She was being dragged on the cold forest floor, her legs restrained by a tight grip. She tried to grab onto the ground, leaves, roots, anything to halt her advancement, but the Creature was too strong. She panted and struggled as she looked up to see the spiky, black, and hunchback of the black Creature.

  “Let..go! Let go!” she shouted.

  The Creature did not stop, and nobody would be here to save her. Her dress and necklace pendant became dirty as they were dragged through the dirt. The Creature snorted as if in amusement.

  I escaped the evils of one monster only to find myself in the claws of another. She thought.

  She cried out one more time, attempting to be futilely heard, and this actually forced the Creature to stop dragging her. It stood completely still, , and she immediately tried to bring herself up despite being dragged by her leg. The Creature emitted a low hissing sound as it spun its head like an owl. Its white eyes stared into her, sparkling a silent command.

  Sleeeeeeeeeeep.

  And immediately she felt her body surrendering. It was like anesthesia; she couldn’t fight it no matter how much she wanted to, and quickly she found herself in a sea of black.

  ———————————————————————————————————————

  Officer Davidson remained in his patrol car as the erratic man walked into town. He immediately took out a cigar and began to light up. Sowersville was a small, tight-knit community. New people never lasted very long, and they often came here to cause trouble, investigating the number of disappearances. Amateur bloggers and YouTubers all had their ways of pestering people. He squinted forward as the man held up a photo and spoke to pedestrians. Each person promptly brushed him off and quickly walked away. The man was off-putting with his jittering, sudden movements, sudden shouting, and irate behavior when nobody would speak to him. He assumed the man was on drugs. Davidson couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but there was something familiar about him as well. Lost in thought, he didn’t notice in time that the Man had spotted his vehicle. Within a moment, his face was pressed against the window. The loud bump would have made an average man jump.

  Small town miles out in the wilderness, and we somehow get a druggie. He thought.

  “Step away from the vehicle!” Davidson said.

  The Man backed away, jittering, “S-sorry, officer! I was just excited to see you..And no, I’m not high, I don’t need drugs to be high.”

  Davidson rolled his eyes at that remark.

  The man smiled as he held up a photo of a woman. The woman had very unkempt brown hair, large sags on her eyes, and a had a dazed expression. He immediately recognized her and sighed.

  This one is too ragged.. The woman was barely acceptable.. He thought.

  “Have you seen my Mother? This isn’t her best photo; she looks like this, but worse. She’s also carrying a very speeeecial pendant of mine!” He said.

  “Listen addict-” he said.

  “I’m not Addict, I’m Daniel. Just an average guy looking for his mother,” Daniel said.

  “Listen, Daniel, there are plenty of people who go missing in these parts every year, and every year, some fool goes looking for them only to not come back. I’d suggest you best listen to your fears and leave.” Davidson said, “Besides, if it hasn’t been 48 hours, we can’t do anything if she’s not at risk.”

  “Fears?” Daniel asked, standing straight up and now speaking in a calmer voice, “Something tells me this town knows an awful lot bout that, everyone stares at me like I’m trash, and the architecture seems.. Foreboding, almost like you don’t want any visitors,”

  “You’re an outsider,” Davidson said, “You don’t know anything about us or our way of life.”

  “I intend to find out,” Daniel said, “And don’t worry, I’m not afraid of anything, ghosts, ghouls, vampires, werewolves… even COPS.”

  Davidson actually moved back slightly, as he felt a cold chill across his body. Something about this “Daniel” unnerved him, and he still couldn’t place his face.

  I'd better get rid of this guy by sending him up to William. He thought.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  Davidson rolled his eyes, “See that hotel up a ways on the mountain? Try there and leave us alone.”

  Daniel looked in the direction Davidson pointed, “That run-down shack? Looks delightfully creepy. Thank you, Officer.”

  That’s one more undesirable for the trash heap. He thought

  ——————————————————————-

  William hung up the phone as soon as Daniel entered his hotel. Davidson had just told him he had sent another one up there. What he didn’t tell him was that he was carrying an ax. Normally, this would be cause for alarm, but William did not fret. Daniel walked up to his counter and held up a photo of a woman. He remembered her; she was the one the townspeople couldn’t send up here. Her drug-riddled son, however, was another story.

  “Yes, yes, I remember her following me,” William said.

  He walked over and led Daniel into a dark closet. There was just enough room for the two of them. He motioned for Daniel to come in front of him. Spiders crawled along the walls as they entered, and with each step they took, it seemed to get darker along with a heavy feeling of uneasiness. William had done this many times, but people who had no mind of their own were easiest to lure into the basement. He reached for the lever in the corner as a trapdoor opened up underneath Daniel’s feet. Daniel yelped.

