Shownotes
Vernon is dragged out to the forest by his cryptid obsessed friend. He doesn’t believe in any of that, but is about to be unpleasantly surprised.
Tonight’s story is the second and final part of “Keep to the Path” by Dirt Coyote, who, when he’s not causing all sorts of trouble on twitter, is writing a novel, a series, and short furry fiction. Keep to the Path was featured in Beast! edited by Thurston Howl. Follow Dirt Coyote on Twitter for future updates.
Read by Ta’kom Ironhoof, the Equine Charmer.
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https://thevoice.dog/episode/keep-to-the-path-by-dirt-coyote-part-2-of-2
Transcripts
You’re listening to the Ghost of Dog
Speaker:on The Voice of Dog. I’m Khaki, your faithful fireside companion,
Speaker:and Tonight’s story
Speaker:is the second and final part of
Speaker:“Keep to the Path”
Speaker:by Dirt Coyote, who, when he’s not causing all sorts of trouble on twitter,
Speaker:is writing a novel,
Speaker:a series, and short furry fiction.
Speaker:Keep to the Path was featured in Beast!
Speaker:edited by Thurston Howl.
Speaker:Follow Dirt Coyote on Twitter
Speaker:for future updates. Read by Ta’kom Ironhoof,
Speaker:the Equine Charmer.
Speaker:Perhaps the oldest fear, of which all others are
Speaker:mere expressions, is the darkness outside.
Speaker:Inside is safety, and light,
Speaker:and all the things we know because it is we who have made them.
Speaker:But outside is the forest,
Speaker:and the night, and what dangers may lurk there yet undiscovered by science, undreamed by folklore,
Speaker:who can say? Last time,
Speaker:Vernon and Alvin were tracking down beasts known as the Birchmen.
Speaker:They didn’t find any,
Speaker:but perhaps the Birchmen have found them.
Speaker:Please enjoy “Keep to the Path”
Speaker:By Dirt Coyote (Part 2
Speaker:of 2) Both stood at the edge of the bushes, ears folded against the back of their heads.
Speaker:Blossom Bridge’s black shadows seem to extend outward like fingers of a specter
Speaker:in the sun’s dying twilight.
Speaker:Vernon’s lip quivered a second,
Speaker:certain that they’d been walking away from the cliff.
Speaker:Breathing in though,
Speaker:he shook his head and put on a brave face.
Speaker:"I, um, guess we got turned around,"
Speaker:Vernon laughed, hoping to dampen the eerie setting in.
Speaker:Alvin had to shake his head to snap himself out of it,
Speaker:but agreed all the same.
Speaker:They both turned and walked opposite the cliff.
Speaker:Muzzles were firmly towards the ground.
Speaker:Every rock, every blade of grass, and every patch of dirt was marked in their heads.
Speaker:They cataloged everything away silently,
Speaker:only stopping when they both ran right into those same bushes again.
Speaker:The bridge lay waiting.
Speaker:"This isn't right,"
Speaker:Alvin muttered. No shit.
Speaker:Vernon kept that to a thought,
Speaker:and choked out instead,
Speaker:"We got mixed up." He turned back and about-faced, walking opposite.
Speaker:"We were going in a straight line,"
Speaker:Alvin mumbled again.
Speaker:Obviously. He kept that to himself as well, and said,
Speaker:"We just got confused.
Speaker:It's getting dark and we're frustrated.
Speaker:frustrated." Vernon's words were stern, his voice gravel.
Speaker:Alvin skittered steps flurried behind Vernon,
Speaker:and he shifted left and right to scope around himself.
Speaker:Like a cowering cub, he sputtered out,
Speaker:"We're lost." I know, you stupid creep.
Speaker:Wait. That didn't come out as only a thought.
Speaker:No, Vernon could hear it still echo
Speaker:echo echoing loudly into the forest.
Speaker:Creep bounced against the trees,
Speaker:it rose high above amongst the birds fluttering away,
Speaker:and it rolled around deep in the valley below.
Speaker:He gasped, filling his lungs again before focusing on Alvin.
Speaker:The coyote had jumped back in shock, ears splayed to both sides of his head
Speaker:and tail tucked between his legs.
Speaker:Hurt swelled up in his eyes and his bottom lip quivered.
