The Cat Eyed Creature

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. The cabin was owned by two brothers back when men newly settled in these lands. Then men disappeared one night and nothing was left but overturned furniture and the candle in the window. The candle would light every now and then. When its flame lit up the cabin, the whole of the forest seemed a darker place. People who went to investigate the candle were never seen again. It seemed the only ones that were safe in the forest were the cats. For as long as anyone can remember, it was the strays that owned those wooden lands. And, when the candle was lit, the people that lived on the outskirts of the woods would see their yellow green eyes glaring at them from the inside. Lifetimes passed and the story of the brothers turned into a folk tale and the cabin stayed abandoned. The woods were abandoned by man as nature had seemingly claimed it. You would think that people of the town would all know this about the woods, but two people in particular had never heard the rumors. On one sad day, these individuals found out how truly terrifying the unknown can actually be.

It was a Friday during mid-September. The sun had set and the candle burned. Cop sirens were heard for miles. A bank was robbed and one man taken hostage. The thief’s car could be heard burning tread to escape the cops. When, BANG, a tire went flying from the car. The thief lost control and crashed, ending up at the base of a bent and twisted tree. The thief hopped out and looked back to the road. The sirens grew louder. His name was Harvey, and he lived a rotten life. He threw his life, a life worth fixing, away to feed his own baser instincts and wants. Committing crimes that threw away his humanity and whose consequences were finally, as all consequences do, catching up with him. Harvey ran to the passenger’s side door, flung it open, and dragged the hostage from the car. “Marcus, come on, we need to keep moving. The cops are on our tail. GET UP!” Marcus struggled to get on his feet only to be pulled away losing his balance again.

Marcus was what people would say “at the wrong place at the wrong time”. People knew him as a simple man who worked in their local bank. He was normally seen by himself and was not a very social person. He was small in stature and rather meek. He was closing up the bank when he was robbed and dragged away into a strange car. Harvey looked around and through the trees he saw a small orange light and dragged his hostage to it. Marcus tried to keep up his running, but he would often stumble. Both couldn't get rid of the feeling that they were being stalked. Marcus noticed yellow eyes that belonged to the cats on them and for a second he thought maybe this is why they felt like they were being watched. However, this haunting feeling came from somewhere else. The two made it to the abandoned cabin and without a second thought Harvey led them inside. Both would soon learn it held no greater safety.

The cabin was simple with the main room being large. Two front windows on the front, one on each side of the front door, and one on each connecting wall. In the back was the kitchen and to the right of it was a small bedroom. Harvey threw Marcus over in the corner to the left of the door and Marcus curled up. He hoped to seem small as though maybe, if he could become small enough, his abductor may simply forget about him. But, in the back of his mind Marcus accepted the truth. He knew Harvey and the type of man who he was secluded with. He knew, deep down in his soul, there would be no hope. So Marcus, devoid of options, cried silently while Harvey paced the room back and forth.

Nearly foaming out the mouth Harvey paced, stomping on the old wooden planks. Each time the boards rubbed together it seemed like they were moaning and screeching out as if telling the men to leave now. “This isn't the end. The cops stopped by the tree line. They let me go but why? Probably to get dogs or wait till more men get here. That's it! They're waiting for more people. Didn't want to go into the forest when the sun is down. I'll take this chance! I can cover more ground before they get here. But then there’s you… What am I supposed to do about you, Marcus?” Harvey glared at Marcus. “I’ll be faster without you. But what would she think?” Marcus’s eyes grew large with fear as Harvey approached. “What would mamma do when she finds out I left you behind?”. He stepped slowly and at that moment another noise rang out that seemed like it was coming from deep within the cabin. MEOW.

Harvey stopped and spun around looking at the old beams of the cabin’s roof. There he only saw the vague shapes of the beams in the dark as well as a set of greenish orbs staring at him. This froze Harvey but only for a moment. He took an item from his pocket, a lighter, and threw it at the noise. Harvey missed the greenish orbs, but hit the beam making a metallic clack. The lighter fell to the ground and with it the owner of the orbs. Another cat, whose eyes gleamed when the light of the candle hit them.

