Creature of the night

Deep into the forest I went as the the cool evening breeze rushed across my face cold and scared as I was I walked closer to the spooky abandoned house A tingling sensation I felt as I walked closer and closer but I knew something was off I had to go inside as soon as I stomped my feet on the front door step I knew something was terribly wrong I could felt the pain,wrath , evil aura emitting from that old abandoned house it felt like darkness was begoning me to going inside I turned around and suddenly it was dark I didn’t realize that I had wandered away from camp with no supplies or way communicating with others I ran away from the house I heard a The scream. It wasn't human. It was a guttural, tearing sound that ripped through the otherwise silent forest, slicing through the last vestiges of my courage. My blood ran cold, and every hair on my body stood on end. I didn't think, I just ran. Away from the house, away from the sound, deeper into the suffocating darkness of the woods. Branches whipped at my face, roots tripped my feet, but I didn't slow. The fear was a living thing, a predator chasing me. Suddenly, the ground gave way beneath me. I tumbled down a short, steep embankment, landing hard with a gasp that knocked the wind from my lungs. Pain flared in my ankle, a sharp, searing agony. I tried to push myself up, but a fresh wave of nausea washed over me. I was trapped, injured, and utterly alone in a place that reeked of ancient evil. Then, a flicker of light. Not from the house, but from deeper in the trees. A campfire? Hope surged, illogical and desperate. "Hello?" I croaked, my voice raw with terror. "Is anyone there?" Silence. The light flickered again, closer this time, and I saw it. Two pinpricks of crimson, glowing in the impenetrable black. Not a campfire. Eyes. And they were fixed on me. Before the Trip: The Promise of Paradise It all started with Aulani's idea. "Jamaica!" she'd shrieked, bouncing on the balls of her feet in my living room, her eyes sparkling with uncontainable excitement. "Think of it! Sunshine, beaches, no parents, just us!" That was a month ago, a lifetime away from the chilling darkness I was now trapped in. We were sprawled across my living room floor, a chaotic map of Jamaica spread between us, surrounded by travel brochures and half-eaten pizza boxes. Elijah, ever the meticulous planner, was already listing off potential excursions, his finger tracing lines across the map. Zanelle, cool and collected as always, was scrolling through resort reviews on her phone, occasionally humming in approval or scoffing in disdain. Olydia was meticulously painting her nails a vibrant turquoise, occasionally interjecting with an "ooh, that'd be so cute for a beach pic!" And then there was Omar, sprawled across the armchair, already half-asleep, and Maro, quietly sketching in his notebook, only looking up when one of us made a particularly loud pronouncement. "And we have to go camping one night," Maro had said, his voice softer than the others, but with a surprising firmness that always made us listen. "Deep in the forest. No resorts, just us and the stars." Aulani had loved the idea, Elijah had grudgingly agreed after confirming signal strength, Zanelle had raised an eyebrow but didn't object, Olydia had immediately started planning "forest chic" outfits, and Omar had simply grunted in his sleep. I, on the other hand, had felt a prickle of unease even then. I loved the outdoors, but deep forests, especially at night, always gave me a strange, unsettling feeling. A premonition, perhaps, of the terror that awaited me. Now, lying injured in the unyielding darkness, the memory of their excited faces was a cruel torment. They were probably safe back at our campsite, wondering where I was, completely oblivious to the horror that had swallowed me whole. The crimson eyes in the darkness began to move, slowly, deliberately, towards me. I squeezed my eyes shut, a desperate prayer forming on my lips, knowing it was likely too late. The creature of the night had found its prey.