He Walks In The Shadows

• Ethan Stevens, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2018

The trees tremble with fear as the ferocious wind sawed through the forest. People cowered in their homes praying the storm would end soon. Suddenly, there was a blood curdling scream coming from the building next door. He peered through the foggy window only to see his friend’s roof had been mangled. They ran out to see what happened, when a blood-stained chunk of wood rolled to their feet. The bystanders went in for a closer look. “Help me!” a voice moaned. A hand reached over a crumpled pile of roofing. “Help me!” the voice called again. A young boy step closer until he could see a face. Suddenly a crack of lightning struck the house, throwing the people back. The smell of burnt flesh and blood filled the air. His pain and suffering was ended in seconds.
The next day a funeral was held. Friends and family were all distraught when suddenly an ear-piercing scream echoed through the chapel, a small child ran through the corridor yelling, “He’s dead, he’s dead.” Outside an elderly man was savagely attacked by an animal. Day after day, attacks happened. Word in the town says the old legend of Abildo, shape-shifter and bringer of chaos, has been summoned. The thought of him could send chills running up anyone’s spine. No one wanted to get attacked, so bit by bit, the townspeople left. By the end of the month, Maywood had been abandoned.
The sudden snap of a stick bounced through the town, bringing it to life as animals scattered in fright. The black figure stepped out from the shadows.
It has been 10 years since the last attack. The town was empty, and no one was around. In the distance an engine groaned like an empty stomach. The heavy armoured car pulled into town. Four men got out with tracking devices and guns. They set up a camp and started searching for something. Searching through every house as far as the eye can see, they found nothing. No one knew what they were looking for. It was kind of strange that a group of people would come back to Maywood. The next day they searched again but found nothing. They did this everyday and didn’t find anything. On day one of the men went into the forest on the edge of town. He kept walking until he found a cave, a dark shadow appeared in the back corner. He stepped closer. The figure appeared to move in the light. Suddenly two, long and bony arms with nails like claws grasped his shoulders and jerked him back. The terrified hunter wailed in pain. The other hunters ran towards the noise. They cautiously started creeping in when an arm hurtled through the air over their heads. Two large, red eyes looked up over the rocks. Petrified, they bolted outside and back to the camp. They cowered in the tents, hoping the beast wouldn’t come for them.