It Is Past Curfew

Five years ago, there was a curfew set in place in Cornwall due to a string of homicides happening all over the city. I worked as a patrol officer during the evening and night hours along with my coworker, we would be ordered to patrol around the perimeter of the schools and redirect the students who were taking night classes to the safest route home. One evening in particular, my coworker and I spotted a group of teenagers heading into the woods near one of the schools, which immediately struck us as suspicious. The teens had a few bottles of alcohol on them as they stumbled to the woods, their stupendous laughter roaring through-out the area they were in. "Hey!" my coworker, Lily, called out as we came closer to the teens, their grins ceased as a look of boredom came onto their faces. " What are you doing here? It is way past curfew!" She added, her tone was serious as the teens started to glare at us, not liking the fact that we stopped their party so quickly.

One of the girls, who had badly died purple hair and jade green eyes, stepped towards us. "H-Haven't you heard~?" The girl hicced, smirking stupidly as she raised a alcohol bottle into the air. My brow raised in suspicion as Lily glanced towards me briefly, the same look on her face. "Ghost hunt~!" She slurred, falling forwards into Lily's arm, her friends roaring with laughter once more - I frowned as I reached for my radio to call for reinforcements so they could take the teenagers home whilst we investigated the alleged claim. However, Lily rolled her eyes and sat the teen on one of the walls nearby, taking the alcohol away in the process and putting it in the bin. Cuffing the teen, she sighed in annoyance as her tired crystal eyes wearily watched the other teens, who then procedded to run into the forest.

"Fuck!" She hissed, grabbing her tazer immediately and began to hunt down the teenagers. "Michael! Get the reinforcements!" She yelled back, before disappearing into the trees to retrieve the scattered teenagers. I thought about going after her due to the fact it isn't a good idea to go alone, however, she was a rank higher than me and I would then leave this teenager exposed to anybody - so I called reinforcements like she asked.

They came not so long after, three other members were running towards the forest whilst another walked towards me. " Ghost hunt you say?" Moby, the squad leader, chuckled in amusement as he glanced towards the forest, trying to break the tension. " Apparently so." I sighed, we were left in silence for a few moments before both of our radios began to emit sound.

" Hopps, Captain! " The radio buzzed as screeching sounds emitted from the faulty radio, I brought the radio to my face as Moby walked off quickly to search for something in the police vechile. "Come in." I reply, eyes narrowed in concentration as I tried to decipher the murmuring coming from the radio. Screeches suddenly sparked out of the radio as a flock of birds emerged from the forest trees, signalling where the disturbance is from. Immediately, I began to run into the forest along with some of the other officers.

Twigs snapped endlessly as our feet pounded through the earthy terrain, panting emitting from our mouths as we shove away the obstacles blocking us from the destination. Growling became louder and more violent as the shrieks contined to become more panicked and more ostentatious, causing our adrenaline to surge through our bodies until we reached a clearing.

In the clearing, a chocolate brown bear was stalking towards one of the teenagers, its predatory eyes locked onto the victim infront of it. Quickly, I slowly edged towards the teenager whilst getting out a gun, keeping an eye on the bear. The radio started again, but it was Lily this time. "Hopps!" She coughed out, her breathing was heavy as if she just ran for her life." Get out of there-" She tried to continue but her voice was cut off as the bear let out a sonorous roar, charging towards me and the girl.

Like a coward, I froze in a moment of panic, forgetting I had a gun in my trembling hands. Suddenly, I heard shrieks of agony as my eyes snapped open, my mouth was agape as the bear began mauling the girl to shreds, her intestines sprawled out across the floor like a child's drawing, the ruby red blood seeping into the once green earthy grass. Her once azure eyes began to become a lifeless dull blue, rolling towards the back of her head. I had just let someone die.

Regretfully, I slowly began to back up as the bear's greedy groans filled the dead air, I slowly turned around and bucked it the hell out of there. As I continued to sprint, my mind wondered elsewhere, where were my team mates? Weren't they just there with me before we found the bear, or did they keep running?

Annoyingly, the radio groaned out over my excessive panting, the crackling of the sound irritating me very quickly. "Yes?" I spoke flatly, my worn eyes searching the area like a drone. No reply came. "Hello?" I called out again, my annoyance soon turning to concern. Not a single word came through the radio. "Damn it!" I cried out, slamming my bulky fists into the bark of a tree, causing birds to cry out in dismay. I was lost and alone, vunerable to anything lurking around.

Glancing down, my brow cocked as I bent down, picking up this chunky bit of pinkish material in the ground, a squishing sound emitting from it along with the horrid stench of decay. This was a chunk of someone's flesh. Gagging, I wondered who this belonged to and why it was here of all places. Throwing it, I flinch momentarily as a splash soon followed after the flesh had landed, I didn't know if it was human or animal skin...if it was human skin, then I made a very stupid mistake. Sighing heavily, I felt around for my flashlight - the sunlight was starting to die down and I don't want to rest here for the night.

