Standing atop a hill, the creature sniffed the air and inhaled the stench of rotting corpses. The familiar smell was coming from the white building with the strange symbol at its top; the symbol looked like a human with its arms stretched wide. And beneath the rot was the more subtle stench of the Prey and his hu-man companions; they had been here recently and fought a battle. Death’s unmistakable taint was everywhere but the creature was not interested in that, nor was it afraid. Death and dying were nothing to it, for was it not mighty? Was it not designed to tear and destroy in the name of the Masters? The Masters, who were so powerful that they could reanimate the dead that they might continue to serve in undeath as they did in life. So, what was there to fear? All hail the Masters, for they were powerful. More powerful even than the creature itself.
It descended the hill and crept into the building, growling as it circled a place where the ceiling had collapsed. Corpses—the true dead—littered the floor. It sniffed at one of them before moving on. It reached an open door with stairs leading down. The scent of the Prey was strong here. The creature whined. Something important had happened here recently and the Prey had nearly been killed, which made the creature both jealous and angry.
But that was in the past. All that remained below was just another hu-man corpse left to rot in the dark. Jubal Slate had moved on and so must the creature. For truly, it did fear one thing and that thing was the Prey itself. The Jubal Slate. But even as it feared the hu-man, it also knew that as long as Slate walked the earth, that its own life would be a living hell and worse still, the Masters would be displeased. Therefore, fear or no, it would find the Prey and devour him for it wanted nothing more than to please its Masters. It wouldn’t be much longer now. It was getting closer and the Prey couldn’t run forever. At some point in the near future, the Prey would stop running and rest just long enough for the creature to overtake it and complete its mission by devouring the Prey.
And that would be the happiest day of the creature’s life.