The mist dissipated as the group of naked women entered the forest, but it was still difficult to see due to the shadow of the thick forest canopy. It was hard to actually run over the rocks, roots, leaves, and needles in bare feet, but soon the women had run in different directions far enough that they were fairly far apart.
Rachel crept along behind Zoey, at a slight distance, but not too far, so that she was fairly certain that Zoey knew she was there, even though they didn't say anything.
It was hard to tell how much time was passing, but it must have been a few hours, because it was starting to get dark, when Zoey stopped at a pile of boulders at into the side of a steep hill.
"What are you doing? Rachel whispered to Zoey, finally.
"I'm thinking about my strategy," Zoey said. "Do I want to try to stay active and try to run if he finds me, or is it better to hide? The gaps between these boulders could be ...."
Zoey trailed off, and Rachel almost asked her what she was going to say, but she raised her fingers to her lips, and pointed up the hillside.
There, on a crest above them, was the stag.
He was truly a majestic specimen of a buck, with a huge, muscular chest; a regal, proud posture; wide, many-tipped antlers. Yet there was something "off" about him, too. There was still a slightly undefinable trace of humanity about him: his face was deer like, but just a little human in an uncanny way. His fur was the color of the nerdy young man's hair. Other, very subtle details which Rachel couldn't quite define ... but there was no doubt to Rachel that this animal was part human, or had been human.
She looked at Zoey, who was standing very still, and could tell they were both wondering the same thing: if he knew they were there.
She also noticed that Zoey's nipples were standing at attention. Rachel wondered if the stag had found and fucked any of the other girls yet. The image of him mounting a human female and bellowing as she became his doe underneath him filled her mind she felt her own nipples harden and her heart beating. The stag sniffed the air, loudly.