Chapter 3:

So many of us went missing those first, terrible days. And now, many years later, I still lay awake at night and wonder: Elise, are you out there? - T.A.

- - -

“Are we rolling? Let me know when we’re rolling or I swear to God I’ll beat your ass Mike.” Trevor Wilovan stood in front of a large camcorder. He wore a carefully ironed white dress-shirt as Mike Huskabi stood ready to record him at a moment’s notice. Mike wore an ill-fitting black t-shirt that was stained with flecks of powdered sugar. However, he wouldn’t be televised, so he figured it didn’t matter.

While Trevor ranted, a trucker stood by the side uncomfortably. But all that changed when a small light on the camcorder went from red to green and Trevor froze—only to quickly adopt a performer’s smile and pretend as though nothing ever happened.

“Well—Thank you, Beth.” He said as he touched an ear-piece. “Folks, I’m coming to you live from Parmenter Road, near Sheridan, where locals have witnessed a strange creature. With me, I have Mr. Carter Ruff, who drove the truck you see behind us.” He moved his microphone towards the nervous trucker. “Mr. Ruff, could you tell us more about this incident?”

The trucker glanced directly at the camera before taking off his hat to reveal a balding head.

“Yeah, ok.” He said in a thick Boston accent. “See, it all started after I got some frappe from the park. I kept seeing weird stuff throughout the day. Then, I’m out making my delivery and this lizard just hops out at me.” He paused and furrowed his brows. “But, it wanted the frappe, I think. I’m pretty sure it was reaching out for it.”

Trevor raised an eyebrow. “So you’re saying the extraterrestrial was hunting for frappe? Icecream?”

“That’s right.”

“Right. Right. Well, recently our sources have reported similar accounts of strange creatures appearing all across the country, but this is the first time any such creature has been spotted by so many people. What else can you tell us? Also, we’ve been told a road sanitation worker came to dispose of the body. Do you know what happened to him?”

Mr. Ruff fidgeted with his hat before shaking his head. “I can’t say much. Just—well, the lizard—the thing—it turns out it wasn’t dead when the fella went to look at it. And before anyone knew what was going on, it grabbed the poor sap by its teeth and took off. The feds tried to stop it but...” The trucker drew a cross over his chest with the air and kissed a rosary hanging from his neck before looking sadly towards the ground. “...Well, let’s just say that fella’s probably in a better place now.”

Trevor’s gaze softened. “Truly tragic. Thank you, Mr. Ruff. Next with us we have a Samantha Reynolds who claims that a different creature ran off with her shoe. Stay with us folks as we’ve got a lot of news to cover, and this is just the start of all this madness…”

Trevor trailed off, bringing in more people to be interviewed as Mr. Ruff walked away and approached Mike off-camera. They traded a few words, then Mike slipped him twenty bucks in a firm handshake.

- - -

Elsewhere, as people recounted strange happenings and talked about the plausible death of a roadkill collector, Rowan Atlas awoke face first in a pile of detritus and dirt. His head ached terribly; but, after a few minutes of floundering about, he staggered onto his knees and almost fell over.

“Wuhhh?” He said, as his body underwent a sudden dizzy spell. Why was his vision so blurry, and why did everything wobble? He widened his eyes and blinked excessively. Then, he smacked his lips and frowned because they tasted of mothballs.

What’s going on? He thought.

Unfamiliar forest noises assaulted his ears as he struggled to regain control over his senses. Haunting, strange bird calls echoed from trees with trunks so tall that their canopies were almost a distant sky of red leaves. And that sky matched the many red eyes peering down at him from numerous tree hollows.

Disturbed, he tried to stand, but rapidly discovered that is wasn’t just his lips that had gone numb, but at least half his body as well. Still, despite the haze of his thoughts, he had the good sense to look to his right arm, where he found bite marks exposed through the shredded fabric of his ripped RCC jacket. His flesh and veins had turned various shades of black and pink where he was bitten.

And that was enough to make him nauseous.

He gasped and stumbled backwards, feeling his left harm come in contact with something hard, and familiar. He didn’t want it to be what he thought it was, but a horrible feeling sank into his gut, until eventually, he turned around and nearly died of a heart attack.

“What the hell!?” Rowan said, as he scampered away, tossing up dirt and leaves, nearly flopping onto his side, but catching himself, if only to remain upright in self defense.

And there it was. The creature laid on the ground facing him, its jaw open and rigid, and its forked tongue resting in a pile of its own saliva. Clearly, it was dead—undeniably dead, too. But, what could kill something that even a truck and bullets hadn’t been able to dent? And when had it happened?

The thought made Rowan panic a little. However, once he calmed down enough, he was able to discern that the truth was actually entirely different. And so, he put a hand over his heart, and sighed in relief.

“Oh, thank God.”

After some simple observation it was readily apparent that the creature had died of blood loss. Its entire body was several shades paler, and dried blood trailed behind its corpse. It was clear that its prior wounds had killed it—and that was probably the only piece of good news Rowan had gotten in the last 24 hours. Still, he wouldn’t have traded it for the world.

Now he just had to figure out how to get home.

After some time his body lost its numbness, and he stood to his feet to examine the creature more closely. Mostly, he poked at it with a branch he’d gotten off the ground. Then, satisfied with his findings, he basked in the joy of being alive before searching his pockets for his cellphone.

He frowned, and began to pat himself up and down. But, of course, his cellphone wasn’t anywhere to be found, and oddly enough, that was the most terrifying realization of his life.

...Which said a lot about the modern man’s priorities, really.

- - -

As Rowan freaked out in the middle of nowhere, he was blissfully unaware of the many creatures that lurked in his surroundings. Odd, venomous insects and mammals skittered under the cover of dead leaves, sometimes waiting between brambles and thorns for a chance to bite at passing prey. Yet, these were of least concern in a place where even flowers could be dangerous if given the time to grow

And this forest was such a place.

Nevertheless, there were more dangerous things lurking about, and Rowan would’ve been shocked to see two such figures conversing.

“Something is off about the forest, Rela.” Said one.

“So you say, Bejorn…” Answered the other. “But in truth, I sense it too. And I’ve sensed it ever since the first of the chaos born fled from my arrows. As it stands, I fear the slavers are in motion, and that can only mean one thing.”“You don’t really think—“

“—I do.”

“Well… may the source have mercy on us, then.”

Rela scoffed.

“On us? No, on them.”

As the two talked they stood high up on thin tree branches, their large frames only visible as impossibly lithe silhouettes against the sun. They swayed like leaves in the wind, but did not fall, and their conversation continued for a long while until they heard a snap and a roar in the distance. Then they both turned to look.

“What was that? More chaos born?”

“...No. That sounded like a Borlask— ” Rela paused as a scream interrupted her musings. “—Well, a Borlask, and something else.”

Both silhouettes turned to face one another, coming to some invisible agreement before they both leapt into motion and raced towards the noise, leaping quickly between branches and boulders and running alongside enormous roots until eventually they spotted a strange creature screaming at the top of its lungs while running from a large beast with extra-wide shoulders and the body of a bear adorned with the face of a boar.

“Shit.” Rela said under her breath. “It’s as we feared.”

Bejorn nodded beside her. “What will we do?”

Rela drew a bow from her back, and raised a hand with only four digits. Immediately, an arrow of pure green light manifested into her grip and she nocked it into her bow. Then, she aimed it at the small screaming creature running from the Borlask.

“...We will do what must be done.”