MYSTober 2024

31 vignettes based on single-word prompts. One story.

5. Arrogance

Peter charged into the woods, the ground only dimly lit by the stars and moon through a canopy of leaves and clouds. "Where are you, you freak!?" He tightened his grip on his hand axe and halted at a large cedar tree to listen for signs of the beast.

The woods were silent in response. The animals would be asleep by now. Only the monster would remain.

He heard a rustle to his left and raced after it. "I'm not afraid of you, you piece of crap! I'm ending you tonight!"

Something moved in his periphery. A shape, a shadow, a creature. He anchored his foot against a fallen log and hurled his axe in the direction of the movement. The weapon cartwheeled through the air and embedded itself in a distant tree.

The thing growled. Low, ominous – directionless. He pried his axe from the wood and stood quietly once more. His heart was beating in his ears. This thing had been terrorizing the island town for months. No more.

A branch snapped to his right. He bolted towards it. A dark shape moved between some trees ahead. He was getting close. Then he tumbled forward, his foot hooked beneath a protruding root. He dropped the axe and broke his fall with his forearms. Pain shot through them as they landed on a bed of branches and twigs, scratching them to the point of bleeding.

He cursed under his breath. The monster would have heard the fall. If it could smell blood, then he was now the hunted as well as the hunter. He carefully grasped the wooden axe handle and pulled himself back up onto his feet.

He crouched into a battle stance and scanned his surroundings. The time for open pursuit was over – now was the time for stealth. He carefully inched around a stand of young trees, listening carefully for movement.

The forest grew brighter. He glanced skywards. The trees were small enough for him to see that the clouds had cleared, revealing the moon, shining like a night light. Then a shape stepped in front of it, blotting it out. The shape growled.

The monster was huge. Impossibly tall. The sheer power of its presence was almost overwhelming. A lesser man would have frozen in fear.

Peter was not a lesser man. He swung for its head. The monster swiped the axe out of his hand, sending it tumbling harmlessly to the ground. The monster grabbed him by the neck and hurled him backwards. His head bounced off a tree, and he mercifully lost consciousness.

MYSTober 2024

Table of Contents

5. Arrogance