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“The Beast in the Rain” by Sean Duroc Silva (part 2 of 2)
The Beast in the Rain is about a pig named Shane forced to relive a tragic point in his life when he has to venture out into a raging storm and confront his past.
Today’s story is the second and final part of “The Beast in the Rain” by Sean Duroc Silva, originally featured in the anthology Different Worlds, Different Skins. He also had stories featured in the Coyotl Awards Anthology and Roar Volume 4. He was the founder of the Furry Writers’ Guild and currently lives in Texas with his partner and numerous puppies while spending way too much time and money on video games.
Last time, after Shane ventured out into a raging storm, he and his coworker witnessed a terrible accident. Now Shane has to overcome his fears and the intense weather in order to make amends for a similar incident that claimed the life of the one he loved many years ago.
Read for you by Khaki, your faithful fireside companion.
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https://thevoice.dog/episode/the-beast-in-the-rain-by-sean-duroc-silva-part-2-of-2
Transcript
You’re listening to The Voice of Dog. I’m Khaki, your faithful fireside companion,
Speaker:and Today’s story
Speaker:is the second and final part of
Speaker:“The Beast in the Rain”
Speaker:by Sean Duroc Silva,
Speaker:originally featured in the anthology
Speaker:Different Worlds,
Speaker:Different Skins. He also had stories featured in the Coyotl Awards Anthology
Speaker:and Roar Volume 4.
Speaker:He was the founder of the Furry Writers’ Guild
Speaker:and currently lives in Texas with his partner and numerous puppies
Speaker:while spending way too much time and money on video games.
Speaker:Last time, after Shane ventured out into a raging storm,
Speaker:he and his coworker witnessed a terrible accident.
Speaker:Now Shane has to overcome his fears and the intense weather
Speaker:in order to make amends for a similar incident that claimed the life
Speaker:of the one he loved
Speaker:many years ago. Please enjoy:
Speaker:“The Beast in the Rain”
Speaker:by Sean Duroc Silva, Part 2 of 2 I plunged into the water,
Speaker:hearing the distant, howling echo of movement and air bubbles as I settled into the beast’s world.
Speaker:It was dark and murky,
Speaker:and it wasn’t long before the headlights of the feline’s car blinked at me
Speaker:and disappeared. I made a note to myself.
Speaker:She had about three minutes to live.
Speaker:I swam toward the vehicle,
Speaker:kicking my hoofs wildly
Speaker:before nearly banging my snout into the car.
Speaker:Any available light from the surface was fading fast,
Speaker:wrapping everything in a shadowy,
Speaker:cold blanket as the vehicle continued to plunge.
Speaker:It was sinking like a bowling ball,
Speaker:the engine pulling the car deeper into the canal.
Speaker:Some of the windows had to be broken,
Speaker:but as I quickly felt my way around the side of the vehicle
Speaker:and rooted with my snout,
Speaker:everything still seemed solid.
Speaker:Bubbles flooded my vision as the car jolted to a sudden halt.
Speaker:I was blinded for a moment and I lost track of everything.
Speaker:I had to fumble around for the door,
Speaker:eventually clasping my cloven hand over the handle;
Speaker:but when I pulled on it, nothing moved.
Speaker:I tried again, and still--nothing.
Speaker:I wasn’t sure if the car was too heavily damaged
Speaker:or if the pressure just hadn’t equalized, but either way,
Speaker:the beast had his jaws firmly clasped around the vehicle
Speaker:and he wasn’t going to let me inside.
Speaker:She had just over two minutes left.
Speaker:I moved deeper toward the cracked side window,
Speaker:and I could barely see the feline frantically trying to get free of her safety restraint.
Speaker:The animal part of her had completely taken over,
Speaker:and she was thrashing about in an attempt to get free of her shackles.
Speaker:She started biting at her seat belt and clawing at the door
Speaker:even as I pounded on the side of the vehicle,
Speaker:screaming for her to stop
Speaker:in a burst of air bubbles.
Speaker:“Fight your instincts, dammit!”
