Inktober; Writers Edition!

Day 5: Map

   John was working another long, hard day in the coal mines. Picking away at the same piece of rock, making little progress at a time. As he chipped away, he suddenly noticed a small piece of paper. Looking around to make sure no one was around, he kept chipping around the area. After about ten minutes, he pulled out a folded up piece of paper. He unfolded it, and saw what appeared to be a treasure map. The idea of riches filled his mind, as he thought about all the things he could do with the money.

   He shoved the map into his pocket, and walk over to his boss. "Hey, I need to clock out early, there's been a family emergency." He lied. His boss took the bait, and allowed him to leave. John got in his car and began following the map. He assumed the starting point was where he found it, and the pictures surrounding the are matched the environment around.

   He drove into a wooded area, and noticed that it felt, different. It was cold, and gave him a bad feeling. But he continued. He noticed the path becoming smaller, and at some point he couldn't drive his car any further. He got out of his car, bringing a flashlight, and traversed through the dark woods. As he walked he heard some rusting in the bushes, and assumed it was just a squirrel or rabbit or something. Suddenly, it jumped in front of him.

   An 8 foot tall, skinny, pale creature was standing looking at him. It was unlike anything he'd ever seen. Thinking it would scare the thing away, he flashed his light at it. It remained. It extended its large claws out, getting ready to attack, and John ran for his life, making sure to keep following the map. It chased him for about 100 feet, reaching out its skinny arm, and grabbed the back of his shirt. It pulled him close to it, and dug it's sharp fingers into his cheek, leaving a crimson path. John looked around to see if there was anything he could defend himself with. He saw a sharp branch on the floor, and slowly struggled to pick it up, before impaling the creature.

   He was out of breath, and in shock. But it hadn't sunk in yet, and all he cared about was that treasure, so he continued. As he walked, the area got even darker, and be held the sharp stick in his hand confidently. Something grabbed him by his hair, and turned him around. It was another one of those creatures, but it was taller, and thicker. It's teeth were almost as sharp as a blade. The creature pinned him to the ground, and completely bit off his arm in one bite. He screamed in agonizing pain and sucked his teeth. Frantically, he stabbed the creature 8 times in the chest, making it go limp. He held his wound and winced in pain. Before wrapping his wound in it, he took off his shirt, which exposed a few deep cuts he had gotten.

   John knew that there was no turning back at this point, so he kept following that map, hoping he wouldn't run into another creature. He heard rustling in the bushes once again, and saw another creature sprinting towards him at full speed. His heart was beating out of his chest, and he ran and ran. He knew he couldn't outrun the thing. It was about 14 feet tall, 6 feet wide, and it's sharp fingers were about the size of a baseball bat handle. It caught up to him, and pinned him down. It unhinged its jaw, and slowly surrounded his head with its head. It extended its fingers, and stabbed him with its fingers in the stomach. He grunted in pain, and looked around. He dropped the small stick, and saw a club shaped log. He managed to grab it, and wacked the creature. It finally stopped moving.

   He layed on the ground, wheezing and sobbing from agony. Yet he prevailed. He crawled his way towards that big red X, and got to the area. He saw a closed box, and sped up his pace. He slowly opened it, and inside was a note.

"You fell for it."

The bushed surrounding him rustled.