In a moment of uncharacteristic panic, Ashley tried to stand and whacked her head on the shallow roof of the tunnel. The dim light of the dark hole faded to complete blackness and the world drifted away.
Ashley had been gone far too long for her friend's comfort.
Ashley hadn't returned from the tunnel and didn't answer the calls that echoed down its length as her friends shouted for her. They were starting to get worried.
Maybe the rumors were true, they thought. Maybe people really did go missing in the tunnel.
While the group discussed what to do next, they didn't see Ashley slowly crawl out from the tunnel. She was covered in dirt and her clothes had been torn to tatters, barely clinging to her body.
"I think I hit my head in there, stings like hell... couldn't find the other side, though. Maybe it doesn't go anywhere after all..."
Ashley rubbed her sore head and walked over to get her jacket and shoes, unaware of her complete nudity or the fact that her body was covered in patches of dusky brown fur.
Her friends looked at Ashley in shock.
Ashley had a tail - a thick hairy rat's tail! - and her face was pulled into a muzzle-like shape that paired with her pink clawed hands and feet made her look anything but human.