text: “Jeez, it is darker than I thought," Kim pointed out. Duke shrugged. "Eh, it's fine. Not that bad out." The conversation, which might as well not be a conversation but an exchange of two sentences, just suddenly stopped as the two teens continued down the trail. Kim, a dark brown haired girl, bit her lip in thought. "I still can't shake the feeling of what happened at the gas station once we arrived..." She wasn't wrong. Before they went on this trip down the trail, they stopped at the nearby gas station for something quick to eat on their trip. However, things were kind of in dismay. The place was trashed and messy, looking like a great majority of the shelves were ransacked. Luckily, the owner was there to greet them and apologize for the mess. He said something had broken in and trashed the place, catching it on camera and showing them it, seeing a large shadow dash away into the nearby woods. Before the two teens left though, they questioned what he thought it was, he replied that he didn't know, before pointing out that it left hell of a mark, pointing to the center of the store, revealing a large and violent scratches and scars in the floor of the gas station. Whatever it was, it was angry. Angry and hungry for whatever it could find in the gas station before fleeing. So, before heading out to the same woods for their planned hike, they purchased some cheap burritos from the place and bid him goodbye and good luck on cleaning up the mess. And now, here they were, walking down the same trail of where the supposed robber was. Great idea, don't you think? Duke, the jacket wearing 18 year old, shrugged. "Yeah, it was a pretty big mess." "A shelving unit was knocked down to the floor. Aren't those things suppose to be bolted to the floor?" Kim asked. "Uhm..." Duke tilted his head in a ponder. "Well, either it wasn't bolted or whatever bear or large animal broke in and managed to knock it down, breaking the bolts." Kim shook her head, adjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulder. " I can't get the picture of what he saw on the cameras out of my head either... Let alone know that it ran off into the direction we are currently going." "Well, just relax. I know the guy at the station said that whatever broke in ran down here but I have a feeling he was exaggerating what he saw." "I don't know... that claw mark on the floor looked pretty real..." she pointed out. Duke shrugged again. "Could have just been a really detailed stain from something spilled during the ransack" "I don't know... it was pretty embedded into the floor." she protested. Silence grew between the two before Duke lifted his head up to the glowing moon before facing back forward, the two still continuing down the trail. "And to your response to you saying that it's dark... it really isn't" Kim sighed. "I know... it just feels it." Kim didn't even get a chance to finish her sentence before a loud rustle of leaves intervened. Duke stopped, extending an arm out in front of her, "Wait, stop." he said, halting her in place. The noise grew louder, more violent. The crunching and rustling of the forest was loud and ear piercing. Kim stepped back before Duke followed, taking a cautious step back. Then, the noise stopped, and an unfamiliar sight emerged. "Hello?" said the female. In a struck of relief, Duke and Kim relax. Their tensed muscles loosening to calm down. "Sorry, I didn't scare you, d-did I?" she suddenly asks, her voice shaking. Kim jumps in response to her sudden question. "Oh, i-it's fine! We were just hiking." Duke nodded. "Yeah. You didn't scare us too bad." After those words, Duke couldn't help but to examine the girls appearance. She looked young, about teenager with black hair. However, she didn't look like she was in good shape. Her clothing, shirt and jeans were withered and dirty, they looked like they were snagged on some really sharp tree branches then tugged to cause the deep gashes and rips. Her jeans weren't any better. The knees were ripped open but Duke couldn't tell if that was the design, or if they were actually ripped open. Kim raised a brow at the teens current state. She was shaky and was acting timid. "You don't look good. Are you lost?" she asked. The girl lifted her head to her in response. "N-No. I-I'm fine...fine enough to be on my feet." Duke just now realized that the toes of her shoes looked like they were blown open, revealing her bare feet inside or what could remain of the socks if they weren't blown open as well and he just couldn't see it. "You sure? It looks like you were attacked." The girl's body began to shudder, as did her voice in response to his question. "I'm fine, trust me." That seems like a lie, both to Duke and Kim. She was shaking, obviously frightened and failing at hiding it. Duke leaned closer to his friend and quietly whispered into her ear. He made sure that the stranger wasn't looking, but she was hugging herself and looking down to the forest floor. A look of unsure on her face. "She could have been attacked by whatever took on the gas station..." he softly whispered to Kim. The stranger suddenly lifted her head. "I-I'm Angela." she said. Duke quickly leaned back and straightened up, pointing to himself with his thumb then to Kim. "Duke, and this is Kim." Kim sweetly smiled as she lifted her hand in a stiff wave as Duke stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets. Angela nodded. "Nice to meet you... s-sorry I look kind of messy." Kim raised a brow, concern growing on her face."What happened?" " I-It's nothing too important. What are you two doing out here anyway?" she replied. Kim adjusted the strap of her bag over her shoulder. "We're out on a hiking trip. We arrived a little later than we thought." Angela nodded in response before her gentle look faded, dropping and being replaced with heavy concern once again. Duke saw her