In The Gray

"Hush up, boy. Something's tracking us."

"How do you know? I haven't seen anyth-"

A gloved hand reached out and covered the boy's mouth. It stayed there for a moment and then went back to its owners belt.

"Boy, keep your goddamned mouth shut or I'll leave you out here alone."

The man sighed softly to himself. He was kicking himself for taking the boy's offer, but he had no other choice. He needed the pay or he'd never leave these godforsaken ash wastes. Of course, the pay wouldn't help much if his client got him killed.

Returning to the task at hand, the man moved his right hand towards his holstered 10mm while his left hand withdrew the cross hung around his neck. He wasn't sure if he was much of a believer anymore, but he clung to it in times of need nevertheless.

"OK, boy. I need you to keep watch on our sides and rear. I'm not sure if we're being hunted or propositioned to yet."



The boy nodded an affirmative, not entirely sure what the man was talking about. Things in the ash were different than they were out East, almost as if the land itself was being tormented by some unseen force. It scared him, not because he was afraid of some monster attacking him, but because it made him feel so insignificant. Man was not in charge out here.

The man took a few steps forward before a sudden gust of wind stopped him in his tracks. Just a few yards ahead of him was a tall humanoid figure that hadn't been there before.  It had no defining features save for a pair of piercing white eyes and a long, thick snout. Its form seemed to be contorting even as it stood, shifting along with the wind swept ash as if it had been made from the surroundings it found itself in. And yet, it also seemed to be a creature of an ancient era; the stuff legends were made of.

"Stop," came a cold, otherworldly voice. "This one needs..." It trailed off, seemingly trying to remember the words it was looking for. "...the two humans. To follow."

"Are you asking us for help?"

"For help?" It imitated the man's voice perfectly, most likely a hunting mechanism from eons past. Perhaps even older. "This one remembers now. Yes. For help. Then the two humans may leave."

The man began to ask what it wanted, but the being disappeared in another sudden gust of wind, appearing on a hilltop in the distance and beckoning for them to follow. The man took a few steps before noticing that the boy wasn't following. He turned and faced the boy, seeing his eyes were filled with fear and his hands were shaking.

"Boy, listen to me. We have to follow after it now. It's saw fit to keep us alive, and if we don't follow after it, it will kill us for wasting its time."




"What does it want from us?" His voice was trembling.

"No clue." He glanced back at the ridge, making sure the being was still there. It was. "Now, come on. It's waiting."

With that, the man turned an walked towards the hilltop. A few moments later, the boy jogged up to his side. Together they followed the being, it disappearing and reappearing further in the distance for the rest of the day. Just before nightfall, it led them to the bottom of a small valley and gathered some materials.

"The two humans will rest," it said. "Follow again at sunrise."

With that, it disappeared and reappeared at the top of the hill to their North. The boy unrolled his sleeping mat and blanket while the man started a small fire. The being had provided just enough wood to last the night, and had also left a pair of jackrabbits on top of the pile. The two ate their meal, and then sat around the fire for a little while.

"You know, I never did ask. What is it?"

"No one really knows. Some of the old timers say that they were always here, well before the ash had covered this place. I tend to believe them."

"Do they often speak to people?"

"No, they usually kill people."

"Is this one going to?"

"I don't think so. The old timers say that they never break their word. It seems that they ask humans for assistance every so often. Something about needing us to fight a larger creature that lives deeper in the ash. I suspect that's why we're here. We wouldn't be camping in this valley if it wasn't afraid of being spotted."



"What could that thing possibly be afraid of?"

"From the stories I've heard, I think it's some sort of predator that either eats or competes with them. Must have drove it out of it's home, so it came to us for help."

"How the hell do we fight something like that?"

"How about we get some sleep and figure that out when we get there. I'm sure our guide has a plan."

With that, the man laid down and drifted off to sleep.

...

The man awoke to a gust of wind hitting his face. He opened his eyes and saw the figure standing at his feet. It's eyes seemed to stare deeply into his soul, causing him to quickly look away. It turned and stepped away, waking the boy in the same manner. He noticed that the creature didn't move when it made the wind blow, almost as if it was just willing the wind to blow. With the the man and the boy now awake, the creature stepped between them and spoke.

"Not far, where this one and the two humans go. There is a new one there. The new one needs death."

The old man spoke up. "So, you want us to kill one of your kind there?"

"No. This one is old. The new one is new."

Seemingly not wishing to speak further, the being appeared at the top of the hill above them and beckoned them to approach. When it reached the hill, it appeared on another hill. This cycle continued for another two hours, the being finally stopping at the top of cliff. Below them, a beast being was standing and eating what looked to be a dismembered antelope.

