I know it’s not Wednesday but I was so excited about this that I had to share anyway.

If you liked my Dark Menagerie story “The Four of Us” then you’ll like this teaser. It’s a piece from the third installment of The Stallions, my flesh eating horses stories. These stores are only available in varying anthologies from Storm Moon Press.

Enjoy this first draft snippet.

WARNING: Horror & dark theme content.

_____________________

The night was dark.

Though not so dark I couldn’t see. There wasn’t anything in this world comparable to the blackness of my soul; let alone the inconsequential night of this secluded, badly kept cemetery.

I stood stone still waiting for them; not even a breath moved the night’s air. A hunger burned deep in my belly for them. I scouted this spot for weeks learning their pattern of behavior. It was like clockwork, most of the time, the group of five would appear on Friday nights, usually inebriated by some form of toxin.

Last Friday should’ve marked my feast but the group never showed. I had waited well past the midnight hour until I finally gave up. That night was only the second occasion the group hadn’t appeared.

Tonight, my hope was alive and well for the group never went two weeks in row away from this place. A shot of excitement made my shoulder muscles twitch, my only movement since assuming my post.

There. A hint of laughter. Dare I hope it was them? Another laugh pierced the silent night air, this time closer. It was them.

The first of them appeared, Lauren, from behind a large, cracked memorial immediately followed by the other four. Excitement almost ripped away my better judgement. I wanted to run after them now.

Patience was never my strong suite. Over the years spent alone I learned to curb my overzealous attitude where the hunt was concerned. The group would eventually near enough. It was all a matter of patience.

“Holy fuck. Look at that new horse statue!” This one, Julie, was grating to the nerves. Her voice was similar to a banshee shriek. It would be my utmost pleasure to dispatch this human, when the time was right.

“How shit awesome is that?” Lauren asked and took a swig of something foul. The others agreed and by some unspoken agreement the group approached like a flock of birds.

Of the group, Julie was the one I held the most hatred for. I wanted to make her suffer like no prey I ever have before and I didn’t know why. Zeke walked behind her. His hair like fire was short save his bangs. This one was quiet when compared to the others of his herd. It was something I appreciated in a human but it mattered not.

This heard was young, high school seniors if I remembered correctly. This age bracket was an accidental discovery since Xanthos’ departure fifty years ago. The adolescent confusion of older teenagers tasted the best.

A shot of anger threatened to overtake my sense of self from the thought of Xanthos’ abandonment. However, the immediate satisfaction of a meal so close eased my ire.

Their scent was rich and ripe indicating their readiness for devouring. To young and the meat was defiled with innocence. With age the meat turned rancid without the appropriate dose of fear. A young adult’s confusion and uncertainty, the pressures of adulthood, mixed with the fear of their impending death was divine.

They were closer now and I fought the urge to strike. Each was bundled in warm garments to fight a bone chilling cold I couldn’t feel. These older teenagers were the outcasts of their society. Each wearing darker clothes and makeup. Wild hair of varying colors displayed their rebellion against society. Several had piercings in varying places.

Woman of this day wore makeup but the men in this herd did as well. It wasn’t something I’ve ever considered but I found it oddly appealing.

Zeke reached me first and it took everything in me to stand still. His hand petting across my back was foreign. Several other pairs of hands contoured over my body, petting me as if I were a real horse. Excitement built within, not from the petting, but from the impending hunt.

Over the millennia me and the others like me have lost all physical feeling. It was as if we were petrified alive. I haven’t felt anything in longer than I could remember. The texture of goosebumps, the softness of a beating heart, or the burns from a good carpet fucking were all things I never felt. Humans took sensation for granted.

It was as if my body was asleep from lack of blood. I knew they were petting me only because I saw them.

My lack of feeling didn’t bother me in the least. If anything, my excitement for the hunt was manifesting. My cock twitched in its sheath, dropping and hardening.

“Holy shit!” Lauren exclaimed. “The statue’s got a boner.”

The energy of the group morphed into confusion. I took a breath, my nostrils smoked from the frigid night air. My eye moved and Lauren stood stunned, her jaw slack. Urine seeped down her leg to defile the sacred ground.

What disgusting creatures humans were.

She screamed and I snatched her head in my powerful jaws, her skull crunched like a pinecone followed by an eery silence. I chewed her skull once and something snapped in the others.

They ran.

My inner desire for the chase, my natural hunting instinct, wrenched away any control I had left. I took chase, my hooves digging into the soft ground.

Their fear was a perfume to my inner sadist. Cries of panic and horror were sonnets to my primal butchering need.

I wanted them.

I wanted their hearts.