(so this turned out eh but it's a school assignment so i'm not that mad about it)

        I don't know if I have much time to write this, but it may be my only explanation to tell what happened.

So I live out in a woody area where you have to walk pretty far to get to any other house. The closest I can even get to my house by car is still about a mile away, but I have my dog Lacey to keep me company, so I'm not lonely out here. It's a nice place to live, since you can have plenty of space to relax. However,it can also get really creepy sometimes.

Around here there's a story that goes around. It's not very believable, since it's about how many old settlers turned to cannibalism and slowly became human like creatures that prey on those who wander at night. Despite the fact that I hadn't really believed it, I still stayed indoors when night fell,due to wild animals that could be hiding in the dark.

Yesterday however, I had run low on food and decided to drive into town. The sun was only setting as I strolled down the path to my car, and the last light of day shown in a stark red. I had left my dog back in the house, since i wouldn't be gone long. She had been acting somewhat off in the past few days. Lacey was a very sweet and quite dog, however she had started to bark and growl at the foot of the door whenever she heard a sound out there. This was strange for her, since she never usually barked at anything, and she used to be fine with noises coming from outside. I figured that she wouldn't have wanted to visit town if it would be night by the time we got home.

The path that leads to the parking lot is along a river, and, as could be assumed, is through the forest. During the day, the path is lit up with sunlight pouring through the trees,but at night, there aren't any lights so it's pitch dark. Since I knew I was going to be out after dark, I brought a flashlight and my pocket knife. If any animals were to try and attack, a pocket knife wouldn't do much damage, but it was the only thing i could have taken for precautionary measures.

As I was aimlessly walking, I noticed that the river had large footprints near the edge. They looked like human feet, so I didn't think anything of it. Lots of people used this path to get to their cars. It wouldn't be unreasonable that someone had to cross the river in the process.

Of course looking back, I should have been more suspicious, but in the moment there were many things I wasn't considering.

Stepping into my car, I heard a sort of crunching sound, almost like leaves being crushed underfoot. The only problem is that it's late spring, meaning there were no leaves on the ground.

Remembering that I had to get to town as soon as possible, I tried to just bush it off and started my car. Looking back on it, I slightly wish I had investigated further, but then again who knew what would have happened if I had.

It was dark by the time I stepped out o the shopping center.As I was on my way back to the car, I caught a glimpse of something moving behind the building. This is around the time I started to worry. Whether this was a person or an animal, they were most likely following me. I hurried to my car as quickly as I could and started to drive home.

I calmed down a bit as I drove home,comforted by the safety of my car. Once I got to the parking lot, I made sure to have everything together, as well as my flashlight and pocket knife easily accessible.

The forest was pitch black, but thankfully the path was worn down enough that it was clear where it led. I switched on my flashlight and began my way back to my house. It was absolutely silent, almost making the trek back more terrifying. This was a forest. There's always something making noise, even if it's only a small one.

All I could even ear was my own footsteps and breathing. The second my house came into view I felt a wave of relief wash over me, but it didn't last very long.

I noticed that my door was slightly tilted, like it had been ripped off the top hinge. My imediate was that someone must have tried to break in. The thought of Lacey snapped into my mind. She wasn't barking like she had been lately.I grabbed my pocket knife and slowly open the door.

It was silent in the house, just like the forest had been. For the next few minutes, I crept through the house, searching for anyone who could have been hiding, as well as my dog. I didn't find either of those things.

My thoughts went to the little shed that was attached to the house, since Lacey would occasionally get in if I had left the door cracked. The only thing I found in the shed was a small hole in the wall's corner.

Thinking that whoever broke in may come back, I waited in the corner of the house with my pocket knife, the only real weapon I had.

Fast forward to around 1 in the morning. In my barely awake state I managed to hear the same crunching sound as I had earlier that day. Thinking quickly, I quietly went to the door and peered out the small window.

It still disgusts me to even describe what I saw, but without a description it's hard to understand how grotesque the scene was.

The creature was at least seven feet tall, crouched down with it's back to the door. It's skin was like pale leather stretched over bones. It looked almost human, as it had a pair of legs and arms like a human does. It's hand - no, claws - were thin like the rest of it's body, with knife-like fingernails that were stained in a dark crimson liquid. I began to feel sick realizing that the liquid must have been blood.

As the creature turned, I saw it's face. It was absolutely bone chilling, with a distorted face, a slit for a mouth, and teeth as sharp as it's fingernails. The most eerie thing about the creature was it's eyes.

They were dark, but not enough to hide it's dilated pupils that bore into you as you looked at them. They were wide and filled with a twisted rage. The worst part of them were the whites of it's eyes, which were clearly visible even in the dim lighting, similar to how human eyes are.

The creature ripped at something on the ground, making that haunting crunching sound. I had managed to catch a glimpse of creature's prey as it was being tossed around.

It wasn't much, but I recognized the spotted brown and white fur.

I buckled over in fear and pain. That thing was the reason I couldn't find Lacey when I got home. The thought was enough to leave me on the ground in silent tears, knowing the creature was still out there and may try to come for me as well.

I waited against the door for hours, my face stinging from all the tears, forced to listen to the terrifying sound of flesh being ripped apart.

By morning I peered out the small window, hoping the thing was gone. I saw it pacing around the house, as if it were questioning if it wanted to enter the house. The porch was stained with blood and fur was scattered around the ground.

That was around an hour ago as of the time I'm writing this, and the creature still hasn't gone. I blocked the door with as much furniture as I could move, but now the creature is trying to get in. It started screeching about ten minutes ago and the sound is unbearable.

I've realized why the creature hadn't attacked me during the day when I first heard the crunching sound. It must have seen me as it was already preying on another animal, or even another person, and decided to stalk me after it had finished.

Why it had gotten into my house and attacked my dog instead of me I still don't know.

Oh god I can hear it starting to break down the door. Please listen to my warning when I say to never- never- go out at night alone, because no matter where you are there is always something out there, and it could be deadly