Just Creepy: Scary Stories - Scary Deep Woods Horror Stories

Episode Date: March 28, 2021

These are 2 Scary Deep Woods Horror Stories ► Check out the latest JUST CREEPY gear: https://teespring.com/stores/just-creepy-merchandise You can submit your own story to my Website, email, or subreddit:  ►https://www.justcreepy.net/ ►[e-mail]  ►https://www.reddit.com/r/justcreepystories/ Paypal Donation: Any amount is appreciated :) ►https://www.paypal.me/justcreepy Follow me here:  ►Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/justcreepydc ►Twitter:  https://twitter.com/Its_Just_Creepy ►Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/its_just_creepy/?hl=en ►Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/justcreepy/ ***All stories have been approved by the authors to allow narration on my channel. I can provide proof If necessary.*** Story Credits: ►https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/gqlqcd/this_isnt_a_skinwalker_story/►https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/jlk87l/the_shadows_in_my_yard/ The shadows story is going to be featured in a book u/jwil053 is writing called "Coal Hill and Other Tales of Dread" that's being released April 6th Business inquiries:  ►[e-mail]

You said this place was steps from the water. We just haven't found the steps yet. How much did we save? Enough. Enough to get lost. Or you could book a stay with Hilton. Welcome to your ocean front room. Just steps from the water.

The Hilton sale is on now. Book on Hilton.com or the Hilton app and save up to 20% to get the stay you expected. When you want savings, not surprises. It matters where you stay. Hilton, for the stay. This isn't a Skinwalker story. In those kinds of stories, the Skinwalker follows the rules.

If you don't fall for its tricks, if you don't walk off into the bushes with your friends who vanished for two hours and then came back acting strange, then you'll be fine. For some reason, the Skinwalker can't touch you. It can peek at you from behind a tree or talk to you. But if you leave quickly and make sure to stick close to your friends, it'll leave you alone. So like I said, this isn't a Skinwalker story. This happened in late July, in a forest in Montana. Although this was the same forest my dad and I hunted in every year,

that didn't mean much. It was wild and huge, stretched for miles and miles across rolling hills, until it finally merged with the backs of the Rockies. We had one small patch of forest, whose trails he and I knew well, and which my dad didn't like to go far from. He used to joke that we'd take the wrong turn on the path one day and come out from the woods to find ten years had passed, and we were in California. But that year, I had been impatient and bored with our usual trails. I was supposed to go to college that fall, and I was anxious to shake off the parts of my life I saw as childish

and start fresh as a man. I was the one who picked out the new set of trails that were further into the woods and argued with my dad until he wore down and agreed to try them out. Right from the start, the trip was a disaster. It was an unusually hot summer that year, and by the time we unloaded our gear from my dad's truck and started on the trail, I had already sweat through my deodorant. About 30 minutes into the first day, I realized there was something off about the woods. They were totally silent, not even birds were singing. The only sounds were the wind blowing through the trees and our own footsteps. I've never before or since seen the woods that quiet.

We didn't come across any animals that day. To tell the truth, I tried to hide it from my dad, but it was creepy. We camped in a clearing by the trail that I had marked on our map. By this point, I was honestly ready to call it quits. Between the heat and the strange silence in the woods, I didn't want to be out there anymore, but this trip had been my idea, and I wanted my dad to be the one to call it off. He didn't, and after a supper of ham and beans, we spent a sleepless night in the hot tent. It was around noon of the second day we noticed the smell.

We were making our way up the trail when it seemed like somebody flipped a switch and turned the forest on its head. We were both hit with a wave of stench like rotting animal, which by the strength of the smell seemed very close by. At the same time, the silent woods were filled with sounds. All around us, birds were shouting warnings like an alarm. We stopped in our tracks and heard something crashing quickly through the underbrush to our right. Turning, I saw a herd of deer running at top speed through the thick bushes. My rifle was slung over my back, but even if I had it in my hands, I wouldn't have been able to react in time.

