#cryptid stuff

At first you thought it was a ghost, possibly a demon taunting you. It hung around your home and followed you down empty streets. But it never approached, instead lingering in the shadows. With every step you could hear a squelching one follow. It was a terrifying sound, one you could never find the culprit to. But you began to get used to it, despite the previous nights you had spent crying at seeing it smile at you from the ceiling.

Occasionally it’d rummage through your belongings and something important would be missing, but you couldn’t tell much of a difference anymore. You replaced the stolen blankets and missing pens; they were just items, after all, at least they weren’t living things. At least. That’s always how you reassured yourself. At least your family was safe. At least it was targeting you and no one else. But the disappearance of your items was only the beginning.

The torture continued with your pet, the loving creature that always came to greet you with joy and enthusiasm, even if it was a pain in the butt at times. But you awoke one morning to find it missing, gone in a flash. No matter how many times you called the animals’ name, it wouldn’t respond. Until you saw something. Somone. But it wasn’t your beloved pet; it was something else, something that looked like your pet. It acted too purposeful, watching you with little eyes that weren’t supposed to be on such a harmless creature. It followed after you without a sound and without cries for food or interest at your behavior. It just followed. And smiled. Smiling in a way that an animal should not. Smiling in a way like it knew something you didn’t.

Not long after, the people in your life weren’t coming around as often anymore-- and then began coming too often. You’d bump into an old coworker in the store where they stared intently at you, not talking nor making a move to leave. Then it would be family, who just so happened to be in the neighborhood. Or at least, you assumed. They never told you, never speaking with their mouths. You began to feel like you were going crazy; as if perhaps the world had been overrun by aliens and you were the only sane person left.

But your confusion and fear were soon answered, as the cause of your insanity showed itself. It appeared to you late in the night, slithering out of the corner in your ceiling. You had only turned the lights off a moment ago yet here it was-- crawling out of your walls. The mix of squelching and pitter-patter of a thousand claws made your skin crawl. You were too petrified to move, settling for shutting your eyes and pulling the covers up tight. But that did not give an ounce of separation between you, and it. Strong and cold breath ghosted over your face. A human-like finger stroked your cheek, drawing downward with a thick, pointed nail. You couldn’t bring yourself to open your eyes. Not until it spoke. But what you expected to be in tongues or an animalistic screech, was fairly human. In a voice, similar to someone who hasn't spoken in a millennium.

“...L..ove you… “

You couldn’t make out its words until it began to repeat itself in a hypnotic chant. Each syllable getting stronger the more it spoke.

“Own you… I love…I own… you mine… Own you…mine…”

It vibrated on top of you letting out a guttural purr. Your eyes opened to witness it in all its horror, the face of a monster.

Well, lack thereof. Eyes, are what you saw first. Only eyes. Dark ones that bordered between human and deep-sea creature. But what spooked you the most was the lack of a mouth. A clear noise similar to a raspy voice was mumbling near you, but it didn’t come from its face. You couldn’t pinpoint where it was.

Upon seeing your horrified reaction, the creature seemed to shift. It was impossible to read its emotions but you felt there was something strong in the air. Its body was a pure black mass, shifting to ever-changing shapes and colors you couldn’t comprehend. Limbs poked from out its oversized ribs and its flesh recreated itself over and over again, from a scaly texture to blubber.

But its morphing didn’t last long, as you finally rested your eyes on something resembling a human. You don’t remember when the morphing started but now you knew it had stopped. The vaguely humanoid creature was not within the same proportions as your species, but it looked somewhat similar. It was almost like the depiction of what another species thought a human was. It had all the parts but didn’t look the part.

You felt slightly less unsettled at seeing a being with a nose and ears, this time not much bigger than yourself. But that relief did not last long, as it charged at you. With all four limbs and the help of more, it tore through your sheets and nearly through you. A mouth shredded the skin where its teeth and lips should be, making a gap for rendering cartilage. It’s smile was wide, grinning from literal ear to ear as it watched you. It had, to your surprise, not yet brought any harm to you.

“I human…. Me, you…”

It let out a perfectly curated laugh through its wide mouth. One that you’d probably hear on a laugh track on midnight comedy specials. But that was nowhere near as comforting as it should’ve been. It was so human, so realistic despite its never moving face and slightly vibrating body. It stared at you, never unwavering, only letting out a mild purr if it brushed itself against you.