Asha's frantic footsteps echoed through the vacant corridor.
The steady, rhythmic pace behind her sent her heart into a rhythmic hammer against her ribs.
In a spasm of panic, her grip faltered.
The heavy bag hit the floor with a dull thud.
The partially open zipper yanked further apart.
From the dark depths, the small black silhouette of 'Shadow' crawled out.
Its eyes burned with a deeper crimson in the dim light.
Asha's throat went bone-dry.
Before her stood the tiny predator; behind her, the terrifying girl.
The girl didn't break her stride.
She moved past Shadow as if he didn't exist.
Her gaze anchored solely on Asha.
Asha spun around and bolted toward the stairs.
Behind them, the tiny creature stood still.
Its head tilted, watching the girl's receding back.
A strange, cold recognition flickered in its glinting eyes.
Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Asha's foot struck a jagged stone.
She scooped it up and hurled it with all her might.
It struck the girl's shoulder, but not a single ripple of pain crossed her face.
She kept coming, her pace unchanging.
Asha was gasping for air now.
Near a pile of scrap, she spotted a long, rusted metal strip.
Sharp and lethal like a sword.
As the girl drew near, Asha swung it with a desperate scream, catching the girl's leg.
The sound was sickening—the tearing of flesh and the snap of bone.
The girl's leg was severed below the knee.
Thick, dark fluid began to pool on the floor.
Asha waited for her to collapse.
But what she saw next turned her blood to ice.
The girl didn't stop.
She began to drag her mangled limb.
Then, suddenly, she dropped to all fours.
No longer moving like a human, she began to scuttle across the floor like a beast.
Dragging her bleeding stump behind her.
Leaving a long, dark streak against the tiles.
The girl, scuttling across the floor like a beast, was inches away from Asha.
A long, smeared streak of thick dark fluid traced her path.
Asha pressed her back against the wall, her breath hitched.
Watching death crawl toward her.
But then, the sound of the girl's frantic movements ceased.
Asha watched, eyes wide with terror, as the tiny 'Shadow' stood behind the girl.
Suddenly, the creature's small frame distorted, expanding unnaturally.
Bones cracked and groaned as its jaw split into four grotesque segments.
From the depths of its gullet, thousands of needle-like teeth emerged.
Resembling the gates of a nightmare.
Before the crawling girl could even react.
A long, sinewy, and visceral tongue whipped out with the speed of a strike.
It coiled around her body and, with a violent yank.
Dragged her into the cavernous, dark maw.
A sickening crunch of bone echoed through the corridor—crack.
The next moment, silence reclaimed the hall.
The massive jaw snapped shut.
And the creature shrunk back into its small, innocent puppy form.
There was no girl, no severed limb, and no pool of dark fluid.
Only 'Shadow' sat there, wagging its tail.
And looking up at Asha with glinting eyes.
As if it had just performed a loyal service.
Not a single trace of the stranger remained in the corridor.
The corridor was claimed by silence.
Shadow stopped wagging his tail.
His head tilted slowly, anchoring his glowing crimson eyes onto Asha's face.
He began to advance, one deliberate step at a time.
The faint click of his claws against the stone floor echoed with terrifying clarity.
Asha's heart hammered against her ribs.
The gate was only a few feet away.
Gathering every shred of resolve, she bolted toward the main exit without a backward glance.
The cold hallway air shrieked past her ears.
She chose the most crowded route—lanes filled with the clamor of street vendors and the blare of car horns.
Reaching the crowd offered a sliver of relief.
She convinced herself she had left that dark silhouette behind at the school.
Her lungs burned with every ragged breath, but she didn't stop until she reached her doorstep.
As she burst through the front door, she took a momentary, shaky breath of relief.
"Mummy! Papa!" her voice faltered.
But the scene inside drained the color from her face.
Her father sat on the sofa, smiling.
And in her mother's arms was that same small, black, innocent-looking pup.
Shadow was wagging his tail as if he had never left the house.
"Asha, why are you so breathless?" her mother chirped.
"Look, your Shadow has been home all along."
"You must have forgotten to take him this morning by mistake."
Asha's eyes widened in sheer horror.
The monster she had just watched swallow a girl whole at school was now sitting comfortably in her mother's embrace.
Shadow turned his head toward Asha, tilting it playfully.
But the cold, predatory glint in his eyes remained—unblinking and triumphant.
To be continue...