“Cats? Why are they all over the damn place.” Harvey went to pick his lighter up as the tabby ran off. “It's not that dark yet I’ll just leave” Harvey said looking towards Marcus. “Oh yeah, I almost forgot about you Marcus. What to do? What to DO?!” Harvey grunted as he kicked the tied up Marcus, knocking the wind out of him. “Always been holding me back haven't you?” Harvey went to kick again but stopped. Another noise pierced the air, this one came from outside. MEOW. Harvey ran to the window and looked into the dark forest to see more shimmering eyes watching him. A group of felines singing their call. “More strays? The hell is wrong with them? Are you seeing this?” Harvey turned to Marcus for a second before turning his attention back to the window. He turned back and jumped, in the split second he looked away another cat suddenly jumped on the windowsill. He banged on the window and the creature on the other side scurried off back into the forest. Harvey turned back to Marcus to see him staring at the far end of the room. He followed Marcus’s gaze to the dark window.

There Harvey met another set of cat’s eyes. He stomped over with bravado and hit the window to scare the feline. However, the eyes sat there staring, shrouded in darkness, reflecting the flame from the candle on the other side of the room. The eyes moved and locked eye contact with Harvey before slinking away. Harvey, shaking a chill off his back, started to pace again. He tried to think about how he’d escape, but his thoughts always came back to those eyes that he just saw. “The eyes… they were bigger, bigger than any cat’s. Maybe it was a larger cat? Maybe deformed?” Harvey stepped away from the window. Shaken, he scrambled to find another candle to illuminate more windows. However, while Harvey was searching for another candle, Marcus watched as those strange eyes reappeared. In that moment it locked its eyes with Marcus’s. He let out a soft whimper and heard something. A new noise coming directly from his own mind. A sort of ragged breathing echoed in his head as he stared into these pools of reflective yellow-green. Harvey heard the meek whimpers of Marcus and followed his gaze. As Harvey turned back around the eyes moved away from the window and with it the silhouette of the creature's size. Marcus closed his eyes at the thing as Harvey swore that it had to be another person! “Someone who owns this cabin maybe?! Someone who’s tormenting me for their own twisted pleasure!” Harvey had never been on the receiving side of this torment. It had always been his to deal out and for the tables to be turned against him it shook his very soul.

Then in the dead silence, it started. The chorus started like a symphony. As if the very trees were cats themselves. The forest filled with the sounds of meows and other cat yells. The chorus got louder and louder. Marcus closed his eyes and tried to cover his ears with tied hands, hoping to stop the maddening cacophony of these howls. As the meowing reached its highest volume like the cats had surrounded the very cabin… it stopped. The animals ceased and in its place a more diabolical sound, a thump. As if something threw its gangly body against the door. The door bowed slightly but did not open. The door was locked and would not give way to this ‘thumping’. Another slam and then a “meow", but a different meow. As if a large house cat was on the cabin's front porch. The two men's blood turned to ice. Another “meow”. The wail could sound like a normal cat if someone was just passing by or if it came from across the street, but they knew this one was wrong. Every nerve and fiber in their bodies told them, it sounds off. This is not a cat. It was as if something was trying its hardest to sound like one but was off ever so slightly. Whatever was making these off sounds were too close for comfort. The margin of error was so slight, but that's all they needed for their minds to cry out, imposter. They knew the creature was outside, but the meows seemed to be coming from their very minds as well as from beyond the safety of the locked door. Whatever was out there, whatever was right beyond that thin barrier was a foul creature that couldn't be human.

The floorboards creaked as the creature moved outside. The wooden floor groaned and then a smell reached the men. A putrid odor as if a whole net of fish had been delivered to their location, but only after it spent three days in the hot sun. While Harvey tried to find something to cover his nose, Marcus noticed lines growing from under the door.

“Meow.” The foul creature tried again to use its fake call.

The creature stopped its banging on the door and three long shadowed fingers slipped underneath the entrance way. Marcus stared in horror and would’ve yelled had he not been gagged by cloth and by fear itself. Marcus laid there on the ground, on his side, and got his own glimpse through the gap between the floor and front door. He saw the shining layer of the creature's eye.

“Meow.”

Marcus sat up quickly, and frantically pointed to the door. Harvey was still too busy trying to cover the stench seeping through. Marcus frantically struggled to make his way to Harvey. Strenuously slinking on the ground until he went and kicked Harvey in the shin. Harvey looked down with hate in his eyes and Marcus pointed out the evil passing through the gap between the old cabin’s door and the floor.

“Meeow.”

