Alman's chronicle

intro

A band of peasants; men, women, and children, all dressed in dirty rags or worn out clothes and probably numbering only 30 or 40, moved quickly and quietly through a forest. It was dark, and occaisionally one would bump into another, or trip over a root, or even walk straight into a tree. In a different environment, one would just assume they were confused or lost, but here this was not the case. Here, they were afraid. A twig snapped, and the group quickened their pace, slipping soundlessly between the dark trees. Finally, after what seemed like hours of wandering around with no apparent purpose, the cluster of bodies found what it was looking for, and a quick cheer eminated from its center. And, despite their previous efforts to be silent, they had every reason to be happy. After all, they had finally found the wall. Found the door. Found their freedom. With a great surge they forced open the wooden gate, and pushed through. But one lingered. An old man in some sort of dark robe stayed behind, and looked back with longing at the murky woods, and as the door swung shut behind him he even started to think about staying there. But then he heard the screams. So many screams, it was torture just to listen to this symphony of terror. It sounded as though the entire group were being burned, skinned, or eaten alive, and this ghastly chorus was accompanied by the constant sound of the door rattling on its hinges as bodies were thrown against it from the other side. The man started to run, and the sounds got louder, and louder, and louder, and then stopped, as though a wave of silence had washed everything away. And then there was a resounding bang. The man stopped, and turned to face the door just as another crack shot through the air. There came another and then another. But then it stopped. The old man approached the door, thinking it was over. Thinking he was free. That was when he saw the cracks in the wood, and that was when it saw him through the cracks. Before he even had time to run, there was a final bang as the man was engulfed in a cloud of splintered wood, arms, and teeth. The creature retreated back through the door, and where the man had once stood there was just a pool of red.