After a pause, my dad spoke. We need to turn back, he said. Something's frightening the animals could be a bear. I nodded. Bears, although not common in our area, were not unheard of. I remember two hunting seasons ago, a couple of hikers had been attacked on the other side, of the state by what some people were saying was a huge grizzly. Even with our rifles, we wouldn't necessarily be safe against a big bear. We made our way back up the trail,

but even as the sounds of the animals quieted down all around us, the smell didn't go away. On the contrary, it seemed to get stronger and stronger all the time, until we were both covering our noses with our shirts and taking gasping breaths through our mouths. There was a change in the atmosphere, too. Everything felt heavy and slow and somehow charged. Once, when I was a boy, lightning struck a tree not 200 feet away from me. This felt like that did, like something was about to happen. We were about a day and a half's walk from our car,

and even though we both wanted to get out of there as fast as possible, when night fell, we knew better than to try to follow a strange trail in the dark. We made a camp by the trail. We didn't light a fire. My dad didn't say anything, but there was a tension in his shoulders, and his head swiveled quickly at every sound. We were hunched on a log, eating cold beans out of a tin, and wondering how we were going to get to sleep when we heard it. Down the path, further than I could see in the dark, there came a low groan. Immediately, Dad and I had our hands on our guns. The stent. somehow grew again. It was overwhelming now, and I swear I could feel it in the air around us, sitting thick and oily on my skin. Another low-grown, like a man sighing, and as I peered up the path, I saw a dark shape. It was low to the ground, and big. It was waddling on all four, but something about its movements seemed unnatural. It looked the way a big man does when he crawls on his hands and knees, like every movement is forced and stiff. My dad stepped between me

and the path. Bill, he said, go into the woods and hide. Don't come out. I'll take care of the bear. I'd like to say I told my dad I would never abandon him. I would at least like to say I tried to argue. Sometimes, very late at night when I can't sleep, I lie awake and think about what could have been if I hadn't been a coward, but those thoughts belonged to the night. They are only dreams. I was about a thousand feet away from our campsite when I heard the shots. One, two, in the night, practiced and controlled. I didn't stop. I was crying then, and I couldn't stop until I ran through the clearing on a small hill and tripped, rolling down into the underbrush. I stayed still down there, sobbing uncontrollably. I don't know how many shots my dad fired. I don't remember when the

screaming started or how long it lasted, only that it seemed to go on forever and that it didn't sound like my dad, more like a woman in a scary movie. I didn't know how long after the screaming stopped that I heard it, running through the underbrush, moving faster than that awkward, unnatural thing on the trail should have been able to move. But I do remember. what it looked like when it burst out of the woods and crested the hill. White patches of flesh gleaming out from the holes in its skin it was wearing. I remember seeing its yellow eyes, peering through the holes in what looked like a hairy burlap bag on its head. It reached the crest of the hill and stopped for a moment, stretching its body in the moonlight.

I remember what it sounded like when it yelled. Its voice like my dad's when he was hoarse and tired. Bill yelled the thing on the hill. that's not a bear what they did to your family you're lucky to make it out alive streaming on peacock these men are going to come after me

taking them out is my only chance put a bullet in her head from the co-creator of Ozark looks like a family was running drugs execution style killing it's rare for the keys and it leads on who they might have been running for the cartel killed my family I'm gonna kill them

all of them MIA streaming now Only on Peacock. Every night they were closer than the night before. Every time they grew in number, they became easier to make out. I could feel them watching me. I don't know where they came from, but I knew they wanted to hurt me. I could feel it.

I saw the first one three nights ago. My house is the last one in the neighborhood. I live alone at the end of the street, so beyond my small yard is tons of acres of developed land which consists of mostly tall pines and lots of undergrowth. The street just ends a few yards from my house, the grass and tree roots growing through the blacktop. All we got was an almost useless street lamp I had petitioned for because the darkness of the woods creeped me out. The dull light from the street lamp illuminates a good portion of my yard, but because of the angle, some of the tree limbs cast shadows across it.

The light spans from a few feet into the woods to the wall of my house and almost completely covers the front yard, one of the last benefits of the light. Honestly, the orange glow and low hum of the street lamp used to comfort me. Now, it just fills me with dread. Dread for the day it goes out, and I can't see them anymore. I was on my screened-in side porch relaxing before going to bed. In the middle of my routine, scrolling through social media, something at the edge of the woods caught my attention. I wouldn't say I saw it at first.

It was more like I felt it. I put my phone away and strain my eyes to try and make out what was making me feel so uneasy. It was just at the edge of the light, as if I had caught it trying to sneak out of the darkness beyond. A shadow in the shape of a person. I didn't believe it at first. Why would I?

It was just standing there, not moving, but I knew it was looking at me. It had no defining features, no eyes, no mouth, no hair. It was a perfect shadow, just standing at the edge of my yard like a person. I stared for what seemed like an eternity, not sure that I was really seeing this shadow person in my yard. Finally, I called out to it, asking what it was doing. I got no response. It didn't even move. I convinced myself it was a trick of the light and went back to scrolling.

