For nogle måneder siden skrev jeg denne korte novelle til en online konkurrence inden for den genre, man kalder “flash fiction” – hvilket dækker over ultrakorte fortællinger. Selvom den ikke kom med i konkurrencens opløb, så er jeg egentlig godt tilfreds med den. Opdraget var – “Wilderness Horror”, så det prøvede jeg at skrive noget inden for. Da det var en engelsksproget konkurrence, så er den selvsagt på engelsk.

The Husky

The birds just stopped chirping, but it took a few moments for this to register in Mariann’s mind. Actually it was her big grey wolflike husky, Buddy, that seemed to notice first. Her travelling companion, her best friend and guardian suddenly halted and stood at attention. Ears forward and staring into the beginning twilight of the forest. A low growl, almost imperceptible, escaped his throat. Mariann stopped and looked at him. During their hike, he had been his normal cheerful self. Now something had caught his attention. This was when she noticed the lack of bird song from the ancient trees.

“What is it Buddy?” 

She kneeled beside him with a hand on his shoulder. He didn’t flinch. His stare was fixated on something deep in the forest. His nose vibrated and the low growl was distinct now. She could feel him tense and ready. She looked in the same direction. The forest was beautiful in the beginning dusk. To the west a magnificent sunset painted the sky in hues of red and orange. She listened but all she could hear was the slow breeze softly rustling the branches in the old trees. She hushed her dog and continued down the path. 

The campsite was just as the guidebook had mentioned. The shelters were sturdy wooden structures and there was a shed with firewood that she could use. Buddy was uneasy and Mariann looked worried at him while she made camp. She considered hiking back to her car, but the path had been a bit rocky and strenuous, so it would be dangerous to traverse it in the dark. She had to spend the night here so she made a large fire in the concrete firepit. The dark crept in around her and the flickering light from the fire made the shadows dance. In her pack she found a chew bone of the kind Buddy usually liked, but he offered it little interest. He stared into the shadows of the forest.

Mariann cooked a simple meal and made her bed in the shelter closest to the fire. As she wiggled into her sleeping bag, she heard it. The howl. She had heard wolves howl before. This sounded similar but at the same time it had an ancient, almost sinister tone to it. Buddy shivered and whimpered. He never did that. Buddy was the most courageous dog she knew of. But now he cowered in the bottom of the shelter. Mariann reached into her pack to get her gun. She didn’t really like to carry one but her experience in the wilderness had taught her hard lessons. A young woman alone in the wild was not only a possible prey to cougars and bears but also to drunken men, who roamed these parts in their pickup trucks. She had bought ammo for it in an all purpose store when she entered the mountains. The shop owner, a weird old geezer, had insisted that she got silver coated bullets if she was keen on venturing into the forest in these parts. Why he wouldn’t say. She got the ammo at the same price as the regular kind, so she didn’t offer it much thought.

The howl sounded again. Closer. She stoked the fire and prepared for a night with no sleep. Time crept by slowly. The exhaustion from the hike made it hard for her to stay awake, but she steeled herself, and looked into the deep dark forest. Then another howl sounded, but was immediately answered by a choir of howls. A wolf pack. Buddy came out beside her and lifted his snout to the moon and howled in return. He seemed less afraid now, as if the wolves reassured him against the threat of the sinister other howling. The wolves answered him again. Then fell silent. The forest was quiet for a long time. Mariann’s eyes kept closing. She leaned against the wooden wall, just for a second of rest. Buddy curled up to her like he always did when they camped out. The warmth of his body relaxed her, and she fell asleep.

Her dreams were uneasy, then the nightmare took hold of her. From the dark forest whispers from an ancient evil sounded from all directions. A predator spirit she could only sense. Her dream was in slowmotion. She felt a mist of something evil emanated from the shadows and crept towards her. In her dream she tried to run but she was bound to the rocky ground. As if stone tendrils had ensnared her feet. She fell and watched as the mist entered Buddy’s nose. His eyes turned from their husky blue to yellow and wild. He bared his long fangs and turned towards her. She could feel the dampness of his breath. 

Then she awoke. In the smouldering embers of the fire she looked up into Buddy’s cold yellow eyes. His jaw was wide open, and his teeth bared right above her throat. She could feel his saliva drip down on her exposed skin. 

“Buddy” she whimpered. He snarled and looked out into the darkness as if he awaited a command. In the corner of her eyes she saw a flickering apparition of what looked like a giant wolflike being. It glowed faintly in the moonlight. Mariann tried to free a hand from the sleeping bag, but Buddy snapped at her and put his big paw on her shoulder. The being drew nearer. Buddy stared intensely at the approaching being. Waiting. Ready. Mariann moved her other hand, and felt the cold steel of her gun. She grabbed the handle. Buddy tensed by her movement but didn’t attack. She angled the gun upwards and released the safety. She felt tears run down her temples as she looked at Buddy.

The wolfpack called out again. Buddys attention flickered a second. She seized the moment, turned and fired her gun with the silver bullets towards the shimmering being. Then she felt fangs pierce her neck.