Post by Mittens Mckittens on Mar 2, 2023 0:27:58 GMT
Set a couple nights after 'Gnoll of the Dead'
Netflix would class this write up as: 'A childhood nightmare!'
It is late.
A large yellow moon crests high above the small farmstead, emerging from behind thick parting clouds.
Inside the humble farmhouse below, a young kitten dreams peacefully, until.
A suddenly shrill otherworldly howl shatters the quiet ambience of the night, waking the sleeping kitten with a fearful cry for its mother.
The scene begins to fracture and to blur, turning into stutters of sight and sound. Loud bangs on the oak front door. Frenzied muffled shouts. The sudden enveloping embrace of his mother's arms. The stern voice of his pa, instructing to bolt the door and stay away from the windows. The sudden spark of a lantern lighting. The glint of his father's spearhead. More yells. Bangs. Crashes. Yowls. Growls. The shaking yet soothing shhh'ing of his mother as she holds him close.
Then finally, a piercing wrenching howl stuns the night into silence.
A high pained filled chilling noise, which then just cuts off.
More fragments. The deep painting breaths of his father and the other folk. The rich smell of sweat and blood, mixed with a thick stinking heavy musk. The sight of a huge hairy creature, its broken form laying limp and still upon the ground before them.
The kitten's wide eyes take in all details of the scene from the safety of his mother's arm. He watches as with a heroic-like stance, his father as empties the oil and spark of his lantern onto the vanquished remains of this creature, as it steadily begins to devoured by the flames.
This was his first glimpse of a gnoll.
But then as the kitten watches the flames, the scene begins changing.
Slowly at first and then with a sudden erratic shudder, the blazing form of the gnoll starts moving. Starting to rise itself up from the ground once more. The flames enveloping it begin to fall away with chunks of flesh and hunks of burnt fur, a thick sizzling substance dribbling down from its limbs to form pools of deep shimmering-glimmering black blood.
Then, with barely a ripple, more forms begin to rise from within the pools. Similar, equally twisted broken gnolls, macerated hunched hyena forms. Each emanating hideous gurgling guttural growls, as they turn to confront stunned figures of the fearful townsfolk encircling them. Their simple country attire suddenly morphing into that of guards tabards and armour, as they let out horrific cries of fear and anguish as the creatures set upon them.
The Kitten shivers with fear and tries to burrow deeper into the arms of his mother but then suddenly finds himself standing alone in the dark, the safety of his mother no longer there.
With a shudder, he unwilling turns to look back to the chilling scene before him, and sees the large form of the first gnoll. It's monstrous melted maw, now freshly blooded from grizzled remains of his fallen father, rise from its prey to point it’s snout towards him. Sniffling the air, gnashing it's horrible gore coated fangs. Before, with a blood curdling roar, it lunges towards him.
"MOTHER!?"
"PA!?"
"MISS KENNARI!!?"
Tears flow from the kitten's eyes as he sits up shivering from his bed.
But, no soothing figure comes to answer the frightened kitten's cries.