Speaker:I bellowed inside my head as I tried to punch out the glass.
Speaker:“Stop struggling or you’re gonna die!”
Speaker:Somehow, I wanted her to hear me,
Speaker:but the cat just continued to panic.
Speaker:That’s when I saw one of her claws snap off against the window.
Speaker:Than another; and the inside of the car began to darken a little more,
Speaker:clouding up with a faint red hue like someone had mixed food coloring into the canal water.
Speaker:I had to fight my own instincts at that moment, so I started to pray,
Speaker:hoping that our specially engineered lungs
Speaker:could buy us some more time.
Speaker:I didn’t want to battle the scared cat,
Speaker:so I moved to the rear side window.
Speaker:It was partially busted in,
Speaker:so I cranked my legs back,
Speaker:aiming the point of my hooves at what remained of the broken glass.
Speaker:Unable to brace myself, I kicked out,
Speaker:and nothing happened.
Speaker:I couldn’t build up any power.
Speaker:I pulled myself closer and coiled up once more,
Speaker:pushing through the water as I gritted my teeth.
Speaker:It gave, but not enough.
Speaker:I felt like I was moving in slow motion,
Speaker:and I wondered how much time had passed.
Speaker:Ten seconds? Thirty?
Speaker:My screaming lungs and itchy snout told me it was closer to the latter.
Speaker:Come on, Shane, before we all drown.
Speaker:I kicked out one more time,
Speaker:and the window finally gave.
Speaker:It buckled inward, taking my leg with it
Speaker:as some glass dug into my calf.
Speaker:I whipped around and scrambled inside,
Speaker:pulling my porcine body through the small opening
Speaker:which looked like a mouth full of jagged teeth.
Speaker:I tried to ignore the steadily growing red hue that was tinting the water all around me, but my leg was beginning to burn
Speaker:and it wouldn’t let me.
Speaker:The pressure was also starting to make my ears throb,
Speaker:and my lungs felt as if they were being filled with hot gravel.
Speaker:I thought my body was going to explode as I pushed myself inside the metal prison,
Speaker:and that’s when I saw the infant cat strapped into her car seat.
Speaker:If it were possible,
Speaker:I would’ve sucked in a gasp.
Speaker:The kitten was petrified.
Speaker:She was rigid in her upside down car seat, but her eyes seemed to be pleading with me,
Speaker:begging to be set free.
Speaker:Her cheeks were puffy
Speaker:and she was tensely bobbing her head.
Speaker:How the infant managed to hold her breath, I don’t know, but her small lungs needed air
Speaker:fast. My mind battled over what to do for only a second before I acted
Speaker:and moved for the kitten.
Speaker:I undid her straps and got the infant cat free,
Speaker:twisting her tiny frame upright before pulling the feline into my chest.
Speaker:I bit my bottom lip and tensed up
Speaker:as she sucked into me,
Speaker:as if my body had become a vacuum.
Speaker:Whatever air I had left in my lungs managed to escape as her
Speaker:claws dug through my clothes and pierced my hide.
Speaker:At least she wasn’t going anywhere.
Speaker:With one arm around the kitten,
Speaker:I pushed us out the broken window and frantically kicked for the surface.
Speaker:I don’t know how many times I swallowed;
Speaker:trying to fight my body’s screaming need to get oxygen that wasn’t there.
Speaker:It burned and ripped at my insides.
Speaker:I felt like I was dying;
Speaker:and the fact that I was swimming toward the rippling lights didn’t help matters.
Speaker:I wasn’t ready to go just yet.
Speaker:The gasp came out as a horrified squeal when I shot to the surface and sucked in life deep and hard.
Speaker:The rain tried to push me back under.
Speaker:It wanted to drown me, and I had to fight to keep us both afloat.
Speaker:The downpour was thundering in my ears like someone was pelting the water with giant rocks,
Speaker:but it was soon silenced by the terrified cries of the kitten
Speaker:when she realized she could breathe again.
Speaker:She wouldn’t let go,
Speaker:digging in deeper with her claws and shocking my body as the adrenaline began to fade.
