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Encounter Written by Arian Mabe (Amethyst Mare)

Fog writhed in a great sweeping mass across the beach, twisting and coiling with the wind as if it were alive, sentient. The sea could not be seen by everyday eyes, but the feel of it was there, the wash of waves breaking on the shore eerie in the grey world. The mass of fog did not create a pleasing atmosphere for a stroll upon that dismal November afternoon, but one lonely soul was doing just that, fighting the wind every harrowing step of the way.

The young, anthro wolf was agitated, her pace uneven and paws thrust deeply into her coat pockets. The fog swirled about her, rendering her near blind as she walked aimlessly, footfalls muted by the dampness. She stumbled, hind paw dropping into a sizeable dip in the sand. Many of them were appearing beneath her paws, pools worn away by the ebb and flow of the ocean: she would have to be careful.

Her family would be worried. They would wonder where she had disappeared to on such a bleak evening. She did not care. Sometimes, the need to get away from them was too great, too strong, to resist and she was not a soul to refrain from temptation. Staying within the confines of a house - or any building, for that matter - for a length of time was undesirable, claustrophobic. She needed to be somewhere open, somewhere wild and untamed. And this beach was perfect for that very reason. It had not yet been tamed. The sands were an old friend and the waves comforting resonance, ever in the background, if concealed.

But was it just the waves she could hear? There may have been something else out there, something splashing through the shallows. She listened, straining to pick up the faint sound filtering through the fog. Yes...something large crashed through the water not far from her. The sound was unmistakable. She must have wandered closer to the waters edge than she had thought. Perhaps the tide had been further in to begin with. The splashing continued, inexplicably so, and she started as the being snorted quietly, huffing out air as if to announce its presence.

A horse?

She turned away. So what if a horse was out there? It was none of her concern. Yet something drew her in the direction of the creature, compelling her to remain still and not move along as planned. The conviction that she must linger overpowered, holding her in place like the pull of the tide. Why was the animal on the beach? Hardly any place for a horse. Had it escaped from a field? Would someone be looking for it? Curiosity got the better of her.

Damn it...

The horse walked closer, hooves touching sand and crunching shells as it ghosted forward. She narrowed her eyes, trying to detect a living shape embroiled in the mist, when she heard a faint whinny from her right and pivoted on her heels.

The creature came with aggravated patience, head lowered so that its nose brushed the sand, placing every hoof with care. It was a large animal, even for a horse, with a steel grey coat, which made it difficult to discern its solid shape from the fog. Its mane and tail were sleek black and hung limply, sodden with seawater or dampened by mist. But however well muscled the animal was, its ribs protruded grotesquely, displaying the horse like a dancing skeleton under a puppeteers paw.

It unnatural, a skeleton horse cloaked by a veil of mist. The fog swirled eerily around its form, curling about each thin foreleg in turn. The wolf shivered, tugging her coat tighter, though it was little protection against the trickling chill raising bumps upon her skin. The creature stretched out its thin neck, nudging her paw, and she blinked: its touch was cold as the deepest winter.

And it was gone, disappeared into the mist as quickly as it had first appeared: no trace of its existence remained. She withdrew her paw slowly, unsure of what had transcended. The horse had been there a second ago, hadn't it? She couldn't have been imagining things. Or had she? She looked down for tell tale prints in the sand, but the sand was unmarked by anything other than the prints of her own boots.

Looking around, she searched further afield for the hoof prints, certain that she had simply missed them. They had to be there. The horse had been there. They could not have vanished - it was not possible. The horse had been there, it had touched her paw. Elsewhere in the mist, the animal neighed and her body jerked, blue eyes wide and searching. How had it travelled so far away without making a sound? It was a good distance away. Something was very wrong.

Where was it? In the gloom, its neighs rang out, pitch mocking, emanating from all directions at once. She turned again and again on the same spot, hopelessly trying to pinpoint its location all while the unearthly calls resonated around her, enveloping the wolf in sound. Unnerved, she hesitated. Where was she? She struggled to find her bearings as the horse stepped back into view as if it had simply been standing a few paces from her all along.

