Page 8 of Hollow

When the beast dug his paws into the dirt, Dimitri locked his glowing green eyes on him, attempting to see the layers of magic carried inside the animal.

“Well, Astaroth, which one do you want?”

Astaroth released a deep, throaty howl. In an instant, the dog launched into the air, snarling as he tackled Irvin. Astaroth’s front paws slammed into the man’s chest, his teeth latched onto Irvin’s jugular, and within seconds the two tumbled onto the ground.

The other hunters shifted their attention, guns raised, and voices filled with shock as they all shouted to take the dog down.

It was too late.

As quickly as Astaroth had appeared and attacked, he’d just as quickly vanished into the forest. Fog filled the space between the trees. It was much thicker than earlier. Dimitri could still navigate his way through the fog, but not with the same ease as before.

“Welp, guess that means I get to deal with the rest of you lot.” Jack had his hands on his hips, and his shadowy expression had soured into something aggravated. “I’ll make this fast because Housewives is on soon, and I’ll be damned if you make me⁠—”

“Light him up, boys,” Samual shouted.

The rapid thud of gunfire blared. It was too late. Dimitri dropped his head in defeat, having seen the heavy artillery tear apart some of the strongest cryptids across the world. The iron ripped through the strongest monsters, eviscerating them in mere minutes.

They wouldn’t kill the Nuckelavee, but they’d make him wish they had.

As the gunfire finally settled, a small laughter followed. It started as a slow chuckle but quickly grew.

Dimitri couldn’t help but look. Disbelief filled his thoughts.

Jack stood riddled with hundreds of holes in his flesh, but he didn’t bleed. Instead, blackness seeped from his injuries. Not some goopy ooze, but more like the tangibility of darkness itself. Eventually, the black energy retreated back into Jack’s body, stitching the holes back up as the bullets clinked into a pile on the ground.

While Jack appeared to have many scars across his body, many held together by black stitches, these new wounds didn’t last. They healed almost immediately, and the darkness disappeared beneath Jack’s gray skin. It was a sight unlike anything Dimitri had witnessed.

“You lot probably thought that iron would do the trick,” Jack said with a light laugh. “You’re about to see why they call me the Horseless Headsman.”

Before any of the hunters could reload, shadows sprang forward, slithering out of Jack. The clack of stampeding hooves echoed from the core of darkness.

Then, in a sudden frenzy, black tendrils launched from the ground and whipped across the open yard.

Samual gurgled.

Dimitri turned around, staring into the stunned hunter’s eyes. His hand clutched the device that kept Dimitri in check. His thumb was close to pressing it until his grip faltered and the device fell. Suddenly, a thin red line appeared across Samual’s neck, and that surprised expression became vacant. Samual’s head tumbled off his shoulders and fell onto the ground with a heavy thud.

Many other thuds followed, and Dimitri turned to find all the hunters standing headless in the forest. One by one, their bodies collapsed until Dimitri stood alone with Jack.

“You killed them all.”

“Not all.” Jack tilted his head and seemingly shifted the density of the fog surrounding them.

As it lessened, Irvin’s screams wailed from all directions. The magic of the forest kept Astaroth and his prey cloaked, but as the fog thinned, it no longer shielded the gruesome carnage that the hellish hound unleashed.

“See, this is what I’m talking about,” Jack said matter-of-factly. “It’s so damn noisy. I can turn down the volume, but I swear Astaroth will be out there for days, maybe even weeks, just tormenting that poor fucker.”

“Could not think of a more deserving soul.” Dimitri took solace in Irvin’s shrieks.

The fog thickened again, silencing Irvin.

“Thank you, Jack Whoa Lantern.” Dimitri lowered his head, staring down to meet Jack’s hollow black eyes.

“No worries. And it’s just Jack,” he said with a big smile. “I mean, it’s Jack Whoa Lantern online. That’s pretty much my username everywhere, but Jack’s the only part of the name that’s actually mine.”

“Well, thank you, Jack.”

“And you are?” Jack’s shadowy eyes carried this kind curiosity in them.