Hell Forest

Chapter 4: The Monster From Hell Among Men

The bouda then dragged May by the leg, cackling as he did so. The baby cried in the background as May kicked against the hulking beast.

"No, no please," she cried with tears running down her face, "please just let me be."

The first ray of sun finally peeked over the horizon, through the trees and onto the werehyena's limb. It reflexively drew it back and began to nurse it. May's eyes widened as she thought back to her mother's story and the words 'sunlight strips them of their power' ran through her head.

She tried to crawl out into the clearing, but the monster would not let her escape so easily. As he raised his humanoid paw to deal a fatal blow, the baby's crying tone changed. It became more guttural and possessed, like a choked laugh. The bouda immediately turned its attention to the baby and began lumbering toward it.

May watched helplessly but the sight of the child, alone and afraid, aroused her final strength. With a leap, she got to her feet, overtook the werehyena and grabbed the baby, finally rolling out into the clearing.

The werehyena tried to grab May but instead, it was caught in the first gaze of the sun and May bore witness to its raw form.

The creature was larger and muscular than a man, despite its humongous size, it still had to hunch ever so slightly. Its head was that of a hyena and had a long tongue hanging out of its mouth. Its claws were as thick as May's arm, and it stood on short but thick hind legs. The most outstanding feature to the woman though were its quills. The werehyena had quills on its back and shoulders, sharper than knives and blacker than the shadow of the forest. May was enamored by them as they were somewhat familiar to her...

The bouda rolled and shrieked in the sunlight and immediately retreated into the shadows of the forest from whence it came.

May sat in dismay, breathless from her experience. After a moment of silence, she finally broke down into tears.

"We... we survived hell. Oh my God, we survived hell! I don't know what you did but thank you. I love you so much, thank you. Thank you."

She kissed the baby all over and soothed him. Afterward, she tied him to her back and continued the journey. May walked for a few more hours before making her way over a hill ridge and coming across a village, one different from her home.

May met with the officials and recounted her adventure in the Hell Forest. In awe of her quest, the villagers offered her a new life with them as well as finding an older woman to take care of the child.

May smiled when she heard the request, "thank you but... this child saved me. We were with each other when we had no one else and I can't imagine being separated. I love him and want to raise him."

"That's great," one of them said, "what will you call him then?"

May looked down at her beaming baby boy who continued to play with her ever dark hair, "Ray. Ray Romero, the literal light of my life."

And so, May and Ray lived peacefully in their new lives, never going near the forest again and enjoying each other's company until one fateful day a few months later...

Ray wailed at the top of his lungs in the middle of the night. May woke up groggy and unfocused but she rushed to her child, thinking he was choking.

"What? What is it? Are you dying? You hungry? Don't worry, mama's got you. Mama will always be there my beautiful boy."

May picked up the baby and rocked him on her shoulder, preparing to feed him. As she did so, he began to laugh. However, it was not the cute laugh she had grown accustomed to. It was low and sinister, gurgally even. May pulled her son away and rubbed her eyes, only to be met by a sight that nearly devoured her soul.

Ray was covered in black quills. Lined from his head to his forearms, he looked like a spotted creature.

The quills made May think back, not to the forest but to a day before that; when she was walking with her friends, collecting firewood after curfew. As the sun went down, the girls rushed to make their way home. On the way back, May got pricked by a quill that was lodged in a tree. Its sting was harsher than anything she had felt before, but she walked it off. Coincidentally, that was the same night a baby mysteriously appeared in her bed, covered in blood and black goo.

May hyperventilated as she tried to collect her thoughts, "I thought it was just a black stick. It wasn't anything remarkable right? Does that mean... my child is a... is a..."

Looking down at her child, her eyes a mix of fear and confusion, May gulped, "What the hell...?"

THE END