Creepy tales are often introduced under the pretense of a calm, peaceful scene that is quickly interrupted by something sinister or disturbing.

This story is no different.

Picture a beautiful, moonlit river flowing lazily through a mountainous valley surrounded by fall foliage and snow-capped peaks. The weather here was unseasonably warm for the month of September so two horny teenagers decided to take full advantage of the favourable conditions by going camping. However, the young couple wasn’t interested in hiking, hunting or even in nature for that matter, but rather went out to simply fuck each other’s brains out. Unfortunately for these two lovebirds, this would prove a bad evening to get it on as something devious was developing a few hundred feet from their campsite.

Down by the river, just on the other side of the shore, an actual hole in the fabric of space and time was being ripped open for all to see, only there was no one there to bare witness. The hole was small at first, but then grew bigger and bigger until a full sized man could fit comfortably through it. The edges glowed purple but the centre emitted a strong orange hue.

Sadly neither of the teens saw this spectacle for neither could get their heads out of each other’s genitals long enough to notice the stark orange glow penetrating their thinly veiled tent. Jennie was sitting on Joe’s face, sucking his dick, in classic sixty-nine fashion, while Joe was paying his girlfriend back by licking her pussy like a rabid dog. Both moaned and groaned in ecstasy with eyes closed, paying little attention to their surroundings. If either had opened their eyelids just long enough to realize their tent was glowing orange, both might be alive today. Instead this sexually curious duo continued to pleasure each other, completely vulnerable and unaware that a dark humanoid creature was stepping undetected through the mysterious wormhole.

This monstrous figure fully emerged from the orange hole, onto the wooded shoreline. It stood seven feet tall, covered with dark oily scales, secreting a black ooze from its every pore. It had the figure of a woman but the head of a wolf. In fact, superstitious folk would likely consider it a werewolf, whereas religious ones might call it a demon, however, scientific farts would probably snub their arrogant noses at both suggestions and instead classify it as an alien since it came from another world.

For the sake of our story, and to get things moving, we’re going to call it Susan ... nah just kidding. Let’s call it ‘the Bitch’ as it looks female and appears to be part dog.

Suddenly the Bitch raised its head and twitched its ears, hearing passionate moans or smelling sweaty sex coming from the tent nearby. It dropped to all fours and began running, like a wolf, through thick trees with great speed towards the noises.

“What’s that sound?” Jennie asked as she took Joe’s dick out of her tiny mouth to look about. The orange glow was gone as the wormhole had since closed.

“I didn’t hear anything,” Joe replied. “You’re probably imaging things. Why don’t you climb on top of me? I want to be inside you.”

“You’re probably right,” she smiled and started to switch positions.

But before Jennie got a chance to ride Joe’s cock their tent was torn apart and the Bitch poked its hideous face into their tiny space.

Jennie started to scream bloody murder.

Joe reached for his machete but was too slow. The Bitch attacked and overcame the naked couple in no time at all, slashing their soft bodies open with its sharp claws and ripping tender organs out with its powerful jaw.

The Bitch devoured its prey until there was no meat left on any of the bones. With blood running down its dark mouth and neck, the beast suddenly looked high into the sky and began howling victoriously at the moon.

Off in distance, several wolves howled back.

Scarlet tossed and turned violently about in bed as if suffering a bad dream. She clenched her sheets and tensed her thin body while mumbling, “It’s here! It’s here!” over and over again. She was a tiny thing with long red hair who appeared a lot younger than her actual 24 years. “It’s here!” she screamed.

“Wake up Scarlet!” A young, green haired gal urged as she rushed into the bedroom. “You’re having a nightmare!”

Scarlet sat up erect, straight as a board, and popped her eyes wide apart. She panted, trying desperately to catch her breath. “Is that you Beryl?”

“Yes, it’s me. Just breathe dear sister,” Beryl sat on the edge of the bed and patted her sibling on the shoulders. “It’s alright. You’re safe in your bedroom, at the palace. Everything is okay.”

“No it’s not,” Scarlet finally managed. “I saw it ... it’s here already. It’s so hideous and I think it ate ... it ate two people.”

