• I can't move. My hands are freezing. My eyes are flooded with tears. Please, oh please . . . don't let him find me. He took everything already, all I have left is life. Though it wouldn't matter if I lost it. He already took away everyone that would care if i died. Papa, my home, my entire village. I have nothing. I can't think straight. I know I'd be better off dead, but I'm afraid. I'm a coward.
    CREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKKK
    No, no, NO!!! He's here, he's in this room. I hold my breath, shut my eyes, and curl into a ball. Please leave, please leave, please leave . . .
    Splish . . .
    My tear falls and his ears perk. His eyes flash with malicious excitement. His mouth forms a twisted grin with foaming saliva. Please leave, please leave, please leave . . .
    Splish . . .
    Another tear
    CREEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAKKK
    Another footstep
    Splish . . .
    WOOSH! POW! WHAM!!!
    I hear him rip apart the room and claw his way towards me.
    Huff, huff . . .
    I'm afraid to open my eyes, but I know he's found me. I feel his hot breath against my face.
    Huff, huff
    Splish . . .
    "Look"
    What was that? Did he . . . talk?
    "LOOK AT ME!!!!!"
    Slowly, I open my eyes. I am at a lost for words. His fur is brown, jagged, and bloody. His mouth won't stop drooling. His teeth are stained with blood. His face is distorted, scared, ripped, and almost . . . painful . . . There's something else though . . . His eyes . . . are they, sad? No, no, I don't want to pity him. This monster had terrorized my village for as long as I could remember. I used to hide with Papa in the basement when this beast came. This monster had kept us all prisoners, so there was no chance we could ever leave the village. We were his midnight snacks, his desserts, his fancy feasts. And when the village started to dwindle, Papa and I thought we were safe. We thought this beast would move on to another village. That is until we realized we were the only two left. This monster . . . he ripped Papa apart in front of my eyes.
    Splish . . .
    "Look at me . . ." he whispers, and hands me a mirror.
    It's a lovely mirror, crafted in silver and encrusted in jewels. In my reflection I see . . . a coward. I shamefully look away and hand the mirror back.
    "No," he says almost gently, "look at ME"
    He hands the mirror back and crawls behind me. I look at the mirror again. I see a coward and behind me . . . a human? I turn around and see the monster.
    Splish . . .
    He is hideous