The sky was speckled with distant lights as the moon shone apon the reflective water of the large pond. The sun had just set and I had figured it would be a good evening for night fishing. I cast my line into the water and waited patiently for a fish to take the bait, listening to the constant chirping of crickets and the soft breeze blowing through the leaves on the trees.

Securing the pole between a pair of rocks, I leaned back, taking off my glasses, and looked up at the magnificent navy sky. The stars and faint cloud cover helped to bring out the dark colors of twilight. It was so relaxing to sit and observe that my eyes started to feel like a pair of weights. They started to fall slowly. Suddenly, they snapped open again. I had heard something. It was a twig snapping.

I whipped my head around, trying to find the source of the loud sound. With no luck, I decided to bring out my flashlight. Putting my glasses on my face, I turned in a slow circle, completely forgetting about my previous task, and shining a light into the forest. As if whoever was there knew I was looking, footsteps began to crunch toward me from the cover of the trees. The dead leaves and grass created a harmony that only grew louder as the person gained closer.

My heart started to gain speed as beads of sweat formed on my forehead. Nobody ever came here at night unless they were pursuing the urge to take a night swim or fish. However, this was unlikely as, the footsteps were coming from the opposite direction of the village. Nobody lived there except for bears and other various wildlife. A drip of sweat ran down my nose as I slowly turned my body in the direction of the steps and shone the flashlight's light.

Nobody was there.

I sighed, wiping sweat from my forehead and chuckling. "I was just making myself paranoid, that's all," I said to myself, rubbing my eyes and then looking back up to see a girl, roughly sixteen, standing in the direction that the footsteps were coming from before.

She seemed to appear out of nowhere, her uneven brown hair gently waving in the wind. Her head was down, shadowing her facial features so that I could not make them out. She wore a white dress which was torn and seemed to be burnt in some places. Finally, she held some sort of large appliance in her right hand and seemed to be trembling slightly, making the object shake and make faint rattling noises.

I gasped in shock and stepped back, closer to the pond.

"Who are you?"

The creature failed to answer but, stayed in place, continuing her terrified shaking.

"Are you alright?"

Still no answer, just shaking. This girl was definitely in a bad state. I decided that asking any further questions would be pointless and, frankly, I didn't have all night.

"I have a phone! I can call someone to pick you up!" I said, pulling a grey flip phone out of my jean pocket and flipping the top up, my thumb hovering over the buttons.

The girl seemed to stop shaking as she made an odd combination of a groan and a laugh. This made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end as the sound was one I had never heard a human make. It was one only an animal could produce. I didn't know how to react so, I took it as a yes.

I glanced down at my phone and dialed in the numbers of the local police station, knowing that only they could locate the girl's parents. As the dial tone came on, I made the mistake of looking back up at the girl and almost threw up at what I saw.

She was closer now, her face finally viewable and head tilted to the side. Her mouth was spread into a shiny, white grin and eyes wide open. Her pupils seemed to be black dots on a plain white canvas and bore into me, giving me a look that only a psychopath could pull off. In her hand, the appliance was finally in view, revealing it to be a chainsaw. However, that was not the scariest part. One half of her face seemed to be missing revealing a yellowed and blood-stained skull completing the other side of her sadistic grin. Other parts of her body had patches of burnt skin, bloody muscle, and blackened parts of bone revealed beneath her flesh.

I dropped the phone just as the operator picked up, my breath catching in my throat. Her bloodshot eyes observed mine as she gave another unnatural chortle. Reaching out, her icy left hand brushed my cheek.

"Shh," She whispered. "I'll take care of you. I'll take care of you."

I could see and hear the movement of her right hand as she slowly lifted it up and around my neck, her left hand doing the same as I closed my eyes and started to shake. Her chainsaw was behind me. She could start it up and take my head off any time that she wanted.

Suddenly, I heard the roar of the engine of the chainsaw and, thinking quickly, I ducked and dove away. I grabbed my flashlight out of my pocket as the girl turned toward me, her sadistic grin burning into me as I shone the  light into her face. She hissed and used her hand to block her eyes from the light, not used to the sudden change of lighting before charging at me, holding the roaring chainsaw above her head. I dropped the flashlight, turned, and started sprinting back towards the village.

I panted as my legs pumped quickly, the adrenaline from my fear helping with the escape. My lungs ached for air and throat burned but I had to keep going.

"Come back! I will take care of you! I promise!"

Her voice was tantalizingly sweet and, hearing it, I almost slowed my pace. I resisted the urge however, and continued to run, my clothes getting damp from the copious amount of sweat seeping from my pores.

The girl chased me for what felt like days. Finally, I saw the village lights ahead of me. They were still about three miles away but, the sight was enough to bring my pace up. The thundering tone of the chainsaw seemed to diminish the closer I got to the village. Curious, I took a glance back over my shoulder to see that she had stopped. Her head twitched as the lower half of her body was engulfed in slowly rising flame. Then, for the last time, she spoke.

"Remember, father? It's Madeline."