There is but one they fear...

You will always hear stories throughout history, wicked beasts that prey upon the weak, strong civilisations crushed to dust by unearthly powers within this world we reside in, but I assure you... heh... they are real. I have always been one... or had.. been one to stumble upon these stories and laugh. Could there really be creatures such as this? Yes... I assure you, these tales are not chained to an imaginary world.

We went camping, casual camping of friends being friends, banter and friendship filled the air of the cabin we resided in, somewhere in Suffolk, that's all I remember of the place. Our group consisted on young hopeful souls, myself, Max, Kathryn, Emily, Mia, Ryan, Jacob and Sam. We were young and enthusiatic, exams were over and we could relax, the ecstasy of freedom and at age 19, the fun we could all have, but I'm getting away with myself

The cabin we stayed in was pristine, it was not one of those hunter's cabins decorated in animal heads pinned on to the walls as trophies. It was a mediocre little place, completely out of sight of society. We drove a Rangerover and a Mercedes down a beaten path to the building and we were stunned, the sheer impossibility of the serenity in the woods. We had entered and were surprised by how clean the place was, not a cobweb in sight, heh... we even searched around to find some, the wood was smoothened perfectly and the beds were even better than what we had at home. We unpacked, I stayed in a room with Kathryn, Max and Jacob. I held the bottom bunk in the left corner of the room under Jacob as Kathryn and Max slept in the other. And as expected, the other four slept in the other bedroom. We had brought our own food since the fridge was empty as was advertised online and so we stocked it up. I remember the first night after a warm meal, tomato soup if I remember, it was some sort of soup that's all I remember but I'm missing the point. We played a few board games, all the while I remember the clear feeling of being watched. How stereotypical of me, to describe how I had been watched by an unseen being but if felt... realistic. Realistic enough for me to make sure my rifle was nearby. British gun laws are very strict but as we had licenses we had commited no crime by holding them.

I remember asking around "Is anyone cold here?" to start up a calm conversation, the sound of others speaking helped me feel less isolated in this dark forest. No one admitted to feeling chilly and we just continued to talk about our studies or the surrounding area to which Sam told us of the "Myth of Black Shuck. You know of it right? Well let me enlighten you. A dog of dark black fur, blacker than the void where the Reaper lurks, stalks the isle of Britannia and preys upon the unlucky souls who encounter it, his red eyes piercing through your soul and judging your existence , pre-empting your death within a year. Be wary not to stumble into his vicinity or prepare to face a future of more than punishment." We all laughed this off as he imitated a creature on all fours before pouncing on Emily playfully. We soon called it a day and slumped in our bunks, although Max and Kathryn had other plans for the night and it took them over half an hour before they "finished business". I swear I heard rustling outside, too big for a squirrel but reasonable enough for a doe.

The next day was warm, warmer than expected. We took the Rangerover out to the nearby town and bought some random stuff, tents, stoves, bedrolls. All the essentials you need for camping as we didn't own any and some fucknut forgot it at home which, may have been partly my fault. We packed it all in the back and walked around, for some reason the town was.. quieter than we had expected for a Thursday but we shrugged it off, this was more of a farming sort of village, surrounded by fields on one end of it and heavy woods on the other. Far gunshots could be heard from farmers shooting before dogs' barks reverberated within me. Odd.. I thought, seemed as though it was more than dogs. We had lunch at a quaint little restaurant.

We were served by a lovely old couple who ran the place. It seemed unrealistic at first as we were the only ones in before some burly old farmer bustled his way, some beagles scampered around his feet. One sniffed at Max's foot before jumping up on to his hind legs and sniffing at his food. "Down boy, Down!" barked the farmer, his booming voice made me jolt slightly. "No no, it's quite alright" Max replied hastily. This big guy seemed friendly enough and we began to talk and ask questions about the town. He gave us directions to all the local hotspots, historical sights. But then he moved on to something a bit more... scary. "Ya heard about the old myth of Shuck?" He asked quietly. We all nodded and Sam burst out loudly "Oh yeah, that fuckin' black dog that gets you in the night? I mentioned him last night." He began to chuckle "This lot got piss scared, didn't ya Will?" He said as he nudged me and I nodded slightly in agreement. The farmer's face turned cold. "Well.. don't just think of it as a scary tale we tell our young'uns. He's real alright, and so are the tales ya hear of him." He softly patted one of the beagles. "Just don't go huntin' round here... or it might come back to haunt ya." He smiled briefly before getting up and leaving.

We took in his words of wisdom and headed back to our Rover. I buckled up and turned on the engine and I nearly shit myself. Through the reflection from the windscreen I saw a dark furry creature from behind me. I fucking lost it and screamed "What the fuck!" as I struggled desperately to get out of my seat. I fell out the door and on to the ground, the group staring at me, dumbfounded. "What the hell is wrong with you man?" Max yelled at me. "He's losing his shit man" Jacob joked, "Maybe the lack of wifi is getting to him." They all laughed, like it was the funniest thing in the world, to see me scared shitless of "nothing". But I swear it was the most realistic things I had ever seen, I thought I could hear it's claws through the lining of the seats, but they were fine. As clean as the moment I sat in it this morning. They decided that I shouldn't drive and Ryan took the wheel, they thought I was unfit to drive, that I would get them all killed. And I believed them. Nothing noteworthy occured later that night. We ate dinner, toasties as no one could be asked to cook anything and we went to bed. I didn't dream of anything that night... just blackness, like the theory scientists have of death, the morbid serenity of nothingness.

