TW: This work contains themes of SA
In the latest hours of the evening, when the townsfolk finally settle down, creatures from hell emerge from the shadows to terrorize those foolish enough to be out.
The young woman hadn’t realized how late she had stayed in the library. She was always careful to head home before dark, well aware of the dangers.
However, she had become so immersed in her studies that she lost track of time. It was already dusk, and the sky was darkening faster than she was comfortable with.
The train station was a ten-minute walk away. She made it in seven, fingers wrapped around a pocket knife.
A figure shifted in the alley shadows. The woman picked up her pace a little more.
Her heels clicked loudly in the abandoned street.
Behind her, heavy thuds followed.
She burst into a full-on sprint.
The thuds continued to follow.
When she arrived at the train station, the woman beelined towards the security desk—only to find there was no one there. She pulled out her cellphone, shakily dialing the emergency line.
As the phone rang, the heavy-footed figure approached. In the fluorescent light of the station, she could see it.
The demonic thing grinned with crooked, yellow teeth. Its gnarly, calloused hands rubbed together, hungry.
She screamed and pulled out her knife; it was only a facade of safety. Here, against her hunter, the blade seemed useless.
It approached her and she swung once, twice, and a third time. On the fourth try, she managed to slice the monster’s hand, but once she did, the knife flew from her grasp.
The monster made some perturbing, groaning sound at the sight of her, helpless. It inched closer and closer, as if prolonging her fear made the chase even sweeter.
The woman called out for someone, anyone at all. No one came.
The train approached above her. Desperately, she ran.
It hunted her like a hellhound. Up the stairs and all the way to the end of the platform. Its gruesome scent of smoke licked at each step she took, always just an inch behind.
She waved her hands at the passing train, begging for a chance to escape her harasser.
The train did not stop.
Out of options, the woman cried out for her mother. But she knew she wasn’t coming to save her.
At dawn, the earliest workers found her. She was unconscious, her body beaten, bruised, and defiled. It was a nightmarish scene.
When she finally awoke in the hospital, the doctors asked her what had happened. After she recounted the tale, they shook their heads and chastised her, “Why were you out after dark? Why were you so easy to catch? You should’ve known better than that.”
“You should’ve known the monsters would never stop their hunt.”
“You should’ve known you’ll always be their prey.”
“You should’ve known better,” they said until she believed it, too.
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