"Ouch…" Eddie clutched the tree trunk as he vomited violently. He had drunk far too much tonight, leaving his mind hazy. Through the haze, he vaguely heard approaching footsteps.
When he lifted his head, several blurred figures came into view, staggering toward him. They seemed to be saying something, but he couldn't make it out.
"Hey! Hand over all your money!" A bald man grabbed Eddie by the collar arrogantly.
"This guy's not bad-looking," another man with tattoos on his face sneered, eyeing Eddie with a lewd grin. "Heh, heh…"
"Let me go…" Eddie slurred, trying to pry their hands away. But in his weakened state, there was no way his thin frame could resist them.
Smack!
A punch knocked him to the ground. A few teeth, along with bile, sprayed onto the men.
"Damn it! You dare spit on us?!"
"Beat him!"
The group immediately surrounded Eddie, raining punches and kicks down on him. He curled up on the ground, clutching his head, crying out in pain.
"Roar!"
"Huh? What was that?" The bald man paused, looking around in confusion. The sound—it didn't sound human. More like some kind of wild beast.
"You're hearing things, man. We're not even that far out yet."
"But I heard there are coyotes around here… maybe they came looking for food."
As soon as those words were spoken, a chill ran down their spines. Even Eddie, battered as he was, instinctively tensed.
"Hey… is it raining?" The bald man felt something dripping onto his head. He reached up—it was sticky. Like saliva.
Slowly, he looked up.
The branches above were empty, nothing but leaves swaying quietly.
"Let's go. Don't scare yourselves."
After rifling through Eddie's pockets, they took anything valuable—his phone, his camera—and left him there.
Whoosh—
A cold wind swept through, making them shiver.
"What the hell…" the bald man muttered, turning to leave. Then he frowned. "Where's Johnny? Wasn't he with you?"
"Johnny… he was just here!"
"Fisk's gone too!"
A cold dread crept into their hearts. The atmosphere had turned strange—oppressive.
"Let's go. Maybe they headed back already," the bald man said quickly.
"Y-yeah…"
"Ahhh!"
"Shut up! What are you yelling for?!" the bald man snapped.
"That sounded like Bonnie… but where is he?"
"He disappeared in an instant! He was right here!"
At this point, even the slowest among them realized something was terribly wrong.
"Is this place… haunted?"
"What's there to be afraid of? There are plenty of us!" the bald man forced out, though fear had already taken hold of him.
"Roar!"
The strange sound echoed again, closer this time. Panic erupted. The remaining men broke formation, trying to scatter.
Out of the seven or eight of them, only three remained.
"Damn it! Run!" the bald man shouted, no longer caring about anything else.
After only a few steps, he tripped over something. Grimacing, he pushed himself up—only to come face to face with a pale, lifeless expression.
"Ah!" He scrambled back in terror. It was Fisk—the one who had just vanished.
His hand slipped into something wet. Raising it, he saw it was covered in blood.
"Ah! Ahhh!" Panic overwhelmed him. Warmth spread down his legs, but he didn't care. He scrambled to his feet and ran on all fours, desperate to escape.
In the darkness, a massive, inhuman shape lurked within the woods. It silently watched the fleeing figures—then vanished in an instant.
Whoosh!
A two-meter-tall black creature dropped from above, crushing the bald man beneath its weight. His spine snapped instantly, silencing him forever.
Eddie lay hidden beneath a bush, trembling, one hand clamped over his mouth as he watched the massacre unfold. The beating had sobered him slightly—and when he opened his eyes, he saw the creature hunched over something, gnawing.
He didn't dare make a sound. His instincts screamed that this was the same kind of creature that had vanished months ago. Tears welled in his eyes as he stayed perfectly still, terrified that the monster would tear him apart if he moved.
"Huh… where did it go?" Eddie blinked. The creature had disappeared.
At the same moment, he felt something above him.
Slowly, he looked up.
A grotesque black face hovered overhead, white, sinister eyes staring directly at him.
"Ahhhh—!" Eddie screamed and bolted, running without looking back.
"Roar!" The creature seemed irritated by the noise. Instead of chasing immediately, it clamped its hands over its ears.
As Eddie ran, he fumbled through his belongings, throwing anything he found behind him. But most of his possessions had already been taken.
The creature quickly recovered, letting out a roar as it lunged after him. The distance between them closed almost instantly. In the blink of an eye, it caught up, slashing its claws across Eddie's back.
Caught off guard, Eddie cried out as blood sprayed, and he fell forward hard.
Bang!
He hit the ground heavily. A lighter slipped from his pocket. Trembling, Eddie raised his hands defensively, staring at the looming shadow in horror. Desperately, he groped the ground and found the lighter. Without thinking, he flicked it on and hurled it at the creature.
To his shock, the flame struck the monster—and it recoiled with a piercing scream, as if terrified of fire.
The flame caught on the dry grass, spreading rapidly. The fire licked up the creature's body, making it shriek in agony. Eddie stared, stunned, as a black, liquid-like substance writhed across its form, twisting like disturbed stagnant water.
"Roar!" The creature howled, tearing the black substance from its body and flinging it away—straight toward Eddie.
"What the hell?!" Eddie scrambled backward in terror. His hands were already torn open by stones and weeds, his shoes lost somewhere behind him.
The black substance surged toward him like it had found salvation. In an instant, it latched onto his body, spreading rapidly and enveloping him completely.
"Ah! Ahhh—!"
Eddie felt himself being consumed—
And then…
"This feeling…"
A strange sense of release spread through his body. He couldn't help but let out a low, exhilarated cry.
A new black figure rose to its feet.
Eddie's eyes were cold as he stared at the wolf-like creature before him—the one that had hunted him. A faint, eerie smile crept across his face…
__________________________________________
You can read early chapters on Patr*on. If you enjoy my work and would like to support me, consider becoming a patron. My Patr*on username is Renzo28557.