The Creature‌ • Nick Myers Olson

Jack had just managed to escape earlier. He knew it was coming for him. He couldn’t see, though. The house he was in had been abandoned for decades. He managed to stumble around, desperately looking for something to defend himself with. Then, the world exploded .

Earlier . . .

Jack was getting ready to go to his friend’s party. Jack was pretty excited. His best friend, Aaron, had been talking about it for weeks. Just the day before, he had told Jack how he had managed to find a very nice place, out in the woods, perfect for their big gathering.

Jack was almost done getting ready when he heard Aaron calling for him outside. He quickly finished washing up and hurried to meet his friend. Aaron was leaning on a tree, munching on a piece of fruit.

“Ready to go? This party is gonna be sweet!” said Aaron.

“Yeah, man,” Jack said. “It’s gonna be awesome.”

They walked and talked for a while on the way to Aaron’s new place in the woods. He told Jack some disturbing news—he’d heard that folks were disappearing around town. Word was that the culprit had disappeared, but who knew for sure?

When they arrived at Aaron’s place in the woods, it was almost dark. They walked inside and found that it was already packed.

“Wow, Aaron,” Jack said. “I didn’t know you were so popular.”

“Hey, there’s a lot you don’t know about me,” Aaron joked. “You know what’s crazy? I don’t even know half of these folks.”

“Guess they just showed up,” said Jack.

They walked around and mingled for a while. They had set out cheese and crackers—Jack’s favorite food.

Just as Jack was starting to get bored, a girl walked up to him. She had soft, dark eyes, and was wearing a beautiful gray and black coat.

“Hi,” she said, smiling.

“Hey, what’s up?” Jack replied, nervously.

Aaron leaned over and whispered in his ear, “She’s so into you!” Embarrassed, Jack pushed him away.

He returned his attention to the beautiful girl. “I’m Jack. What’s your name?”

“Misty,” she giggled. “Wanna go outside for a walk?”

“Sure,” Jack replied, sounding bolder than he felt.

“All right,” Misty replied.

They walked and talked for nearly an hour, and just when Jack was about to get lucky, they heard a low rumble. Suddenly, the ground collapsed beneath them and they fell into a hole. Jack gave Misty a boost up and then she managed to drag him out. They sat there, stunned, for a few minutes.

“Well, that was scary. What’s going on?” Misty said in a shaky kind of voice.

As they headed back to the party, they heard growling from behind a bush. It was the most terrifying sound they had ever heard. Misty and Jack broke into a run, but it lunged at them. Jack dove out of the way, but the monster grabbed the girl. It threw her against a tree like she weighed nothing. Then it turned and stared at him with its eerie yellow eyes.

Unfortunately, Misty let out a terrified scream, and the creature turned its massive head from Jack back to her.

“Run!” Jack screamed, and took off as fast as he could. He dared to look back once and saw a terrifying sight. The girl crawled away, crying and the creature just watched her.

“Why isn’t she running?” thought Jack. Then he saw. Her legs were gone. As he watched in horror, the monster lunged at Misty and blood sprayed out of her chest. She let out one final sob as the creature killed her. Then the hideous creature lifted its head and stared at Jack.

Jack, always an excellent runner, never stopped once as he headed back to the party. He never looked back. When he got to the door of Aaron’s place, he dropped to his knees and cried.

“I never even knew her last name,” he sobbed. “What’s happening? What’s happening?”

When Jack finally summoned the strength to stand up, he stumbled into the house. He soon wished he hadn’t.  Before him . . . where the party had been . . . Jack began to scream. No wonder he hadn’t heard the music as he ran up the stairs. He had been too much in shock to notice.

There was blood everywhere. Every single guest was dead. And it hadn’t been quick and it hadn’t been clean. These people had been literally ripped apart. One body still twitched in a corner, and blood was even dripping from the walls. Then Jack smelled the carnage, and started to heave.

Jack heard whimpering. He called out. “Is anyone there?”

A terrified voice called out, “Jack, is that you?”

“Yeah, it’s me,” Jack yelled.

Aaron came bursting out of the shadows. He hugged Jack. He was shaking all over.

“They . . .they . . . it crashed through the windows and started killing. No reason. For no reason. I ran. I . . . I hid,” Aaron said, terrified. He started to cry.

“We have to get outta here . . . we have to get back to town to warn others,” Jack said.

They crept outside.

“What happened to that girl, Misty, where  . . . where is she?” stuttered Aaron.

Jack held back tears. “She’s gone,” he said.

They walked a short distance, then heard the bushes rustle. It was waiting for them! Aaron shrieked as he tried to get away, but the creature grabbed Aaron. Aaron kicked and struggled, but it was no use. The monster sank its claws into his body, lifted him flailing into the air and bit off his head, mid scream. Blood exploded from Aaron’s neck.  Jack staggered up and ran as fast as he could, for what seemed like forever. He finally stumbled upon an old, abandoned house. He scurried through the window.

Jack knew it was coming. He looked for something he could use as a weapon. Then something smacked him in the face and everything went black. Jack awoke and the creature had him cornered. It was the first time Jack had gotten a good look at the monster. It was a creature of darkness and blended with the shadows. It had razor sharp claws and fangs, and its eyes were an unearthly yellow.

Jack tried to bolt. But the creature simply trapped him and threw him back against the wall.

Jack cried and pleaded, but it just sat there, staring at him with those unfeeling yellow eyes. Did it enjoy Jack’s terror? All Jack could think was, “Why? Why?”

Then suddenly, Jack heard a thunderous stomp. What Jack could only describe as a hideous giant came crashing into the room. How many monsters were there?

“Here kitty, kitty,” the giant thundered. The fanged creature tried to run, but the giant grabbed it.

“There you are, Satan!” it said. Then the giant looked at Jack and screamed.

“A mouse! Ahhhhhh! A mouse!”

Jack bolted. The giant didn’t pursue him. He ran away and never went back to that place. He would later learn from the elders that he had just survived an attack of the most feared and hated creature in the land—the monster called “Cat.”