text: [Themes: horror]
  
  I relaxed somewhat, though not entirely. Listening closely for anything else that might jump out of the trees, I bent down and let the cat rub herself against my hand.
  
  "You ought to go home now," I told her. "You're way too easy of a target."
  
  The cat blinked solemnly at me before winding herself around my legs and jogging to the edge of the woods to meow again, much louder than before. I remained where I was, but stood up. The cat seemed impatient, she ran back to me and then to the edge of the woods again a couple times before I followed. This time, she ran a few feet into the woods and glanced back at me to make sure I was coming. I obliged, and she led me into the dark among the trees.
  
  It wasn't too long before I began to feel blackberry vines snagging at my pajamas as we progressed, though I didn't remember the blackberry-drowned house I'd heard about until we reached the clearing. I use the word "clearing" loosely, as there was actually precious little ground that wasn't covered in sharply decorated vines. I shined my flashlight into the clearing to get a better look at the house. My breath caught in my throat suddenly as the beam of the flashlight crossed something that moved. A low growl emanated from the creature and I immediately fumbled for the off switch to avoid attracting attention. I crouched among the blackberries, hardly breathing for fear of making noise, mentally begging my eyes to adjust quickly to the darkness. The cat crouched with me, peering through the thorns from her vantage point a little deeper inside the thick part of the bushes where she would be more difficult to reach. Smart.
  
  The creature seemed to remain on alert, standing in the clearing. As the seconds passed, I realized it miraculously didn't seem to be aware of my location. My eyes adjusted gradually to the darkness as I observed. It was humanoid, but definitely not human. The silhouette of it was almost like a bear, or at least in the way it stood on two legs with its long arms hanging at its side. It was hard to make out in the dim lighting but I thought I could see a pair of ears and horns like a steer. What the hell was this thing?
  
  My observations were cut short as the creature turned its gaze to my spot among the trees. It started to lurch toward me, hunched over and dragging its feet somewhat while its hands swayed near the ground. Oh god, it has hands. I readied myself to act as it approached.
  
  > strobe it!
  I suddenly remembered my little flashlight, dangling by a strap from my wrist. With the monster approaching slowly, I yanked the strap off my wrist and put the end of the glowstick with its whistle to my mouth. I drew a deep breath and blew as hard as I could on the whistle. It screamed out and above its intended range, a truly jarring sound. The monster winced in discomfort at the sound and fixed its eyes directly on me but before it could make a move, I clicked the flashlight twice and threw the painfully bright, flashing blue light directly at its face. I didn't wait to see if the flashlight made contact or not, turning tail immediately and sprinting into the woods, but I didn't have to see anyway as I could hear my success in the monster's roar of confusion and rage. It was a horrible sound, the same one that started my awful adventure in the first place.
  
  Though I'd gotten a solid head start, I began to hear the beast crashing through the trees behind me. Though still partially blinded and bouncing harshly off the trunks as it went, it began to gain on me. I formulated a desperate plan as I ran, practically skidding around the corner of my driveway. I dove through my door as soon as I could open it, slamming it behind me and locking the deadbolt for good measure. Through the decorative glass near the top of the door I could just make out the silhouette of the monster barreling after me on all fours like an enraged bear. I heard the skid of gravel and a thud as the still-disoriented creature hit the door but I was already on the move. I made my final stand in the den of my home with its sliding glass door to the back yard. With my gun pointed at the glass and my back to the wall, I waited for the monster to stalk its way around to the back of the house. A telltale snarl and a flash of green eyes in the darkness outside announced its presence. I cocked the gun.
  
  "Try it, motherfucker."
  
  > Oh, it tried.
  The monster roared, appearing out of the darkness like a ghoul to rear up onto its hind legs. It struck the door with the full force of its weight, shattering the glass with its clawed hands. I stood my ground, grimly aware that I was about to experience firsthand the difference between life and death. Time seemed to slow down as the beast lunged for me, baring far too many teeth in its open maw. I tracked its movement for a moment before unleashing a calculated barrel of deershot into its face and throat. The creature hit the floor and skidded somewhat before stopping with a wheeze. It was gravely injured though not quite dead, making my carpet sticky with blood. I bared my teeth like a feral animal and kicked the beast onto its back to end what I started. My heart dropped out of my chest as I finally came to face the neighborhood's tormentor. Red streaks trailed from a soft bovine nose, beneath almond-shaped brown eyes ringed with strikingly pink tear ducts. The eyes were nauseatingly human save for the alien, stretched pupil of a cow that decorated their center. It was enough to make me hesitate for a moment but whoever he was or had been, he had to be put down. It was the only mercy I could provide.
  
  I put the gun to his chest point-blank and fired another shot.
  
  > Continue.
  Sound discovered. Horror vanquished. Suddenly exhausted, my legs started to buckle and I let myself slide down the wall to rest on the floor. I put my head between my knees and tried to process what had happened. Something soft brushed my hand. I probably would have started violently if I had any energy left but I just lifted my head. It was the cat from the blackberries. I put my hand on her back and she purred, rubbing against me and curling up by my side. I blinked tiredly and suddenly it was morning.
  
  I awoke on the floor, covered in dried blood, scabby scratches, and now a sprinkling of cat hair like a cherry on top of a sundae. The culprit of the hair was still by my side and began to purr again upon noticing I was awake. I shot upright when the memories of the night came back to me, frightening the cat down the hallway. Not only was there still a monstrous, bloody corpse on my floor but blackberry vines had started to grow across the threshold of the broken door and across the glass toward it in only the few hours I had managed to sleep. Horrified anew and in the absence of any better option, I called the sheriff. I was as vague as possible, fearing I would sound insane to anyone who didn't see this with their own eyes.
  
  I jumped at a knock on my door hardly 30 seconds after I hung up the phone. Stepping over the dead cow-man and into the entry, I was greeted by flashing police and ambulance lights as I opened the door. The officer pushed past me on the way in, let out a loud whoop at the sight of the cow-man, and nearly knocked me over again on his way out. The rest of the day was a blur of cheering police, neighborly pats on the back, and small town tabloid coverage. "Cowpacabra Vanquished," the headlines screamed. Nobody outside of the neighborhood would ever believe them. Hell, I killed the thing and I'm not sure I believe it.
  
  Anyway, I'm not proud of what I did after that. Once the police and the rest of the town got over the excitement and left me alone again, I burned down the house for the insurance money. Didn't even replace the glass in the door. I sold the newly-empty property, claiming I missed city life too much to spend the time and money building a new home and moved into a nice apartment with my cat. Did I mention I got a cat? She's a little orange thing I found in the country. Make sure you don't bring anything that smells of blackberries if you want to come see her though, it really freaks her out. She must be allergic or something.
  
  [Perfect End]