The creature hopped through the woods. Each leap gained it distance. It croaked earthily with its self-mumbling. When it came to another of its kind, it stopped and talked in its archaic tongue.

It talked to a monster that stood taller than some of the trees. It leaned over with its skinny limbs, and put its hands, thin but wider than its head, to its ears to hear the message the frog-like creature had to share.

It nodded. Once the message was passed, the frog-like creature went on to find any other of their kind who had passed through the open gate.

The tall being stood above the trees and turned slowly around to spot anything that matched the description. It saw two kids on a near road. It groaned, and blood dripped from its jaws from a recent meal. It lifted its opposite hand, where it carried its appetizer, and it threw the headless body of a buck in the direction of the target.

It followed.

Terry focused on the road ahead. It was lit up by the full moon that peeked through openings of clouds.

“What’s that sound?” Bella asked.

Terry turned to her. He heard it, too. It was a whizzing noise. Something flying in their direction. Then, there was a thud of meat hitting the pavement. Speckles of blood spit from the corpse. Bella’s face creased inwards. Terry tripped stepping back but caught himself before he could hit the asphalt.

On the ground, ten feet in front of them, and barely recognizable, was a lifeless deer. In the distance, there was a thudding and a bass-filled groan approached.

“Holy shit!”

Bella put her hand on Terry’s shoulder, and he turned to see her pointing off the road behind them. A head passed through the tops of trees, and it uprooted what it could with a simple push of its hands.

Terry muttered, “What is that?”

Bella tugged at his shirt urging him to run with her.

The towering monster took a few more steps, and Terry didn’t move. He repeated his question over and over, each time with more urgency. “What the fuck is that?”

“I don’t know!” Bella yelled. “Let’s go!”

It reached the road, and in the moonlight, they could see the blood surrounding its lips. Before they could react, it swung its large hands. Bella pushed Terry to the side. The smell of decay whooshed past them. Terry snapped out of it when the asphalt scraped his elbows, and he stood up to run, gripping Bella’s hand. She ran behind him. They ran, but the distance they gained retracted with every step the monster took. It leaned in and swung its other fist. They jumped. Bella was forced ahead by the gust of wind, knocking her and Terry to the ground.

Terry rolled over, with Bella right beside him. They looked up. The monster beamed over them, raising its fist high, ready to crush them as they would a bug. Then there was honking, headlights, and the revving of a truck engine. The giant turned to the approaching truck. Terry saw their chance. He grabbed Bella and they rolled off the single-lane road. They collected themselves and ran back into the woods.

Terry looked back as they ran. The truck hit the monster. Yellow covered the truck, and the hood wrapped around the now broken legs of the monster. The airbags deployed, and the driver couldn’t be seen. The monster growled in heavy breaths.

The two kept running.

Terry’s legs felt numb, but he kept sprinting. As soon as he saw the fence to the graveyard, he sped up and Bella ran by his side. Both of them panted.

They slid through an opening in the gate, and stumbled through the sinking mud, struggling to keep their rain boots from getting stuck. Terry ran ahead.

It was larger than either of them remembered, from decades of funerals. It was the only cemetery in the town.

Terry paused and looked around. Bella caught up with him and looked at him in question.

“I don’t remember where his grave was.” Terry said, finally.

Bella said. “Let’s at least find a shovel or something first.” She pointed across the graveyard at some shed two hundred feet away. “We can start there.”

Michael opened his eyes. The world was a blur. He couldn’t remember what was happening. He grasped his head. There was a cut on his crown. He wiped the blood away. The sound of rain came into focus. The roof of the truck was caved in over him, and the airbag was deflated onto his legs. His mom's arm was crushed, with her hand still on his chest. He began to remember. They were driving, and something large stood in the middle of the road. There hadn’t been enough time for her to break. He pushed on the door handle. He fell from the truck door to the ground. It was dark, but the headlights were still going, and it lit up the tall thin creature with its guts splattered on the windshield.

He started with a stumble then ran around the front end. He grabbed the driver's side door handle, and cut his finger on a piece of broken glass. He pulled it open, and a hand fell out.

“Mom?” He said.

His eyes widened.

He repeated. “Mom?”

He tugged at her arm. It was heavy. Her eyes were open, but they didn’t look around. Her lips made no reply. Then, he saw the roof of the truck, cut into the side of her head he couldn’t see before, and the blood seeping down the back of her neck, staining the car seat.

He fell back. “Mom!”

Michael turned quickly and muttered to himself about finding help. The walkie-talkie was broken. He walked in the direction they had been driving from. His head still hurt and his vision was still fuzzy. He walked and walked clasping his arm in the other. Hoping he’d see a pair of headlights or porchlight of a house. Anyone who could help.

He could hear a voice, somber and singing.

He looked back. He could still see the lights from the truck far behind him. He gagged, but nothing came out, and he recovered. That wasn’t where the voice came from. He looked around him, and a woman was now standing in front of him.

“Yer that lady. You took off with my sister and Terry.” Michael said to her.

Cadence grasped the situation. She spoke, and when she did, Michael felt his chest flutter. “I did not. I tried to stop him, but he insisted that he kidnap her, and hurt her.”

“What? Terry’s too much of a wimp to do something like that.”

“But that is how he tricks people.”

Michael said nothing.

“He is a terrible and evil child.”

Michael looked around. He could see an aura around the woman. He could feel her presence, despite a possible concussion numbing the world around him. He couldn’t help but believe she was an angel.

“Can you help me?” He asked. “My mom is hurt, she’s not breathing.”

“I can’t bring back the dead.” Cadence stated.

Michael said nothing and looked down.

Cadence continued. “But, Terry is the cause of everything that is going on. He is heading to the cemetery. Help me stop him. Get revenge, young man. Kill him for killing your mother.”

He walked past her.

“If you ain’t gonna help my mom then piss off.” He choked.

She didn’t stop him, and he kept walking. He couldn’t find the turn to his street. Tree branches were fallen along the road from the past storm. So he walked and walked, and thought about her words. If Terry was the reason, then maybe he deserved to die. He walked farther than he could remember they drove. The world was still hazy. Finally, he could see a car that sat idle in a parking lot. He recognized it as the sheriff’s car. Sheriff Johanson would help.