Shadows
Fiction by Ben Macnair
It was a moonlit evening when Sarah and Jake, a young couple deeply in love, decided to take a romantic stroll along the desolate beach near their small coastal town. The waves crashed rhythmically against the shore, creating an enchanting symphony that filled the air. As they wandered farther from the familiar lights of the boardwalk, they laughed and shared secrets, blissfully unaware of the darkness that loomed ahead. As they rounded a rocky outcropping, something caught Sarah’s eye—a glimmering object half-buried in the sand.
Curiosity piqued, they approached, and what they uncovered sent shivers down their spines. A creature, unlike anything they had ever seen, lay sprawled on the beach. Its skin shimmered with iridescent hues, shifting in the moonlight, and its elongated limbs ended in spindly fingers that curled unnaturally.
“Is it… alive?”
Jake whispered, stepping back cautiously. Sarah, despite her instincts screaming at her to flee, reached out to touch it.
The instant her fingers grazed its cold, slick skin, a deep, resonant hum filled the air, vibrating through their bones. The creature’s eyes snapped open—two voids of darkness that seemed to absorb the light around them. As if answering her unspoken question, the creature stirred, its movements slow and deliberate. It emitted a low, guttural sound that reverberated like a deep echo in a vast cavern. Panic surged through Jake; he grabbed Sarah’s arm, urging her to retreat. But they were frozen, entranced by the creature’s otherworldly presence.
Suddenly, the air turned cold, and the hum intensified, resonating with the heartbeat of the Earth itself. Shadows began to stretch and twist, forming grotesque shapes that danced along the beach. The sand beneath their feet seemed to pulse, and whispers filled the air—fragments of distant screams, begging for release.
“Run!”
Jake finally shouted, breaking the spell. They turned, sprinting down the beach, but the creature’s hum transformed into a deafening roar, shaking the very ground beneath them. The shadows twisted into tendrils, reaching for them, clawing at their ankles, urging them to succumb to the darkness. With adrenaline surging, they reached the safety of the boardwalk, collapsing against the wooden rails, gasping for breath. They looked back, but the beach was empty, as if the night had swallowed the creature whole.
“What was that?”
Sarah panted, her heart racing.
“I don’t know”
Jake replied, his voice trembling.
“But we shouldn’t have messed with it. We have to warn everyone.”
As they turned to leave, a chilling realization washed over them. The whispers from the shadows echoed in their minds, and they suddenly understood: they were not just witnesses to something otherworldly; they had become part of it. Their laughter, their secrets, their love—all tainted by the creature they had disturbed. From that night on, the beach became a haunted place, where couples walked hand in hand but returned forever changed, haunted by whispers and shadows, as the creature awaited its next encounter beneath the sands, longing for companionship in its alien world.
Dusk
As dusk fell on the secluded beach, the golden hues of the sunset cast an ethereal glow over the waves, creating an idyllic atmosphere for Sarah and Tom, a young couple lost in the bliss of their newfound romance.
They wandered hand in hand, laughter mingling with the sound of crashing surf, their footprints marking the sand behind them. Suddenly, their playful banter ceased as a strange glow flickered in the distance. Intrigued, they followed the light, their curiosity propelling them forward. As they approached, the soft, luminescent shimmer gave way to the shadow of something unusual—something that didn’t belong to this world.
Lying half-buried in the sand was a creature, its form both mesmerizing and terrifying. It was covered in iridescent scales that shifted colours in the dim light, with elongated limbs and piercing, multicoloured eyes that seemed to glow with an otherworldly intelligence. Tom and Sarah exchanged a glance filled with awe and a tinge of fear.
“Should we touch it?”
Tom whispered, his voice barely audible over the crashing waves. Sarah, entranced, stepped closer, her heart racing with both excitement and foreboding. As she reached out, the creature’s eyes locked onto hers, a deep, unsettling connection forming. Just then, a low rumble echoed from the depths of the ocean, sending chills down their spines.
Before they could retreat, the creature stirred, its body shifting as it fully emerged from the sand. It opened its mouth, revealing rows of jagged teeth glistening in the fading light, and let out a sound that was a mix of a roar and a haunting melody. The air grew thick with an unnatural energy, and an icy wind whipped around them, extinguishing the last rays of sunlight.
Fear gripped them, but Sarah felt an inexplicable pull toward the creature. The enchanting glow seemed to whisper to her, drawing her in, while Tom grabbed her arm, desperation welling in his voice.
“We need to go! Now!”
But Sarah, entranced, couldn’t resist. As she stepped closer, the creature lunged, its claw-like appendages extending toward her. Time slowed as Tom pulled her back just in time, but the creature’s grip caught the hem of her dress, tearing it with a sickening rip. In that moment of chaos, the creature’s eyes blazed with rage and hunger, and the beach around them warped, the sand swirling like a tornado.
The couple found themselves encased in a whirlwind of darkness, the world transforming into a nightmarish landscape where shadows danced and whispers echoed. Together, they ran, the creature’s maddening screech chasing them as they stumbled over rocky terrain. The once-familiar beach became a twisted version of itself, an endless loop of despair where they could never escape. They held onto each other, knowing that the bond they once cherished was now their only defense against the horrors that lurked beyond the veil of reality. As dawn broke, casting its light over the beach, locals would later find only the remnants of a torn dress and a deep, unnatural silence where laughter once echoed. But Sarah and Tom? They were lost in a realm where nightmares roamed free, forever haunted by the creature that was not of this earth.
Ben Macnair is an award winning poet and playwright from Staffordshire in the United Kingdom. Follow him on Twitter @ benmacnair