Hooting filled the air as the crickets began to make their presence known, my feet trudging against the various dying leaves and twigs, dirt flicking up in the air as my body slumped further and further forward. My face held a sour expression as I observed my surroundings carefully, flinching as a drop of rain bounced off of my nose, causing me to growl in dismay. One drop became a stampede of drops as I suddenly sprant under a tree for the tiniest bit of cover, however, a familar stench began to dance in my nostrols the longer I stood there. Trembling, my senses were overwhelmed by the stench as I shakily latch my hand onto the radio, pressing down a button before I began to speak. "L-Lily?" I breathed out, my lips a frosty blue as I awaited for a response, the radios sometimes delay messages due to a lack of signal.

I waited.

"L-Lily?" my voice suddenly rang out nearby, making me tense up immediately. She was somewhere nearby! A grin of relief spread across my face momentarily before I realised it came from above - I grabbed my flashlight and immediately pointed it upwards. I froze. Lily's once thick creamy brown hair was now a few strands of hair, her once icy blue eyes were missing and bleeding whilst a horrendos claw mark was cut into her side, her bloody hand remained over the wound. Stunned, I remained still for a few moments, before immediatetly scrambling into the tree next to her still body, holding in a cry of mourning. Cupping her cheeks, I tilt her face to the side which immediately showed signs of an acid attack, her skin was a burnt raw red and the smell of decay leaked out of the wound along with a chemical smell of hydrochloric acid. Additionally, her missing eyes were held in her stiff fist, the eyes deflated with an oozing black liquid dripping out of her hand, her mouth was sewn shut and as far as I can tell- all of her skin has been cut clean off. Due to the nature of the weapon marks, it seems as if it was cut by possibly a scaple.

I couldn't move from her body, I couldn't leave her like this but if I took her body with me then the team will cast me as the prime suspect. Luckily, I managed to alert Moby of what happened before the crack of dawn emerged. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to trust me as he immedaitely cuffed me and forced me into the police car whilst they took care of her body.

I remained in jail for months after the incident, there wasn't much evidence to prove it wasn't me yet I no matter how much I pleaded, they sent me to this dastardly prison cell with a notebook and pen. Former team mates would past my cell, giving me dirty looks as if I had comitted murder, they would thrash their batons onto the cell bars repeatedly when I was asleep, stating that murderers like me shouldn't sleep after what I had done. Depressed, I would always just lay on the rock hard slab of metal they call a bed, staring blankly at the wall. That was until I watched them push along a medical bed they used to take the dead to their destination, eyes widening, I rush to the cell bars."Let me see her!" I pleaded, tears had pricked my eyes as they continued to go past with the bed. However, her feet stuck out of the covers, they were covered in bandages and one of her toes had a tag on with her name and date of death.

Lily Tenderdale.

D.O.D: 28,03,04.

I remembered that I broke down crying, taking out a piece of glass that I had managed to smuggle in and began to dig it into the palms, I am not guilty! This isn't what she wants! Relentlessly, I continued the cycle until a guard noticed what I was doing and removed the blade, bandaging my hands before taking me to solitary confidement for smuggling in a piece of contraband.

I spent a few days in solitary confidement, grunting as they immediately pushed me into the cell and into the wall. I was about to make a snarky comment until I noticed something in the corner of my eye. Between the police lockers was a human shaped object covered in bandages as a base layer, the outer layer was a bunch of white string that goes all around their body. There was no hair in sight, the area where the eyes should be was instead a two  pools of reddish green patches of dried liquid, their mouth had pitch black cross stitches to fufill a smile. Shuddering, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up when I also realised they were wearing a police uniform and the fact that they had a whole in their neck that was covered by a thin layer of bandage, yet no one seemed to notice the figure between the lockers.

I couldn't take my eyes off of the figure, instantly receiving feelings of guilt and sorrow out of nowhere, the figure stood straight as they began to walk towards the cell, their body passing through the officer's body as if they were a ghost. Eyes widening, I quickly rubbed my eyes and looked away. I was hyperventalating, right? Slowly, I turned back around only to suddenly scream when the figure's face was basically touching my own. "Shh...." The figure cooed, giggling slightly as they opened their left palm, revealing two icy blue eyes embedded into them. "It is past curfew." They whispered, their smile growing more sinister as a mouth began to form beneath the eyes, hissing slightly as it spat acid into my eyes. I shrieked in pure agony as the figure seemingly vanished, leaving my eyes exposed to the acid as they began to endlessly burn to the retina. My eyes began to melt slowly like candlewax as the guards ran towards me, but due to the agony, I passed out.

As I am writing this, I am a fifty-two year old man who is blind and happily married with a wife and two kids. My wife is helping me write everything down, there isn't any treatment for my sight and unfortunately I can't use echo location very well. However, the mysterious figure that blinded me that one day...it turns out that they had spared me. Sadly, other victims haven't survived and had suffered the same fate as Lily had that very day. Now I know who the figure was, but I won't stop her, no one would believe me....besides...she is a spirit out for revenge. Besides, it is past curfew.