Solbearers: Part 1-Prologue 3: Jesse Lafontaine

Jesse wiped the sweat from his forehead. He had hoped the strange September heat-wave would have ended in time for his current camping trip but his hopes weren't met. Nevertheless, him and Danny were still out in the woods and they planned to stay a few more nights. The inside of the tent was dark but light enough to see Danny was gone. Jesse figured that Danny had stepped out to smoke or to

"Jesse get out here now!" Danny yelled.

"It's like a bear but not a bear!" he continued as Jesse came out of the tent revolver in hand.

He could barely believe his incredible keen eyes. An almost 8 foot tall nearly naked horribly bloated creature was lumbering towards Danny. Its strange brown-green body had a slight shine to it and its elongated three part mouths was making an unsettling and surreal clicking noise. Jesse's first shot burrowed into its gut but did not slow its menacing pace. Nor did the second, or the third. Each time flesh and liquid exploded from the wound and the creature shrieked, but its pace continued. Danny who had been in more fistfights than Jesse could remember was frozen with fear. The creature's claw like hands found Danny's shoulders and its noises ceased. The head slightly cocked back and jutted forward towards Danny's neck. Jesse shot just in time to save Danny's life. The fourth bullet surely lodged in the creature's brain if it had one. It changed direction towards Jesse finally in a shambling run. Jesse knew he could make at least one more head shot with his last two rounds but questioned if it would be enough. He put one bullet through its neck, then another. But still it was on top of him. It was at this moment he registered the creature did not seem to have eyes. It may have had eyes at one point but all Jesse could see was swollen looking eye sockets and eyelids. Hundreds of pounds of flaccid weight pinned Jesse to the dirt as he struggled to keep its mouth away from him carefully avoiding the sharp barb running down the centre of it. Each movement emptied Jesse's lungs a little more and the weight was too vast to properly take in more air. Even if he could avoid it's bite he would suffocate soon. A shot from Danny's rifle rang out putting a slug in creature's shoulder making the arm attached go limp. This was the chance Jesse needed. He now had one hand combating it's good claw and the other keeping its head at bay. Finally Jesse leaned his head far to the right to bait a bite from the monster. When it tried to strike Jesse dodged, pushed the monstrous head towards his left and slashed towards the right with his belt knife. There was a sickening ripping noise but it was over. Jesse dropped the thing's severed head and tried to wriggle out from under the massive body. He strained and stressed making no progress until Danny tried to roll the thing off of Jesse. It only budged a little but it was enough. Jesse finally wiggled out from under the nightmare he just killed. He gave Danny a look of gratitude and layed on his back panting like a dog. Danny layed on his back beside him. They were both in disbelief.

"It's like some god damn giant tick-man" Jesse said catching his breath "like something that used to be human"

And as the sun came up the creatures body became dust.

"No one's going to believe us" Danny sulked.

"Small towns and reservations will before the big cities do" Jesse replied.