking at his lovely June and the boy. He scanned his surroundings, instinctively looking for his gun to blast those fucking monsters again. There were no monsters though. Just a very sterile-looking white room. He was in a bed, a heart-monitor next to him.

“Where am I?”

June took his hand in hers. So soft. He loved those hands. They seemed to be able to heal anything.

“You’re in the hospital,” June told him.

“I got you here after your little brush with death after falling from that tree and getting your leg torn up. You’ll be okay though,” the boy said. He held up a white box with a ribbon around it. “I brought you some chocolates. Hope you like them.”

Baxter smiled. “Thanks, kid. You’re one of a kind. So your plan worked out okay?”

“Yes. That was some weird stuff we encountered over there, right?”

“I still believe it was a dream,” Baxter said.

“I’m afraid the dead bodies of your deputies show it wasn’t. There’s no trace from the Otherwordly anymore though. They just disappeared.”

“How are we going to explain those bodies then,” Baxter wondered. “There’s no way people are going to believe our story.”

The boy shrugged. “I’m afraid I have no idea either. People will probably think they were killed by some kind of wild animal. In a way they were.”

“That must have been some kind of coyote then. But you’re right. It will be the only thing that will make sense to people,” Baxter agreed.

“I just can’t believe the story the boy told me… But if you say it’s true as well it must be. And then I’m very grateful he saved you,” June said.

“What will you be doing now, kid? Want to stay at our place until you find a home and a job maybe?” Baxter asked the boy.

“No, sheriff… I think I’ve seen all I need to see here. It failed to scare me so I will need to move on. Go find something else that gets me to know the meaning of fear.”

Baxter scratched his head. He winced, the movement hurting him. “If that didn’t scare you I’m not sure anything will.”

“I’m not sure either. But I will have to try,” the boy said.

 THE END

The Boy Without Fear will return in SKINWALKER VALLEY!

Unleashed! Chapter Twelve

TWELVE

The boy ran into the library. He could only hope his suspicion was correct. He’d been thinking earlier about what came first; the Otherwordly as entities or the dark thoughts of Kingsbury. Did he put down their stories or did they come to life through his stories. When the smaller creature seemed to die in the library that was just after a bullet had hit one of Kingsbury’s books. That fueled the boy’s crazy theory. The theory that indeed, Kingsbury’s stories had birthed the monsters in the building. He had no way to explain how. If Kingsbury had some sort of strange powers, or if some creatures from another dimension latched onto the books and became full-formed through them. He just knew that he had to try if he was right if he was to save Baxter and the rest of the town.

He took a grenade from the bag, pulled the pin and hurled it at the books in the library. An explosion shred the books to pieces, pages flying through the room.

*

Baxter fired a round from his 9mm at the creatures climbing the tree. He only had a few more left in his handgun. With the AR-15 already empty he seemed to be at the mercy of the Otherworldly. He hit one of the creatures in the eye. The creature hissed as it exploded. Another round barely missed the eye and hit it in the head. The monster wailed instead of hissed this time.

Baxter was surprised. He hadn’t expected the bullet to do that much damage. He got ready to fire again when the other creature’s foreleg tore at his leg. He felt its raptorial foreleg tear into his flesh. He gritted his teeth, not wanting to give that foul thing the satisfaction of hearing him scream. He lost his balance and fell down the tree. He tried to grab some branches and he managed to slow down his fall with them. With a thud the landed on his back.

He watched the monsters move down the tree, eager to get at him. He tried to get up, aim his gun but the pain in his back was too much.

*

The boy threw another grenade at the bookcase. More paper littered the room. There was a strange dark mist coming from the bookcase now. At first the boy figured it was smoke from the explosion. Now he saw the smoke was thicker… It was almost liquid. Almost alive. The mist seemed to travel towards him, reach out to him. The room filled with a strange whistling sound that hurt his ears. Although he lacked fear, he had enough of a survival instinct to understand he had to prevent the mist from reaching him. He stepped back, throwing two grenades at once. The grenades totally tore apart the bookcase, leaving nothing of it anymore. It had left a large hole in the wall behind it. In the hole seemed to be whole sky of stars. Not any formations he’d ever seen though. He threw a grenade right into it as the mist started to circle him. He had trouble breathing as the mist seemed to try and suffocate him.

The grenade in the hole exploded. The mist dissipated, the whistling ended, leaving the boy tired and bewildered. And still utterly fearless.

*

The creatures had surrounded Baxter. He tried to will his arm to move so he could shoot those bastards. He just couldn’t. He could feel mandibles touching his leg. They felt cold and sharp. This was it. He’d managed to survive the horrors of Afghanistan but not this Otherworldy horror. June would miss him so bloody much. He hoped she would find the courage to go on with her life.

The anticipated shredding of his legs by the mandibles of the monster didn’t come. They were just gone. Leaving only a wisp of smoke that was blown away by the wind. Where were they? Had the boy been successful in his mission, whatever it had been?

“Sheriff! I think we did it!”

The boy came running, full of that incredible energy he seemed to exude.

“I think you did indeed…” Those were the last words Baxter uttered before everything went dark.