Chapter 4
It was a massive being of gold light that took the form of a majestic wolf. Powerful legs meant for long distance running and high jumping supported a frame of perfect proportion. The ears were pressed outward and atop the head sat a crown of gold hair pulled back to make a waved mane and pressed forward like how Demetrius always styled his hair. The tail was over three times the beast’s length and was made up of thirty foot long gold strands. The jaws of the beast held two foot long fangs on each side and single three foot fangs in between. Upon its back sat two giant wings. They were too small for flight, but they looked thick enough to stop most kinds of weaponry.
The beast looked off into the distance; it paid them no heed. Marcus whistled to it, but it did not pay attention and the family tried to silence him. He grabbed the hunting rifle laid across his lap and stood upon his seat. He aimed the barrel at the beast’s head and all his father could do was yell, “No!” before he pulled the trigger. As soon as the bullet made contact, the beast slowly turned its head to face them. It stood and walked to their car where Marcus just sat down to keep from being thrown off as his father slammed his foot on the accelerator.
Just before they made contact with the beast, Marcus’s father spun the car around and it flew in the other direction. The car seemed to stay still as the tires skidded on the roads. They were just out of range when the massive jaws slammed shut. Finally, the wheels found traction and the car sped off. The beast was in pursuit, and it did not look like it was about to give up. Liz looked at Marcus and said, “What were you thinking?” Marcus reached under the seat and found an old Red Sox hat. He placed it on his head and pressed the cap over his eyes as he leaned back and enjoyed the nice weather.
Liz grabbed the hat and threw it back at the beast, where it disappeared between its teeth. Marcus said in a smug voice, “Come on! That was a good hat.”
“You killed us all!”
“It was bound to happen sooner or later. It’s either be a zombie or be dog chow, and I’m not very fond of our undead neighbors right now. Look behind us, he’s already given up!”
Liz looked behind and saw that the beast had indeed given up and slowed down, only to disappear behind the tree line. Marcus’s father continued to drive, but at a slower pace. Just when he slowed down to the speed limit, the beast jumped over the house to their right. Its landing was perfect. It placed the car between its paws, so he could go forward or backward. The beast’s snarl turned to a smile that brandished even more teeth than before. It laughed a long, deep, and menacing laugh that shook the ground around them. The beast spoke in a booming voice, “How dare you make an attempt to fell me, mortal!” Marcus’s father said, “Please, it was an accident! Show some mercy. He is my only son.” He did not try to hide the fear in his voice.
“Ah, the father speaks. Perhaps I should punish you instead, for is it not the way of mortals that the father should teach his son’s of honor? Of respect?”
Marcus said, “Pay no heed to him; if you have a quarrel with me, then let it be with me. Go ahead, discipline me. I dare you to try.”
Even the beast seemed dumbstruck by the child’s remarks. It leaned back and said in a much younger, more joyous tone, “What if I actually tried to do it? How the hell would you have stopped me? I mean, I ripped a car in half a little while ago. If you want to verify it, I can go get the wreckage, but…” Demetrius trailed off as he noticed the two women in the car. He moved very quickly to get his head right next to Liz, where all she could see was a great cat’s eye with a shining gold iris. He said in a low voice, “Well hello there, little one. Have you ever wondered what a god could do when he was alone with-” Marcus cut him off. He leapt out if the car and pulled out of his pocket a small handgun he hid from everyone else. He pressed it into the mutt’s nostril and said, “No, she hasn’t wondered. And she never will as long as I’m here.”
Marcus tugged on the gun, signaling for Dem to go down a side street. The beast obliged, and Marcus said when they were out of earshot, “Look, Demmy, do you really think I’m going to let you do…whatever it is you were going to do… to my sister?”
“She’s your…oh, now I see the resemblance. If I knew that, I would’ve just grabbed her and ran.”
“Don’t you know?”
“Know what?”
“Do you remember when Karen and Mish caught you looking at bad sites on the lab computer?”
“If I wasn’t so loud, it probably wouldn’t have happened.”
“As always, thank you for the unneeded comments. Anyway, Karen was so enraged by how you acted, that she changed your titan form so that you couldn’t do it again.”
