The Nothing by Nicky Gray

The day was hot and my fur stood on end
My throat was dry and taking in a breath

it felt rough
Noises scattered in my mind

left and right
Something was wrong here
I lowered my stance and crept 

along the forest floor

Snap!

My breathing slowed, almost absent
My muscles tightened and I froze mid-stride
The lump in my throat grew

I felt as if I could not swallow

Bang!

I felt the pain, sharp and growing 

as I fell to the dirt
My veins pounding was the only sound
It echoed in my ears

Thump Thump Thump

My eyes grew heavy and my body felt strained
This was the end and now….

Nothing

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The Hunted by Hayden Larsen

 It is coming! Running as fast as the wind blows, I cry out as I run through the streets. hoping beyond hopes that my screams will be heard and save me from the thing that is after me.

As I am running I hear a horrible scream of maniacal laughter mixed with the sound of the pattering of clawed feet behind me. As I run down a dark ally in hopes of evading “The Being” behind me, my hopes are shattered as I see to my horror I have came across a dead end. No one will ever find me–even my very bones will not be found. The only one that will know is him:  The Eye.

As I turn around to face the nightmare behind me I see nothing at first, then a shadow comes across the ally as I finally see what I have been running from.

The Being stands seven-feet tall on two muscular legs housing three clawed feet.  The creature's head is hideously deformed and dome shaped, but that is not what startled me the most, as the eye that is filled with both insanity, and pure evil, but there is also a light in its eye that suggested that its life is made up of tragedy and horror. The wide mouth that is filled with razor sharp thin, needle-like teeth.  The mouth is almost transfixed into a psychotic smile and its two long extremely muscular arms that house four long dagger-like claws that could rip a man in two with incredible ease, and the long sharp spike on each of its elbows....

The Being’s flesh is covered with crusty blood red flesh that has an assortment of scars on its chest and a long scar across his eye. The eye fixates on me now, staring into my soul. The creature’s mouth changes into an evil smile as it takes one step closer, and another, and yet another. Its shuffling changes into a run, then bounding, jumping in the air, grabbing with its long talons onto the concrete walls that sandwich both of us, and repeating the same technique as it bounces from wall to wall, all the while laughing manically.  

I have no time to scream, I grope around for a door handle and hidden passageway to escape the fate that awaits me. I find none. I close my eyes as if that could save me from my fate as the creature leaps toward me, talons shining in the moonlight.     

Then suddenly the beast speaks in a voice that sounds like two people talking at the same time, in an eerie echoing voice. "You really think that you could run away without me knowing! Now that's sad. Now I'm going to kill you now and no one will ever mourn you."  

After the creature says this it lets out a maniacal laughter that sends chills to my very bones. Then suddenly there is a blinding flash of pain erupting from my chest, and then there is a blinding flash of light and a sense of comfort comes over me as I reach towards the light as it fades into permanent darkness.

The Hunted by Laura Grube

Up and down the woods 
sounds of fear and terror were around
The leaves crackling, trees creaking, little screeches
The feeling that someone is creeping along after you
Holding a machete to your head 
dripping in crimson red fluid from the last kill
That’s just your mind freaking you out – it’s not real
But after you hear the creaking and screeching
It all comes back to your mind
Your hands shaking so hard, in a cold sweat
Wishing you were home in your warm bed
Why did you take this walk in the mountains?
Someone is stalking you
You can hear its wheezy breathing, heavy footsteps
Someone or something is behind you
Whenever you turn around you feel 
eyes peeking out from behind
The darkness of the bushes
Once you turn around and see it
There is nowhere to hide
No time to run
The eyes are bright yellow
Teeth of razors
This is it
You will not be found
Not even your bones
You're caught, so give up
The cougar will give you no mercy

---

The Hunted by Bailey Engel

It was a rainy day,

 The sky was full of dark clouds. 

The air smelled like death,

Not so much that it smelled like death,

 But sounded like death.

Shots were being fired.

It was hunting season.

It was time for me

 To put all my practice before this to good use.

Practice of running and dogging bullets.

 It was an exhilarating feeling,

For the hunter and me.

The feeling of not knowing if I was going to get hit,

 A nervous feeling of anxiety.

 One of use would either be

Excited, sad, or gone.       

I pounced around

As long as I possible could

Until…

BOOM!

I was hit, but just barley,

So I kept going.

I made it to a thin, narrow spot

That I knew the hunter wouldn’t be able to

Fit or squeeze into.

At last

I was safe.

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