“Do you mean you saw the beast? You had a vision?” Beryl asked with raised eyebrows. “That’s impossible. It’s not due for weeks. We’re not ready!”

“It’s here already and it’s hungry, so very hungry...” Scarlet paused to collect her thoughts. “I saw it clear as day.”

“Mother said you’d sense it first,” Beryl nodded her pretty little head. She too looked younger than her actual age of 22. Both girls had similar builds and wore matching white night gowns. They certainly looked like sisters, only Scarlet had red hair whereas Beryl had green.

“I need to speak with Mother right now!” Scarlet insisted as she climbed out of her bed and stepped onto the cold cobblestone floor.

“I don’t think she’s back yet,” Beryl replied as she followed her sister out of the bedroom, into the torch lit hallway. “She’s still out seeking the rarest ingredients for the potion.”

“Then we need to wake up the rest of our sisters and warn them!”

“They won’t like that,” Beryl rubbed her hands nervously. “Maybe we should wait until morning.”

But Scarlet was having none of that and soon arrived at the base of the bell tower. She grabbed the thick, pale rope and began pulling it at it, causing the large bells, way overhead, to chime off and sound their ancient tune.

“Noir is not going to be happy about this...” Beryl whispered as she paced anxiously back and forth on the large balcony atop the ancient castle, overlooking the moonlit forest.

“She needs to know,” Scarlet said confidently.

“What do I need to know?” a young lady with long black hair asked gruffly, arms folded. She stared at the two girls with a disgusted look that could almost kill. Behind her was a pair of young, shirtless men with broad shoulders, large pecs and well defined six-packs. They were identical twins and each was built like an ox with erections to match, poking from behind their loose boxers.

“I’m sorry,” Scarlet replied sarcastically. “Did I interrupt something important?”

“My champs and I were practising our techniques for the ceremony,” Noir shot back. “But you wouldn’t know anything about that as your man is nowhere to seen.”

Just then two more girls arrived, each with a hunk of a man by their side.

“Are you okay Beryl?” a concerned young gentleman asked as he rushed onto the balcony.

“Yes Brett, I’m fine,” Beryl smiled as she was taken into his muscular arms and hugged tightly.

“When I heard the warning Bells of Ostraland I knew something was wrong,” Brett hugged her all the more.

“Oh shut up you two,” Noir said with disgust, pointing her finger into her mouth as if she were about to vomit. “We don’t need to witness this pathetic scene. You’re supposed to be partners, not lovers.”

The other two girls and guys started snickering.

“This is not the time to be a meanie,” Scarlet shot back in defence of her little sister. “I just had a vision of the beast. It’s here and it’s hungry. Soon it will lay it’s eggs and then...”

“We know what happens next!” Noir barked back. “But there is no way you saw it. You must have been dreaming.”

“I know what I saw!”

Noir laughed. “It’s obvious you’re just desperate for attention little sis. I mean you’ve been useless for weeks. The four of us are ready. We each have our champion,” she smiled cruelly before continuing. “Well, more accurately, the Oracle granted me twins but what about you? Where is your fella? It’s all for nothing if you can’t attract a partner. I attracted two and you can’t even get one.”

“I ... I don’t know of him yet,” Scarlet stammered. “You know very well the oracle hasn’t revealed him to me is all...”

“Perhaps you’re undesirable,” Noir said with a smirk. “You certainly have no personality and that body of yours ... well,” she looked her sister over. “You got no boobs and no ass. It’s like looking at a head on a plank of wood.”

The others laughed heartily, save Beryl and Brett.

“You know the problem?” the girl with blue hair joked. “She has a face only a mother could love.”

“And a body only a dog would fuck,” the purple haired sister added cruelly.

Scarlet’s face turned as red as her hair. She beamed at her sisters with pure contempt. Anger flowed and fists clenched. She stepped aggressively towards Noir, ready to throw a punch, but a loud shout drowned out the giggles and stopped the advance.

“What is going on here?” an older woman, in a long dark cloak with a pointed hat, demanded. She marched straight up to the group.

“Mother,” Beryl said.

All the girls lowered their heads in a sign of respect.

“I leave my five daughters for three days in search of the final ingredients and this is how I’m greeted upon my return,” Mother said harshly. “Why have the Bells of Ostraland been rung and why are you at each other’s throats?”

