Page 28 of Property of Legend

My boots slammed gravel, heart poundin’ so loud it drowned out everything but fear.When I hit the paddock, I skidded to a stop, and the world flipped upside down.

Midnight Glory, best horse we had, laid out like a rag doll.Blood every-fuckin-where.But that wasn’t what froze me.It was what was standin’ over her.

Big.Hulkin’.Furry and goddamn unnatural.Breath foggin’ in the cold air, claws red, eyes glowin’ yellow like some hellspawn outta a fever dream.Thing turned and looked straight at me.I swear it smiled.Teeth like razors.No mercy in that stare, just hunger.

I ran.Or tried to.It roared, deep, violent.Enough to shake the ground.I tripped, slammed into the gravel, busted my face, and everything went sideways.Last thing I remember was the sound of footsteps comin’ closer.Slow.Sure.Like death had all the time in the world.

Woke up weeks later, half-conscious, wanderin’ outside town like a stranger in my own skin.People talked, said I cracked my head, made it up.The creature.Said my daddy got fired ‘cause he was drunk or cruel or both.They accused him of killin’ me like the horse.He disappeared, swallowed by the bottle like it owed him somethin’.

But I know what I saw.And I’ve been carryin’ it ever since.

I rub the grit from my jaw, eyes locked on the dark tree line.That night twisted me up, made me who I am.Ain’t no shrink gonna talk me outta it.That creature was real.And it damn sure didn’t come from any nearby zoo.

The screen door groans open.I don’t have to look to know it’s her.

Sophie.

She pads out barefoot, wrapped in some oversized blanket, lookin’ like trouble in silk and shadows.Her voice cuts soft through the silence.“You good?”

I grunt.“Define good.”

She settles beside me on the swing, not touchin’, but close enough I feel her heat.She don’t say anything for a second, just stares out into the dark like it might give her answers.

“You thinkin’ about that night?”she asks, voice small.

I glance at her, surprised.“That obvious?”

She shrugs.“It’s been haunting me, too.The way no one talks about it?That silence is real loud.”

I let the silence hang a second longer before I speak.“You believe me?About what I saw?”

Her eyes meet mine.Steady.No bullshit.“I always did.”

Those four words hit me harder than any punch.I’ve carried that story like a scar I couldn’t show.She just ripped the bandage off and looked me dead in the eye like it didn’t scare her a bit.

“You know,” she says, soft as the wind stirrin’ the trees.“Whatever happened, it wasn’t on you.”

I clench my jaw, the guilt coiled tight in my gut.“It was my watch, Sophie.I was there.I should’ve done somethin’.”

She reaches over, her fingers skimming mine.Just a whisper of touch, but it lights me up all the same.“You were a kid.And you survived it.We’re both still here.Maybe a little broken but still kickin’.”

I twist my hand and hold hers, just for a second.“Sometimes survivin’ don’t feel like livin’.”

She leans her head back, eyes closed, blanket pulled tighter.“It’s a start, Legend.You don’t gotta carry it all alone.”

And for once, I believe her.

We sit like that, the two of us in the dark, spirits swirling just outta reach.Bourbon in my blood, Sophie by my side, and the night stretchin’ out like a loaded gun waitin’ to go off.

Yeah, the storm’s still comin’.But tonight?I ain’t facin’ it alone.

Not anymore.

At least I think, but her hand leaves mine too soon.Without a word, she leaves her blanket behind for me and goes back inside.

Damn.

Always just outta reach.

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