Moments later he was snoring. The visions that had started earlier in the wood smoke invaded his dreams, flickering faster and faster. They became darker as he tossed and turned and, even asleep, he screamed. He was desperate to run from these nightmares.
He felt his limbs being ripped from his body as though they were twigs. He heard the wet pull of muscles and sinew as sharp claws shredded his torso, inch by inch. When he screamed his tongue was torn out, and he passed out from the virtual pain. He bled out, left for dead, until the cycle started over again. All the while brown fur flashed in his peripheral vision, the words “Give me my tail,” repeating like a mantra.
Bill awoke with a start, gulping in a great lungful of air as he sat bolt upright. He was dripping in sweat, and he shook as the remnants of his dreams faded from memory. The embers of the fire were still burning, a candle guttering in its holder as it cast long, flickering shadows. He swung his legs out of bed, wanting to take a good swig of brandy, but something was rustling in the cabin that didn’t sound like Jasper. Claws scraped and scratched along the floor, and Bill pulled himself back into bed, gripping the blanket as he stared into the shadows.
He couldn’t see anything, but the noise got louder. Closer. With a final grunt whatever it was stopped, and Bill came face-to-face with orange, glowing eyes. The bright eyes were peering out from coarse, matted fur as it landed on his chest. It stank. Bill choked on the smell, eyes watering as he tried to wriggle out from under the fetid creature. Its sharp teeth and claws glinted in the dancing light, pointed ears silhouetted against the cabin.
“Give me my tail,” it said, mouth working hard to make the right shapes to talk.
Bill blinked and rubbed his eyes. Surely this was another layer of dreams? Jasper paced round, hackles raised, teeth bared as he rumbled a low, warning growl.
“Sleep until the morning, my friend,” soothed the creature. “I have no fight with you.” Jasper sank to the floor, breathing deeply.
“Your dog will be fine, and tomorrow will be rewarded with a fine feast. Now! Give me my tail.” the creature tapped its claws on Bill’s chest. The sound boomed, vibrating through him as though the ground were shaking. His heart beat nineteen to the dozen.
“I c — c — an’t,” he said. “I ate it.”
“Give me my tail!”
“How? I ate it!”
The creature jumped down from the bed and began marching round the cabin in circles. “Oh, oh, how I wail. Oh, oh, I want my tail,” it sang in a melancholy lament, its voice pounding inside Bill’s head. Every time its foot struck the floor the ground shook, and the beast appeared to grow larger. The sky filled with thunder, and rain hammered down on the roof, but all Bill could hear was the creature’s song and a distant stamp, stamp, stamp, as though the thing was far away.
Bill swung out of bed with slow, gentle movements and inched towards the door. His gun was there, and he wanted the safety of its wood and metal. He needed a barrier to put between himself, and whatever that creature was. Perhaps, if the threat of the gun wasn’t enough to scare it off, then he’d have to shoot it. He’d have to steady his hands first though.
Before he could reach the door the creature loomed over him, even larger than before. It was grinning, a too-human expression. “I want my tail.” It reached out a claw-tipped limb and pushed against the man, sending him sprawling to the floor.
Bill scrambled backwards, eyes darting back and forth as he calculated the distance to the door. Not much further...
The creature jumped, landing on his chest. The iron-like weight forced the air out of Bill’s lungs, and he struggled against it. The creature weighed too much, and it pinned his entire body down. Bill’s vision flickered and blurred with the lack of oxygen. He screamed, emptying his lungs, and just like in his nightmares the creature grabbed his tongue and pulled. He passed out as agonizing pain overwhelmed his body, not hearing the loud ‘snap’ that would have rung through his ears as his jaw dislocated.
The creature forced a limb down Bill’s throat, claws scratching and gouging, shredding the windpipe and lungs as it worked its way down. “Oh, oh, how I wail. Oh, oh, I can’t reach my tail,” it sang as it pulled the limb back.
It jumped off Bill’s chest and dug its claws lower down into his torso, a wet, ripping sound filling the cabin as muscle and sinew was torn from bone. Sharp cracks rang out as the creature broke through the man’s ribs, and soon lengths of intestine filled the floor as the creature piled up semi-digested chunks of meat.
It slipped and slithered through the eviscerated remains to the door, returning a short time later with the discarded tail bones and pelt. Piling everything up together it started singing again, this time happy and upbeat. “Oh, oh, I no longer flail. Oh, oh, I have my tail,”
It pieced together the pelt, flesh and bone, hydrating it with fresh blood from Bill’s corpse. With a quick, sharp toss the tail arced through the air, the creature jumping and wiggling excitedly below until the tail reattached. With a swish of its rebuiltd tail the creature left the cabin. It shrunk back to it’s normal size, and gleefully jumped and leapt its way into the woods.
* * *
A few hours later, at dawn, Jasper awoke. He licked his lips at the smell of blood and raw intestines, saliva drooling from his mouth. After too many meals of dried bread and biscuits this truly was a fine feast. Out the open door of the cabin, a flash of chestnut-colored fur caught his eye, but Jasper didn’t care. He was hungry.
