I had lost half my flock of chickens to an unknown predator. But I knew something was out there. I saw the glint of the eyes by the light of my tactical. I leveled the barrel. Fingers barely touching the trigger.

I held my breath, waiting for the creature to make its move. The silence was oppressive, pressing down a crushing weight. My pulse quickened. The glint of eyes vanished, only to reappear in a different spot, closer this time. And my heart skipped, as it was thundering in my chest.

Suddenly, a low growl resonated from the darkness, vibrating through the trees. It wasn’t the sound of any animal I knew. It was too deep, too resonant, almost metallic. The hair on the back of my neck stood alert and quivered.

Slowly, I inched forward, my boots barely making a sound on the forest floor. The beam from my light cut through the thick underbrush, revealing nothing but shadows and twisted branches. But I could feel it — something was watching me. Studying me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of something unnatural. A shimmer in the air, like heat waves rising from the asphalt on a summer day. It flickered, then solidified into the outline of a large, hulking figure.

I hesitated, my finger twitching with a pulse of its own. This wasn’t just any predator. This was something else entirely. Something that didn’t belong here.

Before I could react, the figure lunged. I fired a shot, cycling the next round, the sound echoing through the trees, ringing in my ears and in my head. But it passed right through the creature, as if it were made of smoke. Panic surged through me as I stumbled back, trying to keep the barrel trained on the thing, but it was moving too fast, too erratically.

And then, just as quickly as it had appeared, it vanished. The forest was silent once more, but I knew it was still out there. I could feel its presence, like a cold hand resting on my shoulder.

I didn’t know what I had just encountered, but I was certain of one thing: my chickens were the least of my worries now.

I took a moment to gather myself, the adrenaline still coursing through my veins. Whatever that thing was, it wasn’t natural. It was as if I had encountered something from another world, or perhaps something that had been here all along, hidden from sight.

The forest, once a familiar and peaceful place, now felt like hostile territory. I had no choice but to head back to my cabin, but every step I took was cautious, every sense in my body on alert. The path was barely visible, overgrown with weeds and brambles that scratched at my legs as I hurried along. The trees loomed above, their twisted branches forming grotesque shapes in the darkness.

As I approached the cabin, I noticed something strange. The door, which I had locked before leaving, was slightly ajar. My heart skipped again. Had someone, or something, been inside?

I paused at the threshold, listening. The interior was dark, save for the faint glow of the dying embers in the fireplace. I pushed the door open with the barrel of my shotgun, ready for anything. The door creaked ominously as it swung inward, revealing the familiar yet unsettling sight of my home.

Everything appeared to be in place, but there was an odd feeling in the air. A subtle charge, like the aftermath of a lightning strike. I stepped inside, my boots thudding softly against the wooden floorboards. The smell of burnt wood mingled with something else, something acrid. Old. Older than sin.

I moved like a shadow through the cabin, knowing every step, every creak familiar. Nothing seemed disturbed, but that only deepened my unease. When I finally reached the small study at the back of the house, I froze. There, on the desk where I usually kept my papers and notes, was an object that hadn’t been there before. A small, metallic box, about the size of a book, with strange symbols etched into its surface.

I approached it slowly, my breath catching in my throat. The symbols glowed faintly, pulsing with an otherworldly light. I didn’t recognize them. They were like no language or markings I had ever seen.

As I reached out to touch the box, a sudden jolt of energy shot through my fingers, causing me to pull back in shock. The box hummed softly, as if it were alive, or connected to something far beyond my understanding.

I had no idea what this box was or where it had come from.

That didn’t matter now though.
It had found, me.