I own a ranch out in the middle of nowhere… Something strange has been eating my cows!!

I own a ranch out in the middle of nowhere… Something strange has been eating my cows!!

It all started with a phone call. I picked up on the third ring.

“Jesse,” Paul started, his voice cutting through the silence of the night and waking me from the deepest sleep I’d had in a while. “I just checked on your cows, and a couple of 'em slipped through a break in the fence.”

Rubbing a hand over my face, I blew out a frustrated sigh and peeked at the clock on my dresser. The red numbers glared back at me tauntingly: 11:32. Despite being absolutely exhausted, I knew my farmhand couldn’t handle it all on his own, and these cows were my bread and butter. If I lost any more, I’d be madder than a hornet’s nest.

“Jesse?” Paul questioned. “You fall asleep on me, brother?”

I shook my head, more to convince myself than him, sat up in bed and threw off the covers. “I heard you. Just real tired is all, but I’m up.”

A crackle settled over the phone before I heard Paul clear his throat and say, “yeah, they’ve gone over yonder to the treeline. I’m sure we can get 'em rounded up though, and we’ll get you back to bed here soon.”

With a tug, I yanked on my boots and laced them up. “Thanks brother, I appreciate your help. Just let me get my bearings and I’ll be there in two shakes.”

“See you in a bit,” he said, the phone disconnecting.

Honestly, now that I thought about it, the fact that Paul was even out this late was strange in and of itself. I didn’t know what he was doing out in the pasture at this time of the night, but I did know it wasn’t safe. For the past couple of weeks, cows had gone missing right and left, and I’d felt increasingly helpless. Something had to give, and it wasn’t going to be me. Whatever or whoever was doing this was going to pay for the chaos they had caused one way or another, because there wasn’t any way I was just going to roll over and let it happen.

With a glance in the mirror, I ran a hand through my hair, blew out a breath and switched on my lamp. I threw on an old flannel and headed downstairs just in time to be caught by my little sister.

“Jesse, what are you doing up so late?” she asked, her big brown eyes peering up at me from the living room couch.

“You know,” I started, a small grin tugging at my lips. “I should be asking you the exact same thing, young lady.”

With a huff, she held her nose in the air and looked down at me, a bowl of Cap’n Crunch in her hands. “Sixteen-year-olds don’t need a bedtime.” She paused and then pointed towards her bowl. “And besides, I was famished! You can’t cook worth a crap.”

“Famished…” I muttered, the word floating from my mouth on a sarcastic breath. “I don’t know why in the world you go around using words like ‘famished,’ but my squirrel and dumplings beat a bowl of Cap’n Crunch anyday,” I quipped, my hand coming down to ruffle her hair.

She scrunched up her nose, set down her bowl and rolled her eyes before saying, “you and I both know that’s a lie.”

Suddenly noticing that I had my shoes on, she quirked a curious brow and said, “where you headed this late at night?”

Booted feet trudging over to the door, I winced when I heard the floorboard squeak. I really needed to replace that.

“I’m headed out to the pasture. Couple of the cows got loose and Paul needs help roundin’ 'em up. I should be back before sunrise. Just make sure-”

“I’ll come help too,” she retorted, already racing over to her room to track down her own boots.

“Ava,” I shouted from the living room. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure ‘tween Paul and I, we’ll do just fine!”

Despite my qualms, I watched as she came clomping out of her room, feet shoved into worn, weathered boots, and her braids loose, baby hairs sticking out in every direction.

With a shake of my head, I chuckled at her stubbornness, realizing this was just one battle that wasn’t worth fighting.

Stepping out into the cool night air, I waved her onward, unlocking my old pickup truck and shoving my key into the ignition. Ava plopped down on the seat next to me, her hands picking at a scab on her elbow.

The old truck choked a couple of times before finally sputtering to life, and then we were speeding down the old dirt road, dust kicking up into the air in thin, brown puffs.

When we finally made it to the ranch though, Paul wasn’t anywhere in sight. Only having a landline had its advantages… And its disadvantages, and right now it was the latter.

Maybe he had run back home to his old lady. She was as big as she was round. Her belly stretched out clear in front of her like an overly ripe watermelon. This was going to be their first child and she was due any day now. Paul, of course, was increasingly paranoid that something would happen to her or she would need something when he wasn’t around, so he never strayed too far from her side.

Although I haven’t ever married and had kids of my own, my worry was somewhat similar when Ava was out of my sight for too long. So I couldn’t blame the man for runnin’ off if that was the issue. Shoving the thought aside, I made a mental note to call him about it later.

