Fall Harvest, Part One

Kim was walking along the road towards the sunset, to a frat house where the party of the year was being held by the oldest son of the family, Riley Gilpine. The boy was something of an ass, but he was always able to get kegs and liquor for his parties, which made him tolerable. The fact that he was on the prowl for Kim’s older sister made her feel all the better, as the boy was far too brave for his own good.

She’d already had to punch him out once for groping her ass, and she didn’t want to hurt her knuckles again.

Tonight she was dressed in a pair of low-cut jeans and a black tank top with a splash of red on it, a symbol from some computer game. Her sister Melody was into those games, and she was a little smaller than Kim, leaving her to borrow clothes that stretched over her buxom frame. She didn’t mind though. She had condoms in her purse, perfume on her neck, and lucky panties pulled up high.

Tonight she’d finally land the man she’d been fishing for all semester, Brian King. Brian was a Sophomore, like Kim, and spent most of his time reading in the courtyard of the library beneath the autumn leaves. He was really into philosophy, especially the study of religion. Kim wasn’t certain about half of the things he said whenever she got the nerve to prompt a conversation, but she was going to make him see God tonight.

Smiling, Kim skipped a few yards before slowing down to a walk. The streetlamps were on her side of the road, paced ever twenty or so feet, with forest on either side. It wasn’t dense or anything, but the Spruce trees made it seem thicker than it actually was. It was a fairly warm night for Fall, with a slight breeze blowing in the scents of apples and old forest. Birds chirped nearby while a lone owl watched her pass beneath his branch.

She may not have liked moving here for college, but she was finally getting to enjoy it. The locals were nice and the town was quiet. The loud ones were the college boys racing up and down the streets in their fast cars for the loose girls, and the town police understood that. They were even kind enough to let most people off with just warnings.

Humming to herself, Kim let out a yelp when she heard a yowl come from near her feet. Looking down, beneath the lowest boughs of a Spruce was a large black cat with orange eyes, glinting up at her with what could only be described as annoyed curiosity. She stepped back and watched as the creature slide out from beneath the tree until it could rub against her legs, long furry tail tickling her thigh as the cat walked around her.

“Aren’t you a pretty kitty?” Kim asked, looking down at the black cat. “And so big! You must weight thirty pounds!”

The cat meowed as if answering before pawing at her knee, claws lightly grazing her skin. It turned and started heading down a narrow path between trees, stopping to look over it’s shoulder. It’s eyes all but asked “Well? Are you coming?”

Kim smiled. Maybe this was a mother cat and she had kittens she wanted rescued! Now that she lived with just her sister, she could have a cat if she wanted. Her mother always complained when cats were around, her allergies making it difficult for Kim or Melody to ever even pet a cat, let alone house one.

“Wait for me Little Mama!” Kim said, pushing through the branches to follow the cat as it darted from tree to tree.

She followed it for at least three minutes before she began to feel stupid.

“I bet the cat is just playing a game…” Kim muttered as she pushed past another Spruce, catching sight of the fluffy tail waggling from between the branches of another tree not too far off. “This better have a good pay-off cat!”

It meowed, long and loud. It was only then that Kim noticed something about the forest.

It was silent.

No birds cawing, or bugs whistling. The only noise she could hear was her own breathing, and something metallic clinking in the distance.

Clink-Clink…

Clink-Clink…

“What the hell is that?” Kim asked, stepping away from her tree. She cried out in pain when she felt something solid, thick, and sharp cut through the back of her left leg, just above the heel. Her shoe instantly began filling up with warm blood while her Achilles tendon rolled up her leg like window shades. Dropping to the ground, she clutched at her leg, eyes widening in fright as she stared at the cat, hiding directly behind her.

Only it was different now.

Larger, with long canines and bulging muscles made the creature look like some bizarre monster composed of several cats. The cat let out a growl and crawled backward, eyes never leaving her while one glistening paw stained the shade red.

The clinking sound started up again, but she didn’t give a damn. She had to do something to stop the bleeding, and she needed to get to the hospital! Looking around for a suitable piece of timber that could act as a brace for her leg, she frowned when her eyes passed over the clean forest floor.

Now she wasn’t from around here, but even Kim knew that forests were usually littered with twigs and broken branches. There were only a few Spruce needles here and there, all having fallen recently if she would hazard a guess.

Looking up, Kim stared at the big tree blocking the sun, wincing at the few remaining rays shining down onto her face. Raising a hand to shield her eyes, she was able to see the movement just as it happened.

Whoosh!

A heavy length of chain flew down from high above, clocking Kim soundly across the face with enough force to make her teeth rattle. Dropping to the ground, she struggled to stay conscious. Stepping out from the shade of the tree was a tall man, a featureless white mask covering his face. He wore a long-sleeved trench coat and dark jeans, along with some well-worn sneakers. He carried the length of chain with him and knelt down beside Kim, one knee next to her head. He grabbed her by the hair and lifted her head, looking her in the eyes.

“Hmmm…” He grumbled, his voice sounding far younger than Kim would have guessed. “A little underweight, but a fine haul nonetheless. You did good Sam.”

A deep, mournful meow from behind her told her the cat wasn’t a stray like she thought, nor a mother kitty.

Staring up into the glacial blue eyes of the masked man, Kim spat out a mouthful of blood.

“H-Help…” She ground out, her head swimming in such a way that she couldn’t pull in the air to scream. She finally fell unconscious when the man’s gloved fingers pressed over her eyes, forcefully pulling the lids down and her deep into oblivion.
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