The Midnight Hour & Other Scary Stories

Intruders

Holly had been running most of that afternoon. There were angry clouds in the sky. Just when she thought about turning back, she noticed that someone was following her. Holly tried to run faster, but so did the person behind her. Now she was scared.

Holly ran off the trail. The forest was thick and hard to see through. She didn't know where to go. The stranger's footsteps were still behind her. That made her run faster.

She ran until it started to rain and the sun went down. The stranger kept following her. Every time Holly thought she had lost him, he was still there. No matter what she did, she couldn't get rid of him. Holly was getting very tired and needed to rest.

Just when she thought she couldn't go another step, the ground collapsed underneath her. She fell into a pool of water with a loud splash. After splashing around, Holly pulled herself over the side of the pool. She took her lighter out and made sure it was dry, then flicked the light on. She saw that she had fallen into a buried... greenhouse? It was very dark in here. A hallway of dark wood waited in front of her.

What was this place? Someone's house? Weak, Holly moved from the pool. She was afraid that the person chasing her would find her, so she went towards the dark hallway. As she walked deeper inside, her lighter's little flame threw its light on old paintings of people from a different time. Old people. Kings and queens. It wasn't long before the hallway ended, and she was in another large room.  This one looked like a living room, but very old and everything was covered in dust. After stumbling in the dark, she found a fireplace and decided to light it. The old wood inside burned nicely and she warmed her hands.

Holly heard something in the dark. She couldn't tell where it was coming from, but it sounded like big feet scraping across the ground far away. A heavy Ka-lomp, Shriiiiiick, followed by a click clack click.

What was that? Was it some kind of animal? She stayed perfectly still until the sound died away.

Holly waited by the fire until her clothes were dry. Just as she was getting comfortable though, she heard something else! This time it was a splash, followed by the sound of footsteps. Holly knew it was the stranger, so she ran into the dark of the house.

Now the house was very dark and stunk of mold and dust. The air tasted stale. She couldn't run too fast or the light from her lighter would blow out. She made sure to take many turns before finally hiding in an old room with lots of clothing and furs. Holly blew out her light and moved in between two fur coats. It was warmer here and something in the air smelled terrible. It was like rotting meat! She tried not to gag as a hot but gentle breeze came from somewhere behind her. She didn't dare turn on her lighter to see what was causing it though. In the distance, she could hear the footsteps of the stranger. He was searching for her. Before long, he came into the room, waving around a piece of burning wood.

Holly moved further back and held her breath. He went from one coat to the next, looking for her. When he got close, she stood perfectly still and tried not to cry. Finally, the man turned and left her in the dark. Holly waited until his footsteps had died away before she moved again. She was going to use her lighter, but thought against it. What if the man saw her light?

Being very careful, she crept from her hiding place and began working her way back to the entrance. It was hard at first and Holly had to take every step slowly. Several times she heard the sound from before--the Ka-lomp Shriiiiiick of heavy feet dragging along the ground followed by a click clack click. Each time it was getting closer.

Finally, it was right behind her. She had to hug the wall as whatever made the noise moved by her. The smell of rotting meat followed it. Thick greasy fur brushed her arms. Its body seemed to go on forever. When it finally passed, she took a breath. Holly didn't move for a long time after that. She could hardly keep from crying; she was so scared.

But then, she peeled herself from the wall and found her way back to the entrance. The fire was still burning in the fireplace, but just barely. Ahead was the hole in the greenhouse ceiling. Morning light fell from the opening.

Holly crept towards the hole sometimes moving on her hands and knees. After what felt like an eternity of crawling, she made it to the pool. She looked up and saw that it was very far to the hole. How would she make it out?

But as she was thinking, a hand grabbed her hair. It pulled her back, away from the hole. She screamed. The man who had been chasing her threw her to the ground next to the pool and raised a big sharp knife.

"Please, don't!" She said.

But the man wouldn't listen. "Be quiet!" He yelled.

Holly was about to shut her eyes when a large black hand, fingers like burnt tree branches, wrapped around his waist and pulled the man into the dark. There was a crunch. The man screamed. Then Holly heard a loud crunch crunch crunch of something chewing him up.

When the sound stopped, a head appeared out of the darkness. It looked like a man but with black holes for eyes. Its teeth were sharp and red. Its neck was like a centipede.

It looked from left to right, its hairy body moving into the light. Bones hung from its greasy black fur. Holly remained perfectly still.

"Who's that in my home?" It growled. "Another snack?"

The giant thing looked around one last time before moving back into the dark with a Ka-lomp Shriiiiick and the click clack click of its bones.

"I'll find you." The thing said. "I'll find you..."

For hours, Holly waited there, too afraid to move.  But then she heard voices coming from up above. She called out to them. A pair of hikers came closer. She yelled to them now desperately. They looked over the pit and their eyes widened. Quickly, they asked if she was hurt. Holly told them 'no', but she needed to get out.

"Wait right there." They said, and they left to get help.

Holly felt relieved. But she was so focused on getting their attention that she didn't hear the Ka-lomp Shriiiiick and click clack click of bones coming from behind her.

Butshe did hear the thing say, hungrily, "Found you, little snack."