Speaker:A choked sob bobbled around in his throat, releasing out in tiny bubbles.
Speaker:One sniffle, that's all it took, before Alvin darted off into the woods running at breakneck speeds. "Alvin, wait, I'm sorry.
Speaker:I didn't mean that,"
Speaker:Vernon cried, chasing after him.
Speaker:He watched the brown tail duck behind trees and bushes.
Speaker:One second he’d be catching up to the coyote;
Speaker:the next, he’d be a good five yards behind him.
Speaker:Every swerve and turn seemed to take Alvin significantly further away.
Speaker:He vanished behind branches hunched over a tree leaning one way.
Speaker:Vernon looked to where he expected the coyote to reappear,
Speaker:but he never came.
Speaker:Even Alvin’s footsteps, though they seemed so loud just a second ago as he raced through the foliage,
Speaker:were completely gone.
Speaker:Vernon slowed, not even sure which direction he was supposed to be running anymore. "Alvin!" he cried out,
Speaker:turning in circles. "Alvin!"
Speaker:It felt like the forest was spinning with him
Speaker:as if he was twisting on a merry-go-round.
Speaker:All the vegetation surrounding him seemed unable to stay put like it should.
Speaker:Several times, he could swear a birch tree had been creeping towards him each time he turned his attention from it.
Speaker:He was afraid to even look up,
Speaker:worried it was all a single limb of a monstrous arachnid.
Speaker:The path was gone,
Speaker:blurred under crushed leaves and pockets of grass.
Speaker:Its vague outline was becoming a hazy memory fogged by his own panic.
Speaker:Before he could truly lose his mind,
Speaker:a swish caught his attention.
Speaker:Alvin’s brown and tan furred tail came into view just a little ways ahead of him.
Speaker:Vernon dashed forward,
Speaker:eyes so focused on the other boy’s tail that he couldn’t even make out the rest of his figure.
Speaker:“Alvin, don’t run off—”
Speaker:The squirrel had reached forward,
Speaker:grabbing him by the root of his tail and yanked back.
Speaker:With a wet sickening slurp,
Speaker:the entire thing just came off.
Speaker:It ripped off his body so easily that
Speaker:Vernon fell backwards,
Speaker:staring at the tail in his paw with maw hanging slack.
Speaker:The fur between his fingers felt moist and warm,
Speaker:clumping together in unkempt knots.
Speaker:Pieces of it dripped onto the ground in sloppy plaps.
Speaker:Vernon’s voice was caught in his throat.
Speaker:He tried to call up to the other boy, but no intelligible words came out.
Speaker:Only a shaky ah groaned out of his mouth,
Speaker:eyes and head turning slowly up towards the rest of Alvin.
Speaker:Or whatever the hell it was in front of him.
Speaker:Everything screamed that this thing facing away from him was his friend,
Speaker:but only when he truly focused did he notice more of the coyote was off.
Speaker:Like his clothes weren’t actually the clothes that he had left the house wearing.
Speaker:Just leaves and mud and muck that mimicked the colors of his shirt and pants.
Speaker:It all peeled off of him,
Speaker:revealing that same ruined fur underneath,
Speaker:like someone had bundled shedding with glue
Speaker:and stuck it on bones and muscle.
Speaker:The arms that dangled on his left and right side looked dislocated,
Speaker:ready to break off right at the shoulders.
Speaker:Vernon was ready to come to the conclusion this was some sort of dummy.
Speaker:This creature standing perfectly still in front of him wasn’t his friend at all,
Speaker:but a prank or trick used to spook him.
Speaker:And then he saw its head lull to one side,
Speaker:as if it only just noticed the squirrel at that second.
Speaker:His slender canid muzzle shared the same traits as everything else:
Speaker:like some cub had pieced Alvin together hastily.
Speaker:Even his whiskers were missing;
Speaker:just tiny holes drilled into the sides of his face.
Speaker:Vernon pulled backwards.
Speaker:The twigs and foliage underneath him crackled in pops and sharp snaps.
Speaker:Alvin’s tail looked more like a stomped slug now that he had a couple feet from it.
Speaker:Soft dirt clumped beneath his shoes with every scootch
Speaker:backwards he made.
