Under the night sky, lit up with not city lights, but instead only the shine of the twinkling stars, was an island isolated in the middle of a deep, vast ocean. Just the chirping of crickets and the sound of the leaves as the wind rushed by was to be heard. On the island was a group of young boys who had fallen asleep not too long ago, but among them was one who was wide awake. Simon, one of the larger boys, had wanted to go to a place he had known in the nearby jungle. Unfortunately for Phil, he did not know of Simon’s plans.

  Startled, Phil had jerked awake from his nightmare. The littlun blindly called for Ralph, in hopes that as chief of the boys, would be able to help calm him down. The island was almost completely darkened by the absence of light, if only it weren’t for the waxing gibbous moon to the east and the surrounding blanket of stars and constellations, just slightly making it easier for Phil to navigate his way around. He staggered in circles, the remaining fear from his nightmare still overriding him, while he looked around in the dark with eyes practically closed. 

Phil then caught a swift flash of movement that barely made it into his peripheral vision. He turned abruptly to where he had seen the motion, but all he could find was the faint outline of the trees and bushes. 

“Ralph?”

A few seconds had gone by, and there was not a sound in response. At that, he tried to shrug it off, but his eyes lingered on the same area. He squinted, eyebrows furrowing, and there it was again. A shadow appeared, this time further into the forest, and Phil flinched hard out of fright and shrieked--that was, if the sound had come out.

The shadow was extremely large in size, especially compared to Phil, and began to move steadily along the bushes. Of course, it might just have been the vines or branches moving in unison with the gusting wind, but to a little boy, the possibilities were beyond fantasy. One was regarding the “beastie” that some of the other boys had been concerned about recently, which was the first thing that came to Phil’s mind. According to what a few of the other littluns had said, it usually is seen during the night in the forest. The shadow was still active, and to Phil it looked like a terrifyingly big creature that was hungry for food. He realized that it was now moving very quickly, and seemed as if it was nearing dangerously close to him. But just as he was about to step away, the shadow had vanished. Although it wasn’t visible to him anymore, the eerie sensation still crept upon him, causing him to run back to where he had woken up from the nightmare. He laid down and struggled to get comfortable as he closed his eyes with his heartbeat racing. 

As for Simon, he felt satisfied with his quick trip into the forest, and had just returned to try and get some rest. The entire island was still serene and silent, besides the few barely audible noises from the neighboring insects.