  KACLUNK!

  He fell inside as William pulled another lever, opening up a secret spiral staircase. He walked down to an old wooden door and peeked through the old eyehole. The basement was dark, with only a few candles to see the details inside.

  “Ow! I almost fell on my new ax!” Daniel shouted.

  Idiot. William thought.

  He watched as Daniel got up and looked around the darkroom, “You know if I wasn’t so busy looking for my pendant, I mean my Mom, I’d stay here!”

  As Daniel fluttered about like an animal, he jiggled the door handle, finding it unable to open.

  “Heh.. haha.. This isn’t so funny anymore, bud, if you don’t let me out to go look for my mom, I’m gonna be real mad!”

  Daniel and the room fell into silence. William looked straight ahead as he heard a bell ring. Daniel immediately turned around as he waved his hand into the darkness and took a step forward. The bell was then followed by a loud, sudden croak, and finally, William could see two small red dots. Inching closer and closer to Daniel. The man seemed to finally notice the red eyes coming closer to him as he stared in complete silence. He could hear the patter of small footsteps across the water as a loud growl was heard. A brief light showed the pale, dark green skin and teeth of the Goblin.

  William then looked away; this was as far as he could watch. He never had the same guts as the other citizens.

  The next moment, he heard a jump followed by more sudden movement. There was a blood-curdling roar from the Goblin, and then complete silence as a body dropped to the floor. William still kept his eyes shut as he then kneeled on the stone steps.

  WACK! WACK! WACK!

  The wooden door then fell over, much to William’s surprise.

  No! I’ve displeased the Goblin by giving him the druggie, I’m going to die! He thought.

  He closed his eyes again when he heard, “You know my Mother did not look that ghastly!”

  He opened his eyes to see green blood on Daniel’s ax as he loomed over him. He was immediately picked up and shoved against the wall.

  “I don’t appreciate being tricked, buddy!” Daniel said with a simultaneous smile and angry expression.

  He looked in the background to see the Goblin chopped into two.

  But the Goblin was so quick..so strong? Who could actually kill it? Am I finally free of this burden?

  Daniel slammed his right fist against the wall, “PAY ATTENTION!”

  William’s eyes immediately snapped back as he realized his troubles were far from over.

  “I’m sorry! OH, I’M SORRY, PLEASE DON’T HURT ME! I was forced to do it!” he wailed.

  “Hurt you? Hmm, I didn’t see many TVs around here, but perhaps you’ll recognize me.” Daniel then cranked his head sideways and smiled really wide.

  William felt sweat fall from his brow as he put the pieces together, “You’re..you’re.. Oh noooo! I’m going to be chopped up!”

  Tears burst from his eyes as he finally realized his problems had just become much bigger than they ever were with the Goblin and being a Motel manager.

  “Chill, I only kill monsters. You have nothing to worry about if you’re a good man.” Daniel said.

  William nodded his head, still crying, “Y-yes-yes, I am a good man. Thank you. Thank you.”

  “Now, did you pull this stunt with my Mother? Are those her bones in there?” Daniel asked.

  “Cer-certainly not! Those are others,” he said, “The woman.. Your mother was too good for that nasty creature. The townspeople decided she would be a sacrifice for the Wildershifter. Deep in the forest, there’s nothing you can do.”

  “Hah! So I just have to go into the woods and find her? Good. Thank you…” Daniel eyed his nametag, “William.”

  Daniel dropped William as he turned around, walking towards the exit. Immediately, William prayed, thanking whatever deity could have spared him.

  “You’re going to go after the Wildershifter? You’ll die!” he said.

  “It sounds fun,” Daniel said, “Besides, I can’t let that happen to my Mother. What kind of person would I be?”

  “I see,” William, “Well..thank you, that thing gave me nightmares..”

  Daniel then stopped and looked up as if he had forgotten something, and then slightly turned to William, clutching his axe, “About that..”

  William then backed away, “Huh..”

  Daniel then walked back towards him, raising his axe. William began backing up, but tripped, falling down his own steps.

  “What..NO! You said you wouldn’t kill me!” he said.

  “I said I wouldn’t kill you if you were a good man,” Daniel said, “And feeding folks to a goblin isn’t exactly good. In fact, it’s downright bad customer service!”

  “Noooooooo!” he shouted as the ax came swinging down.