The Devourer

There is a road outside of town that no one dares to travel at night. They say something unnatural is there. One night, I chose to challenge the stories myself. Now I wish I hadn't, I can never leave my house at night because it is always waiting. Listen to my story so you never make the same mistake.

It was a typical winter night for the high desert in California. I had grown up hearing stories of a monster that would swallow unwitting people whole if they traveled down the decommissioned road at night, which now I know the reason it had been shut down. I only wish I had listened. No one ever lived to mention that it stalks you if you manage to escape it.

I had decided to leave my house with an LED flashlight and try finding the "Monster". I wasn't completely stupid, even if it didn't exist it wasn't smart to travel alone, so I got my friend Martin to go with me. We grew up together and he was the only one I trusted with my life out in the middle of nowhere.

We left from his house and began our walk out of town. The stories all say to follow the central road out of town until it dead ends, then take the dirt road past the dead end, which is the decommissioned service road that has spawned all the hysteria. People say the further you follow, the less of the road you see. Once you can longer see the ground below you, there's no turning back.

So we started down the service road as cynical as we could be. Martin turned to me and asked "So how much of a crock of shit do you think this is anyway?" I just shook my head and said to keep going. He had always been even more cynical than I was, but it was like he was out to prove more than just a myth. I looked from him back to the road and for a fraction of a second, my heart skipped a beat. It was a dark night, but that didn't explain how I hadn't noticed the sudden appearance of fog. This must be why you can't see the road, the fog just probably never dissipates.

We continued further and started to notice how silent it was getting. Not even the sound of the local crickets rang through the air. The further we went, the thicker it got. Eventually we got to the point where we couldn't see the road.

We should have turned back, but we were paralyzed with fear. I couldn't move, but Martin shook it off and kept going. That's when it appeared. A giant figure snatched Martin into the air and swallowed him whole. Before I could run, it stared at me. At least, I thought it was staring. After standing there for what seemed like an eternity, I realized that this creature had no eyes, otherwise it would have found me easily seeing as how my light was still on.

I'm not sure what possessed me to do it, but I shined my light at it so I could see this horror for myself. This thing standing no more than ten feet from me stood like a gorilla and was as tall as a two story house. I was correct in assuming it had no eyes, but it had a giant, human like face. It had no lips, but it did have teeth, from ear to ear. It had hair, or what looked like it, halfway down its arms, and reptilian skin that lacked pigment.

I didn't want to move until it started sniffing the air. I ran. I ran as fast as I possibly could. The no entry sign crept closer and I stole a glance behind me. It wasn't following me. I just kept running.

I made it into my front door, locked it, and hid in my room. Of course, this was foolish, if it came, it could easily crash through my house. It was then that I heard a booming voice in my head. "I know you're there" it said, "I'm waiting, one night you will forget, and you will be my next meal. I will wait. I always wait."

The next morning I opened my door, nothing was there. I stayed in my room all day, wishing I would have listened. The woods across from my house gave me a chill just looking at them. As night fell, I looked out my window only to see, illuminated by a single street lamp, the creature hiding in the trees.

Now you know my story. I can never leave my house at night, because it's active at night. The voice taunts me every night and I grow closer to giving in.