The unease continued and occasionally I would sneak a peek back at the shadow. It never moved, never made a sound. I finished my sig and put it out before looking out to the shadow again. It was then, the wind began to blow. and all of the shadows from the tree limbs began moving. I watched, waiting for it to move as well. It didn't. That was the moment I began to panic.

I called out to it again and again. I got no response. My stomach dropped and I began to get angry. I stood and walked off of the porch. I took maybe three or four steps towards it when I was overwhelmed with fear. I began to sweat. My mouth dried up.

Every hair on my body was standing. I tried to take another step, but my body refused to move. Every primal instinct I had was telling me to run. I backed away, never taking my eyes off of it. After I got inside the house, I ran to the pantry to find my strongest flashlight. The side door of the house led to the kitchen, so it wasn't too much of a stretch. Before going back outside, I looked out the window to make sure it was still there, Of course, it hadn't moved.

I walked back onto the porch, turned on the flashlight, and aimed it at the shadow. My skin crawled as the light washed over the shadow and didn't go away. The shadow was opaque. I could almost see through it when the light was directly on it. The thing was pure darkness given shape. Not knowing what to do, I backed inside. Who could I call about this? They'd never believe me.

I pulled a chair to the window in my living room and watched the shadow. I don't know when I fell asleep, but it was some time before sunrise. The next morning, I woke up to the sun, hitting me in the face. I jumped up, check the time. 7.36 a.m. The feeling of uneasiness was gone, but I had to be sure. I looked out the window and almost collapsed from relief. The shadow was gone.

I ran through the previous night's events over and over in my head. Maybe I had dreamed the whole thing. That had to be it. Either that, or I was going insane. Maybe both. It took almost an hour to build up the courage and walk outside to inspect the spot where the shadow stood. What I saw made me run cold. There were two imprints in the grass, as if something had been standing in the same spot for hours.

I felt sick to my stomach. There really was something in my yard last night. I backed away from the spot, never taking my eyes off the footprints. It might have been there still, but was invisible, waiting to get me. But if that were true, why didn't I feel the uneasiness I felt from last night? Did that even have anything to do with the shadow? I prayed it wouldn't be back to answer these questions. The rest of the day went by normally.

It was my day off, so I just last. around watching TV. I went grocery shopping and paid some bills. I don't really remember much of the day other than that. I just remember being anxious about nightfall, hoping it wouldn't come back. Man, what I would give to be able to go back to that feeling instead of the absolute dread I feel now. Nightfall came and I did my best to keep my mind occupied. I cooked dinner, turned on one of my favorite comedies. The night wore on and I began to feel a little bit better. It was already past the time the shadow appeared the night before when I went outside for a sig. I lit it and pulled out my phone to check the time when the feeling came back, stronger than before. I looked up and there it was,

a few feet closer and more defined. I didn't have to strain so hard this time to see it. A whimper forced its way out of my mouth and I scanned the rest of the tree. line. That's when I spotted the other one. I was standing just outside one of the shadows made by the tree limb closer to the road. It was standing in the same pose at first, arms just hanging to its side, but it was facing my direction. I screamed and jumped back, falling over a chair. Before I realized it, I was yelling at them, asking them what they want. My fear had been replaced by anger again, and I walked out onto the stoop. I looked on the ground for something to throw

and spotted a small rock by my step. Without thinking, I grabbed it and flung it at the first shadow. The rock hit the shadow right in the chest and fell to the ground. But there was no sound when it connected. It was if it hit nothing. The shadow didn't move.

I called out again, asking them why they were here. There was no reply, of course. I don't know what I expected. That's when I realized there were no sounds, no crickets, no birds, no natural sounds at all, just the humming of the street lamp. I looked from the first shadow to the second, the unease, rising the more I look at them. I wanted them to do something, say something, anything, but they just stood there, watching me. I retreated to the porch and continued watching them until it was done.

They still didn't move. What were these things? Why did they fill me with so much dread? I thought again about who I could tell about them that wouldn't send me to an asylum. I don't really have any friends, and my family lives hours away. I had never felt so alone as I did in that five minutes.

