Sum of All Truths - Fiction and Fantasy - Chapter 1

Source of image: Pixabay

This fiction work is from my high-schooler niece, Anna Nguyen. If the story is supported by the community, she will release additional chapters. 

The Sum of All Truths

Chapter 1.0

It was four hours before the sun would rise when a speeding carriage headed through Hanenburg struck a bundle laying in the road with a sickening jolt. The coach jumped upon impact, sending the horses into a whining frenzy as the bundle and all its contents were pulled underneath the wheels and torn apart in a series of rough jerks. After skidding another thirty or so yards, the vehicle finally came to a halt after colliding with the wrought iron gate of house number 1025.

From the aforementioned house, emerged a stout, bespeckled man followed by a groggy faced boy trying to rub the sleep from his eyes. The man had a thick zipper of scar tissue extending from his hairline to his right eye that throbbed when he was in deep concentration. This throbbing only seemed to worsen as he conversed with the coachman, who was profusely apologizing. 

The boy on the other hand, had given up on his rubbing and was now more intrigued with the ooze leaking from beneath the carriage. Without thinking, he reached down to examine the strange liquid with his bare finger. It was slimy and sticky at the same time. As if someone had mixed soap and maple syrup together, albeit with a more offensive odor. Bringing his hand up to the light of a nearby lamp post, he furrowed his brows at the brown tar-like substance that stained his index and thumb. The man, taking notice of his ongoing investigation, brought over a more reliable source of light; a lantern he had been carrying.

To their surprise and the coachman’s horror, the light revealed what looked to be a human leg caught on the spoke of the wheel. The knee was bent the wrong way and a bone jutted out from where the shin met the ankle. The coachman reeled back at the sight, color draining from his face.

It took the combined strength of all three to unwedge the body from beneath the carriage. Upon further inspection, two conclusions could be drawn; one: the leg was attached to a torso that, luckily, had held on to all its limbs; two, whatever the coachman had run over appeared far from human.

The creature that lay before them resembled a reptile more than a man. Festering sores covered its belly and chest. The skin on its back was thick and black with gangrene, its misshapen spine visible from the accident. A gaping hole in the neck threatened to release its hold on the head, which, to their uneasiness, looked remarkably normal. A small collection of bloody bubbles in the throat was the only indication of life. The coachman promptly excused himself to vomit in the neighbor’s prized pansies. The boy had been sent back to bed. And the bespeckled man remained, staring intently at the curiosity in front if him.

There was something almost comedic about the situation. One could only think that it was Fate that had led this grotesque monster to the doorstep of Emil Drechsler.  

After a whispered discussion, it was agreed that the police would not be consulted. The coachman would continue on his way, forgetting his crime and what he saw tonight. Dr. Drechsler would take it upon himself to study and dispose of the creature. 

The following week, the corpse was reluctantly discarded and incinerated with the rest of Hanenburg’s trash.

And that would be it for the next four months.