“Jesse!” Ava called, her voice cutting through the still of the night.

She had already hopped out of the car and was halfway across the cow pasture, standing right smack dab in the middle of it.

“Ava! It’s darker than sin out here. I need you to stay close to me. There’s no telling what’s lurking out in these parts at this time of night.”

“Oh, come on!” she yelled back. “Don’t be a baby.” Even in the dark, I could sense her sass, her tongue sticking out at me rebelliously as I fought a losing battle to not step on the countless cow patties littering the pasture. Somehow in my sleep deprived state, I’d grabbed my nice boots instead of my mud-crusted ones, caked in who knows what else.

“Ava, I’m serious,” I warned, “I already have to look for these cows, and the last thing I need to be looking for is you.” I paused, my voice stern, but softened a little around the edges. “Listen, you came here to help, not hinder, you hear?”

An exasperated sigh left her lips before she finally relented, and shrugged her shoulders. “Fine, I’ll stay close.”

I patted her shoulder and pointed towards the few heifers that were grazing along the treeline. “Listen, the faster we work together to get this done, the faster you can be back at home eating your Cap’n Crunch.”

Strolling across the field with me, her steps fell in line with my own, three of hers for every one of mine. “It’ll be soggy by then,” she quipped.

I punched her lightly on the shoulder, shooting her a grin. “I’ll make it up to you by taking you by the Waffle House in town.”

Her eyes suddenly lit up at the offer before she grabbed my arm and practically dragged me along. “Deal,” she said, a smile spreading across her features.

A couple hours later and we both quickly realized that gathering the cows and mending the fence took a whole lot longer than we’d anticipated.

Wiping some sweat from her brow, Ava suddenly glanced over towards me and then back around at our surroundings before saying, “did you hear that?”

“Hear what?” I asked. “The cows mooing?” I nudged her shoulder playfully, then spoke up again. “Yeah, that’s kinda what they do.”

She punched me in the side, narrowing her eyes and said, “no, stupid. It sounds like a lady or something. Like she’s talkin’ to someone?”

My eyes met hers, my face contorting into one of silent skepticism. “Ava, I don’t hear a darn thing besides the wind blowing through the trees and those cows mooing way over yonder. Now, help me pack up my toolbox so we can get the heck out of dodge before you scare yourself even more.”

With a huff, she helped me load everything back into the toolbox, before she stopped again.

I eyed her, stopping what I was doing and folding my arms over my chest. “What is it this time?” I questioned, my brows raised expectantly.

“There’s no way you didn’t hear that!” she exclaimed, her movements animated as her hands flew up to express her concern. “This time it sounded real deep and gruff, kinda like a man was talkin’.”

I brushed it off, pressing the toolbox closed and picking it up before turning to her and saying, “I think your imagination is just going a little haywire.”

Peeking a glance at my watch, I internally cringed when I noticed that it was about 2 o’clock. As I took a couple steps across the pasture though, I noticed that suddenly the night noises came to a standstill. I stopped in my tracks, looking over at Ava and noticed her do the same. This time, I felt a strange tension in the air. The pasture’s normal harmony of moo’s was suddenly quiet. The crickets from before had even died down, their music fading into an odd silence.

It became very apparent that we were all alone, and something about that felt terribly uncomfortable. By the time we had mended the fence, the cows had wandered far across the field, deciding to hunker down under some trees for the night. Fog crept over the lush grass, coating the pasture in an almost ethereal haze. Something about it was eerie, and it made me just uneasy enough to kick myself for forgetting to grab my gun off of my nightstand.

“Jesse…” Ava whispered, breaking me from my silent observation, her voice slightly wavering.

I turned on my heel to face her, my eyes taking in her worried expression, her own eyes as wide as saucers.

“Ava what’s-”

“Over there.” She pointed, cutting me off, her finger shaking like a leaf.

Following her trajectory, I stilled. Every hair on my arms stood on end when my eyes connected with two more near the treeline.

Ava looked like a deer caught in the headlights, her own arms sprinkled in goosebumps.

The eyes glowed hauntingly, a sinister smirk fixing itself to the creature's face, a smile way too wide to be human. Except for the fact that it appeared as if in some strange way… It was. Despite this thing being shrouded in darkness, there was no mistaking the outline of a human-like form.

I wrapped my hand around Ava’s arm fast as lightning and began to hurry the both of us out of the field.

“Ava,” I whispered. “You’ve got to move faster. Come on, you’ve got to help me.”

My legs made quick strides across the pasture, but Ava was still struggling to keep up. I made a quick decision, grabbing her up and throwing her over my shoulder before jogging towards the truck.

