Monster

Gwen rode through the darkening forest around Evermire, keeping her eyes to the woods. Afon Mwdlyd seemed just as alert as the stallion raced down the road at a steady canter. His bay ears ears were alert and upright as if listening for movement just beyond his sight. Something had been moving out there beyond the usual variety of unpleasantness that often stalked the area.

Something loud crashed in the distance, whatever it was not trying to be subtle. Afon slowed, his pale blue eyes sweeping in the direction of the sound as he tried to locate it. Gwen’s eyes turned in the same direction, the woods now quiet save the usual nighttime noises. 

“Well, I didn’t think it was trying to be stealthy.” Gwen murmured as she kept Afon to a now steady walk. “Maybe something else got it. What do you think, Afon? Are we going to have a quiet night?” 

Afon snorted, his mostly black tipped nose quivering, the small white marking more easily visible than the rest of him in the darkened woods. The moon wasn’t even half full yet, and the trees still had too many fall leaves yet to let much of the light through anyway. 

“Yeah, I didn’t think so either.” Gwen chuckled as she brushed at Afon’s neck. The night was dark enough to conceal the darker parts of his bay coat, but the white sabino marking on his side, almost in the shape of a wizard’s hat with a hole in the side, and the longer white markings on his front legs were still easily visible. 

She kept Afon at a walk a little while longer, enjoying the cool of the autumn night even if they weren’t exactly out doing the safest thing in the world. She’d probably get yelled at for it later, but oh well. 

Afon’s silver tale twitched and the stallion came to a sudden halt, his ears flicking alertly as if trying to locate something. Gwen stayed quiet on his back, unable to hear whatever it was that caught his attention but more than willing to trust his instincts on the matter. 

Then it struck her what got his attention. The woods had gone silent. Not the usually quiet of the evening, but completely silent. No birds, not crickets, no insects, no birds. Not even the rustle of leaves. 

Now it was her turn to sit at attention and look around, the silence so unnatural that if her ears could twitch like Afon’s, they would be. 

She was just about to ask the silver bay stallion when a loud roar broke the total silence of the woods and a monster broke from the trees. 

Branches snapped and a few smaller trees gave way beneath the massive form as it careened onto the road. 

Afon’s blue, gemstone eyes widened as the whites around them became clearly visible. He reared, letting out a frightened neigh as he wheeled and made to race away from the thing and back towards home. 

Gwen’s view of the monster was brief as she was suddenly forced to try and keep her seat, a feat accomplished more by luck than skill in many respects. What she saw was massive and scaled, with sharp claws and what looked like equally sharp teeth. Either way, from the sound of heavy footfalls not far behind them, it was doubtful the thing was friendshaped. 

From the ever increasing speed Afon was putting on, it was clear the stallion shared her opinion on the matter. The road and woods beyond were rushing past in a blur of barely distinguishable trees and glimmers of moonlight. 

The crashing sound veered off the trail behind them, and for a moment Gwen thought the monster had given up pursuit. Afon shared none of this hope and seemed to double down on getting out of the area as fast as possible. The stallion’s instincts were correct, though the direction he was traveling in quickly proved to be the wrong one as the crash of trees sounded alongside them and then suddenly the monster was springing out onto the trail ahead. 

This time Gwen got a good look at them, the monster far too close for comfort and its teeth perfectly at eye level. She still wasn’t sure what the monster was, but there were several rows of teeth and each of them were sharp and jagged. The smallest of them was at least two inches long and poised to bite the nearest available morsel, which at the moment seemed to be her face. 

Afon had other ideas. As fleeing wasn’t an option, the bay stallion reared and struck at the monster, his white front legs flashing in a glimmer of moonlight, Gwen mostly just hanging on for dear life. 

His hooves struck and the creature fell back just enough for Afon to veer around it. Gwen managed to get another look at the monster on the way by. It was something out of the water, that was for certain. The scales on its body and the gills on its neck were a dead giveaway, though she still wasn’t certain exactly what it was. 

