Something's chattered in the hedges, its seven skinny arms reaching out to pluck stray moths as they soared towards the flickering streetlight. It's never been seen as a whole, never been heard saying actual words and never harmed a soul until it bit Ella.
She's not been right since, you know. If you thought she was a bit quiet before, she's now silent as the moors and colder to the touch save for the bite mark. Turned her whole arm grey in less than an hour but the doctors never found a cause for it - not even the slightest hint of an infection.
It didn't stop with her either, might even have developed a taste for meat they say. It doesn't bother with moths any more and chases you down the path, always in the hedges and always a hair's breadth away from sinking its rotting teeth down to the bone.
It's gotten better at hiding during the day - I would have walked right into it yesterday morning if it hadn't grown impatient and unfolded those emaciated little arms out to hurl itself at me. Felt like the whole world came to a halt in those few brief moments before I escaped.
People are starting to say it'd be safer to shut that road down and move the residents elsewhere. A while back and I might have agreed with them but just as I turned to run from it, I caught a glimpse of Mr and Mrs Fullerstow peering out their front window.
They must have been bitten a fair while back - their poor faces were greyer than little Ella's arm and their skin looked like it was about to fall from their bones. In the few seconds before I ran I swear I saw several pairs of arms unfold from their backs.
She's not been right since, you know. If you thought she was a bit quiet before, she's now silent as the moors and colder to the touch save for the bite mark. Turned her whole arm grey in less than an hour but the doctors never found a cause for it - not even the slightest hint of an infection.
It didn't stop with her either, might even have developed a taste for meat they say. It doesn't bother with moths any more and chases you down the path, always in the hedges and always a hair's breadth away from sinking its rotting teeth down to the bone.
It's gotten better at hiding during the day - I would have walked right into it yesterday morning if it hadn't grown impatient and unfolded those emaciated little arms out to hurl itself at me. Felt like the whole world came to a halt in those few brief moments before I escaped.
People are starting to say it'd be safer to shut that road down and move the residents elsewhere. A while back and I might have agreed with them but just as I turned to run from it, I caught a glimpse of Mr and Mrs Fullerstow peering out their front window.
They must have been bitten a fair while back - their poor faces were greyer than little Ella's arm and their skin looked like it was about to fall from their bones. In the few seconds before I ran I swear I saw several pairs of arms unfold from their backs.
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