After finishing my SIG, I went back inside and posted up beside the window again. I could barely see the second shadow from my position, But as long as it didn't move, it would be fine. Hours went by, and they never moved, but the uneasiness stayed. Once again, sleep crept up on me, and before I knew it, I was waking up. It was 8.42 a.m. I was late for work. I called my manager and apologized, told her I wasn't feeling well.

She said it was fine, and they were overstaffed anyway, to not worry about it. I asked her if she could find people to cover my shifts for the rest of the week as I wasn't feeling well. After a small back and forth, she agreed. I needed time to either get this thing sorted out or get out of Dodge. I spent the day trying to come up with a plan for the night. I needed to get footage of them to show people. Why hadn't I done that already? So stupid.

But what was the plan after that? I couldn't even get near them because of the feeling. they gave me. I thought maybe I could shoot them, but I didn't have the money or time. I just reserved myself to reconnaissance for the night, and after that I'd see where things went. Waiting for nightfall was awful. I couldn't eat. I tried to take a nap because I was exhausted from barely sleeping the previous two nights, but every time I started to drift off, I would think about the shadows consumed and jump awake. I couldn't do anything but sit and wait until it got dark. The hours dragged on. That day seemed like an eternity of waiting. Finally, night came, and I walked onto the porch and waited

with my phone in hand, periodically checking the time. The usual sounds of nature were there, crickets, cicadas, the odd bird. I held out some tiny bit of hope that maybe the shadows wouldn't show. Then, at 9.07 p.m., the sound stopped, and all I could hear was the hum of the street lamp. My stomach dropped so bad, I felt physically sick. I already knew what that meant, but I looked up anyway. The first shadow had moved a few feet closer to my house. The second one halved its distance. I scanned the yard and spotted two more, one on the opposite side of the yard as the second shadow, and the other in the middle of the street. Again, they were easier to make out than the previous two nights.

They were more caporeal, darker than before. They didn't even blend in with the shadows near them anymore. If anything, they stood out. I walked to the door and stuck out my torso. The air felt heavy, like it was made of pure malice. I began sweating and felt faint. Shaking it off, I opened the camera on my phone, and aimed it at the first shadow, who was the closest one, at probably only 12 feet from my door.

I struggled to keep my hands steady enough for the camera to focus in the low light. After what seemed like forever, it focused, and I snapped a few pictures. Once I got those, I backed into the porch and took a moment to catch my breath. I looked back at the four shadows, looking for any type of change. Nothing. Simultaneously relieved and for. I opened the pictures I had taken, and of course they weren't clear enough to even make anything out. I had to try again, but every fiber in me was screaming for me not to.

It took me a few minutes to heighten myself up enough to even open the door again. Same as before. I just stuck out my torso and aimed my phone at the closest shadow. It took a moment, but the camera finally focused. The picture was going to be clear. Thank God. I would have definitive proof that I was being haunted by shadow people. As I pressed the button to take the picture, the street lamp flickered.

It was only for half a second, but it ruined the picture. All I got was darkness. I cursed my luck, and the lamp flickered two more times as I was trying to get back to the camera. I looked up and what I saw caused me to scream, drop my phone, and fall onto the porch in one motion. The shadows had moved. very slightly, but they had moved. The first looked as if it had just finished taking a step forward. The second and third were in the middle of taking a step.

The fourth seemed to be slightly hunched over like it was getting ready to sprint. I got off the floor with tears in my eyes and realized my phone was outside. I bolted to the door without thinking, burst out onto the stoop. The phone was lying on the ground at the base of the bottom of the step. I reached for it and the lamp flicker. it again. A wave of fear hit me, and I threw up before looking towards the shadows. The first had lifted its foot. The second and third had finished their step, and the fourth was hunched further. My body seemed to move on its own after that. I left my phone, ran inside my house, and locked the door.

I tried to figure out why the lamp was flickering. Were the shadows doing it? No, if they could do that, they would have done it in the first place. Most likely, likely the bulb was going out. I needed to call the electric company. I reached in my pocket for my phone and screamed in frustration when I realized it wasn't there. The lamp flickered two more times. I began feeling lightheaded. My vision blurred. I leaned against the refrigerator to steady myself, but it wasn't enough. My last memory from that night was falling to the floor. When I woke up, I was still on the floor. Sunlight poured through the windows.

I struggled to get up. I felt weak. I didn't eat the day before, and I had barely slept in days. I finally got up and looked at my stove for the time. 11.48 a.m. Wow, it was almost noon. I stumbled out onto the porch and winced

as the full brightness of the sun hit me. I walked out of the door to the stoop and picked up my phone. It was busted. I sat on the step and cried. These things were going to get me. I knew it. I ran through my options.