And then it was gone. And back again - behind her this time, nickering as it mouthed her shoulder. The wolf recoiled as if she had been bitten, shoulder tingling. How had it moved so swiftly? Was the mist playing tricks on her? Fear seeped through her bones as the fog thickened, twining sinuously around the equine, once more shielding the animal.

She took two quick steps back and stumbled bodily, gasping as her booted hind paw plunged into a dip in the sand filled with icy seawater. Swearing under her breath, she lifted her boot free and leaned down to touch her leg where water had soaked through her jeans. She muttered, brought her paw away and stilled. Her fingertips came away from her leg painted with fresh blood.

Teeth snapped closed on her hair, pulling her with surprising gentleness to the left even as fear set her heart pounding. She whirled about with her paws raised, incoherent words tumbling from her muzzle in an ill advised attempt to ward off the animal, send it galloping off in a fright. In spite of her flailing and cries, the horse lifted its head higher and backed away into the mist with a derisive snort, only to appear a moment later at her right elbow. It barged into her, throwing the smaller wolfess off-balance and staggering.

She spun, fear overruling common sense. It was playing with her, like a cat toys with mouse. Before killing it. Blood dripping from her paw, she made as if to flee when the creature blocked her path, snaking its neck out to snap at her. It screamed as it missed by a hairs breadth.

She hurled her body around the animal, arms held over her head for whatever protection that would offer. But she had only taken a handful of frenzied steps when her boot sank into another dip in the sand and she slammed into the ground, impact forcing all air from her lungs. Curling into a foetal position, she gasped for lost breath, eyes closed and muzzle pressed into the salty, wet sand. She could run - yet what would be the point? Her tail tucked between her legs and she thought of the family she had left at home, waiting for the creature to trample her into the sand, certain that this was the end.

The pain never came. No sound was to be heard bar the snarl of the wind and her harsh breathing as she gulped a lungful of salty-sweet air, gasping. Lifting her head slowly, she swept her gaze across the roiling swathe of fog. Where was the horse? Had the creature disappeared? Was it really gone, or was it concealed by the mist, waiting to finish her off?

An age passed before she scratched together the courage to stagger to her hind paws, stunned by the fall and the incomprehensible encounter. The creature was nowhere in sight. It was as if it had never been there, or had been swept away on the wind, dissipating into the grey mist itself.

She raised a trembling paw to her head, turning towards the dunes, which were, thankfully, still in sight, giving her some sense of direction. Her head throbbed and sickening nausea twisted in the pit of her stomach. She needed to get off the beach, back to her car and then her home, where she could lie down and work out what had really taken place. Maybe she would wake up and find that it was all a dream. Wouldn't that be ironic? But yes, home, and quickly too.

Working on memory alone, she stumbled blindly up and through the sand dunes, following the path beneath her boots without looking up. She was afraid of what she might see. Every step seemed to take too much effort and sand caked her clothes, making movement difficult at best.

Throughout the tedious journey, her guard was up, hackles raised, and aching muscles tensed to react at the slightest noise. It was as mentally exhausting as it was physically and she only relaxed when she finally slid into the comforting confines of her car, finally accepting her safety. The weather must have been playing tricks on her eyes, the wolf told herself as she rubbed warmth into her paws and started the little Renault Clio. What had just happened was not possible. Legends had no place in her world and she refused to frighten as easily as a pup. It had been the wind and the fog - nothing more.

Her rational mind dismissed the experience as she carefully moved the car off and on to the narrow, winding road, her route back to civilisation. Her paws were steady on the wheel, eyes fixed upon the road. She inched her hind paw down on the gas pedal, easing into greater speed and anticipating the warmth of home. She needed a bath. Rounding a sharp bend, a flash of lightning illuminated her surroundings for a split second.

And then she saw it. The horse, standing in the middle of the road, a scant few metres in front of her car. It stared at her through the windscreen, skeletal head raised proudly and sunken, hollow eyes narrowing into predatory slits.

A scream ripped itself from her and she slammed her boot down on the brakes, jerking the wheel as she tried in vain to avoid the horse. It was already too late! The car skidded uncontrollably and flew sideways, crashing into the horse that now loomed over her, baring a maw filled with pointed, dripping teeth. The last thing she heard was the creature screaming with triumph.

They never found her body.

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