Day 176: 2 May 2026

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 Short story -- Facing the monster


Clang! Clang! Clang!

The bell tolled out a warning from the church’s steeple.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

It rang urgently that everyone needed to be inside, behind a bolted door, behind sturdy shutters.

Silence.

Even the ringer of the bell didn’t want to give away their position.

And in the silence, you could hear it coming. The soft thud of large paws landing rhythmically in a run.

The beast tore into the small village. Eyes bright with the thrill of the hunt. Nose catching every scent on the air. It paused. Its ears twitching slightly, listening.

It was searching for a weakness.

Someone too old or too young to put up a fight.

A barely perceptible scrabbling sound.

It turned its head and started running again.

Soon its luminescent green eyes were staring down into a small pair of blue one.

The girl wore a shabby and tattered dress. She had dirt across one cheek. And she looked hungry.

In one hand she held a long, sturdy stick and in the other a sharpened rock.

When the beast faced her, her eyes didn’t show fear. She’d learned long ago that monsters were real. And there was nothing to do but stand one’s ground.

The beast let out a fearsome roar.

The girl grinned and gnashed her teeth at it. She didn’t advance. Feet solidly apart. She rooted herself to hold her ground. After all, with a wall behind her there was nowhere to go anyways.

And the beast lunged.

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