Page 36 of Solivagant

I’d been a hunter long enough to know that silence like this was rarely a good thing. There were many things that made big and frightening noises around these woods, but the real predators rarely announced their presence.

I snatched up my axe, scanning the environment, seeking movement or anything that would explain the silence and the way the air suddenly seemed so still and heavy.

The rumble came from all around me. The vibrations low and rhythmic and entirely unfriendly. I felt it through the air. Through the ground. The sound growing as it penetrated my chest and rattled my ribs.

Nope.

Surviving out here depended entirely on knowing when you had to make a show of force to scare off another predator, when to fight back, and when to run.

Whatever was making that sound weren’t anything I’d ever encountered before, yet I knew without a doubt, it was one to run from.

Axe firmly in hand, I turned, and I fucking ran.

17

JOSIAH

There were no records of that private property anywhere I looked. No mention of who owned it. It didn’t even show up on any maps.

Whoever was responsible for it had clearly gone to great lengths to make sure it remained secret. There were only two people I could consider talking to about it. Tash, and my father.

Tash would, without a doubt, be on her way there with a ladder and a chainsaw the moment I breathed a word of it to her. My father would absolutely be telling anyone who would listen that we’d found a secret alien base. Neither were helpful, and so I said nothing.

I tried to push the too-tall wall with no entrances and the strange warning signs out of my mind. I tried to forget the growl of a beast that vibrated my bones. And mostly, I tried to cage the beast inside me that yearned to experience it again.

I’d spent every evening since that day researching the different sounds of beasts in this area, and when nothing came close to what I’d heard, I looked at beasts from other areas, because people were fucking insane and maybe some idiot had lions on his property.

My research had revealed, however, that it definitely hadn’t sounded like a lion. It weren’t quite like a bear or a tiger either, or any other large predator. The rumble of it almost sounded like a crocodile, except it was louder. Bigger.

I hadn’t seen anything, and although the sound seemed like it was coming from all around me, I knew it had to have been coming from beyond the wall. Whatever was in there couldn’t see me, but it had known I was there. It had to. It had smelled or heard me. Its senses were sharp. Had I actually been successful in climbing that wall, or god forbid, if I’d entered the property, I knew I’d have been eaten. Just like the sign warned.

The wall made more sense now. Because maybe it weren’t designed to keep people out, but to keep something else in.

The open window carried through a soft breeze, but none of the usual sounds of nocturnal life. None but a very distant howl. Was that the same creature? Did it cry because it was trapped in that place?

Go back.

I huffed. There was no way in hell I was ever going back to that place. Whatever that thing was, it had given me a very clear warning.

The sound was blocked out as I pulled the window shut, wishing I could shut it out of my mind just as easily, as I got into bed and turned off the lamp.

My heart lurched in my chest. My body was heavy, my limbs too slow as I took in my surroundings. Like emerging from a thick fog. Darkness. Trees. Insect calls. Outside.

When did I go outside?

My bare feet were cold, covered in dirt and leaves as I spun back around to face my home. The back door was wide open, and all lights still off.

I was standing at the tree line of the forest in nothing but my sleep pants.

How did I get here?

My legs went from heavy to weak. I almost stumbled as I crossed the field of grass to get back inside and slam the door behind me. I locked it, then peered through the glass panel in the door as if I expected something to be chasing me.

All was dark and quiet.

Fuck.

I searched my house, looking for… something. Anything that could have gotten in while the door was open, or anything that could explain why the fuck I was even out there. Nothing.