I threw the both of us inside, quickly locking the doors and peering out across the pasture, expecting to see those glowing eyes still fixed on the two of us. Except… There was nothing. Still shaken up, I shoved my key into the ignition of my old diesel truck, hoping and praying it wouldn’t give me any trouble this time. A shiver raced down my spine as time crawled by.

Distressed, I waited for the orange glow on my instrument panel to fade, mirroring the unsettling memory of that creature’s eyes, the way they gleamed from the depths of the woods, only proving to add to my ever growing anxiety. When the engine roared to life though, there was no relief. The turbo barely had a chance to awaken before I got the heck out of dodge, barreling down the road, a spewing plume of rolling coal left in our wake, a frantic attempt to outpace the lurking fear behind me.

“What was that?” Ava suddenly asked, her knees huddled up to her chest as her arms wrapped securely around them.

With a quick scan of my surroundings, I looked in the rearview mirror and exhaled a sigh of relief when there was nothing but the trees and a cloud of dirt behind us.

“I honestly have no idea what that thing was, but I do know that I’m going to call Paul as soon as we get back to the house and get this all straightened out.” My voice shook slightly, but I tried to mask it, clearing my throat and gripping the steering wheel instead. The last thing I wanted was for Ava to know that I was scared out of my doggone mind.

“Jesse,” she said, her voice soft and quiet, hands picking at a loose string on her jeans. “It’s okay to be scared.”

I knew she was only trying to comfort me, but one of us had to be strong, so I shook off my fear as best I could and reached out a hand to pat her knee.

“I’m not scared,” I replied, my voice smooth and even. “I’m just worried.”

The second we pulled up to the house though, that worry slowly morphed back into fear. Something familiar was lying on the front porch. Slamming the truck into park, I hopped out and ran up to it. There, splayed out across the wood was a bloodied mass. A cow.

I held back a gasp, trying and failing to steady my stomach as it bubbled and churned. Instead, I bent over and dry heaved, the smell infiltrating everything around me. Blood and guts squirmed and writhed with millions of maggots, the badly slaughtered heifer laying there with her black, glossy eyes staring up at the ceiling, tongue dangling from her mouth. Large lacerations covered her body, monstrous chunks missing from the abdominal area. It took all I had not to vomit.

The sound of the truck door rang out as Ava closed it, and before I could stop her, her feet were padding across the grass to stand beside me. I heard her gasp before she quickly reached towards her shirt, tugging it up over her nose to mask the horribly wretched smell.

Covering my own nose with the sleeve of my flannel, I motioned for Ava to follow me inside. I needed to inspect the cabin, but I also wanted to keep her close. Together, the both of us carefully moved throughout each room until we were satisfied that we were safe.

Once we both gave the ‘okay’ we plopped down on the couch and just stared at each other. Neither of us mentioned the cow still laying outside on the front porch, but I was certain that somehow we both knew how it got there. Exhaustion clung to us like a wet T-shirt, but it was apparent that the adrenaline coursing through our systems had us both working in overdrive.

And that’s when I heard it. The landline in the kitchen. It’s gotta be Paul…

I stood from the couch and hurried over to the phone, nearly tripping over my own feet as I answered it on the first ring.

“Paul?” I questioned, my voice a bit too loud, a bit too unrestrained and a whole lot of worried. “Where the heck were you, man?”

Suddenly the line crackled and a voice came back over the speaker.

“Jesse, Paul’s…” There was a pause, but the slight edge that the voice had was unmistakable.

“Missy? Is that you? Where’s Paul?”

“Paul’s…” Her voice wavered again before I heard the phone being snatched from her hand and another voice floated over the line, the tone both sinister and calm.

“I’m sorry Jesse…” it crooned, its voice deep and smooth. “Paul’s not here right now. In fact, Paul was just getting in the way, so I simply had to…” The voice trailed off, the line crackling again.

Fear coursed through me and I couldn’t help but break out into a cold sweat, the realization finally dawning on me. This was the creature… Instead of following us home, it had run back to Paul’s house. But… Why?

“You-” My voice shook. “You didn’t… You didn’t kill-”

“Oh, but I did,” the creature hissed. I could almost feel its grin widening at my unbridled disbelief.

“You see,” it started, “I’ll say it in a way that your poor human mind can comprehend. Missy here’s got a bun in the oven…” The creature drew out. And then, he suddenly went quiet, giving me a second to let it all sink in.

And when it finally did, I paled and nearly dropped the phone when it responded.

“And it doesn’t belong to Paul.”