Uya: A Beast Like No Other, by Ron Shaw

Nightfall...when all the horrors begin to stir. Horror fans know the score.  Behind the tree line, it watches and waits.  Perhaps you sense it is there.  It senses that you sense it, so it is careful as it plots. Perhaps it waits hours, maybe days...or weeks...but now its ready.  It strikes with confidence and viciousness.  The thirst and hunger will be satisfied and blood will be drained...a lot of blood.  Hence Uya: A Beast Like No Other by my good friend Ron Shaw.  What lies in the woods?  Wrong question.  The right question will horrify you and change the way you think.  Everything about this Ron Shaw work is terrifying...no fluff in this short story.

Cover art by Greg Palko

It has been feeding off small farm animals for a few years now.  A local Cherokee tracker is mystified and attributes certain god-like attributes to this elusive fiend.  Cause for concern?  After all chickens, some baby goats, and other similar creatures seem to be the victims.  These unfortunate animals weren't just dragged away and eaten...that would be too easy.  In a Ron Shaw horror story, horror compounds the horror. These animal victims are sucked of all their blood, other bodily fluids, and bone marrow.  The Chupacabra?  Perhaps...but does that thing really exist?

The Chupacabra photographed by Chris Zisi

The cops are involved, and they are good cops.  A local deputy joins up with a Captain at The Tennessee State Police.  The fiend is stalking the remote woods at the Georgia-Tennessee border. I promised the author I would stop short of spoilers.  I will say that you readers waiting for the Mexican goat sucker, or UFOs, or vampire bats...well...I'll just say that those theories are so minor league compared to what awaits you as Uya unfolds. I will say that this Uya (...as the Cherokees call it) does not stop at chickens and roosters. I will also say that true horror does not stop at the toothy monster hiding in the dark.

Uya is a monster tale, but a monster tale on steroids. As Ron Shaw tells this story, the cops put a puzzle together and you think you are figuring out where this is going.  However horrific (there's that word again) the destination is...and however blood-curdling the monster may be...you will not be prepared for the ultimate theme of Uya: A Beast Like No Other.
To find Uya on Amazon, click this link Uya by Ron Shaw
For more information on Greg Palko's art, click here Greg Palko Designs