"It's that strange sound again...," Harris said grumpily as he got out of bed and proceeded slowly towards his log cabin's fireplace with a flashlight in hand. Harris had been hearing unusual sounds, like to someone scratching at a concrete wall, emanating from his fireplace for several nights, but every time he looked, he found nothing.
Harris wanted to ignore the scratching sound, but every time he did, it got louder and louder, driving him to investigate.
"What kind of stupid critter would scratch at his fireplace every night?"
Harris suspected that the scratching noise was caused by a nocturnal animal. After all, his cabin is in the woods, so some tiny creatures trying to get in through the chimney wouldn't be too unusual.
"I'll skinned the damn thing once I catch it," Harris swore to himself.
Harris was naturally irritated because the unusual scratching sound had kept him awake all night for several nights. As a result, he swears he'll pay whatever was generating that sound.
Harris shines his flashlight into the fireplace and finds nothing there. Harris was going to turn around and go back to bed when it occurred to him that he should attempt spotting a light up the chimney.
Harris went all fours and slowly went inside the fireplace before directing the light up the chimney, kneeling down. He almost had a heart attack when he looked up expecting to see nothing, only to see a clawed "hand" coated in fur and an eye looking back at him.
Harris couldn't help but scream in fright when he saw that image and hastily retreated from the fireplace. And, as if by instinct, Harris ran to his bed and pulled a shotgun from beneath it.
Harris slammed the door of his cabin open, swiftly pointed his shotgun at his chimney, and fired a shot without saying anything.
Harris then pointed his flashlight at the roof but saw nothing. He then inspected his surroundings but discovered nothing.
When Harris listened to his surroundings, he didn't hear a single sound, as if the gunshot had scared every critter and insect in the area.
Harris finally gave up after many minutes. He knew whatever creature he saw had been scared away by the gunfire. Or perhaps it fled the instant he broke eye contact.
Harris hurriedly left his cabin and began trekking out of the woodland the next morning. He has no idea what creature he saw last night, and he has no intention of finding out, at least not alone. Moreover, last night had been a nightmare for him, and he didn't want to go through it again.
That said he still intends to return to his cabin, but this time he will be accompanied by some buddies.