As I woke, I heard sniffing at the end of the bunk and I lost it. I screamed out loud, louder I must admit.. than I thought I could. Ryan and Mia burst in to see what was happening and were disappointed to see me near to sobbing in my bed. Ryan declared I should "Man the fuck up, it's only a nightmare", whilst Mia was worried about what was happening to me mentally. I was becoming noticeably jumpy and the guys hated it. They thought I was just being a wuss, that I'm afraid of the outdoors 'cause of my asthma, hence why I'm so pale and unfit. They eventually decided to leave me to my "visions" while they went out. I splashed some cold water on my face and tried to get a grasp of what was happening. Was I going insane? "N-No that's not true, how can it be? I've been.. been sane for my entire life why.. why now?" I began to sob and punch the bathroom mirror till my knuckles bled and I curled up and tried to calm down. It was nothing really, just.. seeing things is all. By the time the rest of them got back, I managed to compose myself and I sat reading a novel about the battle of Stalingrad and the Eastern Front. They were all wary at first but became a bit more relaxed come dinner. We chatted about plans for the rest of the week and I asked about their trip. Jacob, Ryan and Emily went on about the "Serenety of the woods and Sam fucked it up by firing his rifle and killing shit left right and centre." I stopped eating and stared at Sam "You what?". Only then did the old man's warnings kick in. "Shit.." I heard Max mutter. I could see this was affecting others as a Emily and Ryan got some shit they could use against any creature and kept it close by.

During the night, I was up late, imagining all sorts of horrors waiting for us, I remember how Max taunted us, explaing how "It's just some stupid old tale and some sort of placebo effect has kicked in" and we were forced to believe, but I'd be lying if I told you that was true, that it was all our all our imagination and paranoia the majority of us suffered from. Late that night, over the heavy gales blowing around the hut and through the forest I heard glass and wood smashing. I jolted up and grabbed my rifle that was leaning against my bed and loaded it, I woke Max and Jacob up whilst Kathryn loaded her pistol before we froze, the sound of an ear splitting scream filling the air. We rushed into the other room to find Ryan, his guts spilt out on the polished floor as Sam stuggled to kick away... the thing... that fucking thing I saw in the car, tge fucking devil I geard at the end of my bed was trying to kill Sam as he reached for his rifle, Emily and Mia's sobs filled the air and they rushed towards us, tears streaming down their faces. "DO SOMETHING!" They screamed in unison, like the twins our of that one movie, the shining? I can't believe that I was comparing this very real situation to a very unreal old horror flick. I quickly opened fire into it's back and was shocked to its response. Nothing.

It didn't even fucking flinch, but turned around, I could see bits of Ryan dangling from its teeth and I could smell it, making me gag, before we knew what was happening it leapt at us. I had somehow hit it on the snout with the butt of my rifle before I slammed the door shut and we bolted outside. I am ashamed... like I've never felt before for leaving Sam in there but he was as good as dead, it's teeth had already sank into his calf amd there was no way he'd outrun it before it took him down. I dragged Mia and Emily out as out of the busted front door as we heard gunshots and muffled screams from the bedroom, that was the final straw and I along with the girls. We realised that the land rover would take too long to start up so we made unanimous decision to run. Run as fast as our legs would carry us down the path. I am ashamed of this but I was at the head of the group as I ran ,not stopping for anything... not even Emily's screams for help as the creature pounced on her, ripping her spine out from his body. I never even looked back as since I knew she was as good as gone, and we would be too if we stopped to help. My asthma had kicked in not too long after Emily's demise and I felt its effects killing my speed just as we reached the treeline. I collapsed outside of it and pleaded for someone to shoot me and continue running and.. nothing. I don't mean nothing as in darkness, but sound had ceased to exist for a minute. We looked back to the trees to see the outline of the wolf, staring at us with its blood red eyes, before bounding back and out of sight. Sound returned and I cried, cries of pure hatred and thanks, just being happy that I wasn't one if the group to be mauled by that unholy creature. We made statements of the entire ordeal, but the police found nothing at the hut, no smashed glass or wood, no blood or clothing, not even the shitty cars we drove there. It was like no one was even there. We were given condolences by the people in the nearby village, but also snide remarks that "You entered his land", that "It was only a matter of time"... The farmer came as well nodded silently, before whispering in my ear "I warned you kids, but did you listen..?"

It's been around a year after the event. After doing research on "Black Shuck" I've come to the conclusion that those who look into his eyes will die within the space of a year after contact. This evidence is backed up by the news that Jacob... blew his brains out three weeks ago. Mia has fallen terminally ill. I have no news from Max or Kathryn, I am uncertain whether they made eye contact with the thing, but I know I did, and I can feel my time on this planet drawing to a close. And all I can say is...I understsnd now how there is but one they fear... and it's coming for me.