Samantha (Corrections Officer)

Inside, the house was warm and filled with laughter, so painfully normal that my brain needed a second to adjust. The conversation dropped the instant I walked in. I must have looked a complete mess. Wide eyes, hair plastered to my forehead. I tried to find my voice, but it came out raw and broken.

Inside, the house was warm and filled with laughter, so painfully normal that my brain needed a second to adjust. The conversation dropped the instant I walked in. I must have looked a complete mess. Wide eyes, hair plastered to my forehead. I tried to find my voice, but it came out raw and broken.

Once the shock wore off enough for words, I rattled off a rambling account of something huge with teeth. something that seemed more like a nightmare than any animal I'd come across before. Their faces reflected confusion. A couple friends asked if I was messing with them or if I'd had too much to smoke. Their dismissive reactions hit like a punch to the gut.

Once the shock wore off enough for words, I rattled off a rambling account of something huge with teeth. something that seemed more like a nightmare than any animal I'd come across before. Their faces reflected confusion. A couple friends asked if I was messing with them or if I'd had too much to smoke. Their dismissive reactions hit like a punch to the gut.

I kept insisting it was real, too real, but it felt impossible to convey the intensity. My mind kept replaying how close that thing had gotten, how it showed this unnatural hostility. The more I tried to talk about it, the more I realized nobody could truly understand without having been there. I forced myself to sit down, but my nerves were thrumming too fiercely to stay still.

I kept insisting it was real, too real, but it felt impossible to convey the intensity. My mind kept replaying how close that thing had gotten, how it showed this unnatural hostility. The more I tried to talk about it, the more I realized nobody could truly understand without having been there. I forced myself to sit down, but my nerves were thrumming too fiercely to stay still.

Even when I tried to breathe and calm down, my gaze flicked toward the windows, half expecting those eyes to appear behind the glass. The walls felt stifling, and I couldn't decide if I wanted to be hidden away in my room or surrounded by people. Either way, I couldn't banish the image of snapping jaws and the grating guttural sound still echoing in my head.

Even when I tried to breathe and calm down, my gaze flicked toward the windows, half expecting those eyes to appear behind the glass. The walls felt stifling, and I couldn't decide if I wanted to be hidden away in my room or surrounded by people. Either way, I couldn't banish the image of snapping jaws and the grating guttural sound still echoing in my head.

Night dragged on, and everyone else drifted off to bed. Sleep was the last thing on my mind. There was a heavy weight in my chest, like dread that just wouldn't dissipate. I flipped through my phone, searching for anything. Urban legends, weird sightings, local warnings. My heart hammered as I stumbled onto stories about shapeshifters and cryptic creatures said to stalk lonely roads.

Night dragged on, and everyone else drifted off to bed. Sleep was the last thing on my mind. There was a heavy weight in my chest, like dread that just wouldn't dissipate. I flipped through my phone, searching for anything. Urban legends, weird sightings, local warnings. My heart hammered as I stumbled onto stories about shapeshifters and cryptic creatures said to stalk lonely roads.

Some details were scarily similar. Eerie canine forms. The sense of an intelligence behind the brutality. It made me question if I'd pushed my luck on a path I had no business traveling alone. The later it got, the more my thoughts spun in circles. I wondered if it had tracked me, if it knew exactly where I ended up.

Some details were scarily similar. Eerie canine forms. The sense of an intelligence behind the brutality. It made me question if I'd pushed my luck on a path I had no business traveling alone. The later it got, the more my thoughts spun in circles. I wondered if it had tracked me, if it knew exactly where I ended up.

Logic told me that was absurd, but a gnawing suspicion kept me glancing at every window. Eventually, exhaustion forced me to shut my eyes, though sleep brought no comfort.

Logic told me that was absurd, but a gnawing suspicion kept me glancing at every window. Eventually, exhaustion forced me to shut my eyes, though sleep brought no comfort.

i dreamed of glinting teeth and felt in the pit of my stomach that the next time might not end so cleanly by morning i was a jittery wreck fueled by the same obsessive questions had i really escaped something no one else believed existed Should I let it go or try to learn more?

i dreamed of glinting teeth and felt in the pit of my stomach that the next time might not end so cleanly by morning i was a jittery wreck fueled by the same obsessive questions had i really escaped something no one else believed existed Should I let it go or try to learn more?

Fear and curiosity clashed in my thoughts, and I dreaded the idea that I might need to see that place again just to prove it wasn't my imagination. Even so, the mere notion of returning to that cursed intersection twisted my insides with anxious anticipation. Something told me my story, and the creature's, wasn't finished.

Fear and curiosity clashed in my thoughts, and I dreaded the idea that I might need to see that place again just to prove it wasn't my imagination. Even so, the mere notion of returning to that cursed intersection twisted my insides with anxious anticipation. Something told me my story, and the creature's, wasn't finished.

I was about nine the Thanksgiving we arrived at Grandma's place, nothing but trees surrounding that old house so thick you could hardly see the sky. The driveway felt longer than usual, like it stretched deeper into some secret place.

I was about nine the Thanksgiving we arrived at Grandma's place, nothing but trees surrounding that old house so thick you could hardly see the sky. The driveway felt longer than usual, like it stretched deeper into some secret place.