Speaker:It was all cold and fresh beneath him, similar to dug up earth, or worse,
Speaker:as if he was sitting at the bottom of a grave.
Speaker:Shuffling its feet in tiny back and forths,
Speaker:it rotated around until it was coming face to face with Vernon.
Speaker:More parts of its clothes came dripping off of it,
Speaker:any movement too much for its flimsy body.
Speaker:With every rock back and forth,
Speaker:more of its form would be revealed until it was facing him. He looked up into its face, knowing full well it wasn’t his friend, but needing to confirm it anyways.
Speaker:Most of the coyote had looked close,
Speaker:the fur color and clothes matching well enough.
Speaker:There was no replacing the eyes though.
Speaker:Two acorns substituted,
Speaker:stuffed inside hollowed sockets.
Speaker:The right looked loose,
Speaker:and when it tried to opened it's maw, it slid out,
Speaker:dangingly from an optical nerve.
Speaker:"Vernon," it said in a raspy voice.
Speaker:The squirrel choked,
Speaker:"Alvin?" It tried to take a step forward,
Speaker:and all of it came apart at once.
Speaker:An arm dropped off,
Speaker:crumbling in a sludge against its leg.
Speaker:The jaw detached, swinging to one side and hanging from a tendon.
Speaker:Part of it's chest opened up,
Speaker:exposing ribs underneath.
Speaker:Both of it's knees came down together,
Speaker:landing with an awful popping sound.
Speaker:Despite it literally falling to pieces,
Speaker:it dragged it's knees forward towards Vernon.
Speaker:The boy was too shocked to do anything but stare as it got closer to him.
Speaker:With it's one good arm,
Speaker:it reached out a trembling paw to him.
Speaker:Without a jaw, it could only gurgle pleads of help.
Speaker:Both eyes came out,
Speaker:the strings holding them inside of its head twisting back and forth
Speaker:before ripping under the pull.
Speaker:The acorns rolled across the grass,
Speaker:but the creature just crawled over them on its way to Vernon.
Speaker:As soon as it got close enough,
Speaker:it's entire body collapsed with its arm landing heavy on his leg.
Speaker:Intensities bursted out from it's sides, splashing into the dirt beneath.
Speaker:The head toppled off it's shoulders,
Speaker:rolling straight into Vernon's lap.
Speaker:In a flash, he was up to his feet running wild through the forest.
Speaker:Twigs and stickers weighed down every inch of his fur,
Speaker:but he didn't let them hold him back.
Speaker:Elms and oaks blocked his path,
Speaker:his paws smacking into every single one.
Speaker:Even the dying sun seemed to slide left and right over the horizon,
Speaker:any sense of direction completely lost to him.
Speaker:Only at a clearing,
Speaker:was he able to slow down and catch his breath.
Speaker:A peering between trees cracked open,
Speaker:revealing a sliver of white that stopped Vernon dead.
Speaker:Less than a few hundred feet
Speaker:stood the plastic vanilla planks that formed the fencing of his backyard.
Speaker:From his vantage point,
Speaker:he could see where he'd been standing just hours ago.
Speaker:Between the yellow leaves and white bark of the birches
Speaker:was his bedroom window.
Speaker:It was close, close enough that he could make out the golden trim of his blue comforter.
Speaker:But from behind him
Speaker:he could swear he heard the distant scream of Alvin.
Speaker:If this was his out
Speaker:to walk away while he still could,
Speaker:it was tempting. Though everything was freaking the fuck out of him,
Speaker:and he wasn’t a very brave person to begin with,
Speaker:he couldn’t just abandon his friend.
Speaker:That thing, that monstrosity wasn't the coyote.
Speaker:He was still out there,
Speaker:scared and alone with the beast in the forest.
Speaker:Paws squeezed tightly into fists,
Speaker:he refused the offer by stepping away with his house at his back.
Speaker:If that was where the forest wanted him to go,
Speaker:then surely Alvin was in the other direction.
Speaker:And true enough, after walking only a minute forward,
Speaker:he was back at that wall of bushes
Speaker:again. Vernon was not shocked to find the cliff behind them,
Speaker:with the daisies and bridge waiting.
Speaker:It was a little frightening to see Alvin upside down though,
Speaker:hoisted from his ankle by a tree branch.
