The Great Forest

Mr. Horris

Out of curiousity, William followed the men of the village to the crazed man's residence. Someone had given the man a coat and pants, and at some point he had acquired a pair of boots. The man led the way as a group of about twenty men marched behind him.

The morning's first rays of sun began to peak over the mountains when they saw the flames. The fire had overrun the entire barn and some pasture, and was trickling into a hill of trees. William thought he had never seen something burn so bright. The early morning darkness only accentuated the flame, and heat, even from several hundred yards away, was close to unbearable. A group of cattle stood in between the men and the farm, and a few burned carcasses littered the field. The air smelled of burning wood and flesh.

"My family is in there..." the crazy man said. William suddenly realized who this man was. He was a farmer, and his name was Ivan Horris. Someone, what looked to be the Sheriff, put their hand on Mr. Horris's shoulder. He began to cry, and soon fell to his knees trembling, almost screaming.

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The men of the village had gathered in the Chapel. William, having reached the age of 16 almost a year ago, was included. He listened intently as Ivan Horris stood at the center of the auditorium behind a podium.

"Mr. Horris, start from the beginning; what were you doing previous to the events you claimed took place?" The Priest began. He sat at a table across from Mr. Horris, along with two other men beside him on each side. William figured them to be other esteemed priests of the Chapel.

"Mr. Horris, I will ask you again. What were you doing last night at the time of the attack?"

Mr. Horris slowly looked up from his daze. "I... " he began. "I already told you... my house... my family... they were burned."

This sent whispers coursing throughout the large auditorium. The Priest struck his gavel three times. "We are aware, but we need you to be more specific. Please, Mr. Horris, tell us what you were doing." Mr. Horris looked around the room. His eyes landed on the Priest, and he looked as if he were contemplating something horrid. William noticed movement out of the corner of his eye, and turned his head to see the Sheriff in the corner, watching Mr. Horris carefully, his hand resting on the handle of his sword. Without breaking eye contact with the priest, Mr. Horris began to recall the events of the night before. 

"I was doing what I daily do, Your Grace. Washing for bed, cleaning my sash, saying my prayers. I said g'night to my wife, and went to bed peacefully."

"And this is your daily routine?"

"Yes, sir."

"You didn't do anything apart from this routine?"

"No, sir."

"What about your wife? Did she do anything different that normal?"

"No. We did nothing out of the ordinary, Your Grace." Mr. Horris said in a shaky voice. Murmurs rippled through the audience. What was the Priest trying to get at?

"When were you attacked?"

"Early this morning, about an hour before sunrise. I was asleep when I heard a ruckus in my barn. I went to go investigate, and saw..."

The room was achingly still while they waited for Horris to finish. "...and, saw what, Mr. Horris?" the Priest said quietly.

"A... a monster. A monster was in my barn. I don't know what it was but I know it was nothing human!"

"What did it look like? What did it do?"

"It was at least twenty feet tall. It was crouched in a corner, eating the fat milk cow. Blood was... blood was dripping from it's hands. It saw me and stood up, busting a hole in the ceiling! It walked on two legs, but the knees were bent in the wrong way. It had horns on every joint, and two on it's head. I saw it's teeth! It had teeth the size of swords and twice the sharpness! When I screamed, it roared like a symphony of screeching devils!!"

The audience at this point was in an uproar. Some men were shouting, pointing fingers, others were holding there heads in their hands, and some had even fled the room. William had become extremely curious. He tried to concentrate on what Mr. Horris said.

"The monster belched flames from it's stomach! It set my home on fire! IT BURNED MY FAMILY!"

"Where did it go?"

"IT CAME FROM THE FOREST! I SAW IT GO THAT WAY!"

William thought this man's words were absurd. Nothing in the Forest is dangerous, it would never harm an innocent. William had been there for himself.