Felicia loved her little cabin in the middle of the forest. There weren't many amenities. Running water and electricity. A beautiful tiled bathroom with an equally beautiful bathtub on lion's paws. A small living room with a fireplace. A small kitchen with a wood stove and baking oven in addition to the old-fashioned wood stove. Refrigerator and freezer. Who needs more, she thought as she sat at her old but homey kitchen table. She had the forest just outside her house. There she would spend her days taking long walks, picking berries and mushrooms, or just sitting on a rock, eating the lunch she usually packed for her walks in the forest. Felicia felt completely safe in her little cabin even though it was miles from the nearest neighbor. She didn't fear the forest, she feared the people outside of it. 

A sudden noise outside brought Felicia out of her thoughts. She looked up from her small cup of coffee that she had made on her wood stove. She always lit her fire with birch wood in the morning to get the best coffee. She flinched. There it was again! A scraping, almost lingering sound. As if someone came walking on the small dirt road, dragging his feet like the living dead. It was an unfamiliar sound that she had not heard before in her forest. Felicia went to the small kitchen window and pulled aside the white lace curtain to look outside. But she saw nothing there. Still, she heard the sound getting closer. An unpleasant feeling crept into the depths of her soul. Felicia followed the scraping sound until it stopped outside the door. The outlines of the small door appeared ever so clear to her as in horror, she watched as the door handle was slowly pushed down. Paralyzed with fear, her thoughts raced in her head just as fast as she wanted to rush to the door to hold it and stop whatever wanted to enter. Did she lock the door last night before she went to bed? Felicia couldn't remember. She didn't realize she was holding her breath until the handle was turned all the way and whatever was outside had tried the door to find it locked. 

The breath she let out almost hurt. The paralysis that had her in its grip released and Felicia rushed to the door to hold it shut. She sat down with her back to the door and pushed up against it. The door suddenly began to shake violently. Felicia screamed off the top of her lungs. The horror had completely hammered its sharp claws into her. “FELL-IIIIII-THHHHIIIII-AAAAA” The voice seemed to echo from somewhere deep  within her. Felicia covered her ears and screamed louder. She screamed for help, fully aware that not a single soul could hear her. The shaking of the door propagated through the house until the whole world around her shook violently. The window panes rattled. "FELL-IIIIII-THHHHIIIII-AAAAA, FELL-IIIIII-THHHHIIIII-AAAAA, FELL-IIIIII-THHHHIIIII-AAAAA, FELL-IIIIII-THHHHIIIII-AAAAA"

As suddenly as it had started, the sound stopped. The silence that followed was not soundless, it was deafening. The terror Felicia felt before was nothing compared to what she felt now. An indescribable horror permeated her whole soul. Wild-eyed, she looked around the house. She didn't dare move. Her hands were still pressed against her ears. Her mouth was wide open in a silent scream. Out of the corner of her eye, a black cloud swished by. Felicia screamed. She wanted to close her eyes but didn't dare. She followed the black cloud that circled teasingly a few times around her like black lightning. With horror she watched as it approached her at full speed. The pain when it hit her was indescribable. The voice came back with full force.

“FELL-IIIIII-THHHHIIIII-AAAAA” That was the last thing the human Felicia was aware of. 

Outside the little cabin, the forest was so quiet and still. Peace prevailed. A short distance away stood a deer nibbling on the leaves of an aspen, oblivious to the approaching danger. She had heard the door to the small cabin open but thought no more of it. As a twig snapped just behind the small animal, she barely had time to react. The last thing she saw was a woman (or was it?) with murderous black eyes and the rest of her face was a single large open mouth with a multitude of sharp teeth. Then pain and finally darkness as life quickly drained from her. The forest held its breath. A smacking and slurping sound was heard from the woman (or was it?) as she devoured the deer in ravenous bites. Then the forest became quiet and still again, but peace no longer reigned here. Instead, terror now prevailed in the dark shadows of the forest.