“Scarlet rang the bell,” Noir tattled. “She disrupted our practice sessions. Violet, Amber and I were just about to finish. Our champions were about to cum inside us upon command. It was beautiful Mother and would have been the first successful session. But jealous little Scarlet here would have none of it.”

“That’s not true,” Scarlet retorted.

“You’re just jealous,” Noir shouted. “You can’t land a man so you’re ruining it for the rest of us.”

“Liar,” Scarlet clenched her fists yet again. She wanted to punch her big sister right in those pouty lips.

“It’s not her fault! Scarlet was having a vision,” Beryl interrupted. “She didn’t mean any harm. I went to her room and found her entranced.”

“A vision?” Mother asked, her anger replaced with curiosity.

“I saw the beast enter the forest,” Scarlet said softly, her voice cracked. “It came through the portal and took its first steps onto our world, just a few hours ago.”

“You must be wrong,” Noir said in disbelief. “October starts tomorrow ... It isn’t due to arrive for weeks.”

“I know that,” Scarlet shot back. “And that’s why I sounded the bell. I wanted to warn you all!”

“Are you certain?” Mother asked, looking deep into her daughter’s eyes.

Scarlet returned her mother’s stare, “As certain as I have ever been about anything in my whole life.”

“Then we have to speed up our preparations,” Mother said, all matter of fact, before turning to leave. “Come with me.”

Scarlet had to work hard to keep pace with her mom. “Where are we going?”

Mother walked purposefully down the stairs into another torch lit hallway, leading deeper into the castle’s lower chamber. “We need to speak with the Oracle yet again. We need to find your champion now!”

Scarlet felt guilty but couldn’t understand out why. It wasn’t her fault that the Oracle hadn’t been able to locate a man on her behalf. Or was it? The Oracle had little trouble in securing great matches for Beryl, Violet, Amber and even twins for Noir. They’d all been paired up weeks ago. Why couldn’t the old lady do the same for her?

“Maybe the blind hag is losing her touch,” Scarlet reasoned with herself. “Or maybe Noir is right and I’m simply undesirable. Maybe there isn’t a man out there that would have me...”

“We’re here,” Mother said, knocking on a large oak door, fully interrupting Scarlet’s chain of thought. “Let’s hope she’s still awake.”

“Come in,” a gargled voice beckoned. “I know what you seek.”

“Great,” Mother sounded relieved as the two ladies entered the room. “The beast is here. There is no time to waste. You must find her Champion before all is lost!”

The Oracle was seated on a wooden chair behind a large table in the middle of a spacious workspace. Book cases lined the room, all stuffed chaotically with thick books and odd trinkets. Tiny windows beamed with moonlight and dimly lit candles cast an eerie glow.

“Please take a seat,” the Oracle offered.

Scarlet never felt comfortable in this stinky room with this old woman dressed in that raggedy dress. And who could blame her? For starters the old lady looked like death incarnate with her overgrown eyelids, warty face and shaggy white hair. Second the room smelled like shit and decay. There was a dead bat pinned to a cutting board, a Calderon overflowing with ooze and a creepy ball on the centre of the large table they were now sitting around.

“Let me look deep into Cartecus once again,” the old lady said, referring to her crystal ball. “I will ask it to reveal Scarlet’s champion for the sake of us all.”

The three ladies joined hands while the Oracle moaned and mumbled, staring wildly into the glowing sphere. They stayed like this, for what felt like an eternity, until the Oracle finally conceded.

“It is no use,” she said dejectedly. “I cannot see her man. He is hidden from me.”

“How is that possible?” Mother asked throwing her hands in disgust. “The prophecy states all my daughters will find their Champions and together will ward off this evil...”

“I know the prophecy well,” the Oracle snapped back. “Do not lecture me on it simply because you are frustrated!”

“You saw him once,” Mother said, forcing a calmer tone. “Why can’t you find him again?”

“I am not sure. He might be in a deep sleep. I need to connect to him through his conscious thoughts.”

“You mean ... he’s dead?”

“No,” the Oracle cocked her head. “I can still feel him, he is alive and out there. I know it. I just cannot see him for some reason.”

