Almagore Mutation
Almagore Mutation
2D, Digital and Traditional Pencils, Photoshop, Canon Scanner, 4-6 Hours, Process Shots and Several Versions, Tim Kaney, 4/6/20
Description
"It mostly comes at night. Mostly. Especially when it rains. And if there be lightning, you may want to think twice about being caught outside alone and unawares," warned the old farm hand.
Clearly he was nervous while discussing such a thing. Still, I pressed him further.
"So you believe this creature is real, then? Where would we have the best chance of seeing this?"
He paused and shifted his weight. He spit a wad of chew out while slowly forming a response.
"Absolutely, yes. You go out looking for this thing, you are looking for trouble. Most see it in the next village over in the grain fields."
"Trouble? What kind of trouble?"
With this he kept his eyes locked on to mine, and spewed a long stream of brown spit onto the scrub brush below.
"The kind you don't heal from, son. The kind what involves limbs being ripped from their sockets, being crushed under its enormous weight, being snapped in half by its massive crab-like claw, or simply being eaten alive. If your lucky, he leaves you alive, but maimed, draining of life and blood, only to bait in larger prey," the old man in the floppy hat crossed his arms and grunted with something akin to satisfaction with his description.
Still, I was not swayed.
"That sounds great," I replied sarcastically.
"Yes, yes. We really don't want any more deaths," said the old man.
"Well, Yosif, sorry to tell you this, but it's my job to travel to places like this and stir up just the kinda trouble you describe, to uncover the truth about creatures like this."
He only shrugged. Obviously not impressed.
"So, you have quite a lot of knowledge of this creature. What can you tell me of its history? How did it get the name?"
He took his hat off and scratched his scalp a bit.
"Well it goes back a ways, several generations. You hear stories as a child. Sometimes you think, the parents, they scare for fun, yes? Well, then you have a few times you are out and see or hear something. You know it's it. There is a smell. It has a slurping sound, maybe like a hiss. Then, you see its shape. And the glow, it has a glow. Eventually, a few villagers may go missing or are found in horrible ways. No explanations, no story. Government says nothing to worry about. See, the stories, they speak of something worse than Frankenstein's monster…"
"Wait, worse than Frankenstein? How's that possible?"
"It is simple. Frankenstein meddled mostly with science, yes? Our stories tell of an army doctor that was playing with science, yes. But he wasn't satisfied with that. No. So, he turned to the occult, dark magic, nothing good comes from mixing those. The stories we were told tell of his ultimate success. He was trying to create life where it wasn't. He was said to have mixed more than human parts. Some say, things not of this world. Eventually, the beast, suffering from raving madness, broke free, killed the doctor, and has been roaming the countryside ever since. Oh yes, my friend, the Almagore Mutation is quite real. Just look behind you."
