Jill's nerves were on edge. Every sound made her heart jolt. Every slight movement made her jump. She could physically feel each hair standing up on the back of her neck, and could feel eyes, perhaps imaginary, perhaps real, scoping her from behind.
She was in the courtyard, having escaped the claustrophobic, zombie-infested corridors of the mansion, and hoped to be free out here. But she knew that she was not safe. She could feel it. She could hear it. She could see it.
Something in the bushes, right in the distance. Watching her. Waiting for her to turn her back. Monsters should not exist in this modern day. There were no such things as ghosts, either. If something couldn't be explained, then it didn't exist. But now, everything had changed. They did exist. She couldn't put this down to her imagination. She was in a staring contest with a monster.
It wasn't a zombie. It was big and black. Muscled. Strong. Should she shoot? Possibly waste her ammo on a figment of her imagination? Should she run, not knowing its speed? Should she stand and wait for it to make the first move? There were so many moves she could make, but which would be the right one?
It didn't move an inch, and that scared her more than anything. It was stealthy, and with stealth came intelligence. Whatever move she made, the monster could counteract with a deadly move of its own.
What was it? If she had the answer to that, this could be a lot easier. Her instincts were telling her to shoot; take the offensive approach. She wasn't one to hide in a corner and cower. She was a fighter. And she could win this.
She took a slow, bated breath, trying not to make a sound. She slowly pulled out her magnum from its holster. She brought it up, focused it on the black mass that was watching her, and waiting for her. She pulled the trigger, slowly, slowly. Her finger was firm. It clicked. The shot sounded like an explosion. Her ears rang.
The creature let out a howl. It wasn't an agonised howl. It was a war cry. She could hear hard claws clicking along the ground. Slowly at first, then picking up pace. It suddenly dawned on her that she was being chased.
She shot two more rounds at the raging monster, turned on her heel and ran. The wind whipped at her face and her hair thrashed against her eyes, effectively blinding her. Her breath was coming in quick bursts. She felt like she couldn't get enough air into her lungs. She turned quickly, shot another round and turned again so that she was heading back to the mansion.
She could see the door. It was so near, yet so far away. Her legs were heavy like iron and her heart was hammering in her chest. It was dreamlike. She watched as her hand leapt forwards and turned the knob. The door fell open and she stumbled inside. She turned around on the spot, trying to close the door shut behind her, but the beast had advanced too quickly and was already trying to push its way in.
It was strong. A scaly arm equipped with long claws shot through the gap between the door and the wall and swiped at her leg. A searing pain shot through her leg, seeming to splinter in all directions. Droplets of blood spilled onto the floor and pooled there. She forced herself to not think about the pain, instead focusing on her gun. She aimed her gun at the creature's arm and pulled the trigger. The sound bounced off the walls making it sound ten times louder than it was. The creature let out an agonised scream as its own blood dripped onto the floor.
It pulled its arm from the gap just long enough for Jill to close the door tightly. She fell against it and slid down, grasping the wound on her leg and applying pressure to it as her hunter banged against the door and sending shockwaves through her.
She didn't know what it was. All she knew was that eventually, it would have to die.
The End