Kai tossed and turned on the lumpy mattress in his tiny apartment above the station. Sleep didn't come easily, not after what he'd seen—or thought he'd seen—in the woods. The image of those glowing orbs burned into his mind, sending shivers down his spine every time he closed his eyes.
What were they? An animal? A trick of the light? His rational side wanted to believe it was nothing. But another part of him, the one that had been listening to Sheriff Ray's cryptic warnings, whispered that it wasn't so simple.
The faint sound of footsteps outside jolted him awake again. He sat up, heart pounding, and glanced at the clock on his bedside table. 2:13 a.m. The streets had been empty when he'd come back, and no one in this sleepy town should be wandering around this late, especially in the biting cold.
Sliding out of bed, he grabbed his flashlight and service weapon before creeping to the window. His breath fogged up the glass as he peered out. At first, there was nothing but the faint flicker of the streetlights, their glow barely illuminating the snow-covered road.
Then, movement.
A shadow darted between the buildings across the street. It was quick—too quick for Kai to catch any details—but it was enough to set his nerves on edge.
"What the hell?" he muttered under his breath.
Deciding he wouldn't get any answers sitting in the dark, Kai threw on his coat and boots. He hesitated for a moment, hand on the doorknob, before taking a deep breath and stepping outside.
The cold hit him immediately, biting at his skin and numbing his fingers despite the gloves. The air was eerily still, the kind of silence that made every sound feel amplified. Kai shone his flashlight down the street, following where he'd seen the shadow.
Nothing.
But the unease in his chest didn't subside. He stepped off the porch, his boots crunching softly in the snow. The town was utterly silent, not even the wind daring to stir. As he moved further down Main Street, the streetlights seemed dimmer, their weak glow barely cutting through the darkness.
Kai paused in front of a small convenience store, its windows dark and shuttered. That's when he noticed it—footprints in the snow, leading away from the sidewalk and toward the forest.
His grip tightened on the flashlight. The prints were larger than any he'd ever seen, spaced unnaturally far apart, as if whatever had made them wasn't walking but bounding.
Against his better judgment, Kai followed.
The trail led him to the outskirts of town, where the dense trees loomed like a wall of shadows. He stopped at the edge, shining his flashlight into the woods. The beam caught on the frost-covered branches, but beyond that, there was only blackness.
He debated going further. Every instinct screamed at him to turn back, to report this to Ray in the morning and let the sheriff handle it. But something about the tracks, the way they seemed deliberate, compelled him forward.
Kai took a cautious step into the forest.
The air here felt different, heavier. The faint scent of pine mixed with something acrid, metallic. His breath came out in short puffs, each one seeming louder than the last.
A low noise echoed through the trees—a soft, rhythmic creak, like a rope swinging in the wind. Kai froze, his flashlight flickering as his pulse raced. The sound grew louder, closer, until it was clear it wasn't the wind at all.
Something was moving.
"Kai," a voice whispered.
He whipped around, his flashlight shaking as he scanned the darkness. The voice was faint, almost drowned out by the pounding of his heart, but he was sure he'd heard it.
"Who's there?" he called out, his voice steadier than he felt.
No response. Only the creaking sound, now accompanied by a faint rustling.
Kai backed away, his free hand reaching for the radio clipped to his belt. "Sheriff Barlow, this is Kai. I'm out by the north woods. I think..." He trailed off, unsure how to even describe what he was experiencing. "There's something out here."
Static crackled in response.
He pressed the button again. "Sheriff? Do you copy?"
More static.
Kai's stomach sank. The radio had been working fine earlier. He glanced down at it, tapping it a few times, but the interference didn't clear.
The rustling grew louder, accompanied by the crunch of snow. It was close now, whatever it was. Too close.
Kai turned to run, but his foot caught on a root hidden beneath the snow, and he stumbled forward, landing hard on the frozen ground. His flashlight skidded away, the beam cutting wildly through the trees before settling on a nearby trunk.
Scrambling to his feet, Kai's eyes caught something in the beam of light.
A figure.
It stood impossibly tall, its body hunched and distorted, with limbs that seemed too long for its torso. The thing's skin was pale and stretched taut, almost translucent under the light. But it was the eyes that froze Kai in place—those same glowing orbs he'd seen earlier, now fixed on him with an intensity that felt almost...hungry.
The creature tilted its head, emitting a low, guttural sound that sent a chill down Kai's spine.
Every instinct screamed at him to run, but his legs refused to move. He stood there, paralyzed, as the creature took a step closer.
Then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, it stopped. Its head snapped to the side, as if hearing something Kai couldn't. A moment later, it vanished into the shadows, its movements unnaturally fluid.
Kai stood there, gasping for breath, his mind struggling to process what he'd just seen. The forest was silent again, the oppressive stillness returning as if nothing had happened.
Stumbling back to the edge of the woods, Kai retrieved his flashlight and broke into a run. He didn't stop until he was back at the station, slamming the door shut behind him and locking it for good measure.
He sank into a chair, his heart still racing. Whatever that thing was, it wasn't human. And it was out there, watching.
As he sat in the dimly lit station, Kai couldn't shake the feeling that this was just the beginning.