The stranger stood tall, a dark figure against the setting, red sun. He had his arm outstretched over the road, his thumb sticking up. 

"A hitchhiker?" Jackie tilted her head toward the curious scene. "Should we...stop?" she asked, leaning over the driver's seat. Oren gently pressed on the breaks bringing the van to a slow halt in front of the stranger, who watched with a dull stare. He had warm, caramel skin that glistened in the fading sunlight. He looked a few years older than Jackie and Oren, a few inches taller and with peach fuzz just starting to grow along his chin. He wore a disheveled, military jacket covered in poorly sewn patches. His hair was long and dark, pulled back into a loose ponytail. He threw up a peace sign but kept on a stern, cold scowl.

Jackie and Oren glanced at one another.

"Hey, where are you heading?" Jackie asked loudly, popping her head out the window.

"Same place you guys are going. The same place we're all going." he sighed. "To whoever the hell is behind all of this."

"And you're...human, right?" Oren felt ridiculous asking the question but thought it necessary. The stranger simply glared up at him, wrinkling his nose.

"Yes, of course, I'm human. I got trapped in here just like every other runaway," he answered.

"You don't look like a kid," Jackie said skeptically.

"That's because I've been trapped here for five years!" the stranger snapped.

"What about that?" Oren asked, pointing at the strap across the stranger's chest. The stranger turned, showing the shotgun across his back.

"I picked it up in a hunter's cabin my first year here," he explained. "There's a lot of dangerous monsters out there, it's only smart to have something to protect yourself."

"And why would you want a ride from a couple of-" Oren began.

"Enough with the questions!" the stranger roared. "Are you letting me on or not?" Oren glared down at him a moment before rolling up the window and slowly pulling away. Jackie stared out the back window, watching as the stranger swore, kicking at the ground before reluctantly starting to walk back down the road.

"Should...I have helped him?" Oren asked, peering over at Jackie.

"I'm not sure..." Jackie said truthfully, slumping in her seat. "I wasn't happy back home but at least I knew who I could and couldn't trust."

"Except for each other," Oren added with a small, hopeful smile.

"Yeah, except for each other," Jackie repeated softly.

. . .

Oren had pulled over to the side of the road to refuel. He listened as the gas trickled down into the engine, humming quietly to himself. Jackie was leaning out the passenger window, the breeze rippling through her frizzy hair.

"HELP!" a voice echoed from the fields, sending a flock of black birds fluttering up into the sky.

"What was that?" Oren breathed, tossing the gas can back inside the van hurriedly.

"PLEASE, HELP, SOMEONE!" the voice cried again.

"We should go see if they're alright," Jackie said, stepping out of the van.

"Are you crazy?" Oren hissed, grabbing her arm, which she swiftly took back.

"What if it was us out there? Wouldn't you hope someone would at least try to help?" Jackie said. "I don't know what to trust in this place, but one truth I do know is that if someone needs help, then you should try to help them." She ran out into the fields, her untied shoelaces waving in the wind behind her feet. Oren quickly followed after her, mumbling about the several ways they were probably about to get killed. They struggled through the rough terrain, through the dry earth and tall reeds. The wild grass had begun to turn into prickly vines covered in red thorns, tearing at their pant legs and cutting at their ankles. They stumbled upon a clearing, a girl laying in its middle, cradling her leg.

"What happened?" Jackie asked, kneeling beside her.

"I was...attacked...by a man..." the girl sobbed. A dark red hole was shot through her leg, sleek with blood. Her face was sickly pale and covered in a film of cold sweat.

The barrel of a shotgun emerged from the reeds, pointing straight down at the girl. Finger firm on the trigger was the stranger.

"It's a lie." the stranger said from behind. Jackie and Oren turned to see him emerge from the high-grass, shotgun in hand. "That thing is a monster. I've encountered it once before."

"What reason do we have to trust you?" Oren asked, guarding the girl.

"Get away from it now!" the stranger barked, cocking the shotgun. "It mimics people to trap its prey!"

"It mimics people to trap its prey!" the stranger's voice repeated, but not from his own lips. Oren and Jackie peered back around at the girl. Her mouth hung open, her jaw unhinged, voices spilling from it.

"What reason do we-we-have-get away-away." the words rose and fell from her throat like meaningless snarls.

The girl jumped onto Oren, pinning him against the ground. Her long nails dug into his wrists until they bled. A line ran down her neck from the corner of her mouth, peeling open, splitting the head in half. Inside her, was a long, wet mouth full of curved fangs. As her jaws enclosed around Oren's throat, a bullet struck her in the middle of her head. The creature reeled back, swiping at the singed wound on its face. The stranger shot again, and again, forcing the creature back.

"You two! Back to the car! Now!" he ordered. Oren and Jackie ran back toward the van, the echo of gunshots following them. Oren got into the front seat of the van, started the engine, but hesitated on the gas.

"What are you waiting for?" Jackie asked.

"We should help him. He saved our lives." Oren said, breathless.

"...What do we do?" Jackie asked. Oren glanced around, trying to think of a solution. That's when he spotted the gasoline can tucked beneath the passenger seat. The stranger emerged from the fields, running at full pace, the creature closing in from behind.

"Don't fire!" Oren yelled out the window.

"What!?" the stranger snapped back.

"The bullets don't seem to be harming it!" Oren explained. He jumped out of the car and raced across the asphalt carrying the jug of gasoline. He flung the can, dousing the creature in the golden oil.

"What now?" the stranger asked impatiently.

"Now shoot it. The heat from the bullet will ignite the gasoline." Oren explained hurriedly.

"Are you sure...?" the stranger began. "I only have a few bullets left-"

"I am a valedictorian, yes, I'm sure! Shoot the damn thing!" Oren yelled.

The stranger fired, the bullet striking the creature in the chest. It erupted into flame, screeching in a thousand different voices. The screeching quieted to a low growl as the creature took a step forward, then another, crawling toward them.

"Kid, why isn't it stopping?" the stranger asked, stumbling back.

"I don't know..." Oren said in terror.

"Valedictorian, my ass!" the stranger spat, grabbing Oren and running back toward the van. He pushed Oren into the passenger seat and slammed on the gas pedal. The van jerked forward, speeding down the road. The creature chased them for a while until it grew slow and sluggish, eventually coming to a halt. Jackie watched out the back window as it paced in a circle, smoldering.

"Well, we should get introductions out of the way!" she said suddenly, clapping her hands together. The stranger glared out the windshield. Oren tapped his foot anxiously. Both had more daunting matters on their minds. "From Westgate village, it's Oren Cleverfield!" Jackie announced like a game-show host, showing off Oren with a pair of jazz hands. "And from the fields, it's..." she stared at the stranger, elongating the sentence, waiting for him to finish it.

"Edgar," he mumbled.

"I'm going to call you Eddie," Jackie said, snapping her finger.

"Ok, listen up!" he said loudly, catching both Oren and Jackie by surprise. "I'm not your friend, we don't have cute nicknames for each other. In this place, its dog eat dog, got it?"

Oren nodded, looking forlorn out the window.

Jackie simply sat in thought, wondering why a dog would possibly eat another dog.