Dem looked between his legs and then looked back at Marcus. He looked as if he was going to cry. Marcus tried to lessen his pain by patting his muzzle. It did not work. Marcus left him to try and figure out what he was and walked back to the car. Dem was not far behind. Marcus said in a loud voice, “Well, thanks to our little delay, we are now surrounded on all sides by the living dead. Considering the situation, I think that it would be in the best interests of all parties involved that we forget the troubles of the past and focus all of our efforts on moving from here to anywhere but here.”
They were indeed surrounded by a large group of undead. Marcus handed the hunting rifle to his father and moved to the back of the car. He opened the trunk and pulled out Paladin. The blade seemed to glow with a new light, as if it was trying to tell him that it was thirsty for blood. Marcus wanted nothing more than to please his blade. So he ran into the army on one side of the road and started slashing about. He beheaded the zombies five at a time and only stopped when he heard Dem yell, “Marcus, drop!”
Marcus did not drop, he jumped into the air and the hairs of Dem’s tail flowed by him. It was only after the last strands passed hid head that one of the strands caught his shoe and whip lashed him into the woods. Marcus hit a tree, and hung from it when the same foot that Dem nearly dislocated caught on a branch. He called on Dem, who grabbed Marcus with his tongue and pulled him from the tree. Marcus was dropped only a few feet from the ground, and he landed on his back. The leaves, ticks, and rocks of the woodland area stuck to the saliva that covered his body. He walked back to the car and saw how Dem’s tail took out over three hundred zombies in a single swipe. The road ahead was mostly clear, and Marcus’s father was waiting for him to get in the car.
When he approached the car, his father said, “You know, I just finished putting in the interior yesterday, and now it’s all going to be ruined by dog slobber.”
Marcus told Dem to lower his head. Dem did as he was told and laid his paw next to his neck to act as a step. Marcus climbed up his giant friend’s neck and sat between two long manes that separated from the top of his head and flowed down behind his ears. Marcus remarked, “Did we never finish your design? I can see a few bald spots back here.”
“There are a few bald spots in my stomach. Would you like to check those ones as well?”
“No thanks, I’m good.”
Marcus could see his family start to exit the vehicle, but Marcus told them to go back to the car. He said, “Dem was clumsy in the lab, and I don’t trust him to carry all of us at once. Stay in the car; we’ll be next to you the whole trip.”
With that in mind, Marcus’s father pressed the accelerator and the car sped off with the great beast in close proximity.
The beast looked off into the distance; it paid them no heed. Marcus whistled to it, but it did not pay attention and the family tried to silence him. He grabbed the hunting rifle laid across his lap and stood upon his seat. He aimed the barrel at the beast’s head and all his father could do was yell, “No!” before he pulled the trigger. As soon as the bullet made contact, the beast slowly turned its head to face them. It stood and walked to their car where Marcus just sat down to keep from being thrown off as his father slammed his foot on the accelerator.
Just before they made contact with the beast, Marcus’s father spun the car around and it flew in the other direction. The car seemed to stay still as the tires skidded on the roads. They were just out of range when the massive jaws slammed shut. Finally, the wheels found traction and the car sped off. The beast was in pursuit, and it did not look like it was about to give up. Liz looked at Marcus and said, “What were you thinking?” Marcus reached under the seat and found an old Red Sox hat. He placed it on his head and pressed the cap over his eyes as he leaned back and enjoyed the nice weather.
Liz grabbed the hat and threw it back at the beast, where it disappeared between its teeth. Marcus said in a smug voice, “Come on! That was a good hat.”
“You killed us all!”
“It was bound to happen sooner or later. It’s either be a zombie or be dog chow, and I’m not very fond of our undead neighbors right now. Look behind us, he’s already given up!”
Liz looked behind and saw that the beast had indeed given up and slowed down, only to disappear behind the tree line. Marcus’s father continued to drive, but at a slower pace. Just when he slowed down to the speed limit, the beast jumped over the house to their right. Its landing was perfect. It placed the car between its paws, so he could go forward or backward. The beast’s snarl turned to a smile that brandished even more teeth than before. It laughed a long, deep, and menacing laugh that shook the ground around them. The beast spoke in a booming voice, “How dare you make an attempt to fell me, mortal!” Marcus’s father said, “Please, it was an accident! Show some mercy. He is my only son.” He did not try to hide the fear in his voice.
