Chapter 14
418words
As darkness gathered, he watched the narrow path Betty always took home from her grocery runs.
Footsteps crunched on gravel as a hunched figure shuffled into view.
Steven's pulse quickened as he recognized Betty's distinctive gait.
He lunged forward, throwing a burlap sack over the old woman's head.
Muffled sounds of struggle emerged as Steven swung the shovel with all his might.
The sacked figure crumpled to the ground, motionless.
Breathing heavily, Steven yanked back the sack to confirm his kill.
But beneath lay only a shriveled human skin—hollow and empty like a snake's discarded husk.
A bone-chilling wind swept through as nearby streetlights flickered erratically.
Ice crawled down Steven's spine as he slowly turned.
Jessica stood directly behind him, face devoid of expression.
"It's you! Marcus was right!" Steven choked out.
Jessica's lips curved into a smile.
He swung the shovel in blind panic, aiming for her head.
The shovel connected with a sickening thud, but Jessica's face morphed into Linda's.
The sound of the skull cracking was nauseating, but the wound healed right before his eyes.
Linda's face gradually twisted, transforming into Robert Kane's grotesque visage. Steven let out a terrified howl.
Every light at the pig farm suddenly died, plunging the area into absolute darkness.
Steven dropped the shovel and stumbled toward the pigsty, desperate for somewhere to hide.
He groped blindly through the darkness, finally collapsing behind a pen, his entire body quaking with terror.
"Marcus! Help me!" Steven frantically texted. "She's after me!"
A reply flashed instantly: "I can help you."
"Tell me what to do! I'll pay anything!" Steven begged.
"Cut off three fingers. The blood will repel the evil."
Steven's hands shook violently as he pulled out his pocketknife.
Teeth clenched, he brought the blade down. Blood spurted from the stump.
Blinding pain almost knocked him unconscious, but terror drove him onward.
Second finger, third finger—they fell to the dirt as blood pooled around him.
The wind died down and the lights flickered back on. Linda was nowhere to be seen.
The sound of restless pigs grew louder, coming closer.
The scent of blood saturated the air, triggering the hungry pigs' feeding instinct.
Steven looked up in horror as dozens of gleaming eyes surrounded him in the darkness.
The first pig lunged, tearing at his mutilated hand. Others followed in a frenzied rush.
Steven's screams echoed across the farm, gradually fading into wet, gurgling sounds.