I could just up and move. I could maybe stay at my parents for a night or two, but eventually I'd have to come back home. How many shadows would be here then? I decided I was going to fight them. This was my home. As long as there was light touching them, they wouldn't move.

I could just buy a bow and take them out from the porch. hadn't used one since I was a kid, but I was pretty decent back then, so I had a good feeling. First thing I needed to do was get that light replaced, though. I drove downtown to the electric company and told them the light was out, and it needed to be fixed as soon as possible. They told me it would be later that afternoon, but it would be fixed before dark. I thanked them, and drove immediately to the nearest sporting's good store. Once there, I asked an employee to show me the bows. I was a little hurt at some of the prices of these things. I finally settled on one in my price range and stocked up on some arrows. On the way home, I stopped by a drive-thru. I didn't eat much.

When I got home, I began putting the arrows together and practicing drawing the bow. I felt pretty confident in my abilities, even though it made me sore. At about four in the afternoon, the repair truck finally came and I walked out to the guy in the street. He told me I looked sick, which I laughed off as having a week off of partying a little too hard. We had a laugh and he went to work. Once he was done, we had made some more small talk and he asked me if I was ready for the big storm that was coming through later. My heart dropped and I told him I didn't even know it was coming. He pointed up and the sky was extremely overcast and I cursed myself.

as I realized that it had been all day. I thanked him, and he left. I hauled back to the Sporting's Good store. I ran to the hunting section and bought the brightest battery-operated spotlight and headlamp they had. Between the bow and these, I had almost wiped out my account,

but I wasn't going to take the chance of these things getting me. I could always make my money back. As I walked out of the store, the first few raindrops began falling. By the time I got home, the storm was in full swing. The wind was terrible, whipping the rain sideways so hard it stung. In the short distance from my car to my house, I was completely soaked. Once inside, I grabbed my flashlight facing the middle of the kitchen floor.

If things got bad and they got into my house, I could turn it on and slow them down. If not, stop them outright. I set up the spotlight in the living room just in case the flashlight didn't stop them. All I could do after that was wait. So there I sat on the porch, waiting for them to show. I was wearing the headlamp. I couldn't take any chances. It was 10.52 p.m. and they had yet to make an appearance. Maybe they didn't like the rain either, I thought. There had been a few lightning strikes in the last hour, and they seemed to be getting closer. They finally showed up. I could feel them.

The pressure, the dread, it was worse than ever. I looked out under the yard and spotted them. The first was only 10 feet away now, with four not far from it. Approaching from the side, two and three were 20 feet away, as if they were in no hurry. I scanned the rest of the yard and spotted four more. Two were at the edge of the tree line. One was directly below the street lamp, and the last was standing where the number four originally stood. There were eight of them. I didn't expect this many, but there was nothing I could

do about it. I grabbed the bow and walked to the door of the porch. It took everything to convince me to open it. Lightning struck, and that got me moving. In one swift motion, I kicked open the door and drew my bow. I aimed it for the first shadow and shot the arrow. I missed. Of course I missed. I hadn't shot one of these things in almost 20 years. I was an idiot for thinking I could just go full rambo on these things. The thunder finally hit and rumbled my bones. It was deafening. I shook it off and drew another arrow.

I took a deep breath and aimed, trying to compose myself. I shot the arrow and it hit the shadow in the hip area. It doesn't even react. The pressure grew. My head started hurting and I felt nauseous. Lightning struck again and my worst fear happened. The street lamp goes out. I fell back a few steps in the darkness and reached to turn on the headlamp,

but didn't manage to before the light came back on. The light was only out for two, maybe three seconds, but it felt like an eternity. It came back on as the thunder clapped so hard, the windows of my house rattled. I quickly assessed the situation. Shadow 1 had pulled out the arrow and was, was holding it to its side. Two and three were now facing one. Four looked like it was in a mad sprint to the door, only about eight feet away now. Five and six were now hunched over like they were about to start running. Seven hadn't moved, and eight had only taken a step or two. I

steeled myself and decided four was the most imminent threat. I knocked an arrow, opened the door, and aimed for its torso. I shot the arrow and got it right in the neck. The shadow didn't react, but pressure grew. I felt something on my lip and reached up to feel it. I pulled my hand back and my fingertips were covered in a red substance. I had a nose bleed. The pressure was so great, it caused my nose to bleed. Wow.