An angry growl sounded just behind them, and Gwen glanced back just in time for Afon to lash out. His silver tail glinted and his hooves narrowly missed the charging monster behind them. The suddenness of his movements made Gwen squeak in alarm, only pure adrenaline giving her the strength to hang on. She wasn’t a bad rider, but this was well beyond her comfort zone. 

“Afon, look out!” Gwen yelled, apparently needlessly, as Afon jumped a small stream ahead of them. Apparently his blue, gemstone eyes saw it before she did, as he seemed unphased by the obstacle. Or perhaps he was simply more afraid of the monster. 

The growl echoed closer, somehow more menacing than before, and Gwen risked a glance back. Just beyond the edge of Afon’s beautiful silvered tail was the monster. 

It seemed to be running more on four feet than on two, though it looked capable of both. Green-gray scales flashed in the slivers of moonlight as the monster tried to close the distance, but couldn’t quite do so. Though it was doing an excellent job of keeping pace. 

As if sensing her looking at it, the monster looked up as nearly pitch black eyes focused on her with an intensity that made her blood turn cold. “Afon, if you’ve got it in you to go a little faster, now would be the time.” Gwen didn’t exactly yell. She couldn’t have passed the lump in her throat anyway. She’d dealt with monsters before, but this one was something else entirely. Or at least it seemed more terrifying than most she’d encountered. 

Afon, picking up on Gwen’s urgency, seemed to find a little more speed, his stride lengthening and his long tail whipping in the wind as he continued to race back towards home and what would hopefully prove to be safety. 

The monster let out an earth shaking roar and Afon’s pace faltered for a moment either from exhaustion or the fact the ground really did shake. Either way, the monster sensed its chance and pounced. The massive form leapt from the ground and sprung towards Gwen. 

Without any time to think, Gwen drew the sword at her hip. She never really used it, but it was what came to her hand as Afon let out a terrified squeal as he tried to recover his pace. 

By some stroke of luck, her blade connected with the attacking monster and a spurt of green goo splashed across her. The monster let out a howl and landed alongside. Clearly it wasn’t used to getting hurt as it broke from the pursuit and off into the woods. She hoped that meant it was retreating and not getting ready for another ambush. 

She was about to say something to Afon when she suddenly found herself in the air as the silver bay horse leapt the fence onto her property. This time she wasn’t lucky enough to stay on the horse and found herself crashing to the ground with an abrupt impact that left her no doubt she’d be feeling it the next day. 

Afon continued a few more paces but somehow sensed they were safe from the monster that had been pursuing them. The stallion turned and came back, nuzzling at Gwen. His blue eyes were still wide enough to show much of the white around them, and he clearly wanted her to get up and get further from the woods. 

“Yes, yes, Afon, I’m coming.” Gwen groaned as she stood, attempting to gingerly access herself for damage beyond bruising. It seemed the ground had been just soft enough to avoid serious damage, but she was definitely going to be turning pretty colors later from the bruising. “You did good,” she murmured as she brushed his dark nose and leaned on him slightly as they made their way back towards the stables. 

It was pretty clear Afon would have preferred to go faster, his gemstone blue eyes glancing back behind them as the occasional angry roar from the monster could still be heard. It seemed the thing had decided to circle the area, but so far she couldn’t see it beyond the fence line. 

“Whatever monster that was, we should probably bring reinforcements next time. What do you say, Afon?” Gwen tried to sound reassuring. The monster had clearly terrified Afon, not that she could blame him. It scared her too. 

Afon gave her a resigned look that suggested she was crazy for wanting to go after it again, but also that he’d come along. 

“Not after a good rub down and night’s rest though. And plenty of treats.” Gwen smiled slightly as she felt Afon relax some, the barn now in sight along with the lights of her house. The growls and occasionally angry cries from the monster continued, but home always made one feel safer. 

Afon seemed more enthusiastic about that, nudging Gwen gently as they walked into the barn. He did, however, cast one last look back towards the woods where the monster would be waiting for them the next time they decided to pursue it.