Collegare - Young Writers of Earth (a court of thorns and roses ebook free txt) 📗

Drumfire whistles spring sun roars
Bruised cloud stopper of the brightest star’s glow
Dim light crashing through my walls
Only when I’m asleep.



“Writing is a form of personal freedom. It frees us from the mass identity we see in the making all around us. In the end, writers will write not to be outlaw heroes of some underculture but mainly to save themselves, to survive as individuals.” - Don Delilo

BY THE FANG-TOOTHED LIGHT OF THY TROGLODYTIC COUNTENANCE
Zachary Hoopaugh

The ground was damp and wet where Ulgoth slumbered in a heavy haze of stale breath and grunts. The stampedes had all ended for the night and there were a few calm hours left before sunrise that he had decided to use for rest, his bones heavy with exhaustion. It had been a particularly interesting day for Ulgoth. But, then again, every day was interesting in the life of Ulgoth. The sharp-toothed beasts had all rampaged through most of the day and into the night, as they always did, and when their appetites had been sated they calmed and faded back into hidden obscurity. Ulgoth’s feet burned with blisters and various wounds from rocks and shredded earth and it was now time for him to rest his legs before sunrise.

The night was a pale sort of blue, thick with a dense fog that broke up the moonlight and splashed its rays upon the greenery in the forest. Ulgoth’s cave was dark and hidden from easy view, a grand piece of geographic luck that he had no problems taking advantage of. The moonlight just barely caressed the mouth of the cave, gently providing enough light for Ulgoth’s eyes, which were already very accustomed to the nighttime. But none of that mattered, for Ulgoth rested gently upon the soft earth, napping away the deeds of the day. In the distance there were sounds that curdled the blood in his ears.

Ulgoth was used to the sounds of nighttime terror, but never had the sounds been so close to his living quarters. The beasts usually attacked each other in the middle of day, using the nighttime darkness for rest, much like Ulgoth did. But now, the deadly beasts cried in the darkness, shrieking with terror and fright. There was a distant sound of yelps and then all was silent. There was nothing but locusts chirping in the distance, echoing softly throughout the cave in a mild buzzing that didn’t really bother the sleeping cave dweller. Ulgoth, finally shrouded in quiet, closed his heavy eyes and lulled himself into a deep sleep.

***

The morning came quickly and brought golden sunbeams to the cracked earth below. The shafts of light licked the mouth of the cave and began to bleed in through small holes in the brown rock. Ulgoth stirred and let out a grunt of discomfort. He was not quite ready to face the tasks of the day. Rising slowly from the dirt and gravel, he stretched and let out a loud yawn. Ulgoth looked around the cave, his eyes filled with a mild sense of confusion, and discovered that the female he had been sharing the hidden fortress with (who, for the purposes of this telling shall be known as Heltahk, but is known to Ulgoth only as “ugh”, given the animalistic nature of their relationship) had not returned. Walking slowly to the mouth of the cave, his knuckles dragging through the dirt, Ulgoth’s eyes fluttered as they met the sun.

A large shadow flew over Ulgoth as he exited his dwelling, darkening the world around him for just a moment. Looking up into the sky, he spotted the first creature of the day. Ulgoth grunted, grabbing his spear from the side of the cave mouth (where he had safely left it the night before) and ran towards the large flying mammal. If he was lucky, the winged-beast would be this morning’s breakfast and, judging by the size of the creature, quite possibly lunch.

Rushing through the forest before the cave, spear in hand, Ulgoth attempted to slaughter his breakfast. Thrusting the spear into the air, it hit various bits of greenery and tree limbs before diving back towards the ground and spiking into the dirt with a thud. He had missed the flying meal yet again. Walking to the spear, Ulgoth pulled it from the ground and began to inspect the tip. There was nothing but some dust on the point of sharpened rock. Before a rush of disappointment could flood Ulgoth, he spotted a badger a few feet away and quickly decided that this animal would do. Tossing the spear, he hit his mark and impaled the small creature, salivating at the prospect of a tasty breakfast.

After filling his stomach, Ulgoth rose, the subtle hint of badger still upon his breath. He had decided not to go through the task of starting a fire and roasting the animal, choosing instead to enjoy it raw, a delicacy that could quite possible come back to hurt him later on in the day. His appetite nonetheless satisfied, he decided to embark down to the nearest stream for a quick drink of water to wash the excess flesh and blood from his palate.

