Chapter 8 : The Hunt Begins
369 Words
The first scream shattered the quiet of Black Hollow.
It came from the east side of town, near the old sawmill, piercing through the night like a jagged knife. The sound echoed off the buildings, sharp and raw with terror.
Lena and Cade both froze.
Then came the second scream.
Shorter. Cut off.
Lena’s heart slammed against her ribs. Without thinking, she bolted for the door.
Cade caught her wrist. “No.”
She wrenched free. “Someone’s in trouble.”
“I know,” Cade said, voice low, muscles tensed. “But you don’t know what you’re running into.”
Lena glared at him. “And you do?”
Cade didn’t answer. But the look in his eyes told her enough.
Instead of arguing, she grabbed the rifle leaning against his wall—because of course Cade had a rifle—and sprinted into the night.
The streets were eerily empty, the town swallowed by shadows. A cold wind howled through the trees, carrying the faint scent of something metallic.
Blood.
Lena ran faster.
By the time she reached the sawmill, she could feel it—that same unnatural stillness she had felt the night Cade disappeared ten years ago.
Something was watching.
She raised the rifle, scanning the darkness. “Hello?”
No answer.
Then—movement.
A shadow shifted near the treeline. Large. Wrong.
Lena’s pulse hammered. She tightened her grip on the gun. “Show yourself.”
A low growl rumbled through the air.
And then—it stepped into the light.
Her breath caught.
The creature was massive, all sinew and black fur, its eyes a burning shade of red. Claws scraped against the pavement as it moved, slow and deliberate.
It wasn’t a bear.
It wasn’t a wolf.
It was something else.
Something that didn’t belong in this world.
And it was smiling.
Lena raised the rifle, finger on the trigger. “Stay back.”
The creature took another step forward. Its nostrils flared, sniffing the air.
Then it spoke.
“You smell like him.”
Lena’s blood ran cold.
Before she could react, the creature lunged.
She fired.
The shot rang through the night—
But she already knew it wasn’t enough.
- Writer