Speaker:I could feel the cold canal water mixing in with the warm blood and open wounds.
Speaker:It slowed me down just a little.
Speaker:“It’s okay, baby,” I said, somehow managing to choke out the tired words while spitting up water.
Speaker:“I got ya.” I blinked my eyes to get rid of the liquid haze,
Speaker:trying to get my bearings so I could swim for the edge.
Speaker:I saw more lights, but no flashing red and blue ones like I had hoped.
Speaker:Blurry figures scrambled to the concrete bank as I kicked closer,
Speaker:but it was hard to see.
Speaker:I was nearly on my back
Speaker:just so I could keep the kitten out of the water.
Speaker:A man came down to the edge and reached for us,
Speaker:his grubby human hands pawing for the cat that seemed to be physically attached to me.
Speaker:I couldn’t help holding her close and secure as I stared into his eyes,
Speaker:searching for his reasoning.
Speaker:I had read all the horror stories.
Speaker:I knew the things humans were doing to anthro children, even now.
Speaker:But when the human’s panicked gaze met mine
Speaker:and I got a whiff of his sincere scent,
Speaker:we understood each other;
Speaker:and even if it was only for that brief moment,
Speaker:it was enough. “The mother’s still inside,”
Speaker:I shouted before prying the kitten away from my tender body
Speaker:and handing her over to the human.
Speaker:“Watch her claws.” The beast
Speaker:laughed at that, letting out a cackling rumble in the distance.
Speaker:The pain disappeared for a moment as I gritted my teeth
Speaker:and swam back toward the submerged car.
Speaker:I heard Allison’s voice behind me, but it was too faint to make out
Speaker:and I couldn’t turn around.
Speaker:It had to have been close to three minutes already.
Speaker:She was running out of time.
Speaker:I sucked in as much air as the rain would allow before I plunged back inside the murky liquid
Speaker:and headed for the car.
Speaker:It took me longer to find it the second time,
Speaker:but I eventually bumped into the dark shape
Speaker:and climbed through the same window.
Speaker:The mother wasn’t struggling now.
Speaker:Her body was just floating there, dangling in the water.
Speaker:I unhooked her seat belt
Speaker:and she fell lifelessly into my arms,
Speaker:her knees banging against the steering wheel but she didn’t respond.
Speaker:I was losing her.
Speaker:The beast was eating her soul right in front of me,
Speaker:so I swam out of the vehicle
Speaker:and kicked my hoofed feet
Speaker:as hard as I could.
Speaker:I erupted to the surface once more,
Speaker:gasping for air, but she didn’t do anything.
Speaker:She made no sound. She was dying.
Speaker:Her body was heavy and motionless
Speaker:as I paddled for the edge.
Speaker:Another human jumped in to help but
Speaker:I didn’t pay any attention to him.
Speaker:I needed to get out of the water
Speaker:if I was going to try and save her.
Speaker:Allison aided another human in pulling the feline from the canal
Speaker:and I climbed out after them,
Speaker:helping them carry her toward the road
Speaker:even though my body was pleading for me to stop.
Speaker:Everything ached,
Speaker:but nothing more than my heart
Speaker:as they laid her on the ground.
Speaker:The kitten started to yowl,
Speaker:screaming for her mommy over the panicked voices of the humans that surrounded me.
Speaker:I ignored them, and at least Allison realized the child needed someone to hold her.
Speaker:I pushed a burly human aside and fell to my knees,
Speaker:splashing in front of the mother
Speaker:while the rain pounded on my already wet shirt.
Speaker:I wasn’t going to let him kill her without a fight.
Speaker:Her muzzle was short,
Speaker:making it easier for me to cover the cat’s mouth and nose with my own as I tried breathing life into the feline.
Speaker:Her chest heaved,
Speaker:not of her own doing,
Speaker:so I did it again.
Speaker:Nothing. I checked for a pulse.
