Meredith whimpered as she stared at those foot prints for a long time. Her muscles froze with fear, but she managed to un-freeze her arms and reach for her cell phone. Her fingers pressed the buttons, 9-1-1, but as soon as she pressed the phone to her ear it was knocked from her hand. Meredith screamed, long, and loud. The hall suddenly seemed darker, and longer. She walked faster now, with one thing on her mind. Get out. Something grabbed her leg, tightly, and she fell to the floor.

“Just, GO AWAY!” Meredith yelled into empty hallway. Sweat was gathering on her palms and forehead. She stood up and started into a sprint. The exit was so close, but so far. She estimated about ten lockers stood before her and that green, glowing sign. She ran as fast as she could, and then she ran right into whatever was chasing her. Meredith fell, once again, onto her back. A loud thud banged through the hallway. She howled as she kicked and punched, trying to make contact with whatever was out there. One of her hands found it, and she pulled her hand slowly away. Her hand came back, tingling and painful. Meredith panicked and rushed to stand up. Eventually, she managed to get to her feet. It seemed she would never escape.

Meredith ran. She ran until reached the door. When she found it, she noticed she couldn’t feel it. Whatever she had touched made her lose feeling in her hand. Meredith pushed on the door, but it didn’t budge. Oh, come on! Meredith pleaded. She ran towards the nearest classroom, which happened to be Woodshop. She grabbed a hammer and swung all around her. Nothing was there. She waited for the inky splotched to appear on the floor. After only two minutes, they came, slow and silent. The footprints came close to her; only about two feet away. Meredith felt a hot, sickly breath on her face and she screamed. Whatever courage she had just ran away. The creature – or whatever it was – was breathing heavy air that weighed Meredith down. She felt sick, and she gagged because of the hot air surrounding her. The hammer dropped from her hands. Its clang rang into the silence.

“Please, please don’t kill me,” Meredith broke the eerie silence.

The creature began to show itself. Its body was a mass of black vapor. For eyes it had two holes that sunk in its head. The creature’s mouth was a small hole, identical to the eyes. It snarled and growled at Meredith. The creature floated – there was no other way to describe the movement – over to Meredith and stood directly above her. And then, with no warning, the creature opened its mouth to reveal a gaping hole with rows of sharp, white teeth. The creature spoke.

“Little girl, you are one of many.” And it swallowed her alive.