Jack knew he shouldn’t go further into the cave, but he was angry and didn’t care. Sand and shells crunched under his hiking boots and water dripped steadily. The light beam from the torch showed him how narrow the walls were getting. He hitched up his rucksack and heard it scrapping the wall.
He stopped and saw his breath misting before him. It was colder then he thought then. He shone the torch around, but there was nothing unusual about the cave. It looked just looked like the back of any cave on any beach. Jack turned back the way he had come. He couldn’t see the cave entrance, but he knew it was there.
They’re all outside having a good laugh at me now, he thought, whatever. Sod them.
He slipped his rucksack off and sat down on it. He tapped the torch about in his hands then turned it off. Darkness settled around him and he breathed in deeply. He shut his eyes and just listened to the distant sound of the sea. He also thought he heard the crackle of the fire and gusty blow of the wind.
The sound of soft footsteps moving towards him grew within the background of dripping water.
Great. I can’t even get a bit of space!
Jack thought about turning the torch on, but then decided against it. Let whoever it was find him in the dark. They liked playing games anyway didn’t they? His so called friends…
The footsteps came into focus and Jack knew something was wrong with them. It didn’t sound like boots or bare feet coming towards him. It sounded more like paws…
‘Hello?’ he shouted and flicked on the torch.
The light chased the shadows away and showed Jack nothing but the damp walls.
‘Quit messin’ and leave me alone! Jerks!’ he yelled.
He turned off the torch again and sat breathing heavily in the darkness.
The sound of paws picked up again and were followed by a low growl. The hair on the back of his neck stood up and Jack turned the torch slowly. Carefully, he guided the beam around.
Something moved against the wall to his left. He flashed the torch over and the light reflected two large grey glowing orbs.
He swore and scrambled to his feet. He tried to hold the torch steady to see more, but he couldn’t.
The growling came again. Fur brushed against the wall. The paws picked up speed.
He dodged to the side and ran. The light beam bouncing everywhere. He burst from the cave, kicking up sand as he arrived. He spun around and shone the light back into the entrance. Was it still following him?
His friends were scrambling around, he could see that out of the corner of his version. They were asking him what was wrong. But he couldn’t reply. He had no words to describe the creature he had just seen.
Story prompt from: https://scvincent.com/2016/10/27/thursday-photo-prompt-creature-writephoto/ with thanks.
The Story Files 