A hand!

Wanted to add a short end to this so enjoy!

…a hand! 

It lunged for me quickly, the darken-stained fur and claws straining towards me in a blur, as it quickly captured me by the fur on my shoulder. In surprise, my voice made a weak squeak as the creature pulled me towards itself, towards its bloodshot eyes. I could feel its claws grip me tightly as it had just caught its prey.

My eyes widened in fear as I took in the sight before me. Though the figure was shadowy, I could still make a few things out. It wasn’t a monster like how the books describe but somehow far worse. Its face was familiar looking, minus its dark, sunken eyes that had bags upon bags under them. It had the same darkened substance its paw did, now being able to tell that it looked glued on, seemingly coming from the top of its head, and a few wounds scattered around its shaded face. The more I took it in, the better I understood what I was looking at; a person. Only his body was torn up from something I was too scared and shocked to even worry about. I was dumb.

I tried to make out exactly who it was, thinking maybe he was one of the missing people of the town, but the shadows of the forest didn’t help. That’s when he spoke. 

“Hound…” His voice was a barely audible whisper as it came out hoarse and rough, matching the mangled state he was in. I looked at him in confusion, still trying to make sense of the situation. 

“Hound? Wha-” He’d quickly hushed me, his voice panicked. Before either of us could say anything else, we heard a twig break in the distance. He was still being hunted, and I just joined the menu. He quickly moved his paw from my shoulder to my forearm, gripping it tight to my arm, holding it tightly as if I was his lifeline. I returned his gesture as the woods went completely quiet and still. 

“Is that-”

Almost like clockwork, we heard it. The howling of what seemed to be a wolf, only wrong. Its voice would move in pitch and tone. Being deep and thunderous one moment as the next was high-pitched and almost unable to be heard, it was so loud. I scanned the trees as I heard rustling in them. It could climb. I glanced at the hurt man, his eyes dart around the canopy, before I joined him, hoping it somehow forgot about us. We tried to stay as quiet as possible, but I knew deep down, it knew exactly where we were. 

That's when I realized we couldn’t outsmart it as it had already outsmarted me. It had left its meal as a way to get more food, and it did. It had set the trap, and I, the foolish prey, fell for it.

Submitted By toytryingtowork for Startober 2024 Prompt 1: "Hound of the Baskervilles" ・ View Favorites
Submitted: 2 months and 3 weeks ago ・ Last Updated: 2 months and 3 weeks ago