Warning, violence and gore near the end of the story

For Scythe's Halloween Trades


She had only stepped outside the Forest for a moment. She needed some time alone, somewhere nobody would find her. She knew the way in and out, there was one spot where one could leave the Endless Forest and step into the world outside.

The problem was that she had gotten lost on her trip outside the Forest.

Manako had walked through dense, unrecognizable trees, thinking she was going the right direction until she managed to step out of the wilderness. She stumbled upon a small farming town, where she saw for miles from the treeline. It was here she spotted something running toward her. It was an odd-looking creature, small with beady-red eyes, and long, sharp fangs. She didn't know what it was as it ran away from the town and past her, the two making visual contact as the strange creature darted into the treeline.

She looked back to the town in time to see a gathering of humans and their barking dogs, standing around what appeared to be a resting farm animal. Whatever that thing was that got past her had apparently caused some havoc in the town, as soon Manako would realize there were others who were laying awkwardly on the ground, a mangled, bloodied mess...dead...

"Look, up there! El Chupacabra!", one of the farmers called, pointing to the trees where the were-doe was watching them. Manako knew it was time to run, they had spotted her and mistook her for the creature that had killed their livestock. She turn and bolted into the trees, keeping her wits about her, keeping her ears open and listening. They had sent the dogs on her, she could hear them approaching. She wasn't running out of fear, she wasn't at all afraid. She just knew she was in the wrong place a the wrong time.

The dogs were clever, and knew these woods better than Manako did. She thought she heard one of them veer off, and her suspicion was verified when a Rottweiler nearly collided into her. She managed to jump over him, but it caused her to stumble and slide to a halt. The others had gathered around her, snarling and barking loudly. Among them were a German Shepherd, a Border Collie, and a Beauceron in addition to the Rottweiler that had cut her off already.

"...Wait...please, I saw the one you're after...it isn't me...", Manako tried to speak to them, but the dogs didn't seem to understand her, and continued to bark and snarl as they crept closer to her. She could understand what they were saying, too - "Killer!", "Murderer!", "Theif!", "It's here!", they spoke these over and over.

A shot sounded, a bullet nearly missed the doe, hitting a tree close by and blasting chunks of it in a small explosion. This caused Manako to bolt and run off, not sure what direction she was going or if she'd ever get back to the Forest at this point. The dogs sprung at her once she ran, and she managed to kick one of them in the head when it got too close. The Border Collie managed to get close enough to nip her in the ankle, causing her to gasp in shock and lose her footing again. She hit the ground with a loud thud and had little time to react when the dogs pounced on her, trying to bite into her neck and sides. "Enough of this! Off of me!", she snarled at them, using her strength to throw them off or otherwise kick them with enough force to send them flying. She stumbled to her feet and gasped for air, now more frustrated than anything that they were this persistent.

The doe stared them down, about ready to charge the dogs, as she spoke under her breath, "I didn't want to hurt you, but..." She wasn't able to finish the sentence as the farmers had gotten up to her, tossing a net over her and causing her to become tangled within it. She struggled as they held her down, one of the humans shouting, "Kill it! Kill it!", as three other farmers came with pitchforks that they raised up to jab into the doe's body. She shut her eyes, prepared for her death...

"Wait! Don't kill it! We finally caught El Chupacabra, we should sell it! We'll make a fortune!", one of the humans rushed up and stopped them a split second before they stabbed Manako with the pitchforks.

The others looked to each other and nodded their heads in agreement, then looked down at her about the time she spoke to them, "P-please...I didn't...I didn't kill your...your animals...", she was out of breath from struggling. The humans looked to one another, even more astounded that El Chupacabra could speak English.

"Tell it to the judge, you monster!", one of them scoffed and kicked her in the head, causing Manako to black out.

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"Urrgghhhh....", she moaned, raising her head, blinded immediately as she opened her eyes. She tried to move, but realized she was shackled and chained to the ground as well as within a tight cage. It was here she realized there were many humans staring at her, but it was hard to make them out from the bright lights that were all focused on her, as well as the random flashes from cameras that would blind her even more. All the while she could hear shouting, as the humans within the lights were in a fierce bidding war for possession of her. She sat on a small stage in an auditorium filled with people screaming and shouting.

"Five thousand!", one shouted. "Six thousand here!", another boomed. "Ten thousand dollars!!" There was so much commotion that she had a terrible headache, and continued to move to get more comfortable but found it nearly impossible to budge the way they had chained her.

