Enjoy This Story I Wrote For Creative Writing And Just Submitted To Creepypasta.com

Post #44:

Enjoy this while I sort my crap out.

The Dread

            You glance from the window, peek at the moon and at the night sky, and glimpse at the stars; the darkness always brought you a sense of interest. Your curious hands, attached to your curious body, with curious feet guiding you down a dark hallway, feel around your grandmother’s old desk for the magnifying glass that you knew was kept stowed away for reading the fine print on mail. You quietly bring it back to your room and peek out the window, back at the velvet sky which was sprayed with the twinkling diamonds.

            You angle the magnifying glass towards the moon, but the only thing enlarged was a smudge on window. Slightly disheartened, you look towards the ever-expanding forest that was always looking back at you; it held more mysteries than you could imagine, especially, tonight. Using your magnifying glass, you notice something different with the trees. Is it the way they bend? Could they be taller? Maybe an animal ran past? You do not know, and decide to investigate. Things go through your head: “What did I see? Is it worth going out this late? What if I’m caught? I could get in trouble!” But most questions are squelched by your sense of adventure.

            Tiptoeing down the stairs, you grab your coat and a flashlight, and pull on a pair of rain boots that were sitting by the door. You carefully open the door as quietly as possible and head out to the area that your window overlooks. Nothing seems out of the ordinary; tall pines, dark leaves, and shadows where long branches blot out the nighttime sun. You stand silently in the moon soaked grass. Glumly, you peer through the magnifying glass at nothing in particular, and are shocked at what you see. You run into the forest.

            Questions buzz through your head, but soon enough, the heaving of your breathing blots out any other noises around you. You look left and right, leave crunch under your boots, bushes are smacked away, and occasionally you trip over a stray branch. You just knew you had to keep going. It could get away. It was so much faster than you. Did it go left or right at this tree? You had no time to question yourself. You knew you just had to follow your gut. You knew you had to follow the trail. You knew that you had run faster. You knew that-

You suddenly stop. Looking through your magnifying, you turn and find it: the thing you were chasing, the reason of your desperation.

You take a moment to calm yourself and claim your prize. It was sitting smugly on a tree stump, with moonlight filtering down from the canopy above to highlight it. You knew that it was worth it. You looked through the magnifying glass at the surface, but at a far distance. Yes, this was it. You found it.

Keeping it in clutched in your hand, you turn behind you, back the way you came. Or, was that the way you came? Was it more towards your left? Do you remember circling the tree stump? The dry ground held no footprints, the bushes held no hints. The trees’ faces sneered at you, and laughed at your misfortune. The magnifying glass was no help, and augmented the darkness.

The wind picked up, and the once-parted canopy above you was shaken closed, muddling your moonlight. The icy hands of the wind held pins which pricked at your skin. You glance around your new area, every bit of adrenaline burned off, and flick on the flashlight while zipping your coat up and crossing your arms.

You are suddenly aware to everything around you: the cricket cacophony, the occasional frog interlude, and your steps on the dead swirling leaves. Racking your brain, you try to remember: “Was I running on mud or dirt? How many branches did I fall over? I think there was an oak tree with winding roots…”

Your thoughts were interrupted when you heard the whisper of trembling leaves. It wasn’t the wind, and you know it.

You stop. Possibilities rush through your head, starting with wild animals. You want to slowly walk forwards, but you can’t move your legs. Your hands are shaking like you’re going through withdrawal. You hear more whispers. Your head throbs, your throat knits itself closed, and you are too paralyzed to tear up.

These whispers weren’t from leaves.

            Dread’s hands crept up your legs, slowly and methodically. They tightened until snug and then wrapped around your stomach, pinning your arms to your side. Breathing became hard, and you could only let out a whimper as they squeezed around your throat. Then you realize something.

These are real hands.

            You finally let out a scream, and feel the hands release you. Did you hear a growl? No, that wasn’t a growl… Fear is making you ridiculous. You run with no real path in mind. You just want to get away. The growl you heard keeps reverberating in your mind. You can still feel those hands snaking up your body. You lament your curiosity violently: “This was so stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Why didn’t I just stay home?! Why couldn’t I just lay in bed like I should have?! Why did I-”

            You can see a shape to your left following you, running right behind. You can hear a string of even whispers echoing through your head. Your temple throbbed and you gagged on the air around you. You had to get away. You had to get home. You had to run faster than this thing that was telling you horrible, horrible things. Images of blood appeared in your head… screaming… fire. You are so sure that home is just a little farther away, that once you were inside, you were safe. You knew that-

You trip and fall facedown into the dirt.

You wait to feel pain.

            Things are silent. Things are still. Your throbbing legs scream, but your breath eventually comes more evenly. You look up and scramble to lean against a tree. Did you imagine everything? You are not sure what happened. Then you remember your prize. You reach for your waistband, hoping that it wasn’t cracked in the fall. You examine it. The glass was its eerie and beautiful purple shade. The handle still had its odd inscription Hic nunc domi tuae.

You have never seen a more beautiful magnifying glass.

You peer through it, and are shocked at what you see. The ground is highlighted in purple. To your right, it leads on in its vibrant color, to the left it is nothing but a dark blue. You wonder if it is showing you the way home, but after hearing a growl, you decide to trust anything that gives you hope.

            You start running again, much to the chagrin of your calves, but their complaints are drowned out by the growling and whispers once more. They sounded louder… closer… angrier. You can feel it running at your heels, trying to claw your back. You do your best to follow the trail and watch your step at the same time. Your breathing is so heavy that your lungs are angry and hungry for air. Leaves get crushed, bushes are whacked, and you can hear the wind picking up. Your heart is beating fast, your stomach is lurching, and you hope that you can follow the trail fast enough to-

You see moonlight and an opening at the end of the trail.

            New energy surges and joy dares to enter your soul! You were so close! A couple more gulps of air, a few more pumps of your legs! The trail seemed to brighten and brighten until you crashed through some branches and finally found yourself back in the safety of your-

You find the tree stump.

            The magnifying glass shows it glowing brightly white with no other paths around to follow. You are in disbelief. “The stump?! Why the stump?! Why not home?!” The Dread finds its way back into your heart.

            The growls turn into laughter. A high pitch noise brings you to your knees and your treacherous prize breaks. The noise wails on as massively tall and dark figures step out of the trees. The moonlight that seemed to be your beacon is gone. They got closer. They whispered to you louder and louder as you lay paralyzed on the ground. You feel their arms wrap around you, your eyes see nothing but black. You can’t breathe. You can barely feel.

You are at the mercy of The Dread.


 UnicornSlayer