The Winter Creek Beast Read Online Free Page A

uncontrollable rage was forgotten.
    The beast finished its drink and was about to have another when a sound off to the side caught its attention. A doe and her fawn stepped out from the foliage to drink. Watching the pair, the beast rose and leapt for them with a snarling roar.
    The beast’s rage echoed through the woods for a few miles, but by the time it reached where Sheriff Lightfeather stood, it was little more than a faint echo. It was still enough to catch the Sheriff’s ear.
    “You hear that?” He turned his attention away from the gruesome scene they were investigating and toward where he thought the sound originated.
    “Hear what, Boss?” Melvin lowered the handkerchief covering his mouth and nose long enough to turn and answer Jay before re-covering his lower face.
    “Not sure.” The odd sound came as a welcomed distraction from the pile of rotting meat that had been a human being a few days earlier. His eyes narrowed in an attempt to see through the trees and foliage. “Thought I heard a growl or scream. Something…”
    Melvin shrugged. “Maybe it was a bear. Aren’t they supposed to be eating a lot this time of year?” He wasn’t just talking about the sound the Sheriff heard. After driving past the car parked alongside the road he decided to have a look. When there wasn’t a white shirt or anything tied to it, his hopes of it being a breakdown were dashed.
    Being the deputy meant he needed to check to make sure the campers or hikers were safe. If that’s what they were. With all the stories about drug traffickers using the backwoods to grow their shit, he made his way along the path with his hand on the butt of his service revolver. He never wanted a nine millimeter more than right then, and he made mental plans to talk with Jay about upgrading their side arms when they were back at the station. That’s when he saw the first body. It’d been ripped apart and ravaged so badly that there was no way to tell who or what it’d been.
    His courage left him along with his lunch and he hurried back to his cruiser, its radio, and shotgun. After nearly choking on his words, he managed to relate his location and situation to Edith. She took care of the rest.
    Now with the sheriff and Doc Fredericks there, he wanted nothing more than to go home. Maybe he’d call his brother to see if he could get a job working in construction.
    Jay was so lost in his own thoughts he didn’t notice his deputy’s uncomfortable appearance. He couldn’t forget the image he’d seen at his grandfather’s. As much as he wanted to say it wasn’t real, he couldn’t find the strength to do so. “Maybe, but something tells me it’s something worse.” His hand rose to touch the pocket where he’d tucked the tied lock of hair his grandfather had given him. It took him a moment to understand what he did and his face flushed in embarrassment as if he were caught touching himself. He lowered his hand and turned back to the scene of the grisly murders. He was sure of that much now. Something out there was killing people and not for food.
    When Doc Fredericks approached him and explained what he thought had happened, Jay was curious that it didn’t surprise him. It was as though he expected to hear the details of how it appeared the couple was hunted for sport. The idea wasn’t new to him as he’d enjoyed watching the slasher films of the 1980s. Instead of the fictional naked women running around being slaughtered like sheep for having low morals, he was faced with the reality those movies were based on.
    He was about to thank the Doc when the man caught his attention with a line made famous in the movie Predator . “There’s something else.”
    Curious, Jay followed the medical examiner to an area off to the side of the tent. Once there, Doc Fredericks pointed at a series of deep marks in the soil. “What do you make of that?”
    Jay crouched next to the doc and brushed aside some strands of grass that had blown over marks