WRITER – Ryan Walker
The sky was gray when Mia left school.
Cold wind moved through the empty streets. Dark clouds covered the sun. The weather report said rain would come soon, but Mia did not care. She just wanted to go home.
Mia was fourteen years old. She lived in a small town called Maple Creek. It was a quiet town with old houses, narrow roads, and tall trees. Most people knew each other there.
Usually, Mia walked home with her best friend, Emma. But Emma was sick that day.
“Be careful going home alone,” Emma said before leaving school early.
Mia laughed a little. “I’m not a baby.”
But now, standing outside the school gates alone, she did not feel brave.
The school parking lot was almost empty. Teachers were driving away one by one. The sound of cars slowly disappeared.
Soon, only silence remained.
Mia adjusted her backpack and started walking.
Her house was thirty minutes away by foot. There were two ways home.
The first road was longer but busy with people and shops.
The second road was shorter. It passed through Old Pine Road, a quiet street beside the woods.
Mia looked at the dark clouds again.
“I don’t want to get wet,” she whispered.
So she chose the shorter road.
That was her first mistake.
Old Pine Road was colder than the rest of town.
Tall trees stood close together like dark walls. Their branches moved slowly in the wind.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Mia’s shoes stepped on dead leaves.
Simple English Horror Story
There were no cars.
No people.
Only the sound of wind.
She pulled her jacket tighter around her body and kept walking.
After five minutes, she noticed something strange.
The streetlights were on.
It was only four in the afternoon.
“That’s weird,” she muttered.
Then she heard it.
Footsteps.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Behind her.
Mia quickly turned around.
Nobody was there.
Only empty road.
Only trees.
She stared for a few seconds, then shook her head.
“You’re imagining things,” she said softly.
She continued walking faster.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.
The footsteps returned.
This time louder.
Closer.
Mia stopped again.
The footsteps stopped too.
Her heart started beating faster.
“Hello?” she called weakly.
No answer.
The trees moved gently.
A cold feeling crawled through her body.
Then her phone buzzed.
She nearly screamed.
It was a text from her mother.
WHERE ARE YOU?
Mia quickly typed:
Walking home. Almost there.
Her mother replied immediately.
DON’T TAKE OLD PINE ROAD.
Mia froze.
Too late.
Rain suddenly started falling.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Within seconds, heavy rain poured from the sky.
Mia covered her head and ran forward.
That was when she saw the man.
He stood under a dead tree far ahead on the road.
Tall.
Thin.
Wearing black clothes.
His face hidden by the rain.
Mia slowed down.
Maybe he was just another person walking home.
But something felt wrong.
Very wrong.
The man was not moving.
Not even a little.
He simply stood there watching her.
Rainwater rolled down Mia’s face.
She looked around nervously.
No cars.
No houses nearby.
Only trees.
Then the man slowly lifted one arm.
And pointed at her.
Mia’s stomach dropped.
She turned around immediately and started walking fast in the opposite direction.
Don’t run, she told herself.
If you run, he may chase you.
But then—
Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Footsteps behind her again.
Fast footsteps.
Mia looked back.
The man was walking toward her now.
Slowly.
But something about the way he moved was terrifying.
His arms hung too low.
His head leaned strangely to one side.
Like a broken doll.
Mia began running.
Rain hit her face hard as she sprinted down the road.
Her backpack bounced painfully on her shoulders.
Behind her—
Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Still following.
She risked one quick look back.
The man was closer.
Much closer.
But he was not running.
He was simply walking.
Yet somehow, the distance between them kept shrinking.
Fear exploded inside Mia’s chest.
She turned into a small side path near the woods.
Mud splashed under her shoes.
Branches scratched her arms.
She could barely breathe.
Finally, she stopped behind a large tree.
Her body shook violently.
The rain slowly became softer.
Mia covered her mouth and listened carefully.
Nothing.
No footsteps.
No movement.
Maybe she lost him.
Maybe he was gone.
She waited quietly for one minute.
Two minutes.
Then—
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Not footsteps.
Something else.
Mia slowly looked around the tree.
And nearly screamed.