There was no time to worry about that. I knocked another arrow and took aim at four again. Lightning flashed and I shot the arrow, causing me to miss horribly. The street lamp went out again, but only for a second. Four was already reaching for the arrow in its neck. Thunder clapped and the lamp went out again, as did every light in my house. I immediately turned on my headlamp and looked at four. It was in the process of removing the arrow.

I looked around to see the others as fast as I could. They were all in various phases of movement. I had to be fast. I didn't know when the street lamp was coming on again. if at all. I knocked another arrow and aimed at four when the thunder clapped, startling me and causing me to drop the arrow. I heard a ripping sound to my right. I looked and caught seven frozen in time, tearing through my screen. I looked back at four and my heart sunk. He was four feet away, reaching for me. I jumped back, slamming the flimsy door. I hooked the latch

and backed up to the kitchen door. More ripping to my right. I swung around and saw seven halfway inside, with eight standing right beside it. Then something slammed into the door. I could only assume it was four. I turned to see it, pressed against the glass, like a kid looking in a candy store window.

Even though there was no facial features, I swear it was smiling at me. Lightning flashed and I saw the rest of them were crowded around not too far behind it. I fell back into the kitchen and turned on the flashlight. Thunder boomed, shaking the house again. The light illuminated the entire kitchen in a soft LED glow. I heard the hook latch ripped from the frame of the doorway outside.

They were on the porch now. For some reason, I expected to hear footsteps, but there were none. They started banging on the kitchen door and windows next to it. The door handle started turning slowly. My heart stopped. I was in such a hurry to turn on the flashlight. I didn't lock the door. I ran over and was reaching for the lock

when the window beside the door exploded, knocking me back for a moment. That's all they needed. The kitchen door flew open and I could see at least five of them gathered behind four. They weren't coming in or moving, which was promising. The flashlight was doing its job.

I relaxed a bit, but only for a moment. The doorway was only about five, feet away, easy targets. I knocked an arrow, drew the bow, and shot the arrow right at four. I missed, but hit one of the shadows behind it. I'll take it, I thought. I was reaching for another arrow when something flew through the broken window and knocked the flashlight over. The light was now pointed down the hallway, away from the door, causing darkness behind it. I looked to see what happened and saw one of my arrows lying next to the flashlight. I looked up in terror and caught four in the process of crossing the threshold of my door.

Instinctively, I turned and ran to the living room. I should be okay in there, I thought. They had to get past the flashlight blasting down the hallway to get to me. I walked to the couch where I left the bulk of my arrows. I grabbed them and shoved them into the quiver as the lightning struck again. I stopped what I was doing because something outside caught my eye. Thunder clapped and I looked toward the window. I didn't have time to look out because I heard the distinctive click of a button

and the light in the hallway went out. I whipped around and saw one of their hands on the threshold of the doorway in the living room. Without shifting my gaze, I walked the spotlight, crouched down, and pressed the button to turn it on. Nothing happened. In a panic, I looked down at it. I quickly looked back and one of their heads was peering. around the corner. It felt like it was mocking me. I reached down to pick up the light and immediately realized my mistake. I didn't buy batteries. Fear set in. True fear. I was going to be taken because I didn't

buy batteries for a battery operated spotlight. Honestly, I probably deserved it for that. No, I was getting out of here, I thought. I drew the bow and fired an arrow at the same shadow's head. I missed, but the arrow lodged itself in the hand and stuck into the wood of the doorframe. That would help me by a little time. I shot another arrow and back to the front door of the house. I fumbled to find the lock with my free hand, and without thinking, I looked down quickly. When I looked back up, two more heads were peering around the corner at me.

I finally got the door unlocked and opened it, never taking my eyes off the shadows in the hallway. I got the door open a little bit. and managed to squeeze through without turning around. I took a deep breath and turned to run, closing the door behind me. I was about to run down the steps when the lightning flashed, and I stopped cold. In my front yard stood 13 shadows. I couldn't get a good count initially, but I started scanning the yard with my headlamp,

and I counted them all quickly. 13. Have they been there the entire time? I never thought of the possibility that there would be more than what was on my side of the yard. I didn't have time to think of a plan. The door behind me started opening. I dropped the bow and turned around to grab the doorknob to keep it closed while turning my head to try to keep some light on the shadows behind me. They were strong.