Speaker:If it was there, it was too faint to feel, so I clasped my fingers together
Speaker:and found what I believed was the proper place to start the compressions. Her ribs popped as
Speaker:I attempted to start her heart,
Speaker:thrusting to get the muscle pumping again, but she just lay there motionless,
Speaker:like Becky did. “Please-
Speaker:-don’t you do this to me again. Not again--please!”
Speaker:I begged to God, or whoever would listen
Speaker:before breathing into her muzzle once more.
Speaker:A sudden pain shot through my head.
Speaker:I was crying again, but the rain cascaded down my face and erased my tears like they meant nothing.
Speaker:It soaked into my pores,
Speaker:as if the water were trying to peel off my skin
Speaker:and erode me away just so he could get to her.
Speaker:I tried to shield the feline mother from the shower of water,
Speaker:but the beast’s saliva continued to drip all over her face.
Speaker:He wouldn’t let her go.
Speaker:He was drowning her, even out here.
Speaker:I sat back up and started pushing on the mother’s chest again
Speaker:while her kitten was screaming at the top of her already strained lungs.
Speaker:They were horrific,
Speaker:deadening screams
Speaker:that canceled out the thundering rain in short bursts.
Speaker:I continued to thrust more life back into the cat, but still,
Speaker:she didn’t move on her own.
Speaker:I hoped that maybe, just maybe the bellows of her child would trigger a response in the mother.
Speaker:Something--anything-
Speaker:-just please don’t die on me.
Speaker:Please, God… if you’re out there,
Speaker:don’t you let her die like my Becky did.
Speaker:Please. Then she coughed.
Speaker:A painful, gurgling cough, but it was life.
Speaker:I tipped the feline on her side,
Speaker:letting the water pour out from the deepest regions of her lungs
Speaker:as she hacked the beast out of her body.
Speaker:My ears started to twitch
Speaker:when I heard the soothing lullaby of the sirens in the distance,
Speaker:and they seemed to somehow calm the kitten’s frantic wailing.
Speaker:Then the mother grabbed hold of my wet shirt,
Speaker:ripping at it with her claws
Speaker:as she continued to choke and cough.
Speaker:I didn’t care though, because they were going to live.
Speaker:Thank God--they were going to be alright.
Speaker:And that’s all I needed to know as I held onto the feline and waited for the ambulance to arrive. >*<
Speaker:I was glad to see one of the paramedics was a swine,
Speaker:probably a distant relative from the odor.
Speaker:It was rich and earthy, like freshly rooted dirt,
Speaker:and strong enough that even the crisp smell of rainwater couldn’t mask his familiar scent.
Speaker:I watched as he began tending to the feline,
Speaker:and after only a few seconds,
Speaker:his snout started to twitch.
Speaker:He looked up in my direction,
Speaker:briefly making eye contact with me before the police snaked into the crowd
Speaker:and pulled me aside for questioning.
Speaker:It didn’t matter though.
Speaker:I got what I needed.
Speaker:Just seeing into the pig’s eyes,
Speaker:no matter how short lived,
Speaker:made me feel a whole lot better about leaving the mother in his care.
Speaker:I knew she’d be in good hands.
Speaker:When the police were done with me, I staggered my way back to Allison’s car.
Speaker:I flopped down on the wet pavement,
Speaker:leaning against the passenger side door with my legs tucked in close
Speaker:and my arms draped lifelessly over my knees.
Speaker:It felt comforting to rest my body against something solid,
Speaker:even if everything around me was still completely soaked.
Speaker:At least the rain
Speaker:had started to subside.
Speaker:It was down to a mere trickle of what it once was,
Speaker:barely grazing my snout
Speaker:as I looked up at the dark,
Speaker:cloud filled sky overhead.
Speaker:As strange as it might have sounded,
Speaker:I was actually beginning to feel safe again.
Speaker:“Shane? Are you okay?”
Speaker:Allison asked, treading cautiously as if she were trying not to startle me.
Speaker:I nearly laughed,
Speaker:because again, I could smell her long before she ever decided to speak up.
Speaker:“I’m fine,” I answered with a tired grumble as I waited for Allison to make herself visible.
Speaker:She kept quiet, eventually coming into my view from the front side of the car.
