A work of fiction where a young couple in love not only witnesses something otherworldly, but becomes part of it…
by: Ben Macnair
It was a moonlit evening when Sarah and Jake, a young couple deeply in love, decided to take a romantic stroll along a desolate beach near their small coastal town. The waves crashed rhythmically against the shore, creating an enchanting symphony that filled the air. As they wandered farther from the familiar lights of the boardwalk, they laughed and shared secrets, blissfully unaware of the darkness that loomed ahead. As they rounded a rocky outcropping, something caught Sarah’s eye — a glimmering object half-buried in the sand.
Curiosity piqued, they approached, and what they uncovered sent shivers down their spines. A creature, unlike anything they had ever seen, lay sprawled on the beach. Its skin shimmered with iridescent hues, shifting in the moonlight, and its elongated limbs ended in spindly fingers that curled unnaturally.
“Is it…alive?” Jake whispered, stepping back cautiously.
Sarah, despite her instincts screaming at her to flee, reached out to touch it. The instant her fingers grazed its cold, slick skin, a deep, resonant hum filled the air, vibrating through their bones. The creature’s eyes snapped open, two voids of darkness that seemed to absorb the light around them. As if answering her unspoken question, the creature stirred, its movements slow and deliberate. It emitted a low, guttural sound that reverberated like a deep echo in a vast cavern. Panic surged through Jake; he grabbed Sarah’s arm, urging her to retreat. But they were frozen, entranced by the creature’s otherworldly presence.
Suddenly, the air turned cold, and the hum intensified, resonating with the heartbeat of the Earth itself. Shadows began to stretch and twist, forming grotesque shapes that danced along the beach. The sand beneath their feet seemed to pulse, and whispers filled the air —fragments of distant screams, begging for release.
“Run!” Jake finally shouted, breaking the spell.
They turned, sprinting down the beach, but the creature’s hum transformed into a deafening roar shaking the very ground beneath them. The shadows twisted into tendrils, reaching for them, clawing at their ankles, urging them to succumb to the darkness. With adrenaline surging, they reached the safety of the boardwalk, collapsing against the wooden rails, gasping for breath. They looked back, but the beach was empty, as if the night had swallowed the creature whole.
“What was that?” Sarah panted, her heart racing.
“I don’t know” Jake replied, his voice trembling. “But we shouldn’t have messed with it. We have to warn everyone.”
As they turned to leave, a chilling realization washed over them. The whispers from the shadows echoed in their minds, and they suddenly understood: they were not just witnesses to something otherworldly, they had become part of it. Their laughter, their secrets, their love — all tainted by the creature they had disturbed. From that night on, the beach became a haunted place, where couples walked hand in hand but returned forever changed, haunted by whispers and shadows, as the creature awaited its next encounter beneath the sands, longing for companionship in its alien world.
Ben Macnair is an award-winning poet and playwright based in Staffordshire in the United Kingdom. Follow him on Twitter @benmacnair.
