Sheep's Clothing by Gary Lewis (free ebook reader for pc txt) 📕

I be so stupid? The trickle of the creek water was fading, replaced by the beat of her shoes and heart as she jogged uphill toward the trailhead and David’s car.

David's distant voice sounded from the now visible red car as she huffed to catch her breath. "Of course," Sarah said to herself with a scowl. "He's just fine."

She twisted the grocery bag filled with random litter from both scenes and tossed it across the backseat as she climbed into the now frigid interior of his car. "Find anything interesting?" David asked, his groggy eyes not fully making contact with hers.

"Not really," she said as she turned the car around and began the drive down the gravel road, bumping and bouncing to every pothole she tried to avoid. "Sorry. This damn road."

"It's okay. I need to get a realignment anyway," he said as he leaned his seat back with closed eyes.

David's phone buzzed, jolting him awake as he turned to pull it from his pocket. After a brief look, he turned to her. "It's Jan. They found pieces of her dog in the field behind her house," he said with concern in his voice.

"And just why is she texting you about it instead of Vance?"

"What does it matter?" David snapped back at her.

"Wait!” she said. “Isn't that field connected to the one where all those cows were slaughtered?"

"You know, I bet it is,” he said while his head leaned lazily against the shoulder strap of the seatbelt. “Since that road runs sort of parallel to hers. I think there's some woods in between though."

"Do you have a map and a pen?" Sarah asked, taking an abrupt turn onto Central Avenue in the direction of David's house as the two of them continued on their investigative venture.

"A nap and a bed? Sounds great," he said, mumbling from the depths of his sleep deprivation.

Sarah squinted at him. Why is he so tired, anyway?

###

The chattering of gossip and rumors filled the afternoon air in Pine Bluff, bringing the small, boring town to life with news of current events that spread quickly into the night as the moon rose high, shining brightly from above.

A quiet, deserted road nestled between the forests just outside of town gave rise to the sound of a puttering engine as Danny's blue pickup stalled in the dark. The screeching of his failed starter resounded over and over through the trees. "Dammit!" he said, beating his steering wheel in futility. He stepped onto the smooth, newly paved street; a narrow path of civility that stretched between miles of wild forest that squeezed from both sides.

His hood creaked with a loud squeal as he raised it just enough to reach the carburetor. A loud howl startled Danny. He jumped with fright and banged his head against the hood. As it continued to roar through the forest, he could feel the sound vibrate through his body, each sound getting louder than the last. Then it quickly subsided and all became quiet. Too quiet, he thought.

"Think you're tough shit, huh?" Danny said. He grabbed an old wooden baseball bat from the mess scattered in his truck bed. With a sweep of his hand, he brushed his long hair out of his face and walked toward the woods. Danny gave a few practice swings of his bat before he rested it over his shoulder and slowed his pace, staring through the darkness between the large twisted trees that wrapped around one another.

After a few moments spent squinting through the blackened depths of tree trunks and shrubbery, he slowly began to walk back to the truck.

Cracking branches snapped Danny to attention. The brush rustled heavily to something large lurking slowly through.

"Alright, motherfucker," he said, struggling to control his breath to the adrenaline rushing through his heart. He took one cautious step at a time, walking up the side of the ditch to the edge of the forest. A pause filled his feet for a moment. With a deep breath, he snuck between the tightly bound conifers, entering the natural barred gates to a dark world of seclusion crowded by trees. Blinded by the night, he tried to locate the source of the sound as he peered deeply into the darkness of the woods.

Eyes opened in the blackness in front of him, eyes and teeth. As it lunged at him, he swung his bat with everything he had. A snarling bite cracked his bat mid-swing and shook it loose from his grip. Claws instantly swiped through his belly. Danny turned to run. Long teeth clamped deep into his shoulder, violently shaking his body back and forth. With a heave, he was flung to the road where he tumbled on impact across the hard pavement. He struggled to roll onto his belly just in front of his pickup.

After sliding his hands through the pool of blood forming around him, Danny tried to gather the strength to crawl back to his truck. Crackling, guttural snarls came from the forest as it crept out from its cover. A large, hairy beast stood upright as tall as a man, showing its white teeth from a long, blood dripping snout. Dark brown fur covered its body. It glared with furious yellow eyes and tilted its nose downward, raising its long ears and fixing a predatory gaze upon him.

Danny fumbled with his phone as he slipped his thumb across the blood covered screen. But no matter how fast he swiped, the blood was seeping down his arm onto the device faster than he could wipe it from the glass surface.

With all his effort, he slapped one arm onto the road and pulled himself a few inches toward his truck. He could feel the growling get louder from behind as he desperately tried to beat it to his open door. The sound of the creature's slow steps splat in the blood, gaining on him as he had just a couple feet to go. The snarling air brushed along the skin on the back of his neck while he pulled himself inside the cab and slammed the heavy door. The familiar