The wild beast
I found it walking through the land of the decay. Or it found me, I don’t really know. It growled and rattled tearing a carcass to pieces; just devoured, dirty blood flowed and bits of flesh hung from its dirty-white set of teeth. Red light glowed in its eyes as it cast a glance at me, pulling up its nose then devoured on. But it still kept an eye on me. Its muscles, its whole body tautened, ready for jumping if I went to war against it to take away its prey. Its ears slung black, its jaw, like a vise and the huge incisors just hollowed out the way for the blood in the still warm body. It tore and ripped the flesh and already swallowed that. It clung with its claws as it fought with the dead body on the top of the heap of carcasses. The morsels just slipped down in his throat one after the other, as if it couldn’t get enough. I almost saw how the enormous body grew under the scruffy fur with every bite. I watched it for long and it just devoured. When its teeth reached bones, it growled again and strived against the carcass, the bone cracked and another bite got in its bloody muzzle.
It was known to me somehow. Its greediness, the mixture of instinct and fury, its strength and hunger … It attracted my glance. Then, when it finished devouring, its every muscle tautened even more, it jumped and the enormous body approached almost swimming in the air. It jumped beside me then we started on together, like good, old friends. Among rocks, in the depth of dark clefts, through stinking morasses. In the valley of decay, on the peak of the mountain of death. It just went beside me, accompanied me, not leaving me for a moment as if it wanted to become a part of me and maybe it really became that.
I watched it at nights. Horrified, taking pleasure in the sight of it. It never slept. I was afraid that it would rush upon me too and I admired the terrible strength at the same time. It could kill me and eat me up, but it didn’t do; it devoured me alive. It ruled over me, overcame me and I admired it, feared it, it attracted me and filled me with disgust. The stink of rotting issued forth from its scruffy fur, it was ugly and beautiful, faithful and wicked. It seemed immortal. Its dirty blood and dark soul was the primeval gods’ creation. Its heart was like a block of ice; it didn’t know mercy. It was my fellow, a demon – and overly human at the same time.
The beast went beside me, but now I know; actually it led me. It showed me the way in the dreary land, deeper and deeper into the darkness, in the terrific country where the death is the master. Its look glowed in my eyes, its putrid smell poured from every pore of mine. It bewitched me, guided me, made me drink blood and eat raw meat. My soul became dark like its, I became the same like it myself – demonic, wicked and cruel. Thirsting after blood and hungering after carrion, thirsty and hungry more and more. Greedy, wild and insatiable. I became its slave, a non-reasoning creature and it was my master. Now I already know its name. It’s Hatred. I have put the wild beast to sleep, but it slumbers in me even now, and I can only hope that its dream will be unending and it won’t wake up again.
