The Creature

In the dead of night, a 14-year-old boy descended the stairs from his room. The clock just struck midnight on a bright, full moon night. At the base of the stairs, the boy had a perfect view of his home's yard. The stairs ended right before the entrance to a sunroom, and the moon bathed everything in a shade of blue. Although the boy's vision was limited, he could still discern enough details about the yard and trees to recognize them.

The boy made his way to the kitchen on the other side of the house. It was a school night, but he wanted something to drink before heading to bed. With his drink in hand, the boy headed back to the stairs. He looked out into the sunroom one more time to look at his yard bathing in the moonlight. However, something else had appeared. It seemed to be a deer, but something was severely wrong.

Despite the bright night, the boy couldn't see any details. It was a pitch black silhouette with no defining features; no colors or fur patterns to be seen. The boy disregarded his instincts and entered the sunroom to see more clearly. This "deer" was unnaturally tall, standing nearly six feet to the shoulders. Despite its enormous size, the creature looked incredibly thin and emaciated, as if it hadn't eaten for a while, if ever. Its antlers looked like the mangled, distorted branches of a dead tree. The creature had its head down to the ground, pretending to eat.

The boy felt uncomfortable and scared. He backed away from the windows and turned around at the base of the stairs to head back up for the night. Before he took the first step, he froze. He could feel eyes on him, staring deep into his very soul. It was early May, but the surrounding air was freezing cold. An unshakable sense of dread and impending doom loomed over him. The boy glanced over his shoulder at the creature, and it evoked a primal fear that could make even the bravest scream in terror.

The creature had lifted its head and was staring back at him. Two white dots replaced its eyes, devoid of life. The boy's mind began screaming. Every muscle, every vein in his body screamed with it.

"RUN!!"

The boy needn't be told twice. He dropped the cup, soaking the carpet beneath him, and scrambled up the stairs like a wild animal fleeing from a predator that was going to eat him alive. He could feel the creature's eyes watching his every move all the way to the top. Not a single movement he made went unnoticed. At the top of the stairs, he flung open his bedroom door and slammed it shut behind him. He locked it and turned on all the lights in his bedroom. His windows had no blinds to close, so he hid under the covers of his bed like a small child scared of the dark.

The air in his room was warm, unlike the air on the other side of the door. He didn't feel like he was being watched anymore, but he knew the creature was still out there. Lurking and waiting for him to come back out. The boy never left his room for the rest of the night. He didn't sleep that night either. He laid there until daybreak in pure silence to not alert the creature to where he was.

He never spoke a word of the encounter with anyone. Never again did the boy leave his room past sunset. Once the sun was down, he would lock himself away in his room and wouldn't come out nor say a word the entire night until the sun rose the next day. He never stayed out past dark without other people around him. Others that he could constantly watch and keep tabs on, so he was never alone at night. The boy never saw the creature again, but that small encounter was all it needed to change him in the worst ways possible.