The hospital room lay motionless and still save the dull beeping and throbbing of various medical machinery hooked up to its lone patient, a young man named Tyler. He’d been occupying this room for the better part of a week after being rushed to the hospital following a serious accident that rendered him unconscious and left him in this comatose state.

The monotonous silence was suddenly broken with the sounds of clicking high heels walking purposefully towards the bed.

“How are you doing today Tyler?” an older woman asked as one who didn’t expect a response. She had a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and her purse in the other. She sat down on the chair next to the bed and crossed her long legs while leaning back as if getting comfortable for the long haul.

Tyler didn’t reply, nor move a muscle. He was completely unaware of her presence but that didn’t dissuade her from continuing on with this one-sided conversation.

“I wish your father was still with us,” she continued to talk aloud as she glanced at one of the monitors. “He always knew exactly what to say. If he were here he’d likely fill you in on some football news or whatnot. I never know what to talk about when I visit. Even when you were a baby and had the croup ... your dad would take you outside and chat with you mindlessly until your breathing got better. I miss him all the time. So you better not leave me son ... I can’t lose both of my men. I need you to come back.”

A tear ran down her cheek.

Speaking of her dead husband mad her sad, but she refused to stop doing it. It felt better to keep his memory alive and well, and though painful to remember it was worse much to forget.

So she continued to rattle on about his lost dad, then about the weather and finally about the latest gossip; same thing she’d done for the last seven days.

“How are you today Mrs. Smith?” a doctor asked as he entered the room.

“I’m fine thank you, but I’ve told you a hundred times,” Tyler’s mother responded with a smile. “Please call me Carol.”

The doctor nodded with a kind smile of his own. “I’m sorry Carol. How is our patient doing?”

Carol shrugged her shoulders. “He looks good to me, but I don’t see any change. Do you think he’ll wake up soon?”

The doctor picked up Tyler’s chart and read the notes quickly. “Comas are tricky. He could wake this afternoon or he could stay like this for years. Tyler took a serious blow to the head so we just have to wait for the swelling to subside enough so that his body can repair itself.”

“Well thanks for everything you’re doing,” Carol nodded her head, fighting back her tears. “I don’t know if I can be without him for a full year so I pray everyday he wakes up sooner than later.”

“That’s all we can do for him at this point,” the doctor said tenderly. “He’s lucky to have a mother like you, who visits him everyday. I think he hears more than we’ll ever know.”

“I agree with you doctor.”

“It’s Frank,” the doctor teased. “You don’t have to be so formal.”

Carol laughed politely, knowing he was teasing her. “Well Frank, I do my best to fill this room with positive energy because I believe Tyler will heal faster that way.”

“I like your attitude Carol. And I can’t wait to meet your son when he wakes, if he’s anything like you.”

“That’s very kind of you to say Frank,” Carol paused, her face turned serious. “But if I’m being truly honest, his waking also sort of scares me. I mean, what am I going to tell him about Tracey? He’s going to ask as soon as he wakes up...”

Doctor Frank nodded in understanding.

“He cared for her,” a tear ran down Carol’s cheek. “And so did I ... It’s going to break his heart. A mother never wants to give her son this kind of news, especially not under these circumstances,” Carol had to work hard to get the words out. “It keeps me up at night ... I don’t know how I’ll tell him. I should be so excited for him to wake, but honestly I feel kind of relieved every time I come in here and find him still sleeping...” she started to sob. “Does this make me a bad person?”

“It makes you human,” Frank put his hand on Carol’s shoulder as she wiped tears with a tissue. “One step at a time Carol. That’s all you can do. Don’t worry about that just now. We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. Right now we need to focus on your son’s health. He needs to get better first.”

“You’re right,” Carol forced a smile. “And I won’t leave his side until he does. Even if he sleeps for a year ... I’ll be here everyday to lift his spirits.”

Several weeks passed before Tyler’s fingers began to twitch and his eyelids started fluttered for the first time in ages. His body was making a noble effort to awaken, but it was a struggle to pull itself free of such a deep slumber such as this.

