Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Piper

What the hell is going on? And why did my life suddenly morph into a fucking horror movie right before my eyes? When the first…creature came out of the woods I thought it was a bear, but the snout was all wrong and it had pointy ears that reminded me of a dog, but it was fucking huge! Huge! And now there are fucking TWO of them!

"RUN!!!" I use the fact the creatures seem to be fighting with one another to motivate the children behind me to run as fast as they can. I try to keep up with them but one of the creatures cuts me off before I can run away with the children. I turn and run the other way so maybe they will chase me instead of the kids. Those things have to be…wolves…or werewolves! Right? Fucking werewolves! In the woods!

"Hey! Come this way!" I duck into the forest and take off running as fast as I can when I hear twigs and branches snapping behind me. Apparently, it worked, and the monsters are chasing me like I want them to. Why did I think this was a good idea? Why, why, why?

I trip over something and go sprawling across the forest floor, but before I can get back up the first ‘wolf-thing' is on me. A split second later the other wolf knocks him off me. I make it to my hands and knees only to find myself ducking and covering as a tree falls, its branches encasing and trapping me!

A merciless growl fills the woods as the tree hits the ground. By some stroke of luck, the bigger branches and the trunk of the tree miss me but I'm trapped by the smaller branches at the top. But I'm still trapped!

"No!!" I kick out at the thin wooden arms trying to hold me down, but my thin canvas shoes are no match. I couldn't kick anything and break it if I wanted to, damn it! I grunt trying to press my way between two of the bigger branches as twigs and sticks grab and catch on the jacket I'm wearing. Light flashes through the trees and thunder cracks overhead like even the sky is pissed about what's happening. Another vein of lightning isn't far behind, creating forks of fire and lighting up the sky, giving me a better look at the two creatures.

Oh shit! I work faster at trying to wiggle between these two branches. I finally squeeze through but have to leave the jacket behind, snagged. And just in time too, because the fight between the two wolf things comes right towards me and one of them lands on my wooden cage and crushes it to pieces beneath its massive weight.

These things aren't werewolves…at least not like the ones in movies. A moment later, a flash of lightning affirms my suspicion. Not werewolves. There are no human features at all, no humanity in the brown eyes staring at me like the creature wants to eat me. He probably does and the worst part is I wouldn't be even an appetizer to these big things. More of a late-night snack.

I take off again and start to run in the opposite direction, away from the fight. I can see my breath in the cold air, but I don't feel a thing as I try to make my escape. No one is going to believe this. How am I going to explain this? Who the hell do I even tell? The police? The game warden? Fucking Animal Control?

I break through the tree line into what appears to be a glade. Shit! If I don't get back to the cover of the trees, I'm going to be easy pickings for the monsters behind me. I make a run for it through the knee-high grass, praying the entire time I don't step on a snake. I couldn't handle that right now, not something slithery on top of those two snarling murder dogs and the threat of getting struck by lightning.

Halfway across the clearing, I trip over something lying in the grass and go down hard, hurting my wrist when I try to catch myself as I fall. I roll over on my butt, the cold of the ground sinking in. My hand throbs and I'm not sure if I broke something or just sprained it really badly. In the next brightening of the sky, I start to shake and back up, still on my butt.

It's worse than snakes. It's a dead person! Without thinking I let out a shrill scream as the world goes black again. One of these things already had a snack and now they want more. I scream again before covering my mouth and trying to keep myself from hyperventilating. I've not only entered a nightmare; I'm starring in a fucking horror movie! And the chances that I'm the main character are not great.

Tears stream down my face as I continue to stare in front of me even though I can't see the body anymore. The two wolves break through the trees. The brown one is limping and snipping at the black one. The black one's nose goes up in the air like he's caught the scent of something. I'm not sure if it's me or the dead body in front of me. I try to stand but my legs are wobbly and can't hold me up very well. I fall again and let out a sharp cry as I come down on my injured hand.

The black wolf's head snaps around, his blue eyes zeroing in on me as the sky lights back up. Unlike the brown eyes, these are...different - almost human. This time when the brown wolf attacks, the black one goes for his throat and rips it out. I gain my feet just as the brown wolf falls and I have enough light to see that there's blood everywhere. I feel myself sway as the world goes silent, no more snarling or growls, no more sounds of animals fighting, no more noise at all.

I need to run, to get back to the trees and hide from the big, dark monster coming towards me. I stumble back and turn only to be brought up short when I hear my name called out.

"Piper!"

What the fuck?

I turn in time to see the monster's body start to shrink in size, the sound of bones cracking and realigning as the flashes in the sky become more and more frequent. Fur recedes and smooth skin takes its place. The ground feels like it moves under my feet as the thing that used to be a wolf stands up and stares at me.

This is no stranger. This isn't an animal either – not anymore. I take a step back as my legs give out under me leaving me on my butt and staring up in the dark at familiar blue eyes and a mouth I was kissing not hours ago.

Merrik!

Merrik is standing in front of me in the exact same place the wolf was standing before. My eyes trail down his bare chest and I realize immediately he's not wearing anything. Totally naked. Nude. In his birthday suit.

And laying at his feet…is a crumpled-up human with blood painted down his body. It takes me a second to realize that under all the blood and muck is the body of Doyle. When he moves closer to me my body goes numb and my brain shuts down as it refuses to accept what's right in front of my face.

"Piper."

"M…," the first attempt doesn't come out, so I try harder, "Merrik?"

As he comes closer to me, my neck feels too tired to hold my head up as the world tips and I end up on my back staring up at the night sky as more lightning forks across it. Merrik's face swims in front of me for a split second before the world goes dark!