5. Locke
Locke
A s I awoke, I groaned at the scent of stale fish and rust flooding my nostrils.
My massive maw cracked as I released a yawn before I stretched out my limbs, taking time to flex my razor-sharp claws. The sound they made as they scraped across the worn wooden floorboards soothed my weary bones.
It took me some effort to push my bulk up, but as soon as I did, I felt the rumble of my stomach that told me it was time to go hunting. Such a shame that the locals had taken to avoiding the area due to my voracious appetite.
How I missed the ease that came from this cannery being active and staffed. Hell, I even missed the sweet taste that came from the lumber yard nearby despite the toughness of the meat.
I sighed as I pushed myself to leave my den to lumber through the abandoned village and sniffed the air. Nothing close came to me, but as I focused on the outer edges of my territory, the sweetest, most tempting scent I’d ever come across teased at me.
Intrigued, I turned and plodded in that direction ever hopeful that the scent would lead me to a most delicious meal.
It took me several hours of tracking before the scent trail took me to the edges of the nearest town. Right to where the strongest concentration of the scent appeared to have settled. Unfortunately, the scent pool was also cold as though its source had stayed here for some time before leaving.
In the very same direction I had just come from.
I grumbled lowly before I approached a nearby butcher shop, closed for the day, I shattered the door that barred my way to easy food. If I were to continue on my hunt for the delightful smell, I would need my strength. And besides, there was no human alive that would dare stand between me and my food.
Eventually, my hunger was sated enough that I felt I could return to my hunt to discover just what it really was that awoke me from my deep slumber. One which has been maintained for the many decades that have passed since the last member of the village had fled.
“What a pain,” I muttered as I returned to my hunt. Perhaps if I remembered, later I would consider the possibility of hunting a moose or two as recompense for the large amounts of meat I had consumed.
Then again, the pitiful humans of this town should be thankful that I only chose to help myself to their store of meat in place of their homes for their flesh.
Regardless, now that my need for food had been dealt with I was able to focus all of my efforts on locating the source of the most appealing scent that had crossed my path in forever. Perhaps I will be lucky and its meat will be sweeter than that of a tender young moose calf.
I licked my chops at the thought of tasting such a rare and new delicacy. As great lobs of drool oozed down my chin, I turned myself onto the path and plodded along the scent trail.
By the time dawn’s rosy pink fingers tickled at the horizon, I had wandered and weaved my way along the scent trail back to the lonesome village I called home. With still no clue as to what prize awaited me at the end of this hunt, I poked my nose into every building.
Still nothing.
A low rumbling growl passed my jowls as the empty postal office revealed yet more disappointment. I huffed and turned away as the scent’s path twined throughout the village.
Where could this prey be hiding? I thought to myself as I looked through the last remaining structures of the abandoned village and chose to leave my den for the very last. Surely they would not be so foolish as to hide where I made my bed?
It would turn out that the little creature that I sought would prove to be that foolhardy.
After I confirmed that it was not hiding in any of the empty buildings, I returned to my den where I found its scent at its strongest.