The Creature's Prey

Faceless, formless. The creature roams the Earth in search of it's next victim. I never thought that such a creature could exist, that they were the stuff of fairy tales and stories used to scare children. How naïve I was. I lived a standard life, going to school in the hopes of achieving my dreams, but that would all be snuffed out when the creature came to visit.

It was exam season at school and once I finished for the day and trudged on home I realised that my dreams may very well become a reality one day. Feeling euphoric at the thought of going home to tell my parents how confident I was about how I performed, the long journey seemed to shorten drastically. Only a few roads away from home I began to notice something that would unnerve me and evaporate my jolly mood. I had two shadows. I fleetingly darted my eyes around my surroundings and there was no one around to cast the second shadow, but when I looked down for the second time, only my shadow remained. I would later find out that the creature would do this as a way of hunting and observing its prey.

As only my shadow remained I shrugged it off as my mind playing tricks on me after working so hard during the exams. Maybe, way at the back of my mind, I knew that this wasn't the case and that soon I would have to face the creature from hell itself. Continuing my journey I finally arrived at the place I call home. My parents were there to greet me and they were proud to hear that I was confident with my exams. As I enjoyed the rest of my day I still couldn't shake the immense fear that I felt when I had two shadows.

The next morning I performed my routine and got ready for school, excited for the rest of my exams. During the school day I kept seeing something flit in and out of the corner of my eye. In the end I just boiled it down to my overtiredness and stress of the exams. As the end of the school day was drawing ever closer, I grew ever more impatient as I wanted to tell my parents once again about the day. I still want to tell them about that day, if I ever manage to return home.

The bell rang and I hurried out of the school and began my journey home. It started to get dark early now, as it was winter time. But this was a different kind of darkness. It was heavy and it bore down on me like a heavy weight. Then I saw it. Strolling through the darkness a black figure emerged. It had no facial features to speak of, but it did have a wide, menacing grin that showed off a set of teeth so white it didn't belong in the darkness. "Why hello there!" The creature said in a surprisingly jolly tone, "I've been observing you for quite a while and to tell you the truth I think your so very interesting. You'll make a good snack" It stood facing me. Unmoving with that fear inducing grin that paralysed me. "Am I going to die here? Is this the end for me? Are you Death who has come to collect me?" I posed these questions with a shaky voice that can only be heard when a person is filled with dread. "Death? Please don't compare me with him. He doesn't take lives for fun, as I do. As for whether you are going to die... Yes, you will die here, today."

Hearing these words crushed me. All hope I had that this was not real was gone. The reality finally dawned on me that I would never see those that I love ever again. With a maniacal laugh the creature opened it's mouth and chuckled, "I'm going to enjoy this". Then I woke up with a jolt, "Thank God it wasn't real. Thank God I am not dead". But the I realised that I couldn't move, I was trapped in a body, looking through its eyes. I was inside the creature. I was now merely an observer, forever doomed to watch him stalk and kill his victims, without being able to warn them.