You bolted while halfheartedly looking for Jude. But Skye, oh God you think. Just like that, she had vanished into the darkness screaming. A soldier of all people, taken out in an instant. You wished that she was okay, but whatever took her must have planned to eat her, I mean....
No, you remind yourself, not now. You continued to sprint until your lungs felt to weak to go on. Taking a sharp turn you collided into something warm. Dazed momentarily, dread washed over you as a hulking mass stood over you. It snarled, leaning down to meet your face. It was coated thick in fur, and his fangs were clearly designed for one purpose. You trembled, to frozen to dodge a swipe from the beast. You screamed as a clawed hand tore through your chest sending you flying to the floor. The pain quickly numbed as adrenaline kicked in, you wildly clawing at the ground. The beast behind you slunk onto all fours, reaching out with it’s crawled hand. It latched onto you, dragging you through the mud toward it. It slowly climbed over you, bringing its jaws to your shoulder. You felt the pain before you realised what happened. You screamed, the beast causally moving back before running off into the night.
Perhaps pain and exhaustion confused you, but you could have sworn there was a delight conveyed in its movements. You stammered to your feet, retreating through the forest. Slowly, gripping your shoulder all the while, you found a tree with low hanging branches. Covered in filth, torn clothing and in immense pain, you slipped off fading into sleep.
You awoke in the early hours of the morning. Abruptly, you sat up, but immediately regretted it as your body ached.
“At least I’m alive,” you told yourself.
Slowly, you managed to stand and shuffle out from the tree. Pacing for a moment, you decided to move. Eventually, you found the pain became less of an issue. It faded from sharp stinging to a dull ache in your bones. Soon enough, you noticed that you had returned to the cleaning.
There, to your relief, was Jude. He stood, clearly having had a rough night. His knees were scarred, his clothes stained with mud and dirt. He turned to see you, before running to embrace you.
“Your alive!”
“Yeah bud,” you replied.
“Look at you, your all beaten up.”
“That thing, the creature that got Skye. It attacked me.”
“And your survived?”
“I guess it got scared off,” you said, with as much belief as Jude seemed to express.