A beautiful summers day, blue sky, a few wispy clouds and hardly a breath of wind. The view from the top of the cliffs out over the ocean was breathtaking, the undulating hills adorned with all the seasonal colours, the sound of bees and grasshoppers, butterflies with their erratic flight paths all added to the sheer beauty of the surroundings.

I was lost in thought as I strolled along enjoying nature and the heat of the day. Time can be elusive during these moments, it can pass without notice, it was a slight coolness that woke me from my reverie. Looking round I noticed a sea fog just off shore, they are not unusual in these parts and often they would linger out at sea, but sometimes they would meander in and change a lovely warm day into a bleak cold one. This one was close to shore already.

Within seconds the fog had rolled in, entirely engulfing me and blotting out not just the sun but all my surroundings, like most sea fogs, it was thick, damp and very cold, but this one was the thickest I'd ever experienced, and surprisingly dark. I could see nothing in any direction, I could barely see my feet, the disorientation was as alarming as it was complete.

The surf breaking at the foot of the cliffs was barely audible as the muffling effect of the fog tried to blot out all sound, but I thought it came from somewhere off to my right which was as I remembered it before the fog came in, so I turned to my left and decided to walk in the opposite direction of the cliffs and towards a road that I knew would be about a mile away, it seemed the safest course of action.

I had taken less than half a dozen steps when the weirdest sound I'd ever heard stopped me dead in my tracks, the shrill screech cut through the fog like a knife, there was no muffling effect as the shrillness pierced flesh and bone as easily as it pierced the fog. A chilling and horrifying sound that got louder by the second, the feelings of peaceful tranquility suddenly being replaced by fright and the awareness of being completely alone.

The instant fear made me take off at a run, barely able to see the ground in front of my feet, the noise filling my head, getting nearer, the fear taking over, was I running straight towards the cliffs? I could no longer tell direction, imagination running wild. I could almost feel, whatever it was, appearing out of the fog, almost on top of me, fear turned to shear terror, I began to stumble, my legs going quicker and becoming uncoordinated.

At that moment, as the screaming sound became unbearable, I ran full force into a huge boulder and was thrown back onto the ground. Reaction took over, tiny parts of a second seemed to take hours as a single clear thought made its way through the blind panic.

"Hide!"

I scrambled round the rock and tried to conceal myself behind it, hoping, whatever it was, wouldn't see me and would instead pass me by. I jambed myself into the crack where the boulder met the ground and hugged it as close I possibly could, trying to melt into it, to be part of it. My heart pounding, breath coming in short gulps. All my fears were realised when, at that instant, I felt something grab my ankle. I kicked and thrashed, but all my struggling was in vain as it tugged me free of the rock, powerless to resist, its vice-like grip crushing my ankle, I could feel it dragging me from my hiding place, and still the piercing scream, pulling my leg...

...much like I'm pulling yours. He, he.