The hospital room was dark, deserted and more quiet than usual. The machines had gone dormant and the lights had stopped shining. Something must have knocked the power out in this room for all the lights were off, the clocks weren’t ticking and the monitors had all gone blank. The room would have been pitch black had not the evening sun been shining through the small window. There were no beeps, throbs nor signs of activity anywhere to be heard. It was as quiet as a graveyard and the only thing that appeared to be alive was Tyler who was starting to moan and roll his head about.

Finally Tyler opened his eyes and began to move his fingers and toes. It took several minutes to find his strength, but soon he was able to sit up a little, however he crashed back into his pillow as his head started swimming with the sudden movement.

“Where am I?” Tyler asked groggily. “My head is killing me.” The young man managed to touch his forehead and was surprised to discover a bandage wrapped tightly around his cranium. “What the hell is going on?” Tyler wondered, doing his best to remember any event that might have led him here.

The room continued its insult by remaining eerily quiet and offering no hints at all.

Tyler kept working at it, until he was able to sit up and look around. “I’m in the hospital,” he reasoned. “Is anybody here? Doctor? Nurse? Mom? Tracey?” but he got no response. He looked around some more until noticing the clicker. He reached across his bed and pushed the panic button, hoping someone would answer the call. Nobody came, adding more anxiety to the situation.

Tyler felt so weak and frail which, in itself, was a foreign sensation to him as he’d managed to stay in great shape for all of his young life. He worked out regularly and even ran multiple marathons each year. He hoped to run another before his upcoming 26^th birthday, but that now seemed so unimportant and beyond reach.

“I’m so thirsty,” Tyler said after standing up. He stumbled towards the bathroom and managed to turn on the faucet but water did not flow. “Shit,” Tyler cursed at his latest defeat or maybe it was a result of looking into the mirror and seeing his reflection for the first time. “What happened to me?”

This certainly was a fair question as the young man staring back at him was barely recognizable, leaning awkwardly in that hospital gown. The first thing to catch his eye was his shaggy beard, and then the big scar that ran down his left cheek. It appeared someone had recently removed about a dozen stitches from that area. Next he noticed his pale complexion and sunken eyes. He’d lost a ton of weight. Even his wrists and arms looked skinny, but the bandage around his head gave him the greatest pause.

Tyler carefully pulled at the white fabric until it started to give. In no time at all, he had it completely unwrapped revealing yet another scar that ran across his forehead, only there were twenty active stitches still in this one. The young man ran his finger across the indentations but even this small interaction caused his head to hurt.

“What is going on?” Tyler asked with parched lips. “I need to get some answers.” So he stumbled out of the bathroom and rummaged through his closet and drawers, looking for his phone or clothing.

“Damn it,” he said after not being able to locate anything of value.

The only thing here, not belonging to the hospital, was a blue vase filled with dead flowers sitting on his bedside table.

“This sucks!” Tyler mumbled while heading towards the exit with his hospital gown flapping in the breeze, exposing his naked ass cheeks. The floor was so cold against his bare feet, but he really didn’t care at this point. He just wanted to get out of this shitty hospital as soon as possible and then give management a piece of his mind.

“Who the hell is running this place?” Tyler asked as he stepped into the deserted hallway. He looked up and down the dark corridor, only to find the walls lined with open doors and a couple empty beds. An emergency light flickered weakly, giving him just enough illumination to find his way.

“Hello?” but nobody answered. Tyler was getting more and more worked up. He did his best to hold back the nerves fighting for dominance. “I need to get out of here before I lose it,” so he lumbered down the hallway, towards the exit signs only his pace was so slow and awkward. He was almost too weak to walk and forced to lean against the wall and take several long breaks every couple minutes.

It wasn’t until his fifth break that Tyler finally heard an encouraging sound. “What’s that?” he asked as he opened his eyes and lifted his head.

Sounds of rummaging echoed from just around the corner; down the next hallway.

“Is someone there?” Tyler called out while pulling himself back into the standing position. “Please wait there! I’m coming to you!”

Hope filled the young man for the first time, and this afforded him a newfound strength that he used to walk hurriedly in the direction of the noise. He rounded the corner but this parallel hallway was darker than the last and Tyler couldn’t see to the end of it. He squinted hard and thankfully spotted the silhouette of a man crouched down on the floor just a few dozen meters away.