Speaker:He didn’t remember a tree being there earlier
Speaker:and he definitely had no idea how Alvin could have ended up like that.
Speaker:He was ready to rush to him
Speaker:and help him down,
Speaker:but was halted by a long groaning from the tree’s trunk.
Speaker:“A-Alvin?” Vernon whispered. The coyote turned his head towards him,
Speaker:eyes pained and bloodshot.
Speaker:At the top of his lungs, Alvin shouted,
Speaker:“Vernon! Run away! Get out of here!”
Speaker:Jigsaw pieces clicked together bit by bit in individual parts as the tree turned in a long fluid movement.
Speaker:Legs pulled up the earth in awful wet brown roots.
Speaker:The yellow leaves rustled
Speaker:as the branches curled in and out like twisted broken fingers.
Speaker:Every part of it creaked,
Speaker:but nothing sounded quite as loud as the face revealing just under where the limbs poked out.
Speaker:It appeared slowly
Speaker:and was unlike anything he’d ever seen in his life.
Speaker:A long cervine snout came into view from the side.
Speaker:Where fur would have been
Speaker:was instead the white
Speaker:chipping bark of a birch’s outer husk.
Speaker:Black sunken sockets burrowed deep inside the eyeless pits beneath its brow.
Speaker:The hard shell of the creature’s exterior looked like a polished skull of an elk.
Speaker:With no lips or gums in view,
Speaker:it’s boney flat teeth bared freely for Vernon to see.
Speaker:Branches protruding wickedly out of its head like disfigured antlers.
Speaker:The moan it made was chipped and splintered,
Speaker:coming out like a raspy wheeze.
Speaker:In it’s chilling howl
Speaker:was pain as if its every move ached
Speaker:brittle bones and torn muscle.
Speaker:The creature took a step to Vernon,
Speaker:it’s rooted foot disappearing into the ground just as the other pulled up more dirt from the cliff.
Speaker:Alvin swung left and right effortlessly,
Speaker:looking as if he weighed nothing in its cloven hands.
Speaker:Vernon stumbled backward,
Speaker:immediately knocking into something hard behind him.
Speaker:He sprung around only to see another of the half
Speaker:-tree half-man beasts. Not just one,
Speaker:but a handful that blocked his path of escape.
Speaker:All of them made the same howling cry jutting from their trunk-like chests.
Speaker:A thud, and Alvin cried out.
Speaker:Vernon turned to see the creature had dropped him onto the ground like a sack of potatoes.
Speaker:He scrambled to his feet and was immediately met by a tight hug.
Speaker:Each poured tears, snot, and apologies into the fronts of the other’s shirt.
Speaker:Their words were rushed unintelligible rambles,
Speaker:knowing that if this would be their last moment together,
Speaker:they didn’t want anything left unsaid.
Speaker:A hulking stomp interrupted their embrace,
Speaker:both turning to see the creature had stepped forward.
Speaker:The birch-elk swung its arm and knocked them both to the ground.
Speaker:They crashed hard,
Speaker:and before either could stand up,
Speaker:branches were pressed to their chest
Speaker:to keep them down.
Speaker:Both screamed and squirmed underneath,
Speaker:but neither were able to push it off.
Speaker:The trunk leaned in,
Speaker:it’s rooted legs bending until the skull-like muzzle was just above theirs.
Speaker:It’s earthy breath stunk of mold and rot,
Speaker:drops of worm covered mud slipping through its ever-open maw.
Speaker:Vernon could hear now that the moans it made were words in some
Speaker:unknown tongue. Though its mouth never moved,
Speaker:he could tell it was repeating something dark at them.
Speaker:Chanting louder and louder,
Speaker:it pushed more of its weight onto them
Speaker:until they began to sink into the ground.
Speaker:Vernon was having trouble catching his breath with it on his chest.
Speaker:His lungs strained with the little air that could fight through his clutching throat.
Speaker:A haze of grey covered all he saw,
Speaker:and his mind grew just as cloudy.
Speaker:Black outlined the edges of his vision.
Speaker:He wasn’t ready to die,
Speaker:but it looked like this was going to be it.
Speaker:Suddenly, all the weight came off at once and Vernon choked for oxygen.
Speaker:He coughed and gasped,
Speaker:turning on his side.
