It’s the middle of the night and I’m having trouble sleeping. I have to leave early for work tomorrow morning so I needed to fall asleep soon. I just sat there with my eyes closed trying to shut off my mind. Another hour went by before I decided to take a walk to tire myself out. I got out of bed, put on some shoes, and head out the door. I walked about a mile then I heard something. I looked over to the forest and saw a creepy dark creature peeking its head out from behind a tree staring at me. It started chasing me down the road as I ran. It grabbed me hard around the shoulders and whispered in my ear, “Don’t go outside at night!”

Me and James were camping near a lake. It was our first night there. Everything was going good. Until, I woke up in the middle of the night. I looked to my side. James wasn’t there. I assumed he walked away to go to the bathroom. I went back to sleep. I woke up after a few hours at the crack of dawn. I looked to my side again, James wasn’t there. I began to worry. I started searching the woods. My heart racing in fear. I was searching for about two hours. I was tired and I felt as if I were starving. I started heading back to the camp. I needed firewood, food, and water. First I went into the forest and picked up small logs and sticks. I heard strange rustling in the leaves. It was probably just an animal. After I had picked up enough wood for a fire, I headed back to the tent. I placed rocks in a circle then placed some dry leaves and the firewood I had collected. I grabbed matches from my backpack and lit the fire. I grabbed the fishing rods I packed and walked onto the dock over the lake. I put bait on the fishing hook and cast it into the water. A few minutes passed. Nothing. Almost another hour passed. Nothing. I was desperate for food. I started to walk around the lake to see if I could spot any fish. Nothing. Finally I heard a fish jump out of the water and back in. I was relieved. But the only problem, was that I didn’t see the fish. I looked around in the direction the sound came from. I realized it came from underneath the dock. I walked up to the dock and looked around for the fish. I bent over to see under the dock. But there was no fish. I decided to cast my bait under the dock. After a few seconds a something grabbed the bait, It started to pull very hard. The fishing rod flew out of my hands and under the dock. _It couldn’t have been a fish, _I thought to myself. I didn’t know what to do. I had no fishing rod to catch fish, but I haven’t eaten in over a day. I still hadn’t found James. I heard something rise from the water. I looked around to see what it was. I noticed something. I saw a head, with it’s to eyes staring directly at me. I jumped when I realized what it was. I started walking backwards slowly. Then I turned around and jolted to the tent. I got inside quickly and started panicking. It was getting dark so I must’ve just seen a rock, is what I told myself. I lay there in fear and hunger. I didn’t know what to do. I heard crunching in the leaves heading toward the tent. Was it James? I nearly fainted when I realized the sound was coming from the direction of the lake. Slowly, the zipper to the entrance of the tent began to move. The door was now wide open. I looked up. I saw the face of a ghost. I recognized the ghost. I quickly realized, it was James.

I’m lost in space. Thousands of lightyears away from Earth. Me and my crew were adventuring far away to find a planet suitable for humans. We had plenty of food and water left over. Our mission was going great. Until, there was a loud crashing noise. Whatever it was it made the whole ship shake. We were knocked off course. No one was controling the ship. We were speeding toward a snowy planet off in the distance. “Brace for impact!” The commander shouted over the intercom. Before I knew it the ship crashed on the snowy planet and we lost all of our power. Unfortunately it crashed directly on the area where our food was stored. One by one each crew member put on their suit and left the ship. Bad thoughts went through everyones minds as we stood there in the snow staring at the wrecked spaceship. I still had no clue what had happened. I decided to ask the watch crew. “We were hit by a large astroid,” said the man from the watch crew. “We weren’t able to warn the pilot in time, the astroid wasn’t even heading in our direction. It just started speeding toward us. Something had to of pushed it toward us. Even then what are the chances it went directly toward us?” _Something had to of pushed the astroid toward us on purpose. _I thought to myself. What could have done this? And why? Since we didn’t have any food I decided to search the planet to find something. I started walking away. There were many hills and mountains here. I climbed to the top of a hill and looked around for a food or water source. Nothing. Out of the corner of my eye I saw something move. I jumped and looked around to see if I could spot anything. Then, I noticed a strange creature about two hundred feet away from me. It was maybe ten feet tall, had dark grey skin, standing on two legs with its two arms at its sides with long sharp fingers, Its head was the shape of a humans but without a nose or a mouth, behind it were many tentacles reaching out from its back. I looked at its face and saw two dark eyes staring directly at me. My heart began to pump even harder. I turned around and realized I had gone too far from the ship. There was no where to go. I was lost. I looked ahead to the creature and it took a few steps toward me and leaned its head in my direction. I took a few steps back out of fear and the creature started running toward me. Without hesitation I turned around and ran in the direction I came from. I didn’t stop running. The creature didn’t stop chasing me. The ship came into view. Was I going to make it? “Help!” I shouted hoping some one would hear me. No reply. “Help!” I called again. No reply. As I got closer to the ship I realized. No one was there. _Hopefully they just went inside. _I thought to myself. The creature continued to chase me. It was catching up to me. I didn’t stop running no matter how much I wanted to. I was only a few feet from the ship. But the creature was right behind me. Reaching out to grab me. Then, I heard a loud bang. I turned around quickly. I saw one of my crewmates standing there in shock, holding a shotgun. He had shot the creature. He saved my life. I was about to thank him when I heard a roar echoing from the distance. I turned around, and saw the same creature very far in the distance. Only it wasn’t like the one I saw. It was bigger than the planet I was standing on.

