Chapter Text
Something’s burning.
That was the first thing he thought once he stepped out of the building. It was a chilly night of August, autumn seemed to approach them faster than last year and K-Hotel was just as quiet as any other night. Lighting up a cigarette, he crossed the hotel’s front parking lot and headed to the small wooded area from a park nearby, where some of his colleagues were doing patrol.
They had received a weird call through their walkie-talkies and couldn’t contact them anymore, so he was sent to investigate.
He hated walking around at night.
His cigarette was done by the time he reached the outskirts of the park, the moon was full that night and shone over the small wooden path that cut through the trees and, the first thing he noticed was the eerie silence when he should be hearing conversation. Now, a bit more alert, he cautiously made his way through the grass, his footsteps muffled by fallen leaves and twigs.
The smell of something burning was a lot stronger there, making him cover his nose and mouth. He couldn’t see any smoke nor hear the sound of fire burning, but the smell was strong enough to make his eyes watery.
The ominous silence seemed to grow thick with each passing second, not even insects seemed to want to break it and as he pressed forward, a sense of unease crept over him, a primal instinct warning him that something was very wrong. Still, he chose to ignore the chill that ran down his spine.
It’s probably just another stupid prank by those assholes.
Suddenly, a low growl echoed through the trees, making him stop dead in his tracks. The sound cut the silence and triggered every insect into a cacophony of sounds. Noticing how it seemed to come from somewhere in front of him, he quietly hid himself behind a nearby tree.
Peeking around the corner, he glimpsed a monstrous figure crouched down beside a faint lamppost, and the sight was enough to make his heart drop to his stomach. A creature was hunched over something that took him a while to recognize as a person.
The body lay mangled, blood was smeared across the wooden path and all over the creature’s fur, glistening under the light, and dripping from its jaw. His dinner rose up to his throat at the sight. Still, all he could smell was the burning stench that seemed to overthrow any remnant of the metallic scent that might’ve permeated the air.
Although he couldn’t identify the creature, he had heard about it before, but he had always thought it was just an urban legend. He quietly stood there, hearing as the creature tore into its grisly meal, growling as bones cracked between its jaws, like a savage dog eating a carcass.
Fear gripped him at his core, breath caught in his throat as he watched in horror, paralyzed by the gruesome scene.
He had to get away.
If he wanted to survive, he had to leave before it found him. There’s no more need to look for anyone.
He was sure all the others were dead as well.
Looking away, he struggled to control his breathing, trying to quell the rising panic that threatened to consume him, but it was no use. His breathing was too erratic and he felt like he was going to suffocate by himself.
Calm down! I need to keep quiet just until it leaves. I’ll be fine if I just remain still.
But fate had other plans.
The sudden absence of the gory sounds sent him into another panic attack as he peeked around the tree once again.
Its eyes glowing with a feral hunger as he locked eyes with it.
Silence swallowed him again and just as the creature launched itself towards him, he knew there was no use running.
The last thing he saw was its ember like eyes and its mouth full of teeth as its jaw closed around his head.