Speaker:Alvin was doing the same,
Speaker:struggling for breath and holding his chest tightly.
Speaker:Above them stood the birchmen,
Speaker:still in its scowl, but no longer moaning its wicked words.
Speaker:It stared at them,
Speaker:like it was waiting on them to speak or make a move.
Speaker:He was about ready to stand up and run off when it hit him. “Achoo!”
Speaker:Vernon sneezed.
Speaker:Alvin took three sharp inhales before he let out
Speaker:a very wet sneeze of his own. “W-wh
Speaker:-what is this?” Vernon asked.
Speaker:His eyes itched something mighty,
Speaker:but he couldn’t rub it away.
Speaker:His nose was emptying like a faucet no matter how much he sniffled.
Speaker:Sneezes came out in rapid succession,
Speaker:stickying his paws in his own snot.
Speaker:A scratching at his throat ached and his brain was pounding furiously against his cranium.
Speaker:Alvin looked the same as he wiped off long strings of gunk right onto the fur of his arm.
Speaker:It was disgusting to see. “I think— ACHOO—
Speaker:I think this is the curse,”
Speaker:Alvin said as he wiped his palms into his eye sockets.
Speaker:Vernon didn’t understand at first,
Speaker:his mind too foggy with his headache,
Speaker:but when it came together,
Speaker:he threw his head back and shouted,
Speaker:“Allergies! You cursed me with seasonal allergies?”
Speaker:The birch-elk shrugged and turned,
Speaker:their work finished.
Speaker:Both boys were stuck sneezing and wiping away tears.
Speaker:Vernon had to fight it,
Speaker:crawling up on all fours and chasing after the beast.
Speaker:“Wait, stop! ACHOO! You can’t just do this to me! ACHOO!
Speaker:Please!” The birch-elk furthest from the cliff’s edge folded their way back into the forest.
Speaker:Vernon could hear the roots of the trees lifting and falling,
Speaker:but the creatures themselves blended into the woods.
Speaker:Whether by magic or something else,
Speaker:they warped and distorted until their yellow leaves and white bark mingled indistinguishable from any other birch.
Speaker:Only the one that cursed them remained,
Speaker:but it too started to walk away from them.
Speaker:Vernon cut off its path,
Speaker:spreading his arms out to stop it.
Speaker:The little squirrel was slapped aside with almost no effort from the massive beast.
Speaker:He shook his head,
Speaker:brushing grass and dirt out of his fur before hopping up again
Speaker:and braving it one more time.
Speaker:Instead of pushing him again,
Speaker:it towered over him and let out a long wail,
Speaker:bristling its leaves threateningly.
Speaker:Alvin rose to his feet, hacking up mucus onto the ground before calling out,
Speaker:“Vernon, just let it go.”
Speaker:He came up at his side,
Speaker:wrapping an arm around his shoulder to try and pull him away.
Speaker:Vernon threw him off,
Speaker:but Alvin persisted.
Speaker:The two struggled against each other,
Speaker:rocking back and forth like wrestling cubs.
Speaker:Grunts and yips chittered out as they pulled fur, ears, and tails
Speaker:until the creature grew tiresome.
Speaker:It pulled back, both freezing at the sudden movement
Speaker:and preparing for the inevitable crunch of its wooden arm coming back down towards them.
Speaker:Both closed eyes and hugged,
Speaker:but no harm came to either of them.
Speaker:Instead, it wormed its branched finger into Vernon’s pack, tossing out the flashlight
Speaker:before pulling out one of the cardboard water cartons.
Speaker:With a sickening tear,
Speaker:it ripped off the top half of the container
Speaker:and hung the opening above one of the daisies.
Speaker:Attentive, even with its large frame and twisted fingers,
Speaker:it poured out a small amount directly atop the flower’s petals.
Speaker:Forcibly, it slapped the carton’s remains back into Vernon’s paw before prodding both of them hard on the chests.
Speaker:They winced and rubbed at their jabbed sternums
Speaker:while still wiping away the snot dripping down their nostrils.
Speaker:Alvin was first to recover,
Speaker:asking, “You want us to water these plants?
Speaker:For how long?” It answered
Speaker:by reaching up into the sky.
