They Lurk|| JJK || ✔️

Prologue

The little girl giggled as she chased her new German Shepherd through the trees. Her father had finally agreed to get her an adult from the nearby rescue and she couldn't love him more. He was already quite old, at ten years, but he was a kind and gentle giant to the tiny girl. She had wanted a labrador or some kind of small terrier, but he had drawn the line.

Her father had told her not to take the dog beyond the fence that blocked in their small yard, especially by herself, as the dog wasn't trained like her father's enormous Bull Mastiff, but he had seen a squirrel or something and had jumped the fence.

It hadn't taken long for the dog to get bored of whatever it was that it had seen and the two were instead playing among the trees. He was nipping at her very lightly until she'd turn and chase him, and then he'd spin around and run circles around her, once again nipping at her until she could catch him.

Somehow, with all the playing and the chasing of whatever it was that the dog had seen before, the little girl had lost sight of her house. It was starting to get dark and although young, she knew that she absolutely must be back inside before night time. However, as she pulled on the dog's sparkly blue collar (she had chosen it at the store, much to her father's adoring amusement), she noticed something else. Something a lot more terrifying than the dark.

The mist.

It had started to roll in from the distance, coating the trees and floor with its thick tendrils. Her father was going to be so angry at her.

She pulled again at the dog's collar. He was bigger than her, but she had to pull him back to the house before the mist and dark came. The dog, however, had other ideas. His hackles slowly raised on his back, moving all the way down to his tail, which was suddenly stiff behind him. His ears perked up and at that moment, she knew that she was too late. They were here.

After a short bark and a loud snarl, the dog took off into the mist, chasing what couldn't be seen but was definitely there.

She called his name but was met with only sounds of snarls and leaf litter slowly being blown along the floor by the wind. She knew why her father hadn't wanted an older dog, then. She knew why he always got large puppies and trained them thoroughly herself. A trained dog wouldn't have left her on her own in the mist.

Scrambling to her feet, tears already streaming down her cheeks, the little girl ran in the direction she thought was her home. However, the mist quickly caught up with her, and with it, the terrified scream of her dog. 

She continued to pump her tiny arms and legs as fast as she could, but even she knew it wasn't fast enough. There was noise all around her, and even she could tell she was surrounded. She kept running, hoping that she could make it anyway when she could see a large silhouette in front of her moving quickly in her direction. She recognised the movements and heavy thumping of its feet and as she grew closer, a blood-curdling snarl escaped from its massively strong chest. She threw herself to the leaf litter once more as it leapt over her, tearing into whatever it was that was behind her, before letting out a loud howl.

When she felt the wet nose of her father's mastiff nudging at her face, the little girl stood up, wrapping her hand lightly around the large spiked collar around her neck and allowing her to carefully but quickly lead her. 

The dog was tense, looking in all directions and occasionally leaping away from her to chase something off. Very soon, however, she could see her father through the thick air, sprinting towards her with his gun in his hands. He swung it around on its strap and wrapped his arms around her, before turning and running back, carrying her with him. The dog kept up, still chasing off the unseen dangers until they were once again safe within their own walls.