fall horror writing competition ’24

And that’s when she saw a creature—Yes! A creature! She was mostly sure of it, indeed—perched atop a thick log with its knees drawn to its chest and its arms tucked at its side. It was the size of a small ferret, but humanoid with skin that was raw, like a torn away blister. It had a large network of veins so thick they twisted around the bones beneath the skin’s surface. The creature looked fragile, but she suspected it was agile and fast from the way it tracked her progress with its hairless head. She couldn’t quite make out the creature’s eyes, but the sockets were deep set and shadowed. She had no clue what it was, or if it was real. All she could think about was it coming after her. She picked up her pace, glimpsing it only through the trees as she scampered down the trail kicking up leaves behind her. Her head twitched back and forth between the creature and the walnuts resting in pockets of dirt in front of her, careful not to fall, but careful not to lose track of it either. Until she did.