They taught me to fear the dark

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To showcase my writing, and to have a writing break from novel writing, I'm going to start using writing prompts that I come across and have fun with them. Giving myself a 15 minute time limit I'm going to stop when the clock does. Hope you enjoy this little project.

They taught me to fear the dark. They forgot to mention what happens in the light.

It's the memories, the screams, the smells... the begging. They all rush back to you. Then when you silence it all, it's the regret, it's the questions.

This morning though, the questions were different. What was that creature last night? Why did it defend us? Where did it go?

I couldn't dwell on that, I knew I had those that were left. We had to make contact with the base and keep moving. We couldn't survive another night.

But what was that creature? It was one of them, but it was different. It fought for us.

No! Don't be stupid. BAD IDEA. It fought for itself. It wasn't protecting us. It was killing them.

"Sir!"

"Yes commander?" I said.

"I think you will want to see this."

I couldn't see any more dead bodies... but I couldn't let them know that, they needed me.

"Yes commander, show me."

"Follow me. This way."

Where was he going to take me? I couldn't even stand up straight, my stomach felt like a drunk gymnast on the high bar. The men didn't deserve a coward. I bet they could smell that I ran, that I begged.

"Here you are sir, just through the clearing, we stumbled across it 10 minutes ago."

I'd never smelt anything like. "My god! The smell, are they?"

"Yes sir, dead Snatchers. 19 confirmed. 19!" He nodded his head trying to prove it to himself I think.

"What?" I couldn't believe it.

"It's the largest Snatcher death we have ever seen. That creature from last night must have done it."

"We have taken down, maybe, 10 in the entire time we've been on this planet. It comes along and takes out 19!" I started nodding my head too, it was contagious.

"There is more Sir, there are tracks leading away from here. We think they are the Defender's tracks."

"Defender?"

"Sorry sir, that is what the men are calling it."

19 deaths... They taught us to fear the dark because the Snatchers own the night, but 19... this 'Defender' owns it now.

"Commander round up the men, we must follow the tracks and find out if this 'Defender' will help end this war."

And hopefully turn death into a fighting chance to live.

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allthingsm4tt

Writer of things, meme supplier, semi-occasional six string swordist, sporadic cinema goer and smiler.