Prologue
The waves softly lapped at the sandy shore, bringing with it the stench of death and decay. The body was mostly intact, apart from flesh and such that had probably been eaten by animals. There was something odd about the body, aside from being dead, of course. It convulsed, its ribs showing through its torso. Its jaw was crooked, chin torn up, showing bone and ripped flesh, hanging from its mouth. Though the face was of a man, it was not like anything ever seen, flesh torn over its face, sort of human looking still, in a wrong, horrible way. Cloth dangled off the bones, and the shorts were ripped at the bottom. The hands were more like claws. It began to crawl, shuddering and making odd noises. The thing began to wretch, water exiting the mouth like vomit. There was only a single person at the beach, a young man. He had headphones in, reading a novel. He didn't notice the thing, until it had reached him, skeletal hands around his ankle, digging into his skin, drawing blood.