Sweet Tooth

Chapter 20 Part 2

The Wendigo flopped around uselessly as round after round struck its body. It growled angrily, but the ferocity of the officers' never wavered. 

As the Wendigo hopped around the trees surrounding the well, Stanley noticed something. A grimy hand was wrapped around the edge of the well which was immediately followed by a second. Without regard for his safety, he sprinted over and grabbed the pair of hands, pulling the owner back up. Soon enough, a muck-covered Charp was heaved over the side. He hit the ground with a thud. 

Before he could speak, Stanley had hoisted him up to his feet and started to try and guide him along out of the line of fire, but before he could, he saw the Wendigo charging towards them out of the corner of his eye. Acting without thinking, Stanley was able to shove Charp forward only a second before the Wendigo ran straight into his gut. Both Stanley and the Wendigo fell over the lip of the well and down into the dark pit below. 

When they hit the ground, Stanley bounced off of the Wendigo, which felt as comfortable as landing on a pile of sharp pebbles and rolled to his side. At some point during the fall, he'd lost his shotgun, but his service pistol was still in its holster much to his relief. 

Scrambling to his feet, his hands shook as he drew his pistol and struggled to see through the darkness to find the Wendigo. Once his eyes adjusted, he saw it perched on all fours panning its head around the room with its nose, or what remained of it, high in the air greedily. He slowly aimed the gun toward the monster but didn't fire. If it didn't know where he was, there was a chance that he could get out of this place. 

Every muscle in his body tensed and a thin layer of sweat formed over his forehead. He didn't dare move another muscle except for his finger which twitched against the trigger of his pistol. He could hear the officers planning something up above. Their voices carried down the well, but they were too distorted for him to make out. 

With every second passing, Stanley felt his chances of survival dwindling. Panic took over his mind, clouding it of all rational thought. It began to crawl towards him slowly, every breath it took was longer than the last as if it were savoring his scent. Did it remember him? He prayed that it didn't. 

His silent prayers went out the window when it locked onto his scent and eagerly crawled in his direction. Feeling that he had no other choice, he fired the pistol at the Wendigo. Two of the bullets struck it in the face, but the third missed. It leaped forward and pushed Stanley backward onto his back. He skidded along the floor where he stopped on the far side of the room against the wall while his pistol was flung from his hands and landed somewhere on the other side of the room. 

Before he could get to his feet, the Wendigo scurried in his direction. He rolled away before it could jump onto him. He was able to awkwardly dodge its attempts to attack him, but only barely. Its last swipe caught his shirt and grazed across his chest. It stung like crazy but he fought through the pain and got away. 

Getting on his feet, Stanley ran to the beam of light coming from the well. When he was only steps away, the Wendigo came into view, crawling down the wall like a spider, where it then dropped onto the ground on all fours. Horrified, Stanley backpedaled and quickly looked around for something to defend himself. 

In his blind panic, he had completely forgotten about the flare gun in his pocket. Fighting against shaking hands, he unzipped his jacket and pulled the gun out. He knew that he only had one shot and had to make it count and couldn't afford to miss, otherwise, he would be dead and this whole plan would have been for nothing. Ignoring his fear, he allowed the Wendio to crawl over to him, close enough for him to guarantee a clear shot. He couldn't bear letting it get so close, but he kept mentally telling himself that he only needed to buy himself a little more time, just enough to climb out of the well. Then he could blow this place to smithereens.

As he let it come closer, he realized it had caught his scent. Just before it leaped at him, he pulled the trigger and the flare hissed from the gun, flying directly into the Wendigo's face where it lodged into the center of its face. It roared in pain, making Stanley drop to his knees as his eardrums throbbed. 

He forced himself to his feet and sprinted toward the sunlight. Using every ounce of strength that he had, he hoisted himself up on the cobblestone walls inside of the well. He could see the silhouette of multiple heads looking down at him. "Help! Help me up! It's after me," he yelled to the shadows. 

"Climb up," he could hear Charp yell, "There's nothing up here to pull you up with!" 

Stanley growled in frustration and attempted to climb up the walls of the well. Unfortunately, since there were no footholds, nor any rocks sticking out far enough for him to secure himself, he only climbed up a few feet before falling back into the chamber with a pained groan. 

The moment he was able to get back on his feet, they were forcibly yanked out from beneath him. He cried out as he was pulled back into the darkness. He could feel the weight of the Wendigo on his chest. The smell of death filled his nose. There was nothing he could do to break free. 

This is it. I'm dead. The Wendigo raised a claw high in the air. Stanley closed his eyes, not wanting to see his life end.

Then came the sound of crunching gravel, followed by the explosion of a gun going off. The weight lifted from Stanley's chest and he rolled over, opening his eyes to see Chief Charp with a shotgun in his hands. His ears rang fiercely but he ignored them. 

"What are you doing down here," he hissed. 

"Saving your ass. Now let's go!"

The Wendigo had already recovered from the blast and was charging back toward them before they could move. It soared through the air with both claws pointed at the men. Stanley pushed Charp again and fell backward himself, allowing them both to avoid the Wendigo's talons. The men had no choice but to run back into the bowels of the room in search of another door. 

"We need to try and lose this thing," Stanley advised. 

"How do you propose that?" 

Stanley's mind was working on overdrive. They danced around the room, avoiding the attacks from the Wendigo. Then Charp spotted the entryway. 

"Follow me, this way," he pointed. 

Without stopping, they sprinted through the door and down a long hallway. They were now in the bowels of Sweet Tooth Factory with the monster on their heels.