Harvey’s eyes grew wide and drove his hand into his pocket pulling out a small knife. This false creature’s fingers curled upward toward the door handle and the locking mechanism. The fingers crept closer still as they grew to freighting lengths all the while making a horrible clicking noise. As if its bones were oh so quickly breaking and stretching as the fingers grew longer.

Harvey jumped at it with his knife piercing two fingers, pinning them to the door. The off putting ‘meowing’ stopped and was replaced with a horrible howl. A howl that was genuine and bellowed from deep within the creature. It was a sound that no man could ever forget once it was heard. Black ichor splashed around the door, as the creature struggled to retrieve its fingers, the wooden door creaked and bowed. The sounds of claws scratched the other side of the door, and then… the door wasn't there anymore.

The door frame gave way and the door was ripped off the cabin’s front. It was like the door simply inconvenienced the creature and it was finally done playing with it. The creature picked it up with such ease as if any man would pick up a child. With the knife still in the creature's fingers, the door hung from its hand. The creature went to pluck the knife from its finger causing the door to fall on the porch making a large BANG. It approached the entryway and ducked as it entered the cabin. The candle light finally unveiled the horror. As the cover of shadow faded away from the candle, the two men saw the thing no god could have created.

The creature's features were close to an emaciated human. A sort of gray leathery skin stretched over its body. Skin so thin that you could see its ribs trying to rip through. The arms were long and could drag on the ground. The legs bent backwards like the legs of the cats it wanted to mimic so perfectly. However, its legs ended with very human feet, but it stood on the forefront of the foot. Both fingers and toes ending in sharp twisted nails. Its hunched over back was covered in thin wiry hairs that grew over its elongated neck and onto its head. The head held two oversized sunken eye sockets with horrible eyes that were filled with the shine, the yellow-green shine. The creature watched Harvey and brought its gums back to expose the nail-like teeth that filled its mouth.

Its fingers cracked and slithered back into its body, shortening into its abnormal hand. Harvey took a step back and put his hands on his head before screaming “YOU'RE NOT REAL!” The creature's jaw swung open slowly. The skin on its cheek stretched as it opened its mouth to an unnatural width. With Harvey’s own voice, the creature called back. “YOU'RE NOT REAL!” An echo that the creature repeated again and again. Every time it became more distorted. As it’s true vile voice was coming through. A horrible sound that dragged out words “Yoouu’rrrre NoOt REaaaLL!” The creature's screech was louder and seemingly shook the very cabin. The creature walked towards Harvey while repeating, and as the creature took one step forward Harvey took two steps back heading back towards the wall. Harvey bumped into the wall and with nowhere to go the creature snatched him up. Holding him high into the cabin support beams, the cats watched from the shadows with their shining layered eyes. “The ccoPs stopP ed by the Ttree line. Theeyy LEt mE go but whyyyYyy?” The creature croaked, mocking Harvey’s voice once again.

Harvey struggled, clawing at the monster's grip. Its fingers started to click again, growing and slinking around the man's neck. The creature's mouth opened again and more voices jumped from the creature's throat. As if the victims of hell were coming back to the land of the living. “No stop!” “You don't have to do this!” “Please don't touch my child!” One after the other, voices spewed out of the creature's mouth to torment the surrounding souls.

Harvey's eyes grew wide and lost focus. Every cry, every plea for help he recognized. The wails of his victims echoed by this creature to torment his soul. When he stopped struggling and his arms swung carelessly next to his body the creature brought him closer to examine him. At that moment, Marcus saw it, Harvey’s eyes had changed and acquired the same shimmer of the cats! Same shine as the creature's own eyes! His eyes reflected the light of the candle. Sucking in as much air as he could, Harvey looked at the creature and prepared to scream. As soon as the first syllable of his cry escaped his mouth, the creature made its move. Its mouth opened again and in that instant the sound of a great inhale filled the room. Green tendrils left the man's eyes and shot down the creature's open maw. The sinister green of the shimmering eyes then started glowing from Harvey's screaming mouth and soon another stream started pouring out of the man as the monster inhaled. The creature's great siphon breath became louder, eating the green light coming from Harvey. However, one couldn't call him a man anymore, for every second the creature ‘ate’, the man grew more shriveled.

The screaming stopped, the inhaling stopped, the light faded, and the candle blew out. Darkness consumed all, even the nightmare before our lone survivor. A large thump hit the ground as if the creature was simply discarding the chaff of its meal. In the great void of darkness, where noise could only be heard, floorboards creaked. The noises of movement became fainter and fainter, away from poor Marcus. The silence overtook everything. It was as if the forest held its breath, trying not to grab the attention of the Cat Eyed Creature.

