The Woods[Boyxboy]

Chapter One: The Beast

A loud clap of thunder echoed within the night, scaring off the little life in the area like a wet blanket. The only lively noise came from the small pub on the corner of a small village. A young man accompanied by his uncle sat down in one of the corner tables ordering what seemed to be drinks and food, not in the least frightened of the incoming storm.

The younger man pulled off his rain drenched coat and let it dry on the seat, looking over the familiar pub with something of ease. His uncle laughed heartily meeting with his friends across the room, but he didn't mind them for too long. The waitress stopped at his table, a girl the young man had known all his life.

She smiled and sat down next to her friend with a small greeting and gesture.

"How's work going?" The younger man asked.

"It's been a crappy day! My tips aren't as good when it storms like this." she complained and Maki listened carefully even though none of it concerned him. "Although, you always make my job more fun!"

"That's good to hear," he laughed, "don't worry though, my uncle plans to eat a lot anyway."

"Hmmm, do you know if he has a girlfriend or anything?" the girl asked fixing the strings on her top.

Maki laughed. "I'm not sure, why don't you ask him."

"I couldn't do that! Anyway, Agatha is starting up a panic today!" the girl laughed. "she's freaking everyone out."

"What's she saying?" Maki asked.

"Disturbing things." The girl whispered and as if on cue a loud clap of thunder roared throughout the small pub and the front door to the building slammed open.

A tall man shadowed by the rain and dark cloth of the night stepped into the tiny room, his boots squeaking against the wooden floor. The small little diner went silent and soon the only sounds that could be heard were the wet footsteps across a creaky wooden floor. The man wasn't able to be identified and it scared Maki, so many things lingered in the area. The figure before them could be anything, but when the man took off his hood he instantly felt at ease.

"Sheriff! Any news yet?"

The so called sherif pulled off his outer layer, pulling out a roll of wet parchment drenched from the rain.

"Aye, we have a much bigger problem than anyone imagined." The sherif looked around the room his eyes landing on Maki and his friend. "Kids should leave the room for this one, Maki and Sara you should go upstairs for a bit."

"He can listen in Sherif, they are barely kids anymore." Maki's uncle said and the sherif shrugged in response.

"A beast, much greater than anything we have ever seen. Chickens, sheep and cows have been slaughtered. This thing is dangerous, it could kill us all in a blink of an eye."  The Sherif notified everyone in an uneasy tone, sticking up the rough sketch of a huge animal like figure that made the whole crowd gasp in horror. Maki tried to peer over the rest and try to catch a glimpse but he couldn't see it very well as the large crowd surrounded the small news board quickly to catch get a look.

"The rumors were true?!" someone asked.

"Is it coming in town? Are we in danger?"

"I'll kill the damn thing!" another yelled. "Let's take it down!"

Maki was confused, a creature, they meant a wolf right? The beast sounds likes something out of a fairytale! Maki just couldn't believe such a thing, it just wasn't possible. 

"The beast?" Maki asked, shifting in his seat uneasily.

It went quiet once more as heads turned to the kid, and just when he thought no one would answer, old lady Agatha's chopped laugh echoed throughout the bar.

"Not only the beast lives in those woods, boy!" She cackled like a hyena. "You shouldn't feel so cozy in your homes, who knows what'll get ya." The old lady laughed hysterically as another clap of thunder rang out making Maki jump.

"Enough! We have kids in here. They shouldn't hear such things!" a lady, the owner of the bar yelled, glaring at the adults for saying such a thing.

"They need to know, they aren't babies anymore." Maki's uncle said once again but the boy just looked down at the menu no longer interested in eating. Truthfully, all of this talk was making him feel sick.

"We kill the beast tomorrow! We must act swiftly or our whole village will be devastated with loss."

Everyone either grunted or responded with words but they were all the same - everyone agreed.

Except for Maki that is.

Maki brushed off his thoughts, and ignored the adults chatter about how they would accomplish such a feat.

He didn't think such a thing should be considered a victory. Killing something even if it may be hideous or monstrous wasn't right in his mind, but he knew that his opinion didn't matter to any of the adults. He knew that this creature was dangerous but he couldn't get it out of his head. Why was everyone so quick to kill?

Maki touched the window with just his fingers tips, he shivered - it was freezing. Rain drops streaked down the glass, a cold misty ice coating the corners. Suddenly, Maki saw something moving out of the corner of his eye. Fear and adrenaline poked and prodded at his heart, making it pound loudly against his chest. He leaned closer to get a better look, scanning the nearby buildings for any movement. He stopped breathing, holding it in along with his nerves and anticipation.

It was just paranoia, he tried to tell himself.

Just when he thought that his thoughts would succeed him a shadow passed the building in front of him. It wasn't right looking though and it definitely wasn't a human figure.

A bolt lighted the sky, blinding Maki for a split second but it was just enough time for the mysterious shadow to disappear. Maki shook his head, he must have imagined it.

Maki placed his fingers back on the window, wondering if he was just imagining such a thing. He couldn't actually believe what he saw, could he? He also didn't want a panic or an angry mob.

Maki decided that his fear got the best of him and was making him see things.

"Maki can you wait until my shift is over to walk home? I'm scared now with all this talk."

"Sure, I didn't plan to leave until late anyway."

Sara smiled. "Thank you! Well, I should get back to work before the owner yells at me."

Maki waved at her and waited for his food to arrive, looking back out into the stormy night.

Fairytales weren't real.

Maki nodded, it just couldn't be true.

There was no such thing as a beast, he told himself, no such thing at all.

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If I had to choose between vampires or werewolves, it would probably be the latter. Thanks to whoever reads this and thanks again for the birthday wishes!

I'm not sure how long it will take me to update but I like this story idea.

Please give me feedback, it makes me super happy and just drives my motivation to write.

:) it's not really edited oops.