Release date: January 23, 2017
Subgenre: Horror, Weird Western
About The Hunger:
James Dempsey, a cold-blooded British assassin is sent to the frontier
wilderness of the 1860s Canadian/American border to hunt down the
Wendigo, a deadly supernatural creature capable of clouding the human
mind and driving men to cannibalism. With futuristic technology, and
deadly skill James' hubris drives him with a hunger to succeed at any
cost.
But as the temperature drops in the wickedly bitter nights of the North, who is hunting whom?
Fans of Lovecraftian Mythos Horror will revel in this brutally dark and gritty battle between greed, pride and an insatiable hunger.
A Weird Western Mythos Short Story of 6065 words.
But as the temperature drops in the wickedly bitter nights of the North, who is hunting whom?
Fans of Lovecraftian Mythos Horror will revel in this brutally dark and gritty battle between greed, pride and an insatiable hunger.
A Weird Western Mythos Short Story of 6065 words.
Excerpt:
"The ground was completely frozen, James' boots crunched icy pine
needles with every step. He moved a couple paces away from the fire
and spun around when he felt something grip his arm. Kitchi stood,
one hand on James' shoulder, illuminated in the green glow from the
chambers of James’ pistol. Kitchi raised a finger to his lips. The
soft fur soles of Kitchi's boots made no sound as he stepped past
James. In the dim starlight, James could just make out the shadow
form of Pannoowau crouched over the fire ring. He could see the
sparks from the flint, but frigid air carried little sound, like
everything was smothered under a wool blanket.
James turned back to where Kitchi was standing half-lit by the stars. The Indian stood at the edge of the shadow cast by a massive white pine. He muttered something in Cree and shook his head. James could see nothing in the dark of the shadow, so he said in a harsh whisper, "What is it?"
Flames began to glow back in the fire pit, pushing back the shadows. Kitchi tucked his rifle under his arm and pointed at the frost-covered ground. Pannoowau stepped up behind them, uncovered the lens of an oil lantern and held it out. The flaring light revealed huge swaths of red blood punctuated with white bits of bone and chunks of flesh and entrails strewn about the base of the pine. Steam still rose in lazy arcs from carnage. In the light of the lantern, James could see their supplies and packs scattered about.
"Damn!" James shouted, stamping his boots against the hard ground, "Damn and Hellfire! Where's the other horses? We’ll need to split some of this between the other saddlebags."
"Quiet!" Kitchi said. "Wendigo close."
"Wendigo?" James asked. "It must be something bigger than that, it killed and dragged off a thousand-pound horse. A grizzly?"
Kitchi took the lantern from Pannoowau and said, "No, Sir James, not grizzly, Wendigo. And not just one thousand-pound horse...three horses." Kitchi shined the lantern around, picking out two other massive swaths of blood. The wagon overturned and splintered.
"Bloody hell!" James walked through the area lit by the lantern, kicking some of the supplies and burst saddlebags into a central pile, "How the Devil could all this happen when we were asleep just 10 yards away?"
"Wendigo have power over men's minds. Make you sleep. Make you wake. Make you hungry. Once you sleep, Wendigo can control. What you see. What you hear."
James turned back to where Kitchi was standing half-lit by the stars. The Indian stood at the edge of the shadow cast by a massive white pine. He muttered something in Cree and shook his head. James could see nothing in the dark of the shadow, so he said in a harsh whisper, "What is it?"
Flames began to glow back in the fire pit, pushing back the shadows. Kitchi tucked his rifle under his arm and pointed at the frost-covered ground. Pannoowau stepped up behind them, uncovered the lens of an oil lantern and held it out. The flaring light revealed huge swaths of red blood punctuated with white bits of bone and chunks of flesh and entrails strewn about the base of the pine. Steam still rose in lazy arcs from carnage. In the light of the lantern, James could see their supplies and packs scattered about.
"Damn!" James shouted, stamping his boots against the hard ground, "Damn and Hellfire! Where's the other horses? We’ll need to split some of this between the other saddlebags."
"Quiet!" Kitchi said. "Wendigo close."
"Wendigo?" James asked. "It must be something bigger than that, it killed and dragged off a thousand-pound horse. A grizzly?"
Kitchi took the lantern from Pannoowau and said, "No, Sir James, not grizzly, Wendigo. And not just one thousand-pound horse...three horses." Kitchi shined the lantern around, picking out two other massive swaths of blood. The wagon overturned and splintered.
"Bloody hell!" James walked through the area lit by the lantern, kicking some of the supplies and burst saddlebags into a central pile, "How the Devil could all this happen when we were asleep just 10 yards away?"
"Wendigo have power over men's minds. Make you sleep. Make you wake. Make you hungry. Once you sleep, Wendigo can control. What you see. What you hear."
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About Guy Riessen:
Guy Riessen is an American author of contemporary dark fiction spanning the science fiction, horror, fantasy and crime genres. Born in 1967 in South Dakota, he grew up in the Southern California beach town of Huntington Beach. He moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1985, graduated with a degree in English from UC Berkeley, and has been living in the wild lands north of San Francisco ever since. After nearly two decades of creating artwork in the visual effects industry for feature films, he returned to his first passion: writing speculative fiction.
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