When Marcus woke up daylight was slipping through the trees. Golden light filled the world once again. He woke to the cabin and its cats. Their eyes no longer had the green glare to them. They no longer watched, they simply acted… normal. As if the nightmare that happened last night was some twisted delusion of Marcus’s mind. He sat himself up and examined the room. No creature, no husk that used to be Harvey, there was nothing but the cats. For a second, relief filled his heart. To say that it was all just a bad dream, and everything was just delusions from the darkest part of his mind would sooth his spirit, but then he started having questions. Why were his hands bound? They were tied with a rope that at this point, due to struggle, had rubbed the skin raw and was now tender. Why was he in this cabin of cats? Marcus realized that last night's events did happen. The horror set in and he replayed last night's events again and again. Marcus had no other choice. He ran.

He ran out of the cabin and in a straight line ran through the thicket of trees. He thought that if he could get to the main road that he would find safety, and someone could tell him that the night before was just a nightmare that happened due to some scientific reason. He could have someone convince him that these events he knew were real were some sort of deranged illusion. Eventually, he made it to the road and after the entire day, Marcus made it back to town. He had expected there to be at least one person he could receive a ride from, but the road was lonely and empty. He walked the entire time and never took time to rest. For Marcus felt eyes on him at all times. Every once in a while he would think he caught a glimpse of cat eye’s staring at him. He didn't dare turn back and wanted to get away from the forest as fast as his body would allow. Eventually, he saw the city. Salvation was his! Oh how his heart swelled with hope. With being in the city limits, Marcus allowed himself to relax and even more so when he found himself in the comfort of his own house.

Days following the horrendous night, Marcus went back to his life, his job, and everything he did or had before that night. Slowly, days passed, and the nightmare of that night turned into a distant memory. However, every time a stray looked at him or he saw a glare in the light, Marcus shivered. His fear of that creature had burrowed into him. He started to have nightmares, cold sweats, and he became so paranoid that one day Marcus simply broke.

One year later, the sun was setting as he walked home one day from work. He had a routine that almost everyone in town knew. He would leave work and walk home, briefcase in hand, to lock himself up in his house. He wasn't a very social man before the accident, but it seemed to have gotten worse as time passed. That evening the town folk saw him peek down an alleyway on his way to home. To the people, it looked as if Marcus heard something down the alley, like someone calling to him. He dropped his things and stood there for a time. The town folk stopped on sidewalks and watched out windows. He stood there, items dropped and on the ground. Then he screamed, he screamed and ran all the way home. The folks found it odd but never did it cross any of their minds that this would be the last he would be seen. Days passed and the bank’s manager sent someone to check on his employee. One would think when the investigator got there he would’ve found something. However, when he opened the door he was met with a dark inhumane feeling. He hesitantly stepped in and after looking around the house he came to the conclusion; Marcus was missing or was possibly in a violent attack based on damaged property.

You may have heard about it in papers. A banker disappeared off the face of the earth. His home in shambles and furniture overturned. Officers found a small pocket knife wedged into the wall near his own study. Investigations went cold and the house was simply abandoned. Now it seems that the local strays have moved in as they prowl from Marcus’s house to the forest. A layer of fear fell on the town after the banker's disappearance. If you ask them they won't tell, but Marcus’s last writings may give a clue to the curious among you.

They found, among the debris of his home, Marcus’s private notes. Journals describing the events above until the very end where Marcus may have been describing his last days. He spoke of the alleyways in which he ran from with such speed.

He wrote; There were two cats down that alley. And they stared at me as if through my very soul. But the gleam of green that haunts me to this day was in their eyes. And I felt…. I felt as if their eyes were not their own. Though the cats' heads were pointed towards me, the creature was seemingly looking through them. Then in my mind I heard it. As if it was in front of me. I heard its gargled voice. It mixed its own voice with Harvey's, my own brother's voice. It croaked out its warning. The candle was lit again. It hunts.

The notes continue for several days including how Marcus had added locks and extra locks to all the windows and doors. Marcus’s final message was a scribbled mess of letters. Hastily written on the very walls of his home.

It simply read; It found me. I see it sometimes in the corner of my eyes, the green glair. The Cat Eyed Creature. It wants to take me back.

It is coming.

It is coming.

I am doomed.