“The Mysterious Creature”

Author’s Note: This is a Take Ten to Write story and has not been proofread for errors. If I feel inspired or if there’s interest in the story, I’ll post a revised, edited, and extended version at a later date. Happy reading!

Prompt: “It is the dim haze of mystery that adds enchantment to pursuit.” – Antoine Rivarol

The fog was heavy over the pier when Detective Newton Varanack arrived. He had just received word from his boss that a mysterious creature had been sighted for the second time. The case had at first been assigned to his former partner, Detective Mallory Kirchik, but she had mysteriously disappeared. Detective Varanack thought the entire affair too mysterious and had requested to take over, if for no reason other than to find answers for his partner’s disappearance.

He swirled the water around with his little finger, testing the temperature and thickness of the liquid. Yes, he had been right; this wasn’t water at all.

Immediately, he regretted coming to the pier on such a foggy day by himself. He immediately knew that he was at risk of suffering the same fate as his partner. But his curiosity outweighed his caution and he continued his inspection.

A mysterious creature… In a lake filled with water that wasn’t water at all…

Chills ran down Detective Varanack’s spine. He knew exactly what type of creature was at large.

He stood, wiping his wet pinkie on his jacket as he turned to run. But it was too late. The creature; it was here.

Large, furry ears and jagged spikes framed its face. Around its eyes were black markings that could only be read by a Mage, the only ones who could read such an ancient and dark language. Its snout ended in a sharp point just inches away from Detective Varanack’s own nose.

But its body was another type of wonder. Completely covered in scales, the four-legged creature bore tufts of fur around its ankles. From reading ancient texts, Detective Varanack knew that those tufts contained a poison that turned water into Darkblood. In fact, he could already feel the effects of the poison creeping up from his pinkie and into the rest of his body.

Below the fur tufts were giant, eight-toed feet. Each toe had a different function, all working together to achieve the ultimate goal of complete dismemberment of its victim.

The victim which, in this case, was one Detective Newton Varanack.

Final Comments: I think that the descriptions overall in this one could’ve been better.

Overall Rating: 😥