The Footprints

Harold followed the footprints. He had always been curious and these prints looked strange to him. They were vaguely human, but slightly misshapen. He had to see where they led.

He was so intent on watching the footprints, he didn't realize he'd wandered so far into the woods. It was dark here, no sun shining through the trees.

Silence filled the air. Not even the birds were singing. He began to feel extremely nervous. Maybe this hadn't been such a great idea. Curiosity killed the cat, after all.

He turned around, intending to backtrack the way he had come. The path forked in four directions. The footprints led in and out of all the paths now.

He began to panic. There was no way to tell which path was which. He took a deep breath and chose one. He thought it was directly behind him, but he wasn't completely sure.

He walked for about half an hour before he realized that he was even more lost. He wasn't sure, but he thought he had wandered even farther into the forest. There was still nothing but the eerie silence surrounding him. Why weren't there any birds singing?

After a short while, he came to a small secluded garden. A strange creature was sitting in the middle of it, staring at him. It had sharp-looking horns on its ape-like head. It was covered in thick, black fur.

Harold backed up slowly, his heart racing.

The creature ambled toward him. Harold turned to run, but the creature tackled him to the ground.

Harold screamed as the creature bit into him, devouring his feet, then his ankles. Finally, Harold passed out from shock.

The creature devoured Harold. Teeth, hair, bones and all.

"Mmmm," it spoke in the silence. "Tastes like sugar cookies."


300 words