The man was standing on the other side.
Only inches away.
His face was pale white.
His eyes were huge and black.
And his mouth—
His mouth stretched into a smile far too wide for a human face.
Mia screamed and ran deeper into the woods.
Branches hit her face.
Mud covered her legs.
Behind her, she heard laughing.
Soft.
Wet.
Terrible laughing.
“Why are you running?” the man whispered.
His voice sounded close to her ear.
Too close.
Mia cried as she ran.
“I just want to go home!”
The woods grew darker.
She could barely see.
Then suddenly—
CRASH!
Mia slammed into something hard and fell backward.
A fence.
An old rusty fence.
Behind it stood an abandoned house.
Mia had heard stories about this place before.
Everyone in town knew about the Blackwood House.
People said a family once lived there many years ago.
Then one night, they disappeared.
Nobody knew what happened.
Kids at school said the house was haunted.
Mia never believed those stories.
Until now.
She looked behind her.
The man was coming closer through the trees.
Slowly smiling.
Mia quickly climbed over the fence and ran toward the house.
The front door was slightly open.
She rushed inside and slammed it shut.
Darkness swallowed her immediately.
The air smelled old and rotten.
Dust covered the floor.
The windows were broken.
Rainwater dripped from the ceiling.
Mia leaned against the door, breathing hard.
Outside, the woods were silent.
Too silent.
Then—
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Someone was at the door.
Mia held her breath.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Slow.
Patient.
She stepped backward quietly.
The doorknob began turning.
Mia looked around desperately.
The house had a staircase leading upstairs.
She ran up the stairs as quietly as possible.
Creeeeak.
Every step made noise.
At the top floor, she found a bedroom and hid inside.
The room was small.
A broken bed stood near the wall.
A dirty mirror hung beside the window.
Mia crouched behind the bed and covered her mouth.
Downstairs—
The front door opened.
Slow footsteps entered the house.
Creak.
Creak.
Creak.
The man was inside.
Mia felt tears running down her cheeks.
She pulled out her phone.
No signal.
Of course.
Her hands shook badly.
Then she heard it.
The man speaking downstairs.
“I know you’re here.”
His voice sounded calm now.
Almost friendly.
“You should not hide from me.”
Creak.
Creak.
Creak.
The stairs groaned.
He was coming upstairs.
Mia’s breathing became fast and painful.
The footsteps stopped outside the bedroom door.
Silence.
Then—
The door slowly opened.
Mia squeezed her eyes shut.
Please go away.
Please.
Please.
The room stayed silent.
After several seconds, Mia carefully looked up.
Nobody was there.
The doorway was empty.
She frowned in confusion.
Then she noticed something strange.
The mirror.
In the reflection, she could see behind the bed.
And standing directly behind her—
The man.
Smiling.
Mia screamed and jumped away.
But when she turned around, nobody was there.
The room was empty again.
Her heart pounded wildly.
She stared at the mirror.
The man still stood inside the reflection.
Watching her.
Smiling wider.
Then slowly—
He lifted one finger to his lips.
“Shhh.”
The lights suddenly flickered.
Mia backed away in terror.
The reflection man began moving closer inside the mirror.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Like he was walking out of another world.
Crack.
A line appeared across the mirror.
Crack.
Crack.
More cracks spread quickly.
Mia ran out of the bedroom.
She did not care where she went anymore.
She just needed to escape.
The hallway felt longer now.
The walls looked darker.
Strange whispers filled the air.
“Stay here…”
“Don’t leave…”
“You belong here…”
Mia covered her ears.
“No!”
She reached another room and pushed the door open.
Inside sat an old woman in a rocking chair.
Mia gasped.
The woman’s gray hair covered her face.
She rocked slowly back and forth.
Creeeak.
Creeeak.
Creeeak.
Mia stepped backward carefully.
“I-I’m sorry,” she whispered.
The rocking stopped.
Slowly, the old woman lifted her head.
Her eyes were completely black.
Just like the man’s.
“You brought him here,” the woman said softly.
Mia froze.
“What?”
The woman pointed toward the hallway.
“He follows lonely children.”
