Shadow of the Beast

William Wilk

I woke up, curled up with a blanket and feeling more tired than usual. Had I actually missed my alarm? Had I just dreamt about the eery feeling in the woods, and the creepy old cabin. No. I opened my eyes, and after a few seconds everything came into focus. I wasn't at home, and I wasn't in bed. I tried to sit up, but my head was throbbing and I just stayed down, letting out a pained sigh. Wherever I was, it seemed very... Old fashioned. There was wooden furniture everywhere, it was dark, and I was lying under a rainbow patterned crochet blanket, that smelt as if it hadn't been washed in 50 years and had been used as a dog bed somewhere in between. Strangely, the smell felt comforting to me, and I again attempted to sit up, wrapping the blanket around my shoulders and trying again to gather my bearings and take in everything around me. 

There was a glass of water on an intricately carved coffee table in front of me, and a small bottle of headache tablets. I heard a sound behind me, and a deep, gruff male voice spoke: 'ah, you're up. You must've taken a nasty tumble and bumped your head, but don't worry, I'll look after you until the storm passes.'

I hadn't noticed the loud gale and heavy sound of rain until now, and I looked across to a window and saw that the rain was pelting down, with intermittent thunder and lighting strikes that shot across the sky. Was the thunder the low growl I'd heard earlier? 

'W-where am I?' I stuttered, and the man stepped in front of me and came into view. He was an elderly man, probably in his 70s, but was still very tall and well built, and looked like he was very able to still do a lot of heavy work. 

'You're in my cabin' he said. 'I got back from a trip to the town and found you lying on the ground just outside. I would've taken you straight into town, but the storm started up, and I didn't want us to get caught in it.' 

He rested a hand on my shoulder and looked into my eyes. 'do you know what happened to you? I see you're in running gear, have you been drinking enough water?' I looked at him and blinked. Who was he? Was I safe here? What was going to happen to me? I'd seen so many movies about teenagers being kidnapped by creepy old men in the woods, who wanted to torture or eat them... My mind was racing, and so was my heart. 

'I'm so sorry sweetheart', he said gently. 'my name is William Will. I used to be thr town vet, but I retired a good few years ago. Every Summer I come up to my cabin and spend some time with nature, do a little fishing and just get some me time. Before my wife passed, this was our special place, and I feel closer to her when I'm here. You are safe here, I promise.'

He could have been lying, but his words comforted me.' I'm Olivia Kendall.' I said.' I need to let my aunt know I'm okay.'

It took a moment for me to remember my manners, but finally I managed to sat' thank you for bringing me in. I was just a bit freaked out not knowing where I was.' I reached out to my shoulder, and it felt smooth, no dried blood, scabbing or any other indication of the pain and blood I'd felt earlier.' my shoulder.. ' I whispered. 'I felt something, something scratch or bite me, and I was bleeding?' 

William looked at me, puzzled. 'when I found you, you just had a little mud on you? Definitely no blood, you don't have a scratch on you'. I shook my head. Had I imagined the pain, the blood, and the feeling of heat that had radiated it's way from my shoulder and through my body before I'd fallen down? I didn't have too long to think about it, as William spoke again. 

'There's no signal in this neck of the woods, but I have an old radio that transmits through to the sheriff's station in town. I'll radio them and they can get into contact with your aunt and let her know that you're safe. What's her name?' 

'Kate Marsh' I said, as he sat at his dinner table with his radio and tried to patch through