Lets increase their numbers...
Darkness was falling, the temperature was dropping and Allan shivered in the darkness. The breeze coming in from the sea brought a chill to the air, and his tent was proving difficult to erect. The only flat ground was in a hollow out of the wind, and it was infested with midges, a swarm of aggressive, biting insects that gave him no respite. If he spent as much as thirty seconds assembling his tent he'd have to run off for five minutes to let the swarm clear. Normally it took him no more than a few minutes to set up his tent, but he'd been here more than an hour, and now he was setting up in the dark.
But this place was worth the trouble. He'd walked for miles across the barren moorland to reach it, and it was a beautiful as he'd expected. Long sandy beaches contrasted vividly with the bare red sandstone rocks that rose in mighty terraces above the beach. The evening sun had long since gone, and where there had been bright orange cliff faces in the golden glow of sunset, there were now only dark and forbidding cliff faces, menacingly hanging above him.
Everything he'd heard about it was true. He'd read about it, how it was a captivating place of barren beauty and rugged wilderness, but he hadn't really believed it would be quite this good. As he sat atop a dune waiting for the midges below to clear he felt a sense of calm come across him. Fine, the midges were stressful, but he'd get his tent built eventually, and the moon gave enough light to see while he built it. But this place was mesmerising. The sound of the waves became captivating, and even with the chill in the air, he felt a longing to throw himself in the water.
Hurriedly he ran back to his tent, and began assembling it quicker than ever. He fought against the midges, almost choking on them as he put the final touches to his tent. Eventually they overwhelmed him again and he ran off, but this time with a completed tent behind him. He headed down to the shore, and with a glance around the beach just to double check he was alone, he threw his clothes off and ran down the beach. The cold air chilled his skin, but he just felt more and more alive with each step.
He dived straight into the water without hesitating, expecting it to be freezing. Instead he found it pleasantly warm and he linger in there, splashing around & being tossed about by the breaking waves.
When he emerged from the water, he was exhausted & exhilarated. As he stepped onto dry sand, he turned and fell back, his arms and legs outstretched. Letting out a huge shriek of delight, he stretched out his arms and legs, shaking them with pure joy. After long weeks trapped in an office he finally felt liberated and free.
Lying there in the darkness, the breeze slowly began to penetrate his skin. The excitement of the skinny dipping had subsided and he was feeling a little cold. He knew it was time to get dressed and get in the tent, but he wasn't disappointed, he knew as soon as the sun rose in a few hours it'd warm up and he'd be straight back in the water.
Walking back to the tent he didn't notice the body washed up on the beach a few hundred metres away. As it had only arrived a few minutes ago, Allan was never going to spot it, it was too dark by now, and he was more concerned with getting warm. He never noticed it slowly pull itself inch by inch across the beach, up towards the dunes.
As Allan reached his clothes he picked up the bundle of them and carried it to the top of the dunes. He stood there looking out at the darkness, catching the glimpse of breaking waves as the moonlight caught their white crests. He decided that maybe a short walk was called for, and in a moment of bravery he dropped the bundle of clothes and began to walk along the crest of the dunes.
It was a strange feeling, walking without clothes. He's always meant to try it, but never quite found the chance, despite having gone skinny dipping in mountain rock pools many times. But now he found he was enjoying it. He felt more in touch with the environment as each blade of the long grass tickled his calves and thighs as he walked. He found he regretted not having tried this sooner and vowed to do it a lot more. The wind, sand and grass all felt wonderful all over his skin and he felt in a dream.
But he awoke quickly when he heard a noise from the base of the dunes like a long groaning. Immediately he dropped to the ground, covering himself, terrified of being caught. He tentatively leaned out across the dune's edge to see what had made the noise, hoping desperately it was an animal. His heart sank when he saw a naked human figure lying below him, not moving.
Allan was caught in a moment of brief panic. This person clearly needed help, but Allan's clothes were several hundred metres away. Allan suddenly felt very naked and very exposed. He initially decided to run back and get dressed, but common sense told him he needed to see if this person was okay first.
Covering his genitals with his hands, he ran down the dune to where the body lay. Still covering himself with one hand he shook the body gently, but the person barely responded, just groaning again.
“Hello, can you her me?” said Allan, shaking them harder. The person didn't respond. He rolled the body over and saw it was a woman's, but barely recognisable as one. Her skin was pale and discoloured and her body was thin and drawn, like she'd been starved for a long time.
“Hello, hello?” said Allan, trying again for a response. The woman groaned again, louder this time, and opening her eyes. Her stare was empty and vacant.
Allan had no first aid knowledge, and panic was beginning to set in. He ran off down the beach, stumbling in the darkness, looking for his tent to get his phone to call for help.
The creature had heard a call from across the water. One of its own had called it, and like others, it had answered. None had ever felt the need to cross the water before, but the call was compelling. They had to find the food.
Those that heard it had wandered out into the water to be carried by the currents. Some would drown, others would be carried back to their home. But a few were to make the crossing.
She was the first of them to make landfall, and she was hungry. She had to eat, but she sensed no food. There seemed to be nothing for her here. Something shook her, but she was tired and it didn't seem like food. She didn't care about it and tried to sleep.
Suddenly she sensed food. Her head snapped up, sniffing the air. Leaping to her feet she turned to face the source and began pounding along the beach to it. As she ran, she suddenly sensed the source of food become somehow more compelling and desirable. Her pace quickened, as her hunger drove her on...
Allan suddenly felt very foolish in his nakedness as he rummaged for his phone in the pile of clothes. Pulling on his underpants made him feel a bit better, but he was still flustered over the woman and his phone was what he really needed.
Digging it out from the pocket of his fleece, he fumbled with the on switch and waited for it to start up. The seconds seemed like minutes as it emitted its usual stupid start up jingle, leaving Allan frantically waiting to be able to do something.
The creature's attack came swiftly from behind. It threw its whole body at Allan, knocking him flat to the ground. It leapt on top of him, its claw like hands ripping into the flesh of his thigh, tearing his underpants away and biting the flesh in his buttocks.
Allan, face down in the sand, screamed in pain as it bit down, desperately trying to lash out at it, but to no avail. As it bit deeper and deeper into his flesh, the pain and terror of the attack gave Allan renewed strength. He kicked out at the creature, knocking it off him and sending it tumbling down the sand dune, taking the torn remains of Allan's underpants with it.
Allan scrambled away, half crawling, half running into the night, naked and terrified, agonised from
the burning from his wound. He ran for several miles, never looking back, before dropping from exhaustion.
Cold, naked and alone he curled up into a ball, shivering. His wound had gone numb, there was no more pain, but something still felt wrong. All fear and terror had left him, but he felt almost empty, as if something was missing, but he couldn't be sure what. He wasn't even sure he cared. He certainly wasn't worried about his clothes or his tent, or anything else about his life. He seemed to remember something about a woman, but he decided he'd worry about it in the morning. Or once he'd eaten.
Several miles away, the creature lay in the dunes. It had had a mouthful, but it had lost sight of the food and wasn't sure what had happened to it. With only the slightest glimmer of regret, it curled up into a ball and slept, resting until it could eat again.