The Wendigo

Along Baron Canyon, Algonquin Park, deep inside a cave. Wenda lay still and bare in her lair, dust trickled down from time to time covering her body, and the day and night cycle outside flashed by within seconds. Hibernating.

In her dreams, she roamed as the various animals, she saw through the eyes of the white-tailed deer, the raccoon, the porcupine, the bald eagle, and her favorite, the falcon.

“...Up there...” a voice.

Wenda, after sleeping for over 100 years, awoke, her mind snapping back to the moment her body tensed, which brought about pain, her stiff bones and dried flesh stirred beneath dried skin. Normally, she prepared for the end of her hibernation by having animals bring tributes of berries and various foods that she could suck the moisture out of. But that wasnt the case today.

She managed to let out a soft moan, and she moved towards the back of her lair, knocking over carved bones and pottery filled with old herbs. She elbowed a pot that was full of honey, but it rolled in the cracked vase; it had long since hardened to crystal. She rolled and broke other pots, and her body rejoiced in some old fermented berry juice that had turned into vinegar. She felt her core begin to vibrate, and she made her way further back to the cave and finally dipped into a little bit of water. Her eyes now open, she looked on in the darkness as a drip of water fell from the calcite above her, each splash on her forehead slowly bringing her body back.

“It’s a raccoon,” she heard a man say.

“It could be a bear, Tim,” another man’s voice replied.

She turned her head to the side and saw light flickering from over the edge. Finally taking it all in, she realized she was awake because of intruders. She opened her mouth and tried to scream, but it was just a little shriek.

“Hear that it’s just a little rat or something, keep moving up, man.”

Rocks and ruffling continued as the light source got brighter. She tried to scream again, but it was a little louder, but still not enough.

“Dude, that doesn’t sound right. What is that?”

Anger and fear filled her; she hadn’t ever had her lair defiled by humans or beast, unless she permitted.

The light source finally shone around her lair, and a beam of light fell onto her in the back of the cave.

As more drips fell onto her head and body, she opened her mouth again and screamed.

“Oh my fuck!”

The light source disappeared, and the man fell back; the light scattered.

“Richard, what’s going on up there? What...”

“Let go of the fucking carabiner!” The man yelled.

“What, why?”

With great effort, her stomach rumbled with hunger, and she slowly went to all fours. Her eyes blinked fully, and her pupils dilated to pure blackness. She crawled over to the ledge and looked down at the man, Richard, hanging still. She screamed again.

The man hanging up began to fall as the man below let go of the rigging. Richard landed hard with a thump and screamed.

Wenda made her way down the ledge, her claws scraping along the stone surfaces. She dropped down the last few meters, and she groaned in pain. Her eyes darted to the man in climbing gear crawling away; she could see her blue jacket and grey pants; his head was covered by a helmet with a light. She went to him quickly, and the man screamed out .“TIM!”

“Hel...” She screamed and smashed the man’s head against the ground of the cave, a wet crack ending his plea for help. She ripped the back of the man’s jacket and slammed her head down against the back of the man’s neck, her two fangs biting hard, finding blood, she tore it away and ripped into his back, as blood covered her, her fingers that pained turned into tingling pleasure. She rolled the man over and ripped over his chest and stomach and rolled and curled her nude body against him, her eager body soaking and taking in the moisture, soon her whole body was a buzz.

Her body twitched, and she moaned in pleasure. Her eyes looked toward the cave exit and saw a faint light moving. Taking in a deep breath, she began to move toward it. Tim had a head start, but this was her lair. She moved with the ease and grace of an agility of a mountain lion. Weaving and gliding over calcites and sharp jutting rocks. Dipping and going over ledges, she found the man climbing through the half-a-meter-wide hole. You had to crawl on your stomach to get through that shaft. She smiled watching his shoes kicking and finally going into the shaft. She crawled over on all fours and looked up. She screamed again, and the man began breathing hard; she could hear his heart beating faster. She smiled, her expression shifting between frustration and excitement. She had been awoken from hibernating, but it felt like breakfast in bed with the humans coming to her. She giggled, then laughed. She laughed as she climbed into the hole and went up the shaft. She grabbed the man’s foot, and he yelled, kicking hard, and his shoe came off. She then grabbed and clawed at his foot; the scent of blood and sweat filled her nose as she clawed at the helpless man. Her stomach roared with hunger, and her attacks quickened; she was tearing at bone and flesh, his pants shredding along with his shins. “No, Please NO!”

Like a meat grinder, she made her way up. His blood was spraying all over her. In his thrashing, he smacked his head against the ceiling of the shaft, and the light went out. His yells turned into moans and a whimper as she crawled up next to him, tearing him open. She smiled, tore his chest open with her teeth, and fed on his skin. She eased against him, feeling his heart pounding and slowing against her bare chest. She closed her eyes and cuddled against Tim, purring as she soaked herself in blood and viscera.