Creature of Unknown Origin

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1. The Unknown Creature

I didn’t know where I was. I didn’t know how I got here , or why I was here.

Dust clung to the stale air. Dark, moth-eaten curtains covered the tall windows of the room.

The scratched wood floors creaked with age as I moved about the room. Dust coated every surface

in sight, undisturbed for years. Sheet-covered furniture was stacked against the far wall.

Goosebumps crept over my flesh as my eyes skimmed over the long slashes in the sheets. Anything

could’ve made them, I reasoned. Animals always found their way into empty houses. And

sometimes, they even found their way into occupied homes. Still, every horror story that featured

an old, abandoned house flashed before my mind’s eye. A shudder racked my body. I forced my

eyes to move on.

A small table was left in the near center of the room in front of one window. Other furniture

was spread about the room at random. Perhaps this room was once a parlor or large bedroom. The

house, which might’ve been grand in its time, stored only relics.

Those relics mainly consisted of the faded paintings hung on the walls. Each depicted

something different. One was probably a portrait of a family, though time had done away with the

details of perfection. Despite its age and poor care, a man and woman could be made out, standing

in front of what looked like a fireplace. I thought the woman was holding something, maybe an

infant or perhaps a family pet. The painting a few paces away from it was intriguing, but before I

could examine it further, muffled shuffling caught my attention.

It came from an adjacent room, or at least that’s what I hoped. My eyes darted to what I

prayed was a door to my salvation. Fear gripped me tightly as my heart thudded in my chest. It

pounded much like the tick of a clock, and for a moment I wondered if it was ticking; ticking down

to my inevitable doom. Transfixed by the door, m y skin hummed with anxiety. I couldn’t tell if

the unseen movement was made by man or animal, but I was certain th at I didn’t want to find out.

As quietly as I could, I crept toward the window nearest me and peeled back the curtain.

The moon blessed the night with just enough light to see that I was on the second floor of the

house. Trees cast their shadows in the distance on the expanse of lawn on which the room

overlooked. It would be impossible to get out of the house without alerting the unseen monster of

my presence —that is if it wasn’t already aware. The only way out, it seemed, was through the door

on the other side of the room.