• The Golden Nightmare: Prologue



    Blackness shrouded the old two door pickup truck as it made its way down the cracked asphalt and the faded yellow lines barely noticeable to the drivers of this overused, yet abandoned road. It was a misty night as a man in his mid thirties drummed on the steering wheel to the beat of a classic rock station that the am radio picked up. A woman rode silently in the passenger seat, glancing out at the darkness of the woods that they approached, lightly stroking the cheek of a newborn baby and brushing her slightly graying brown bangs behind one of her small ears. She glanced over to the man and smiled, her eyes filled with joy and happiness. A tear rolled down her cheek. The man softly smiled and took one hand off of the steering wheel, tenderly brushing the tear off of his wife's cheek. He gave an unsure smirk, more nervous about the task; taking his wife and newborn son home. The moon was infallibly full; it gleamed eerily, casting its light onto the earth.

    In a blink of an eye, a shadow of a large unknown creature suddenly rushed in front of the accelerated vehicle. The man tried to swerve, and overcorrected, causing the truck to do a half donut before slamming on the brakes. Screams filled the air as the old pick up came to a complete, squealing stop. The lights cut through the shawl of mist revealing tree after tree and nothing else. He could not breathe; his heart was up in his throat. As for his wife, she was scared to death as she clutched the baby, safely and securely. He checked his wife and child.

    They were fine.

    He sighed in relief and curses under his breath as he buckled up and tried to crank the truck up again when a immense weight pulled the back of the truck suddenly dropped, causing the family to be thrown back wildly, as if a giant child was shaking a enormous Christmas present. The family heard a set of four feet and a musky odor filled the small space. A howl sounded that put the family on edge as a face of a snarling wolf drooled on the windshield, claws thrashing and trying to tear into the glass; wanting its literal pound of flesh.

    The man tried to put the truck in reverse and put the petal to the metal, but the vehicle would not budge as the creature decided to give up and jump off the hood of the vehicle and extended itself to its full height.

    In the headlights, smoke gray fur matted to its masculine build, its back clearly defined in the light and its paws bore resemblance to human hands with claws. The creature stood at a striking seven and a half feet tall on its hind legs. The gray, shaggy tail hung loose from its rear as it turned to reveal the face of the wolf that tried to eat them. It crouched back to its haunches and lunged at the truck again.
    This time the truck moved; and moved far enough for the wolf to lunge and intake a mouthful of dirt and broken asphalt. It looked up, growling louder and louder in rage, propping itself on its arms and stared at the backing truck. It spat the small rocks and got back on all fours, giving them chase with a blasting howl. Not only was it hungry… It was pissed!

    The old man spun the wheel and the truck spun, pointing its nose in the opposite direction. He shifted the gears into over drive and punched on the gas, hearing the motor roar and the back tires squeal as they fled. His eyes gazed at the rear view mirror, searching for signs of the monster over the cries of the baby boy and the panicked screams of the wife. For a moment, whatever had been chasing them was gone. For a moment, silence returned the small room once more before the back of the truck threw the family backwards. The truck slowed down and the tires and motor strained to go faster until it came to a stop. The wife yelled for him to move faster, but to no avail.

    The entire top of the truck was ripped open with the wolf like monster leering down at them; drool dripped and foamed from the corners of its mouth as it reached in and grabbed the man inside, slashed off the seat belt, and brought him close. The creature sniffed his neck, his face, his chest, and found him disgusting. It tossed him aside, glaring hungrily at the man's wife.

    The man hit the ground stomach-first hard; his clothes tore at the arms and chest, the legs and knees of his pants were frayed. Each tare was matted with blood. He tried to get up, but his body was failing him and he could only prop on his sore elbows to hear his wife's cries for mercy and to watch the monster as it plunged its head in the hole on top of the truck. With a shrill scream, the windows were suddenly covered by mass quantities of blood. His eyes stung with immediate tears as he helplessly screamed out her name for the last time…