A Beast in the Night

The woods at night can be a great illusionist. What lurks behind the shadows.

Rows and rows of trees, overhead nothing but a canopy of leaves and branches.

Silver light breaks through the cracks. The ground is soft, it seems to crave the

soles of your shoes. Something rustles to your left, you turn, fully alert. Your

breaths are rapid. Your mouth hangs slack, your ears all but perk up in the

direction of the noise. A deep growling pierces the silence as you hear heavy

footfalls. Heavy feet and heavy panting, grunting with every thump. It's fast,

whatever it is, faster than you are. It stays in the shadows moving faster than you

can focus, grunting and clawing at the ground, it has to have claws, whatever

makes sounds like that has claws. Your breath catches in your throat. A panicky

scream threatens to sound, but you hold it back, thinking it might tempt whatever it

is to strike. Maybe it works on fear. Maybe if you stand still it won't see you. No

that's stupid and you know it. It's feral, you can tell by the grunting. That deep

rumbling growl. It's feral and it can smell you, it can smell your fear. It leaks from

your pores like a bad oder, only it smells as sweet as candy to it's canine senses.


It moves again, leaves and bushes rustling in it's wake. It seems to be all

around you at once, first to the left, then the right. That panicky scream decides to

sound whether you want it to or not. You start to run, who cares what

direction as long as it isn't toward that thing. You can hear it panting behind you,

heavy clawed paws thump rapidly at the ground as it gives pursuit. You can see it's

slobbering jaws cracked in a beastly smile as it closes distance. You dare not turn

around. That would take too much time, precious time you should spend pumping

your legs in the direction that would take you away from it. It gets closer, it's hot

rancid breath heats the back of your neck, snapping teeth close inches from your

ears. You hear it's haggard breaths as it sinks it's teeth into your neck, bringing

you down like a stray animal. In a way that's exactly what you are. Your bones

crack as it clamps down, it strangles a weak whimper from your throat. Long

carnivarous teeth sink deeper into your flesh, it shakes you like a rag doll. Blood

flies in all directions from your gushing neck. You wish for death, the agony is too

much. Your neck is broken, bleeding, you lay helpless on the wet soggy earth at

the mercy of this bloodthirsty predator. God grants no such mercy as it tears into

your belly. You try to scream but all that comes out is a gurgally grunting. You

watch in wide eyed horror as your intestines unwind before you in it's powerfull

jaws. The pain is searing, hot and cancerous, it spreads across your torso. It

looks up, black beady eyes stare into your own, it's shaggy brown fur covered in

your blood. In a motion too fast to see it hops onto your chest, it's weight crushing

your ribcage. You cough up squirts of blood as it looms over you. It brings it's

snout inches from your face. Your noses touch. It pulls it's lips back in a snarl, a

deep throaty growl vibrates your eardrums. It jerks it's head back faster than you

can blink. The last thing you see is the inside of it's massive jaws as it closes

them around your face.