The embers of the campfire cast a dim shadow of light, insufficient to hold back the stifling nighttimes darkness in the grassy plains of Studley park. Surrounding the campfire, huddled within dirty blankets and rags, slept a group of outcasts I had called my friends for some time now. From the tip of my ear, I could hear unnerving ruffles of the leaves just beyond the fires display. The majority of those around the fire were sleeping off the effects of a keg of beer that they finished off an hour beforehand. An unknown terror causing the hair on my neck to stand. I peered out from under my filthy blanket, scanning the trees around the oval. I could not see anything, but the unknown fear was too great to ignore. I quickly rose to my feet and moved silently towards the remains of the fire. With curiosity beginning to overcome fear, I approached the edge of the camp.
At first, I could not make out the source of the noise I heard. As I crept slowly away from the clearing, passing the white line of safety which marked the edge of the football field It was only then, as the fire briefly flared, I then saw the source of the fear that had awakened me. No more than twenty feet in front of me, the fire reflected the strange creatures eyes. It almost looked manlike. I ran like a bat out of hell away from the nearby alien figure with a large profanity. The profanity acted as a warning to my sobering buddies. As the growing fire pushed the darkness further from the camp, other people in the camp began to see the dark shape moving amongst the trees.
Many of them rolled groggily to their feet, unable to think past the pain in their heads. Others, more alert, rolled quickly to their feet, searching for rocks, sticks etc. .
A dozen men began to fire missiles into the forest at the moving shadows. For the most part, their efforts were wasted, flying off into the forest to either strike a tree, or land harmlessly in the safety of the oval.
