Fear.
Tiffany knew she was running for her life, the beast was coming after her. Cold sweat slicked her skin, her heart hammering so hard it felt like it might burst out of her chest. Her legs ached, threatening to give out as she ran deeper into the forest.
Why won't it stop? Why me? Why's it after me?
The beast-like-form behind her was so close–so close that she could feel an unnatural chill rolling off it, creeping up her spine like icy fingers.
Her body seized with terror as she tripped over a stone.
Her hands scraped against gravel as she hit the earth hard. ‘Please someone help me,’ her terrified mind screamed, but her lips remained sealed. Pain shot up her arms, but she barely registered it, crawling away from the horror unfolding before her.
Too late.
The presence loomed over her. The shadows shifted, swirling into something monstrous. She felt it reach for her legs– claws, tendrils, something unseen but insanely real
A scream tore from her throat_
She woke up
Her chest heaved, sweat drenching her sheets. Her body trembled, her hands clutched at the blankets, knuckles white. Her ears rang with the ghost of her own scream.
‘It's already just a dream’, she repeats over and over in her mind. ‘There's no monster, nobody is out to hurt you Tiff.'
She swallowed hard, her mouth dry, her heartbeat still a frenzied drum against her ribs.
The nightmares began a month ago. Each night, Tiffany finds herself running through a dense forest. Something enormous lurking behind her, a beast with gleaming eyes and jagged fangs. Sometimes, it came as waves of shadows chasing after her. It never caught her.
But tonight was different.
This time it did.
She had woken up with phantom pain searing through her arms and legs, as if claws had slashed through her skin.
At night it was difficult to get a good night's sleep because of her nightmares.
During the day, life was normal, she went to work as a nurse, treating various types of patients, she was always kind and careful. She genuinely enjoyed her job, but for the past few weeks, she hadn't wanted to leave her bed.
She went for a coffee break when she met her best friend Gina, and laughed at silly jokes. But every so often, a strange feeling crawled over her—déjà vu mixed with dreads. She feels someone was watching.
Flashes of those haunting red eyes.
The whispers of a name she couldn't quite grasp.
Tiffany had just finished her shift for the day. It was already dark, since she hadn't picked her car from the mechanic, she had met up with Gina to give her a ride back home.
Tiffany smiled as she saw her friend walking towards her “Oh there you are, need a ride home.”
“You can't even add Pleaseee,” she dragged the word, “like a modest human being.”
“Dream on.”
The evening was pretty chilly, Gina had parked her car across the street. Their laughter echoing down the empty street. A street lamp flickered, casting a long shadow. Tiffany felt it before she saw it, the overwhelming sensation of someone watching, waiting.
A deep growl filled the air.
Gina froze beside her, eyes widening in terror. “What the heck? Did you hear that just now?”
Before Tiffany could respond, darkness moved. She saw a monstrous form with red eyes lunged from the alley. Clawed hands gripped Gina, pulling her into the shadows. Her scream was short-lived. Then silence.
Her breath hitched. “G-gina?”
Tiffany stood there, trembling, staring at the now-empty street. Gina was gone. The beast took Gina, her mind kept repeating it over and over again.
She ran forward, searching, but there was no trace of her best friend. No blood, no torn clothing, nothing. It was as if she never came out of the hospital building with Gina.
Shaking, she ran back to the hospital building, she spotted some security guard standing at their usual spot and rushed over.
“Nurse Gina–she was taken! We have to call the police please.”
They all stared at her blankly.
“Nurse Tiffany, who are you talking about?” one of the security guard responded. Looking confused.
Tiffany's stomach dropped. “Gina! My best friend! How can you ask me that? She was right here with me, you guys know her! Stop looking at me like you don't know who I'm talking about dammit!!”
The expressions around her turned uneasy.
“Tiffany, you came out of the hospital alone,” one of them said slowly. “Who's Gina?”
Her vision swam. This can't be possible. Just yesterday Gina had brought lunch for both of these security guards.
“Why in the world would you ask me who Gina is? I have pictures! Let just show y–”
Tiffany yanked out her phone, scrolling desperately through her gallery. But every photo, every text thread…. gone. No trace of Gina. Not even her phone number.
Her hands trembled.
It was as if she never existed.
The phone slipped from her hands, crashing to the ground and cracking the screen. She stood frozen in shock.
The security men rushed to her aid, their face filled with confusion and concerned. They bombarded her questions, but she could not hear a thing.
The nightmares weren't hallucinations. They were memories.
And whatever took Gina had the power to erase her from existence.
The beast wasn't just hunting, it was making sure no one remembered its prey.
And Tiffany knew.
She knew she was next.
And the most chilling part? Tiffany vanished without a trace just a week later, as if she never existed. And nobody looked for her.
The £nd~••••