Don’t Go In There! The hunger hurt its belly, gnawing it with cold fingers on the inside. It yearned for relief. As it lay in the swamp, it remembered its past. It remembered that it was once human. It remembered that it once lived with humans. It remembered that it once had a name. But that was history. This was now. The slimy ooze of the bayou slid across it’s skin as it moved. It must eat soon, but it didn’t want to eat. Eating meant something human had to die. For some reason, it still felt guilt at this thought. It didn’t want to kill. However, its survival dictated otherwise. It pulled itself out of the water and crawled through the marshlands while the dusk turned darker. Suddenly, it caught the glimpse of light ahead. Lights meant that humans were near. The hunger drove it to move faster. The hunger made it bold. The lights grew brighter, and it heard voices. Human voices. It’s mouth watered. It passed through some brush and entered a clearing where the grass was cut short. Colorful lanterns hung from the back porch of a rusted trailer, and a twinkling lights draped the makeshift railing that hung sideways off the steps. Light shown through the torn curtains hanging in the windows. It backed away for it didn’t want to be seen. A ball rolled by, and the little girl that followed laughed as she chased it down. Mmmmm, tasty sweet young flesh. So close, so close! It moved toward her. The little girl saw it and screamed. Her shriek pierced its ears with pain. It winced but kept moving. The noise would go away once it caught its prey. It lunged for the girl, and she fell. It’s teeth grazed the back of her foot and hot blood spilled into its mouth. Oh, the delicious flavor! She kicked it’s head, and her legs propelled her forward. This was supposed to be easy. She was making it difficult. It charged to chase down its prey. Why couldn’t she have stayed down? A quick death… easier for her, easier for it. The girl ran into the house, the door slamming shut behind her. Voices came from within and then the outside lights turned off. The house went dark as well. It hesitated. Should it pursue? This was dangerous territory. The swamp was its home. It was powerful there. The darkness felt familiar but it didn't trust the house. The smell of cooked meat came from within. The stink of it made it uneasy. It tasted the girl’s blood on its lips, and its stomach growled. Don’t go in there! The thought flitted through its head. But a lovely meal waited on just the other side of the door. All it had to do was enter. Don’t go in there! It’s heart raced with fear and excitement. The food was too close to let go. It raised its webbed paw and clawed open the door. The floors felt strange, flat and hard with a slippery surface. It continued on into the darkness of the house. It smelled several humans now. Such a lovely smell! If it couldn’t have the girl, it would devour the first human it came across. Excitement made it giddy, and it abandoned any caution as it went deeper into the unknown. Whack! A searing pain smacked it in the shoulder. Still, it moved forward. Crack! This time it felt a burning sensation force its way into the side of its head. Its vision became blurry as it flipped over onto its back. It thought, "I never should have come in here". Crack! It felt its ribs break, and a searing pain in its lungs. It tried to move but couldn’t. A dullness settled into its limbs, and the world spun as it tried to wave its legs. Above it stood a large man, his face hidden in the shadows. He held a bloodied shovel above his head. “Ha!†said the man. “Looks like we caught ourselves another one of those weird looking tailless gators!†“Shoot, we just bagged one the other night,†said another voice. A woman holding a flashlight appeared beside the man. “The swamp is crawling with them critters since they had that accident over at the laboratory. Do ya think it’s one of those experiments that got loose?†“Dang if I know,†said the man again. "If it is, it's their loss, our gain. We can use the extra meat.†“Guess we should cut it up and put it in the freezer since we’re already cooking the other one.†“Sounds good to me!†The man snorted and spit. “And do something about Suzy before she bleeds all over the couch with that foot. I have a game to watch tonight on the TV, and I don’t want my spot to be all wet.†The woman sighed. “Fine, I’ll fix the girl. You deal with the critter. Use the saw under the kitchen sink. I can’t do two things at once!†The man grunted and turned on a lamp nearby. Brightness filled the room, which was littered with toys, discarded clothing and torn furniture. The little girl had curled up into a ball on the dirty couch. It felt the man grab one of its back legs to drag it from the light. It wanted to move, but pain took its breath away. It was lifted up from the floor and thrown onto a table. It tried to fight back, but it’s limbs felt like lead. It heard sounds: the click of an overhead lamp, doors banging, a whirring of something being pulled and then a loud buzz sound. In the distance, the girl whimpered. If only it had given up on its prey. But it was too late, and the saw came closer. Word count = 969 Inspiration: This was inspired by Stephen King's short stories and Swamp Thing. I wanted to write this from the creature's point of view. And of course at the end the humans are the ones who turn out to be the 'monsters'.