It took everything I had to keep them from ripping the door from my hands. The shadows in my yard were steadily creeping closer because I couldn't keep the light off of them for more than a second. or two. I could feel my nosebleed getting worse. My head was bothering me. I felt nauseous, and I was losing strength. The door suddenly ripped from my hands, and I stumbled back. My balance thrown off. I fell down the steps and landed hard on my back. I couldn't breathe for a moment. I looked around and screamed. They were all closing in. If I had ran as soon as I got outside, I probably could have found an exit and made it. Stupid. I turned back to the house and there was a shadow halfway down the steps. I looked around again, but they were closer. I looked back to the

steps and the shadow was reaching for me. I closed my eyes. This was it. No matter what I did, one of them would get me. The attack never came. I was too scared to open my eyes and I just laid on the ground for what seemed like forever. Then I heard it. A low hum. I opened my eyes and started to cry. The street lamp was back on. My house lights were on. I had power again. Even the rain was beginning to slack off. The shadow directly over me froze. Its hand only inches from my face. I scooted back and stood. I could feel the hatred coming from this thing. I looked in my house and there were six in my living room. The 13 in my front yard were standing in a loose circle around where I fell. It's like they were just going to watch this one get me. I felt slightly relieved, even though the

pressure and the dread was still weighing on me. I decided I was going to stay somewhere else tonight, anywhere else. I reached in my pocket for my keys, and of course they weren't there. I'm pretty sure I left them in my bedroom. Awesome. I managed to squeeze past the circle of shadows. and walk around the house since I wasn't making it through the front door. I looked at the number they did to my screen and around the porch, and a shiver ran down my spine. What would have happened if they had caught me? Walking back to my bedroom, I felt good.

I won. I'm definitely moving out of here tomorrow, I thought, but it's a small price to pay. Walking past the doorway in the living room, I looked at them, frozen, trying to get out the door to get to me. In my rush, I clipped the doorframe of the living room with the headlamp, knocking it off my head. I didn't stop to pick it up.

I didn't have time. I had to get out of there. As I walked into the bedroom, I reached to turn on the light and immediately realized something was wrong. The light switch was off. That wasn't right. I had intentionally left every light on in the house earlier. Before I could even react, something ice-cold grabbed my waist,

and I was flung to the darkness on the other side of the room. I tried to stand, but I was pushed onto the floor. My wrists started to burn. It was so cold. Screaming, I turned around to swing at my assailant. I connected with nothing, and a pain shot up my arm. My throat went cold, and I was lifted off of the ground and slammed into the wall. I couldn't breathe.

I kicked my legs trying to force the shadow to loosen its grip, but had no luck. I began to lash out, trying to get it. I only succeeded in hurting myself. It felt like I was hitting a solid wall. Finally, a last-ditch effort, I reached in my pocket and pulled out a lighter. I tried to light it, but I was losing consciousness. It finally catches, and the small flame illuminated the darkness around me and the shadow. It stops and surprisingly loosens its grip around me a little.

I tried to move as slowly as possible, so as soon as the shadow. to not put out the flame. I reached up with my left hand to grab the shadow's forearm. Slowly, I started to try and pull its hand off of me. The flame flickered as I exhaled and tried not to panic. It stayed lit. I was good. The hand started to come off me as I pulled at the forearm. I felt its fingertips on the back of my neck lift ever so slightly and the hand came off suddenly. The motion caused my entire weight to shift and the flame to go out. My head slammed into the wall before I had a chance to try and relight the lighter. The right hand closed around me again.

It felt like it was piercing. It was so cold. The shadow slammed me into the wall again, and I dropped the lighter, and my head went through the sheet rock. My vision was fading. I struggled against it, but it was really like a small person, fighting off a grown man. My head hit the wall again, on a stud this time. I could feel the pain from the back of my head. I get hit again and I knew one more will be it, but I was okay with it.

Going didn't seem so bad anymore. The shadow pulled back, and it feels like it knows this would be the last hit as well. It paused and seemed to be savoring the moment. I smiled, and a small chuckle escaped me, using every last bit of energy I had. Who would have thought I'd be taken by a shadow? That chuckle must have pissed it off. It slammed my head into the wall harder than all the other times, I heard a crack. I assumed it was me, but it didn't matter. I let myself be consumed by the dark

oblivion. It felt comforting. All this time I had been avoiding the dark. If I had known it feel this peaceful, I would have run toward it.