Shadows in the Woods
931 Words
Following that horrifying nightmare, Harsh couldn't catch a single second of sleep for the rest of the night.
The strange burning sensation on his forehead lingered faintly. Sitting alone on the edge of his bed, his mind was consumed by endless questions. Why did he see that dream? Who was that shadow warrior with burning violet eyes? And why was he witnessing faded memories of a rain-drenched night from six years ago? What was his connection to that ruined temple and that dark cosmic force?
Before he could unravel any answers, TRING-TRING-TRING!
The 7:00 AM alarm blared loudly across the room, snatching Harsh away from the dark spiral of his thoughts. Taking a deep breath, he splashed cold water onto his face and forced himself to believe it was merely a stress-induced nightmare. He got ready for University, packed his textbooks, and left his apartment.
Throughout the day at the University, lectures dragged on. Harsh tried his absolute best to concentrate on his studies, but deep within the quiet corners of his mind, those violet flames refused to extinguish.
By late evening, he returned home and resumed working on his research papers. Shortly after, his close group of friends—Varun, Chandni, Veer, and Divya—arrived at his place. They studied together, shared snacks, and laughed over silly jokes. The warm presence of his friends temporarily lifted the heavy shadow hanging over Harsh.
Around 9:30 PM, his friends said goodbye and headed back to their homes.
Once again, Harsh was left alone. Silence reclaimed the apartment. He prepared a simple dinner, ate quietly, turned off the lights, and drifted into sleep. However, he was completely unaware that on the shadowy outskirts of the city, a terrifying horror was unfolding.
Deep within the dense forest on the edge of the city, the darkness was absolute.
The humid night air carried a foul, metallic stench. Slithering through the thick undergrowth was a grotesque entity—a serpent-like Demonic Monster with a twisted humanoid upper torso. Its eyes burned with a sickening peeli (yellowish) luminescence, and fresh blood dripped continuously from its jagged jaws.
In a small, moonlit clearing inside the woods stood a 22-year-old girl. Gentle and kind-hearted, she frequently visited the edge of the forest in the evenings to feed stray animals. She was kneeling down, smiling as she fed a small wild rabbit.
SWOOSH!
Without warning, a massive claw lunged from the shadows, snatching and devouring the tiny creature in a single bite!
"AAAAAHHHH!"
A piercing scream escaped her throat. Standing right before her was an eight-foot-tall reptilian abomination. Terrified, the girl dropped her food container and bolted through the dark forest.
THUD!
Her foot caught on a thick tree root, sending her crashing hard onto the rocky soil. Before she could scramble up, the monster lunged forward, slashing its razor-sharp claws deep across her back—RIPPP! Blood spattered across the dirt. The beast pinned her down, resting a heavy, sharp talon over her throat.
Tears streamed down her face as she wept in agony. She closed her eyes tight, surrendering completely to her imminent death.
BOOMMMMM!
A violent shockwave tore through the night air! A dark silhouette dropped from the trees above, delivering a thunderous PUNCH straight into the monster’s skull that launched the eight-foot beast 20 feet away!
Trembling, the girl opened her eyes. Standing before her was a young man clad in a dark jacket, a MASK, and a pulled-up HOODIE.
Enraged, the monster roared and charged back with ferocious speed. The man tried to dodge, but the creature’s razor-sharp talons caught him across the chest—RIPPP! His dark hoodie tore open, leaving bloody gashes across his skin. The beast followed up with a heavy tail strike, slamming him hard against a nearby tree!
The monster lunged forward to finish him... but suddenly, from beneath his torn hoodie, an intense Purple-Violet Aura began to slowly activate and pulse outward!
The Trishul emblem on his forehead flared like a blazing star.
Unleashing supernatural speed, the hero launched a merciless counter-attack! He caught the monster’s striking arm mid-air and twisted it violently—c***k! He then unleashed a relentless combo of lightning-fast punches against its face and chest.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
The creature screeched in agony. Gathering his full purple-violet energy into his right hand, the hero delivered one final, devastating strike, driving his hand straight through the monster's chest cavity!
BOOM!
The monster's entire body disintegrated into a cloud of black ash that dissolved into the night wind. Absolute silence returned to the forest.
Trembling, the girl pushed herself up from the ground and whispered timidly:
"T-Thank you... Thank you for saving my life... But who are you? And that terrible creature... where did it go?"
The young man remained still, tilting his head slightly toward her. Through the dark eye-holes of his mask, his eyes burned with a terrifying violet radiance.
In a deep, echoing voice, he replied:
"That was a monster... And... I AM MAHAKAAL."
SWOOSH!
Before she could comprehend his words, the masked figure vanished into the surrounding shadows within the blink of an eye!
The girl stood alone in the dark forest, looking around frantically as a storm of questions raced through her mind: Who was he? Why was he wearing a mask? How did he vanish in a split second? And where did that horrific monster come from?
Where are these monstrous entities invading the city from?
To uncover the chilling truth, keep reading —
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD