After seven days he came upon a clearing in the forest.
Ten small hutches had been made, with moss and twigs for roofs, arranged in a circle around a campfire.
‘You have been busy,’ he said, poking at the dying embers. They were still warm, they couldn’t be far.
He raised his large nose into the air. It was there faintly, the scent he had been following. The smell of tasty little children. The hobgoblin licked his lips.
‘I’m coming to get you,’ he shouted and set off through the trees.
Samuel watched the hunched figure disappear. ‘It worked,’ he whispered, ‘he’s gone the wrong way.’ He shimmied down the branches to the ground. The others followed.
‘What now?’ Nathaniel asked. Samuel looked at the rag-tag bunch, all dressed in the pyjamas they had been wearing when they were taken from their beds.
‘We have to find our way out of the forest. Come on.’
They turned to leave.
‘Hello children,’ the hobgoblin stepped out from behind a tree. ‘Not so smart after all.’
He swiped with his large net, capturing Samuel.
‘Run,’ Samuel cried. The others scattered.
The hobgoblin sneered at Samuel. ‘I’ll get you one at a time if I must.’
Written as part of Sunday Photo Fiction. Write a story of around 200 words based on the photo prompt given (above). Hosted by Al Forbes. For more details visit HERE.
To read more stories based on this week’s prompt, visit HERE.
IAIN KELLY 
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