The Terror of the Thalon Part 2
Che was running out of breath. She didn’t know how long it had been since she had started running and it didn’t matter. Her heart was beating out of her chest, she could feel a stab of cold running through her spine and her clothes were soaked with a chilled sweat.
KAO-KAO
KAO-KAO
KAO-KAO
The sound of the monster was following her at every turn. No matter where she ran, it was there, but she wouldn’t stop. Years of climbing mountains had honed her endurance and she had nothing to slow her down anymore.
Che tried not to think about Carlo. She had just left him there with that monster. If she ever survived this ordeal she would never forget what it looked like. The almost-human face, the human feet pointing backwards and the black fur were enough to activate her flight instincts.
KAO-KAO
KAO-KAO
KAO-KAO
Carlos’ scream still echoed in her head. They had taken this trip to see if they could go back to what they had before. Carlo was happy, but she wasn’t. There were times when she wanted to tell him that it was over, that they already reached their expiration date, but one look at his smile and she lost the words. She didn’t want to take that away from him, not again.
The forest was silent for a moment. The monster’s sound faded into the background. Che hoped that this was a sign that she was free, but she didn’t want to take any chances. She gripped her Swiss army knife and hoped that it would be enough to defend herself.
Che realized that she had ran far down the mountain. She recognized the nearby stream from the trek earlier and she was thankful for a source of freshwater. She had thrown all her gear during the chase.
There was still no sign of the monster after what seemed to be an eternity of waiting. Che thanked God that she had escaped the beast, and then she remembered Carlo. He was up there, alone. She knew that he could run faster than her, but she didn’t know if he was alive.
Che started walking again. Her legs were sore and she was running on fumes, but this time she had no choice. She wouldn’t be the girl that left. Not again.
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*The Thamad Thalon and Mhenamad Thalon look completely identical. The female Thamad Thalon is more dangerous as it eats humans that encroach on her territory while the Mhenamad Thalon would rather scare humans away.
Story continued from the Mhenamad Thalon’s Tale
Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Story inspired by Thamad Thalon ‘The Myths of the Philippines: The Terror of the Thalon’. Gaverza. 2014.
Thamad Thalon Illustration by Leandro Geniston from Aklat ng mga Anito
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