“Excuse me!” Tyler called out excitedly. “Are you a doctor? Do you work here?” he asked as it appeared the crouched man was wearing a long white coat.

Getting no response did little to deter him. The young man kept lumbering towards his target, who was picking away at something on the floor.

“Excuse me!” Tyler shouted out, now only a dozen feet from him. “Can you hear me?”

Tyler continued his laboured strides until he stepped in something sticky, causing him to suddenly stop short in his tracks and look down at his bare feet. What is that warm and rubbery substance he was standing in?

Did someone spill red paint?

Tyler’s inner ‘Spider Senses’ started to tingle when he realized it wasn’t paint, but rather in a massive puddle of blood. His eyes went wide and his ears perked as the stranger started making sounds no civilized person would ever dream of making. The hunched man grunted and huffed like a wild animal, madly digging away at something on the floor.

The nervous half of Tyler urged him to turn and run away, but the curious side demanded he stay and learn what the doctor was clawing at.

Fight or flight.

The curious half won the inner battle and Tyler found himself taking another step closer to the carnage now playing out a few feet away. He peeked around the doctor to see what was going on. And the revelation caused Tyler’s heart to drop and his mouth to gag.

On the floor, in the centre of the red pool, was the bloodied remains of a young woman; only her head was nowhere to be seen and her entrails were spilled out all over the floor. Her once yellow dress was ripped apart and stained scarlet.

And worse of all, the man in the doctor’s coat, was digging and clawing into her decaying flesh with its bloody fingers, pulling out chunks of raw meat before eating it.

Tyler’s reflex was to vomit, only there was nothing left in his stomach to evacuate.

The dry heaves must have gotten the doctor’s attention, for the once respectable man started to turn his head in Tyler’s direction.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Tyler asked as he tried to build up his resolve for what was about to happen next.

The doctor grunted and slowly stood up, with his back to Tyler.

“I don’t know what’s going on here but this has gone too far,” Tyler forced an air of confidence, feeling anything but. “I’m going to call the police if you...”

But Tyler didn’t get to finish that sentence as the doctor faced him faced him for the first time and shot a look that would scare the shit out of any one. The doctor’s mouth and jaw were stained red with blood, his teeth looked unnaturally long and sharp, and his eyes were a dull white, void of life.

“You’re not a doctor are you?” Tyler said as he slowly retreated backwards down the hall. “You’re like a ... like a zombie!”

Tyler was right. This creature might have been human once, but that time had certainly passed. This thing, keeping pace, was more monster than man, more demon than doctor and more hideous than words could express. Tyler knew he had to put some distance between himself and this beast, but his body was still weak and recovering; and besides, where was he to go?

The Zombie opened its red mouth and let out a blood curdling screech that echoed throughout the hallway.

If there was ever a time to turn-tail and run, it was now, and Tyler knew it. Every fabric in his being pushed him to run as fast as possible, to get away from this monster but his current state made that an impossible ask for the former marathon runner. His legs were as heavy as lead and, as hard as he tried, could not ignore this inconvenient fact. Instead of galloping at a powerful pace, an awkward trot was the most he could manage.

Regardless, the young man somehow limped to the corner first, without being over run by the zombie doctor. Tyler could almost feel the monster’s breath on the back of his neck, causing him to glance back, over his shoulder, and watch in horror as the beast barrelled towards him unimpeded. The creature ran on its two hind legs but used one arm to push off the ground every once in a while. The zombie was quick and intent on catching up. It looked angry and desperate, as if catching its prey was paramount to life itself.

If Tyler didn’t find an escape, and find it soon, he’d be dead, served up as zombie food and, if he had any luck at all, it would be in that order.

“Damn it!” Tyler yelled as his left leg gave out, causing the hobbled man to crash painfully to the floor.

The zombie doctor grunted his good fortune and leapt headfirst towards the fallen target.

Tyler spun around, now lying on his back, with his legs and arms outstretched so as to protect himself. The zombie landed on top of the man and the two began their battle for dominance. Tyler was fighting to live while the zombie fought to eat. Both were desperate to win and neither would give up until the other was dead and out.