“Ah, the father speaks. Perhaps I should punish you instead, for is it not the way of mortals that the father should teach his son’s of honor? Of respect?”
Marcus said, “Pay no heed to him; if you have a quarrel with me, then let it be with me. Go ahead, discipline me. I dare you to try.”
Even the beast seemed dumbstruck by the child’s remarks. It leaned back and said in a much younger, more joyous tone, “What if I actually tried to do it? How the hell would you have stopped me? I mean, I ripped a car in half a little while ago. If you want to verify it, I can go get the wreckage, but…” Demetrius trailed off as he noticed the two women in the car. He moved very quickly to get his head right next to Liz, where all she could see was a great cat’s eye with a shining gold iris. He said in a low voice, “Well hello there, little one. Have you ever wondered what a god could do when he was alone with-” Marcus cut him off. He leapt out if the car and pulled out of his pocket a small handgun he hid from everyone else. He pressed it into the mutt’s nostril and said, “No, she hasn’t wondered. And she never will as long as I’m here.”
Marcus tugged on the gun, signaling for Dem to go down a side street. The beast obliged, and Marcus said when they were out of earshot, “Look, Demmy, do you really think I’m going to let you do…whatever it is you were going to do… to my sister?”
“She’s your…oh, now I see the resemblance. If I knew that, I would’ve just grabbed her and ran.”
“Don’t you know?”
“Know what?”
“Do you remember when Karen and Mish caught you looking at bad sites on the lab computer?”
“If I wasn’t so loud, it probably wouldn’t have happened.”
“As always, thank you for the unneeded comments. Anyway, Karen was so enraged by how you acted, that she changed your titan form so that you couldn’t do it again.”
Dem looked between his legs and then looked back at Marcus. He looked as if he was going to cry. Marcus tried to lessen his pain by patting his muzzle. It did not work. Marcus left him to try and figure out what he was and walked back to the car. Dem was not far behind. Marcus said in a loud voice, “Well, thanks to our little delay, we are now surrounded on all sides by the living dead. Considering the situation, I think that it would be in the best interests of all parties involved that we forget the troubles of the past and focus all of our efforts on moving from here to anywhere but here.”
They were indeed surrounded by a large group of undead. Marcus handed the hunting rifle to his father and moved to the back of the car. He opened the trunk and pulled out Paladin. The blade seemed to glow with a new light, as if it was trying to tell him that it was thirsty for blood. Marcus wanted nothing more than to please his blade. So he ran into the army on one side of the road and started slashing about. He beheaded the zombies five at a time and only stopped when he heard Dem yell, “Marcus, drop!”
Marcus did not drop, he jumped into the air and the hairs of Dem’s tail flowed by him. It was only after the last strands passed hid head that one of the strands caught his shoe and whip lashed him into the woods. Marcus hit a tree, and hung from it when the same foot that Dem nearly dislocated caught on a branch. He called on Dem, who grabbed Marcus with his tongue and pulled him from the tree. Marcus was dropped only a few feet from the ground, and he landed on his back. The leaves, ticks, and rocks of the woodland area stuck to the saliva that covered his body. He walked back to the car and saw how Dem’s tail took out over three hundred zombies in a single swipe. The road ahead was mostly clear, and Marcus’s father was waiting for him to get in the car.
When he approached the car, his father said, “You know, I just finished putting in the interior yesterday, and now it’s all going to be ruined by dog slobber.”
Marcus told Dem to lower his head. Dem did as he was told and laid his paw next to his neck to act as a step. Marcus climbed up his giant friend’s neck and sat between two long manes that separated from the top of his head and flowed down behind his ears. Marcus remarked, “Did we never finish your design? I can see a few bald spots back here.”
“There are a few bald spots in my stomach. Would you like to check those ones as well?”
“No thanks, I’m good.”
Marcus could see his family start to exit the vehicle, but Marcus told them to go back to the car. He said, “Dem was clumsy in the lab, and I don’t trust him to carry all of us at once. Stay in the car; we’ll be next to you the whole trip.”
With that in mind, Marcus’s father pressed the accelerator and the car sped off with the great beast in close proximity.