This beast was quite unlike the creature that they had been following, much larger and covered in gray bone plating. Its wrists ended in a mass of quivering tentacles and a large snout filled with needle like teeth protruded from its head. It also had a pair of white horns on top of its head and its eyes, glowing as red as a fire, cast a hateful glare at the world around it. Where their creature seemed to be a part of the land, this beast seemed foreign to it.

"How can we possibly kill that thing?"



The being held out a leg bone of some sort, pulling it from God knows where. It held it out to the man and gestured towards the double barrel 12 gauge slung to his back.

The man slowly inspected the bone before looking at the creature. An air of sadness surrounded the creature and he realized that this bone was from one of its kind. And then it hit him. This was revenge. The beast at the bottom of the hill had killed the creatures family. Then he set to work, pulling out a few 12 gauge slugs and hollowing out the projectiles with his pocket knife. He then began to put small chunks of bone in the newly made cavities before doing the same with the 10mm hollow points for his pistol. Hoping it was enough, he handed the bone off to the boy and had him do the same with his revolver and rifle.

With that, the creature extended its hand and the boy gave it the bone back. It clutched it tightly and then disappeared, reappearing about 30 yards behind the beast. Then it charged, moving at blinding speed and knocking the beast on its side and attempting to pin it down. The boy raised his rifle to take a shot at the beasts head, but before he could do that, the beasts tentacles wrapped around the creature and tossed it. As it tried to scramble up, the boy fired. His shot hit the beast directly in the chest, but it didn't seem phased. Instead, it turned it's attention to the boy, the beast receiving another shot in response. Flinching slightly, the beast roared, lept up, and began climbing up the cliff towards them.

The boy began frantically firing at the beast, emptying his rifle in short order. He began to reach for his revolver, but the man stopped him, shouldered his shotgun, and waited. As the creature drew closer to the top of the cliff, a feeling of dread welled up in the man and the boy. The mans left hand went to the cross around his neck as he muttered a short prayer, the boy slowly backing away from the cliff at the same time.



The beast popped its head up just as the man said amen and instantly received a pair of slugs for its trouble. This time, the beast howled in pain. It wasn't enough though, and the man had just enough time to reload before the beast reached the top and stood up. The boy attempted to fire his revolver at it, but only got a few shots off before the beast grabbed him and bit into his arm. He screamed as he dropped his revolver, but stopped after the beast tossed him aside.

He was dead when he hit the ground, his arm still stuck in the teeth of the beast. The man dumped another two slugs into the beast, this time in the knee. The beast kneeled, but it didn't go down. It then pulled the arm out of its jaws and threw it at the man, more than a few teeth being pulled out with it. The arm knocked him to the ground, sending his shotgun and the remaining slugs flying.

On the ground, the man felt a sharp pain in his left elbow and turned to see one of the beasts teeth sticking out of it. He then noticed the beast slowly limping towards him. Just as it reached his feet, he drew his pistol and emptied it into its thick neck. It stood there for a moment, a look of shock flashing in its eyes. It didn't fall though, and looked as if it was going to use its last moments to crush the man under its clawed feet.

As it raised its right foot, a black blur crashed into its chest and knocked it down. The man sat up just in time to see the creature he'd been following this whole time standing on top of it, its mouth opened to reveal a set of wickedly curved teeth. It snarled for a moment before swiftly ripping the beasts throat out. The beast writhed on the ground for a few seconds before it finally went limp.

The man slowly stood up and walked over to the dead beast, looking down on it while the creature walked over to its horns. It ripped the left one off and held it while the man walked over to the boy and inspected his revolver. Just as he suspected, the boy had failed to stuff any bone shards into his ammunition and had paid the ultimate price. The man stuffed it into his belt and then picked up his fallen shotgun.



"The human may go now. This one will protect."

With that, the creature disappeared and reappeared on a hill in the distance. The man followed the creature all the way to the former Navajo reservation over the next 3 days. It stopped on a small hill overlooking the main settlement of the area and waited for the man.

"This one always enjoyed the light of human nests."

"Yes, they can be rather beautiful."

"Rather beautiful," it imitated, seemingly agreeing.

The two stood there for a moment before a sudden gust of wind blew and then subsided. The man didn't have to look to know that the creature was gone, but he looked anyways. In its place was the horn it had ripped off the beast. On closer inspection, he noticed that it was made of solid ivory. He felt a sudden surge of joy cross over him; this horn was his long awaited ticket out of this godless place.

Horn in hand, he walked towards the Navajo town and daydreamed about the life of ease that awaited him in the East.