We humans used to dream that this world was ours. Some of us even believed it once, but not anymore. It was never our world. It belonged to the demons. The huge, terrifying monsters that hunted us for food. And not just humans, either. They'd hunted dogs, deer... I'd even seen them attack a bear without a hint of hesitation. They feared nothing. I was hiking through the mountainous woods outside my town. It was a three day journey and I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't terrified of running into them. As I walked toward the outskirts of town, the others watched me with stunned silence. They knew that I would encounter them. Some people called me crazy. Most just thought it silently. I knew that I wasn't crazy, though. A crazy person wouldn't be as scared as I was.   There were different names for the monsters, but I preferred "screaming demons". For it was their scream that terrified me the most. The scream had an... other worldly ability. It could sound distant, as if the unnatural beast was far away, yet be right behind you. The creature could be right in front of you and scream with all of its might and you'd barely hear it, as if it were safely over the distant horizon. It was a ghostly effect that proved the creature's ability to transcend physics. Earlier, as I was leaving my town, a strange, old lady stopped me. She offered to sell me a special potion that she claimed could be used against the demons. I laughed at her, for I'd heard such superstitious nonsense from some of the townsfolk before. People often peddled potions or special candles that they claimed would keep the monsters away, as though by some magical enchantment, but it was all lies. Lies designed to take advantage of everyone's fear of the demons. As I sat by my campfire, watching the sun begin to set, my fear grew and I found myself regretting my choice to laugh at the old lady instead of buying her bottle of potion. Then, I heard it. Amongst the crackling of my fire and the faint wind dancing lightly through the trees around me, I heard it. The scream. It sounded so faint, like a high pitched, distant child, screaming in anger. I knew the truth though. I knew one of the beasts was here. I whipped around to look behind me, but saw nothing. For a moment, I thought that maybe I was alone and my mind was playing tricks, but then I heard it again. The falsely distant whine of the demon's scream. This time, I felt it touch my ear. In a near panic, I spun around again and caught a look at it. It was huge and it was hungry. It screamed some more and with a haunting, terrifying, distant whine, it disappeared. Had it turned invisible? Had it vanished by means of some dark magic? Was it gone? No, it was still with me. As if toying with me, it whined its faint scream in my ear from behind me, touching the back of my exposed neck. Attempting to protect myself, I grabbed my own neck, turned and looked for my attacker. However, it continued its unnatural ability to avoid being seen by me. How did it manage such an ability? Then it struck. With a mouth like a sword designed to stab through my flesh, it bit my arm. "Dammit" I yelled as I slapped the hungry beast, squashing it into a disqusting, greyish, brown paste. "Damn mosquitoes" I muttered as I sat back down, next to my fire. I was safe for now, but I knew there'd be more. As always, thanks for reading. PS~ Goblins is nominated in The Dragon Slayer Awards! Please pop in a vote for us! ~Thunt