Speaker:That’s when I realized she was vigorously rubbing her arms.
Speaker:I thought it was nerves at first,
Speaker:but I got worried when I saw the series of red claw marks standing out against Allison’s light skin.
Speaker:They weren’t bad,
Speaker:but I felt like they needed to be addressed,
Speaker:more for the kitten’s sake than anything else.
Speaker:The infant only did what came natural.
Speaker:“Did you have the paramedics take a look at those?”
Speaker:“I’ll clean ‘em when I get home.
Speaker:They just itch a little,”
Speaker:Allison replied softly,
Speaker:almost where a human wouldn’t have been able to hear her.
Speaker:“She only did it because she was scared.
Speaker:You know that, right?”
Speaker:I couldn’t help defending the kitten.
Speaker:It just seemed to come out as naturally as breathing.
Speaker:“Yeah. I know.” She looked down at her arms before finally shifting to look at me.
Speaker:“That was an incredibly brave thing you just did.
Speaker:You saved two people.”
Speaker:I exhaled heavily out of my snout,
Speaker:and I didn’t even try to stifle the grunt that followed.
Speaker:I didn’t care anymore.
Speaker:“I saved more than just their lives tonight.”
Speaker:I paused for a moment,
Speaker:watching my fellow swine take control of the scene as he carefully loaded the mother and daughter into the ambulance.
Speaker:She was walking under her own power now,
Speaker:with her daughter close in hand,
Speaker:both of them wrapped in heavy towels
Speaker:as the paramedics tried to keep the chill off their thick,
Speaker:drenched fur. “I also took something back.
Speaker:Something that was stolen from me a long time ago.”
Speaker:The beast knew I was talking about him.
Speaker:I could hear him grumbling in the distance,
Speaker:but the echo of his voice seemed more like a harmless yelp
Speaker:than the deafening roar of thunder it had been earlier that evening.
Speaker:The rain had also grown much quieter,
Speaker:and I was just now beginning to notice the strange,
Speaker:new sound it was making.
Speaker:I could no longer hear Becky’s voice resonating in those tiny droplets of water.
Speaker:Her cries for help were gone,
Speaker:and for the first time since the accident,
Speaker:it didn’t feel like she was trapped in there anymore.
Speaker:“Well, whatever happened out there,”
Speaker:Allison started to say as she watched the ambulance chirp its siren
Speaker:before driving off into the night.
Speaker:“I’m sure Becky would be proud of you.”
Speaker:“I hope so. I really do.”
Speaker:When Allison spoke again, her voice seemed a little lighter.
Speaker:She was probably smiling.
Speaker:“Are you sure you don’t want to get checked out?”
Speaker:“No. I just wanna go home.
Speaker:I’m tired.” “Then let’s get in the car.
Speaker:You’ve had a long night.”
Speaker:It took me awhile to process that,
Speaker:and when I finally stood up and opened the passenger side door,
Speaker:Allison was already in the car with the engine running.
Speaker:But I wasn’t quite ready to leave yet.
Speaker:I looked back at the dark sky once more,
Speaker:hearing the beast let out a frustrated mewl as he began receding into the thick clouds.
Speaker:It made my ears flick,
Speaker:spraying a fine mist of water
Speaker:as if I were brushing the dust off my shoulders
Speaker:after a long, hard fought battle.
Speaker:“Go to sleep,” I told the beast confidently
Speaker:before I stepped inside of Allison’s car and slammed the door.
Speaker:I knew he wouldn’t be hunting anyone else tonight.
Speaker:And for the first time in a long,
Speaker:long while, I wasn’t scared of the water.
Speaker:It didn’t even bother me to hear the rain gently pelting the windshield as we drove away from the accident scene
Speaker:and disappeared into the calm,
Speaker:cold rainy night.
Speaker:This was the second and final part of
Speaker:“The Beast in the Rain”
Speaker:by Sean Duroc Silva,
Speaker:read for you by Khaki,
Speaker:your faithful fireside companion.
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
Speaker:to The Voice of Dog.
