Meat

It was a quiet day as Marcus made his way back into the village, watching the smoke from the houses slowly drift into the sky and lazily be blown away by the breeze. He knew that in the long run his contribution wasn't going to be all that great, but it would be a large boon to the people for the moment, both in terms of safety and in food supplies. The meat of the cave monster was tough, but when prepared it made a decent meal, and it meant that any rebellious children who snuck out to see the forbidden cave would no longer run the risk of being eaten.

He carried the head on his shoulder as he entered the village, a bag of the chopped up rest of its body parts slung across his back. It was a heavy weight, but he was not unused to carrying heavier. He was a farmer, after all. He carried harvests, tools, and fertilizer on a near constant basis. He could hear the murmuring in the distance as he grew closer, knowing that the villagers were seeing his approach, but that they weren't quite sure of what he was bringing them. But as he drew closer, the confused murmuring grew into excited cheers and outbursts.

People gathered around him to see the fruits of his labor. There was a mixture of excitement at his clear victory and the slight disturbance at the vast amount of blood that had been spilled on him. It had bee a tough battle, and not one that he had escaped from unharmed. But he was the one who was still alive, and that was the part that counted.

He moved slowly and purposefully to the center of town, letting the villagers gather around him so that they could all see what he brought. He dropped the head onto the ground with a heavy thud, then drew the bag and dumped its contents on the ground beside it. They knew that the meat would be edible. He wouldn't have separated it from the bones and skin the way he had if it wasn't. They cheered loudly, not letting him get in any words, so he just smiled at them and motioned for them to move forward and take their share.

As they piled around the meat, he withdrew and made his way back to his own home, where his wife was waiting.

He desperately needed a bath, and a lot of bandaging.