Y’know, it would’ve been nice to get some directions… I walk down the path, staring at the ground without breaking my eyes away for a second. No way in Hell am I stepping on an ant hill, I must have passed dozens of them yesterday. The sunlight is blaring, and I think of how stupid I was not to bring sunglasses, or at least a hat. As I scan the area for whatever missing items those dumbass tourists lost, (That Jen woman could’ve at least told me what the hell the items ARE.), I see a small rabbit running across the path ahead of me. It's cute, but as soon as it sees me it's gone, and I yearn for my dog back home. Should’ve brought him with me, but the reserve doesn’t allow dogs. Ugh, I’m getting off track here…

Just then, my walkie talkie goes off in my belt. I take it out, pressing the button and asking who it is. “Uh, it’s Jen. Sorry for not telling you what you’re looking for, hehe…” I don’t laugh, and I don’t crack a smile either. “Anyway~, the thing to look for is a bright blue flashlight aaaaaaand… a blue wristwatch.” 

“Ok, thanks for letting me know.” I say, and she hangs up. Brushing over the fact that she forgot to tell me that, I’m guessing I haven’t missed it since bright blue stands out like a sore thumb against brown and green. 

I walk further down, and just then, I hear a strange sound up ahead of me. The sound is graphic and visceral, like the sound of a butcher tearing the meat from a bone. It must be a predator of some sort, so I put my hand up to my flare gun, debating whether or not to go forward. If the animal already found food, it won’t attack right? But I doubt that animals think like this, especially out in the wild. Turns out, I didn’t have to go forward at all. The sound of flesh being torn away stops, and I hear the animal sniff the air, all the moisture in my mouth drying up in an instant. I’m not moving a muscle, and behind a tree about 3 yards ahead, I see a black paw appear next to it. It has to be one of those wolves who attacked that Bailey guy, I’m just praying to God that I’m not next.

The wolf steps out into the clearing, and my heart begins beating faster, my whole body shakes, and my face goes white as a sheet. This thing is HUGE. Like no wolf I have ever seen, not even in National Geographic. Its fur is an inky black that absorbs the sun’s rays, its eyes are a brilliant yellow, and just on all fours, it has to be at least 5 foot tall. But what made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up was all the fresh, bright red blood dripping from its snout. The wolf stares at me, straight into my eyes, and I clasp the flare gun with my left hand. I notice that… Its eyes look strange and distorted, like it has human eyes in a wolf skull. The wolf shuffles its paws, almost like a human does when they’re impatient. “What kinda… creature are you?” I say, knowing that it can’t answer. 

“What kinda creature are YOU?” It says back. My eyes bulge out of my skull, but then I calm down, I’m just in shock. This wolf is probably normal in Pennsylvania, there are plenty of animals I don’t know about. And I’m just hearing things, animals can’t speak. They don’t have human vocal cords. “Hehe, it sounded like you said something, doggie. You seem friendly so I’ll just be on my way.” I say, chuckling a little to myself. “Call me ‘doggie’ one more time, and I’ll rip your intestines out.” 

The next thing I know, everything in my vision goes dark, and the world begins spinning faster and faster. I feel my legs give out underneath me, but I don’t feel myself hit the ground. 

I either died or passed out, either way, the place i’m in now is terrifying enough. I’m laying face down in what feels like cold, hard dirt. My whole body aches, and I slowly slide my hand up to push myself off the ground. It’s dark, and the air inside feels dusty and dry. I cough a few times, and as I sit up, I realize I’m underground. A small hole in the ceiling is letting a bit of moonlight in, and I glance around frantically for the wolf that talked to me earlier. It must have brought me here, to eat later? Maybe the wolf saved me for dinner because it’d just eaten lunch. I stand up slowly, each bone creaking and bending painfully. I think I’m alone in here, my eyes adjusted to the darkness and I can’t see anything else here. I walk up to the hole in the ceiling, and as I reach up to try and climb out, from the corner of my eye I see two yellow dots in the corner of the cave. 

I freeze, and my heart begins to beat a mile a minute. The two dots blink, and my assumption is confirmed. The wolf is here. From watching a bunch of nature documentaries, I know that keeping still is the best thing to do, so I do just that. Remembering the flare gun I had, I reach for my belt, but it isn’t there. Maybe I dropped it? 

“Do you really think I’d leave the gun on you?” The wolf says, and once again, I can’t believe my ears. 

I really shouldn’t, but I ask the stupid question anyway. “How are you… talking??” 

The wolf laughs directly at me, and in the dark I notice that the wolf isn’t even shaped like one anymore.

I don’t want to give him any ideas, so I don’t ask if he will kill me or eat me. I take this opportunity to grab a hold of a branch that’s hanging near the ceiling, and climb up it as fast as I can. The ceiling of the cave is low, so it only takes a few seconds. Just before I climb out though, I hear him running to catch up to me. I don’t linger, and I begin bolting through the woods as fast as possible. Branches and leaves strike me in the face as I run, and I hear him gaining on me. The fear coursing through my veins is like that of a deer, and before long, I feel a hand grip me up by the collar of my shirt, the momentum causing me to choke. I’m slammed into a tree next to me, and I see that it isn’t a wolf at all that was in there, it was a man!

 He has the same yellow eyes, the same black hair as the wolf did, and dark skin. The crazy man looks to be around my age, although I expected him to look more like a 40 year old homeless maniac. His face isn’t angry though, he actually looks like he’s having a blast, which makes me even more terrified than if he was mad. A large, toothy grin spreads all along his face. He actually has me lifted off the ground completely, and I begin to kick frantically.

“Keep kicking like that, and it’ll be the last move you make.”