A few nights ago, I had a nightmare. I was alone at night walking home from my night shift around two in the morning. I heard leaves rustling behind me. I gazed over my shoulder every time I heard it. Then I noticed something staring at me from behind a bush. I told myself it was just my imagination but I didn’t think it was. I picked up my pase hoping I could make it home before it catches up with me. It kept following me, hiding behind objects by the side of the road. I noticed it was wearing some sort of amulet around its neck. Finally my house came into view. I walked up the stairs leading to my front porch as I grabbed my the keys out of my pocket. I just managed to unlock the door as I heard it’s footsteps slowly climbing the stairs behind me. I jumped inside and locked the door. I was safe. I was pacing around my kitchen thinking about what had happened when I heard a heavy knock on my front door. I hesitated to go near it. I decided to glance through the peekhole without making any noise. There was nobody there. But there was the same amulet that the creature was wearing sitting on the doormat. I quietly opened the door and grabbed the amulet. I shut the door quickly and locked once again. I noticed I got a terrible migraine when I picked up the amulet. I woke up at that moment. I slowly rose from my bed thinking about my nightmare. I felt a cold spot on my chest. I looked down and saw the amulet resting around my neck. My heart began to race. I was terrified. I decided to keep it on and see what happens. I got ready and left for work. After my shift was over it became midnight I got in my car and started to drive home. On my watch back I saw more of the same creature. At least five of them headinv toward my car. I drove home as fast as I could. I pulled into my driveway and ran from the car to my door. I struggled to get the keys in the door as I heard stomping coming up the stairs. I just opened the door in time. I locked the door and went straight for my bed. I couldn’t sleep. I kept hearing whispers in a low voice saying, “Give us the amulet.” I finally drifted off to sleep. When woke up I knew I had to bury the amulet in the woods so these creatures stop bothering me. I got dressed, went to my garage and grabbed my shovel. There was a forest across the street at the front of my house. I entered and ran for about ten minutes into the woods. I began to dig a hole. I placed the amulet at the bottom and covered it up. My migraine went away. I ran back home and got ready for work. When I arrived at my workplace I had to tell someone about everything that happened. I sat down and decided to tell my friend beside me, “I know you’re going to think I’m crazy but listen to me.” I went on to explain the whole story. He didn’t seem to be surprised. But what he said was what left me in shock. “Finally I found you, we were looking for the amulet. And you’re going to regret ever taking it!”

I don’t know how I got here. I don’t know why I’m here. I don’t know how to leave. There are no windows or doors. The last thing I remeber is arriving home from the office after a long day and lying in my bed. I woke up in this room to a strange person leaning over and looking me in the eyes. He was about three quarters of my height in an all-black outfit, he had a hood around his silver mask without any features, nothing but two holes carved out. I looked far past the holes and I saw two dark eyes staring into mine. My eyes were too strained to notice how he escaped the room. Now I have nothing. Nothing but thoughts. I stood up wearily and started to search the walls for an exit. Nothing. I searched the floors. Nothing. I simply sat there and waited for something to happen. After hours of waiting, when all hope was lost. The man floated through the wall. I didn’t know what he wanted or why. His boney hand covered by a black glove reached for my arm. He gripped tight and whispered into my ear, “Give up. You will never escape.”