Speaker:With all the excitement,
Speaker:they’d missed when the sun finally stowed away behind the mountains
Speaker:leaving only oranges, reds, and violets.
Speaker:The brightest stars had popped into view,
Speaker:littering the sky in dim sparkles.
Speaker:Just overhead unveiled the moon still wrapped in its early evening blanket.
Speaker:That was where the birch-elk pointed
Speaker:before pushing between the two
Speaker:and disappearing into the woods. *****
Speaker:“So you think it meant a month?”
Speaker:Alvin asked, finishing his soda as they turned the corner to their street.
Speaker:With the antihistamines kicking in,
Speaker:they could finally have a real conversation since leaving the forest.
Speaker:Any time they tried to talk beforehand
Speaker:was interrupted by a hundred sneezes and coughs between the two of them.
Speaker:Now walking from the gas station,
Speaker:Vernon’s ears finally popped
Speaker:and he could actually hear once again.
Speaker:He nodded up and down,
Speaker:pretty sure he’d explained it to the coyote a dozen times by now,
Speaker:but humoring him
Speaker:after the harrowing experience.
Speaker:“I think so, but we should probably just keep doing it until our noses stop running,”
Speaker:Vernon said, chuckling a tad.
Speaker:“I’m so glad you’re smart,”
Speaker:Alvin said just as they turned up to the squirrel’s walkway.
Speaker:Vernon didn’t know about that.
Speaker:A smart person would have never gone out with the coyote in the first place.
Speaker:He gave a single nod with his paws in both his pockets.
Speaker:There were a lot of things that he was sure that he wanted to say to Alvin.
Speaker:If he was being honest with himself,
Speaker:he’d rather scream things right into the other teenagers face.
Speaker:All of it seemed stuck somewhere in his throat
Speaker:and he could only rock back and forth on his heels.
Speaker:Alvin stood in front of him for a second,
Speaker:slowly taking the hint before exclaiming,
Speaker:“I guess I’ll head home now.
Speaker:I had a lot of—” he cut himself off, and Vernon was glad he did.
Speaker:If he said he had a lot of fun,
Speaker:he might actually slap him.
Speaker:“Alright, I guess I’ll see you.”
Speaker:There was no when,
Speaker:because frankly, he didn’t know if he would want to again.
Speaker:“Oh, okay,” Alvin murmured,
Speaker:turning back and heading in the direction of his own house.
Speaker:God, this was awkward.
Speaker:Vernon was beginning to wish the birchmen had just turned him into paste,
Speaker:because this felt so much worse.
Speaker:Alvin wasn’t making it easy either.
Speaker:His tail dragged
Speaker:and his arms hung low on either side of him.
Speaker:The stench of sadness stunk way worse than fear when it was coming off of a teenage canid boy.
Speaker:He couldn’t bear it any longer.
Speaker:“Hey,” Vernon started,
Speaker:waiting until the coyote turned all the way around before saying,
Speaker:“Maybe we’ll do something else next week?”
Speaker:Alvin had embraced him in a tight hug faster than Vernon could even lift his arms.
Speaker:He wanted to push him off,
Speaker:but was turned solid by a peck right on his lips.
Speaker:Heat burned up his neck,
Speaker:into his cheeks, and skyrocketed right to the tips of his pointy squirrel ears.
Speaker:It curved his entire face
Speaker:until he was stuck in a smile
Speaker:that could put Alvin’s to shame.
Speaker:“Same time next week!”
Speaker:Just as quickly as he approached,
Speaker:he was gone, already skipping back towards his house.
Speaker:It would take minutes before Vernon could feel his legs again
Speaker:and minutes more
Speaker:before he could open the door.
Speaker:Hours would pass before he would fall asleep,
Speaker:not because he was worried about the birch
Speaker:-elk he knew were real,
Speaker:but because the coyote that lived just down the road.
Speaker:Instead of an adventure though,
Speaker:maybe Alvin would settle for a sleepover?
Speaker:If they would go out again,
Speaker:this time they'd keep
Speaker:to the path.
Speaker:This was the second and final part of “Monsters of the Daylight” by Dirt Coyote, read for you by Ta’kom Ironhoof, the Equine Charmer.
Speaker:As always, you can find more stories on the web at thevoice.dog,
Speaker:or find the show wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker:Thank you for listening to The Voice