User blog comment:Witnessme/Creepypasta Short Story Contest/@comment-27074593-20151013202723

Lucy wakes up screaming and almost falls out of bed. She pulls her oversize t-shirt toward the beads of sweat accumulating on her forehead and neck. It takes more than a minute for her to gather herself, and when her mind is finally calm she has to remind herself it was just a nightmare.

The dream is so vivid in her mind. She can still feel that hot, rotten breath on the back of her neck. Those phantom claws reaching within an inch of her back. That snarling wet growl coming from directly behind her. The occasional brush of coarse fur as she swung her arms violently forward and backward, willing herself to sprint at her maximum speed, but knowing it was only a matter of time before she would be too winded to continue and the dream beast would tear her to pieces. It all felt so real!

She glances over at the clock on her nightstand which reads 3:23 am. Through the window over her bed she feels a slight breeze, while crickets chirp their nightly lullaby. Trying to sleep right now would be impossible and Lucy decides a quick shower might help ease her anxious nerves. After toweling off and pulling on workout shorts and a clean t-shirt, she steps out her front door into the cool night air.

As Lucy walks across her front porch and sits down in her favorite chair, she notices the air is peaceful and still. The crickets are no longer singing their lullabies and Lucy becomes aware of the deafening silence. The rotten smell of death invades her nostrils. She has less than a second to process the horrible stench, before she hears a wet growl and what feels like 5 serrated knives tearing deep into her back.