Hello, and welcome to my first horror fanfic. Not sure if I want to continue with it, or at least continue posting it. If I get enough positive reviews, I'll continue, but I can't promise regular updates (though I will try). Thank you for reading!
Deathwish
I heard the child whimper in the distance, far in the darkness of the thick woods. Silhouettes of tall dark figures surrounded me, looming over as though I were the child. The only thing reminding me that they were merely trees was the piercing illumination of my flashlight; even then, I could swear that my eyes were playing tricks on me. At one point, I thought I had seen a well-dressed man just as slender as the trees walk past in the distance – toward the child's now increased whimpering.
Why was I out in the woods at night? And why was I searching for the child? My neighbors' 5-year-old son wandered off during the evening while he was playing outside. They begged me to help find him since you can't report a missing person until they've been missing for more than 24-hours. Even a kid, though? Stupid laws... but I also understand why they set them. Anyway, that's why I was out here, wandering in the dark woods after dusk. The parents were somewhere else in the woods (we had decided to split up).
The sound of the little boy now crying led me to him, and I quickened my pace in case he was running and crying at the same time. One of my hands gripped the flashlight, the other hand rested on the katana and wakizashi that were belted to my left hip so that they wouldn't bounce everywhere while I ran.
Yeah, I know. What the hell am I doing with those? Well, I'm trained in the art of the sword, and since I'm looking for a lost child in the dark woods, why not have protection?
A gun? Nah. I don't like loud noises, and my precision with them was never very accurate (and yet I was amazing with swords). Besides, a gun would attract the cops before I could finish with the bad guys.
Oh, right. I'm also a vigilante. Keeps life exciting, and puts my training to good use.
Er, right. Back to the little boy and finding him.
I couldn't see much, especially with the distracting flashlight, but it kept me from tripping over logs and branches. And then I heard something strange – long striding steps passing me only twenty feet away. These steps were strange, though – soft, almost inaudible over my own, and not a sound of limbs brushing across the owner of them. They certainly didn't belong to the parents for two reasons: the owner of the footsteps didn't say anything to me, and neither of the parents were tall enough to run like that. I glanced over to the strange sounds, and only noticed a flash of what looked like the same slender figure from earlier. This time, I managed to see a pale bald head attached to the top of the otherwise dark figure. Was this some sort of creepy pedophile? It was a good thing I brought my swords, but why was he ignoring me?
The supposed pedophile increased the distance between us in mere seconds. I wasn't a fast runner, but I could endure some long distances (I guess it balances me out, but still...).
For fear that I would lose the little boy to him, I pushed myself harder to run faster. No sight of the pedophile, but the boy's crying seemed louder. I must be close.
Gotta get the kid. Don't lose him to a piece of trash.
Don't let a mere pedophile defeat you!
The abrupt shriek of a child halted my steps for a moment. I have to admit, I was terribly nervous. The thought of young life not getting a chance to grow infuriated me, and if it were my fault that the child were to die, I'd never forgive myself.
I shook my head and returned to running. "Don't you dare touch him," I screamed at the pedophile.
The boy let out something even I wasn't sure I could muster – a blood-curdling scream that filled the forest's thick air. My heart sank, and I skidded to a stop when I came into view of the little boy. My eyes; I could feel them widen and burn with fury, sadness, fear. My body felt numb, and thus dropped the flashlight, which fell to the ground with a solid thunk, facing what I saw, but only lighting half way up.
Black slacks, black shoes; so tall, the light ended at his hips; white, boney hands hung at his sides while the other... tentacles did the work. This was no pedophile – this was a monster! I was no super hero - I was just a well-trained woman who wanted to minimize crime! This monster had the boy held up in the air, and all I could see was the silhouette of him and the tentacles squirming (the boy still screaming); and then, all I could do was watch as the tentacles pulled the boy closer to the tall, slender monster. The screams began to muffle, the boy's body sinking into the dark figure, then... nothing.
No whimpering. No child.
"Jayden!" I could hear the parents far in the distance. They must have heard him scream.
No child.
What do I do? How could I face them?
I shivered, watching the tall figure slowly turn to me. I wasn't cold; I was angry – livid. The monster faced me, or I think he did. There was no face, just the pale head attached to... a sharp black suit? What sort of monster was he?
My right hand quivered as it reached for my katana. I had to fight. He was coming for me next!
One of the tentacles darted toward me, and I drew my katana just in time to slice the incoming appendage like butter. What was left of it drew back. I saw one of the long panted legs take a step back in the artificial light. Was he... afraid of me?
Good. I wanted him to be. I wanted him to scream and cry just as loudly as the boy he absorbed. I wanted to destroy this thing!
"Die!" I screamed, too full of adrenaline and blind fury to make a full sentence; and I lunged at the monster, striking with my katana and drawing my wakizashi at the same time.
The other seven tentacles lashed out at me, but didn't reach me – just the blade of my katana. Three of the tentacles were sliced, the other four were only blocked by my wakizashi as they hit the blunt side of the blade. I saw them try to wrap around it, probably to snatch my short sword from me, but then I heard a sizzling sound, and the tentacles retracted immediately.
"The Hell?" I murmured. Is this monster allergic to Damascus steel? No way.
My thoughts were taken away when I noticed the faceless monster dashing away from me, leaving the range of the flashlight. Tch. I scared him off, but I still wanted him dead.
Just as I was about to chase after him, I heard the parents yell for their little boy again, closer now.
I had to face them first. I couldn't let them get caught by whatever I had just battled, so I called back to them, sheathing my swords, and waited to face what I feared most – mourning parents.