Mia’s blood turned cold.
“Who is he?”
The old woman smiled weakly.
“He died here a long time ago.”
Thunder exploded outside.
The lights flickered again.
The woman continued speaking.
“He was a teacher once. Many years ago.”
Mia listened carefully despite her fear.
“He walked children home after school. Parents trusted him.”
The old woman’s voice became quieter.
“But one girl disappeared.”
Mia’s hands trembled.
“The town found her body in these woods.”
Silence filled the room.
“The teacher killed himself inside this house before police arrived.”
Rain hammered against the windows.
“But evil things do not always stay dead.”
Mia slowly whispered, “What does he want from me?”
The old woman stared deeply into her eyes.
“He wants you to stay with him forever.”
Suddenly—
BANG!
Something slammed against the bedroom door downstairs.
Then heavy footsteps rushed through the hallway.
The old woman looked terrified now.
“He knows I told you.”
Mia backed away.
“What do I do?!”
The old woman pointed toward the back stairs.
“Run.”
Mia did not wait.
She sprinted from the room and down another staircase.
Behind her, angry screams echoed through the house.
The voice no longer sounded human.
It sounded twisted.
Animal-like.
Mia reached the kitchen.
The back door stood ahead.
She grabbed the handle—
Locked.
“No, no, no!”
The screams grew closer.
Mia searched desperately.
Then she found a rusty key hanging near the wall.
Her shaking hands grabbed it.
Behind her—
Slow footsteps entered the kitchen.
Mia turned.
The man stood there.
But now his body looked wrong.
His neck bent unnaturally.
His smile stretched wider than before.
Dark liquid dripped from his mouth.
“You shouldn’t leave,” he whispered.
Mia shoved the key into the lock.
It would not turn.
“Hurry!” she cried.
The man took another step closer.
“I was lonely,” he said softly.
Another step.
“You can stay with me.”
Another step.
Mia forced the key harder.
CLICK.
The door unlocked.
She threw it open and ran outside.
Cold air hit her face.
The rain had stopped.
The woods were covered in fog now.
Mia jumped the fence and ran blindly through the trees.
Behind her came terrible screaming.
The man was chasing her now.
Fast.
Very fast.
Branches snapped behind her.
She could hear his breathing.
Feel his presence.
Then suddenly—
She saw lights ahead.
Road lights.
The main street.
Mia cried with relief and ran faster.
Cars passed nearby.
People.
Safety.
She burst out from the woods and collapsed onto the sidewalk.
Several strangers rushed toward her.
“Are you okay?”
“What happened?”
Mia looked back toward the woods.
The man stood between the trees.
Watching her.
Then slowly—
He stepped backward into the darkness and disappeared.
Police searched the woods that night.
They searched the abandoned house too.
But they found nothing.
No man.
No old woman.
Nothing except broken furniture and dust.
The police believed Mia saw a homeless man.
Or maybe panic caused hallucinations.
But Mia knew the truth.
She knew what she saw.
After that night, she stopped walking home alone.
Her mother picked her up every day.
Weeks passed.
Then months.
Slowly, life became normal again.
Or almost normal.
Sometimes, Mia woke up at night feeling watched.
Sometimes, she heard footsteps outside her window.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.
One evening, almost a year later, Mia stayed late at school for drama practice.
By the time she left, the sun was already setting.
The parking lot was nearly empty again.
Cold wind moved through the trees.
Mia’s stomach tightened.
Her mother texted:
RUNNING LATE. WAIT INSIDE.
Mia sighed and sat near the school entrance.
Ten minutes passed.
Then twenty.
The school doors locked automatically behind her.
The parking lot became darker.
Finally, Mia stood up nervously.
Maybe she should start walking home.
Just a little.
She looked down the road.
Empty.
Quiet.
Then—
Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Mia froze.
A tall figure stood near the streetlights far away.
Watching her.
Motionless.
Mia’s blood turned to ice.
The figure slowly lifted one arm.
And pointed directly at her.
A soft whisper floated through the cold evening air.
“I found you.”
The streetlights suddenly went dark.
And Mia screamed.
THE END
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