Chapter 1

It was the strangest holiday I've ever taken. It was supposed to be a chance to get away. To give me a chance to get out in nature and recharge my batteries. A change of pace from my usual life in the hustle and bustle of the city. Allowing me to go back refreshed to face new challenges.

I had never really done a lot of outdoor pursuits as a child. I had never been a scout, or in one of the religious outfits like boys' brigade. The only place I had camped had been the back garden of my parents house with my sister in our small tent.

One year I decided, out of the blue, to go camping for a week instead of my normal city breaks. It was not very comfortable and lacked the luxuries of staying in a hotel. Still I found it wonderfully refreshing. Soon I began taking all my holidays that way. I'd pick a spot and go there to camp, for a week or longer. Camp sites can be noisy places and I soon began seeking out places that were more remote and going wild camping, a practice that was usually illegal. This reduced the facilities and my potential holiday destinations even more, but the freedom and peace that came with it was magnificent.

I taught myself to fish and catch game, but I found I didn't have the stomach for catching my own food. The whole macho "I'll eat what I killed with my own hands" thing didn't really interest me. Killing animals in order to eat seemed contrary to enjoying the holiday notion of getting some peace and enjoying nature. So I lived off dehydrated camp food and tins for a week, not that different from what I ate in the city I'll admit.

That time I had been especially in need of a break. My job at a test house was very stressful leading up to a release date. I had spent long hours working on seeing that the team rigorously tested the current product. Testing is a bit of a funny game, not many people want to do it because it can be soul-destroyingly boring, but it is desperately needed so there is good money in it. It is the realm of two types of people: young kids earning a bit of cash on the side during the holidays and the hardened veteran. I guess I fall into the later category. I got into it after a friend recommended me for the job. I had been having trouble finding work. My mix of qualifications were somewhat esoteric and as a result most of the firms I approached for IT work turned me down. Once I got my foot in the door and got stuck in, it was a whole different story. A tester with a proven track record was much more employable. I soon moved up from lowly test grunt to now at the age of twenty six the post of team manager, writing the test specs and overseeing the work. It could be boring work but it was also rewarding. We made sure that when the customers got their hands on the final widget they would not suffer too many annoyances with it.

The last job I had worked on had been a real nightmare and after months of long days and weekends working I needed a break. So when the final version was out the door and didn't show any signs of coming back, I booked off a week, grabbed my tent and headed into the country side.

It was one of the advantages of that sort of holiday. It required very little prep time just throw your stuff in the car and away you go. I grabbed my provisions, my tent, sleeping bag and tools, then set off up north. I had in mind one of the larger forests, perhaps near one of the lakes. They were wonderful places to camp, offering glorious scenery.

As I got out into the country away from the city, I felt the tensions inside me start to unwind. I was sure this was going to be an excellent holiday. I could feel it working already.

I found a camp site for the first night and paid for the week. This would give me a backup place to stay if I needed it, as well as somewhere to park my car without it getting towed. I pitched my tent and then took a stroll.

The area was lovely, the forest was green and lush stretching into the distance wrapped around a lake that glittered in the evening sun. There was a small village nearby a sort of rustic place with drystone walls and old slate or thatched roofs. Once I was set up I headed in to the local pub for a beer.

It was an old school pub, not one of the newer chain places that had become the norm in cities. It was a real slice of old England with a thatched roof, exposed beams and a traditional interior. They offered meals so I took the opportunity of a proper hot meal. I enjoyed a very decent shepherds pie with my pint of bitter. I was returning to the bar for another when I overheard an old boy at the bar talking.

"I saw it! I tell you, the black beast!" he said to a few of the other regulars, "Tall as a man, black as pitch, with claws, dark eyes, and horrific tail!"

"Oh yeah, how much had you had Bob? We all know you like to take a little refreshment on your little trips," laughed one of the men at the bar.

"It's true I tell you! Not a word of lie! I saw the monster that stalks these hills! We've all heard the stories. I didn't believe them either! Not till I saw the monsters dark form with my own eyes!" said Bob. He looked as if he was telling the truth, as if he were genuinely afraid of this mythical beast. He was either a very good actor or had been seeing things as the other locals suggested.

The other patrons just laughed and rolled their eyes going back to their pints.

I was intrigued. I had often heard such stories of beasts lurking in the hills or forests on my travels. Pretty much all of them were made up to snare the tourists. Still I liked to hear them they gave colour to the area made the places more mysterious.

I approached the man and asked, "What beast do speak of?"

He swung round, eyeing me suspiciously, "What's it to you stranger?"

"Just curious," I said.

"Well take your curiosity else where! I've no time to be story teller to the likes of you!" he said turning back to his nearly empty pint.

This intrigued me even more, usually you had to fight the locals off with a stick to stop them plying you with tales of the local monsters, "Well perhaps I could offer you a refill in exchange for the story," I said gesturing to his nearly empty pint glass.

The man glance at his drink and unconsciously licked his lips then turned back to me, "Alright stranger get me another and I'll tell you of the horror that stalks these hills. Though I'll warn ye it will stalk your dreams as it stalks mine!"

He was really selling it. He almost had me believing him. I ordered him another drink and one for myself. The barmaid chuckled at the city boy taken in by the village drunks stories. I smiled back and gave her a wink which caused her to giggle and smile.

Soon the old man turned to me and after staring into his pint he took a swig to fortify himself. He looked at me with deadly serious haunted eyes for a moment and began his tale.

"There is a legend in these hills of a monster born of darkness! A twisted creature that hides in the forest and preys on the unwary. Some say it as a dear or some other creature twisted by the dreaded infection, others say it is a man who was cursed by some evil demon to stalk the forests for the blood of the innocent. I don't know what it truly is; except it is a hideous monster of dark appetites and terrible fury," he paused to knock back most of his beer in a single swallow and gestured for me to get him another one. I was beginning to suspect the other men of the bar were right that this man's visions of monsters had more to do with his prodigious consumption of beer than anything he had seen.

I ordered him another and waited while he stared into the distance shaking slightly. When his new drink arrived he held it in front of him staring into the dark liquid as if he could see answers in there. He haltingly continued, "The stories go back a good few years. People seeing this dark shape, like a man but twisted and evil. I paid them no mind at the time. Thought it was just stories made up to impress the tourists. That's probably what you think now. Last night I was out in the forest late sleeping out under the stars as is my custom."