Creature of Unknown Origin

4

I couldn’t run anymore. Tears wet the corners of my eyes. Fire flooded my cheeks.

The floor creaked in a harmonized chorus with the horrid beast’s weight. The eerie song

steadily grew louder with each muffled footstep that brought the hunter closer to its prey. I couldn’t

tell if it was the sweat that slowly traced down my spine or the frigid drop in temperature that made

me shiver.

I squeezed my eyes closed. Somewhere a room much too close to the one I was in, I could

hear the creature’s claws click a gainst the wooden floors. My weight shifted as I lifted a hand to

stifle the panic in my breath. The gouged floorboards beneath me whimpered at the movement.

The beast stopped. Unseen floorboards groaned. My eyes flashed open and shifted from side to

side. What little light came in through the window nearest me was squashed out of existence. I

couldn’t stay here much longer, despite the companionship I’d found in the silence, as the creature

must’ve paused in its search for me.

Again, I tried to get up and found a little more success this time. The floor creaked beneath

me. I was certain that the monster would use even the slightest hum from the friction of my clothes

to hunt me down. I shifted toward the wall and used it to support myself. My feet brought me to

another doorway I’d probably sprinted through a million times. This time, I languidly flipped

around the corner, my hand still skimming over the wall.

My body stiffened. Every joint and muscle locked in place, completely frozen.

The creature’s head snapped in my direction. Its eyes glowed with a hunger never before

seen by the likes of man. Seconds passed while I was held captive under its curse until I forced

myself into action.

I flipped back around the corner with a start. Claws scraped against the floors; the deep

scratches in the hardwood floors finally explained with a sort of dread only realized when on the

brink of death. My legs refused to fly, too stiff, too exhausted, too numb to move at all anymore,

but I forced them to work, pleaded with my body to keep moving.

The beast could take a shot at me anytime it wanted. For the time being, it seemed as though

it wanted to toy with me, and what a sick game it was, too.

Even as I ran, my body was tense. Anticipation pumped through my veins more so than

blood or desperation. It was no longer a matter of if the beast caught me, but when .