The stream, which was usually occupied with a copious amount of wildlife varying from small animals to larger, frightening mammals, was strangely empty and devoid of all life when Ulgoth arrived. The water was a cool, crystal rush of liquid bliss that trickled down a mass of rocks, forming a sort of waterfall that rivaled the Canadian Horseshoe Falls of Niagara. There were some fish that lived in the river, but not many and they were hardly a bother.

The rest of the day, which was surprisingly quiet and lacking in excitement, was spent gathering various bits of firewood for the night’s fire. Heltahk had still not returned and had Ulgoth the capacity to worry about such things, he would have. But, there was a sort of selfish satisfaction that rose inside of Ulgoth at the disappearance of his female counterpart. After all, one less person meant more food and less hassle for Ulgoth. Needless to say, he was hardly broken up about the situation. Heltahk could put away quite a few portions of tiger meat, after all, which always irked Ulgoth considering how hard it was to actually kill one of the beasts. Ulgoth had spent many nights in passionate battles of bloodlust with various angry beasts and had gotten unequal portions of the rations as his reward for actually striking the killing blow and providing the food, an occurrence that happened often and always bugged him.

After several hours shrouded in the monotony of gathering tree trunks and limbs that he could use to start a fire with, night was slowly approaching and began to blanket over Ulgoth and the land. The firewood had been huddled at the base of the cave mouth and Ulgoth could see the clouds and hear their roar. Soon the rain would be upon him and he couldn’t afford to lose the night’s fire to the tears of heaven.

Ulgoth plucked some fur from the pelt of a Smilodon that he had killed a week earlier and placed it at the base of two splints he had delicately crafted in the mid-day hours. It took only a few minutes before the kindling began to smoke and catch flame. Ulgoth placed the ember at the base of the firewood and the flames rose, chasing off the darkness of dusk around the mouth of the cave.

That night the heavens did weep and water pooled around the cave, trickling in down the cracks in the foundation and flushing the sediment from the rock walls. Every once in a while the fire would crackle as cool water found its way into the flames and smoke would billow from the choke point. Ulgoth roasted and dined on fresh kill, burning the meat to a subtle crisp. He preferred a little crunch to his meat when he cooked it.

The sky cried through most of the night as Ulgoth drifted in and out of sleep, the continuous patter of soft and heavy rain lulling him into heavy slumber. If the beasts traipsed in the wild storm, Ulgoth could not hear them over the thick water and occasional blasts of thunder. In fact, no sounds cut through the rain that night…except for the screams. The shrieks were similar to the ones he had heard the night before, save for the fact that this time they sounded almost human.

***

Ulgoth awoke to the delicate patter of rain as it fell from the sky in a lackluster haze of malaise. The fire had died out hours beforehand and the smoke from the dying embers had sought refuge in Ulgoth’s nasal passages, leaving the bitter taste of ash in the back of his throat. Stirring his limbs from the atrophy of a hard night’s slumber, Ulgoth rose and took his spear in hand, escaping into the dreary wild.

His feet sank into soft earth. The rain had muddied the ground where he traipsed and the soles of his feet were sticking slightly in the gunk. Ulgoth held his spear ahead of him, his palms firmly gripping the roughly carved tree stock. The noise from last night had spooked him and he was hesitant to continue forward into the wild. It wasn’t like the normal animal noises that one heard late at night in the middle of the wild. That shrill noise was something he hadn’t quite heard before. There was slight trepidation building in his throat as he inched his way out of the cave and he was having a hard time swallowing it down.

The trees were heavy with the sweat of the gods. Water trickled down the thick greenery and onto the harsh bark below, mixing with the thick amber that was leaking from a claw strike that had occurred in the night. Scattered footprints from deadly beasts had been reduced to piles of raw mud. The rain had washed away all traces of life from the night before, but the water couldn’t wash away the sweet copper stench that permeated the air. Ulgoth could smell rich blood on the wind and it was close by.

Ulgoth followed the odor around the mouth of the cave, eventually reaching a huddled mass of flesh that had once been a host to the soul and essence of Heltahk. Ulgoth approached slowly, scanning the surrounding area for whatever had committed the kill. Spotting nothing, Ulgoth increased his pace, kneeling next to the limp and lifeless body of his fellow cave dweller.

Ulgoth let out a slight grunt at the sight of the body as he turned the bruised, purple husk of soft flesh over. Heltahk’s countenance had been one of terror and extreme pain in her dying moments. Her throat had been severed from chin and her neck had been practically snapped in half. All that