"S-someone...please...I just want to get home...", she spoke.

The humans quieted, looking to one another, "Did it just speak?", they asked each other.

Manako sighed and spoke up, "My name is Manako, I am from the Endless Forest, and I just want to--", she was interrupted at once by someone in the crowd, immediately shouting, "Why did you kill those goats, you demon?"

"Please, I...I didn't...", she tried to speak, but the shouting and questions escalated, until someone pointed out her collar. "It's got a collar! Do you think it's someone's pet?", to which someone else questioned, "Maybe there's an address or a phone number! Someone grab it and let's see who let this beast into the world!"

Manako now realized her collar was still around her neck, and gasped at once, now pleading, "No wait! Don't take it off! It's a mista--", but she was struck with something in her side. A cattle prod jolted her and caused her to cry out in pain, just long enough for a pair of hands to reach into the cage and unfasten the collar.

Once it was off her neck, something happened to her. "Graaaahhhhhhhhhh!!", she roared, and as a chain reaction, she started growing, muscles expanding, sharp fangs emerging from her maw. The growth was so rapid that the shackles and chains on her bent and broke, the tight cage that contained her was easily ripped open by her strength.

The now transformed were-doe had lost control of her mind and body. She was not only furious, but incredibly hungry. She stared at the now panicking crowd, licking her lips and snarling as she hopped out of the destroyed cage, and picking out her first target in the crowd, she bolted off the stage and collided with the man, immediately sinking her fangs into his shoulder. The man cried out and kicked in pain as Manako tore into his arm. She looked up, another human was dangerously close to her, and she quickly pounced onto him, slashing his back with her claws. Another man ran at the were-doe with the cattle prod, jamming it into her side. It stung, but the creature was so resistant to pain that she simply turned and glared at the man, blood and drool dripping from her face before she slammed into him, her oversized maw sinking into his head and shaking violently.

Outside the auditorium, police were already there, trying to get everyone out. Once they spotted Manako, the glare she gave them, some of the officers fled in terror, while others quickly slammed the door shut, locking the remaining victims in with the were-doe and sealing their fate.

The frenzied were-doe had her fill and left several of the humans in a mess, and running at the door, she slammed into it, effortlessly busting it open. The creature didn't bother with the frightened policemen, even as they pulled out their guns and began to fire on her. She was agile enough to avoid their bullets, and as she burst through the front doors of the place, she found herself in a heavily populated city, cars rushing by her and slamming on their breaks. One collided with a parked car, another slid to a halt near the doe as she entered the street, honking their horn at her. Manako snarled and roared at the car, rearing up and slamming her legs into it, easily destroying the front of the car.

As the commotion grew around her, people screaming, guns still firing, the were-doe decided she had enough of this annoying place, and was in a sprint down the road. She would easily hop over some oncoming cars, and have to step up onto parked cars on the side of the road. The crowd of people were running the other way, while the police gave chase in their vehicles.

The pursuit continued for many hours, until the police cars ran out of gasoline to keep up with the seemingly untiring were-doe. One by one, they would break off the chase, until she would slow and look back, not seeing anything after her. Here she would continue walking at a slower pace, as she was a bit exhausted, and soon would disappear into the wilderness.

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Billy lived in a small town in the middle of nowhere, a close-knit community where everyone knew everyone else. It was Halloween night, and he was one of the few kids in the neighborhood who was trusted to Trick or Treat alone. After he went to the next house on the block, he stopped to raise up his werewolf mask and look at his candy hoard. As he did, he happened to catch something in the corner of his eye, and looking to the woods behind one of the houses, he saw what appeared to be a werewolf staring back at him, glowing eyes and an apparent large, canine form.

The boy smiled and waved, "Happy Halloween!", he called, and tossed a piece of candy at the creature. He watched it ravenously devour the candy, wrapper and all, and then raise it's head and let out a loud, terrible howl. The boy laughed and howled right back, but as he looked, the creature was gone.

Manako's whereabouts remained unknown, as she was never seen in the Endless Forest again. Nor did she ever recover her composure and sanity, for her collar was lost in the slaughter in the auditorium. As a result, more reports of mutilated livestock and even wilderness animals grew across the country, never isolated in one place but always on the move. She was spotted every now and then, now appropriately labeled as 'El Chupacabra'. It was believed to look into her eyes was to be met with certain death.

She was looking for something...she was looking for both her collar...and her home...

The End