expression leave her as his own concern lifted. "You sure that you don't need a ride to town? We are fine taking you to a hospital." "Oh no, I'm fine." she softly replied. "Just a little hungry," she then spoke. "Haven't eaten anything all day..." Duke straightened. "Oh, uh..." he reached into Kim's bag who just allowed it. Angela raised a brow as Duke pushed away what occupants were inside his friends bag. He then found it. He grabbed one of the large wrapped burritos. "We bought some burritos before we came out here," he said, pulling it fully out of Kim's bag and began unwrapping the white paper around it. "Here, you can have mine, I wasn't really looking forward to it anyway." Angela's eyes widen in awe at the decent looking wrapped sandwich before her as Duke extended an arm out to her for her to have it. Kim smiled to her. Suddenly, Angela flinched. Her eyes widened even bigger like they were in shock. Her back straightened in a recline like she has just seen something horrific. Then, her pupils pulled into slits. Her jaw drops to reveal her incisors growing out longer and more sharp, extending and cracking, sounding painful before they shaped into forms of what could be fangs. Duke and Kim's hopeful expression immediately left them and was instead replaced with noticeable confusion, then fear and wide eyes as Duke carefully drew his arm back.. Angela's legs then shuddered before they seemed to give out on holding her weight, and she dropped to her hands and knees. Angela's once pale skin began to be overtaken by a dark sickly gray color. Duke and Kim, confused yet concerned at the sight, recline a little back as Angela's hair falls to her face and her back arches upwards as she shudders alarmingly. Awful cracks came from her as the atmosphere suddenly felt foreboding. A non-human noise left her, sounding all too similar to animalistic growling and strained groans. Duke and Kim wince and flinch, expressions shifting more fearful as Angela's visible arms and revealing skin is overtaken by thick fine nearly black fur. Her hair extending longer and down her back in a thick flowing mane. Her legs shifting and cracking into an animalistic shape. Her fingers extending out into razor claws. Suddenly the reason why the toes of her shoes looked like they were blown open finally made sense. Her toes bulked out to large paws as sharp, eagle talon like claws pierced out of them. It didn't take Duke long to realize what was happening and why she looked so damaged and ruined when they first met her. She's changing. Changing into something that was not human. Duke turned to Kim with an easily identifiable look of dread. "Kim, we need to move, now!" he demanded. Angela's ears extend and slim out to shape pointed. Her eyes glow a deadly orange, easily able to cut through the darkness of the night as her head shape shifts, a muzzle extending out as her nostrils pulled to slits and whatever human remaining features just suddenly vanished. A thick large appendage of fur grew from the base of her spine, waving left and right behind the once human creature. It looked like a tail. She then begins to rise, from out of the hands and knees of the crouch to standing. Duke and Kim recline back as the horrid shadow of the once human girl loomed over them, revealing just how massive and tall this thing has grown in size. A startled gasp escaped Kim and an unnerved whimper from Duke. The monstrous creature expressed its arms out, throwing its head back, and gave a beastly roar, almost like a howl. The two teens froze up at the towering creature before it's triumphant roar ended and it dropped back down to a crouch, slamming a palm into the earth and extending the other arm out, exposing the now large bulky humanoid hands and sharp claws. It's horrid eyes examining them as the skin around it's face tightened, baring its razor teeth as it's lips quivered in a snarl! Even in the crouched stance this thing was still huge! "KIM!" Duke roared! The ravenous beast that was Angela, pounced! Duke grunted from the tackle of the monster! Kim finally snapped out of her freeze. She screamed as she turned to them, seeing the horrid sight! Duke screamed as he was pinned to the forest floor. The horrid creature straddled over him and thrashing it's head violently on him! Duke screamed from the attack of the monster! Kim's screams followed as she watched in horror, unable to do a single thing! Duke screamed in pain and horror as the monster was violently sinking its teeth into his flesh and haphazardly thrashing! It's head then lurched back before throwing itself back into him for seconds, wrapping it's jaws around his neck! Duke screamed, pressing his hands against its shoulders in an attempt to push it away! One of his hands balled into a fist before hitting it's shoulders with it, but his attack was in vain as it didn't even flinch. Then, the creature jerked it's head. A horrid snap filled the air and Duke's screams suddenly halted. His flailing fist at the creatures shoulder slowed before stopping, going limp and dropping to the forest floor. Kim's breathing was harsh and unsteady. Her hands over her mouth. Her trembling legs trying their best to back her away but she was too focused at the creature straddled over what could possibly be now her deceased friend. The strap over her shoulder slid off. Her bag dropped to the trail ground as her eyes glossed. She turned her head to the bag she has dropped. Then, a growl. Kim lifted her head back to the scene. It looked over its shoulder to her with wide, unsteady eyes nailed to her person. The snarl was big as it's hands pressed against the trail floor beside Duke's body as it crawled it's way off of him, not breaking the stare before fully turning to her and beginning to stand up. Kim dissoriently began to stumble back. She then screamed as the monstrous creature pounced at her, smacking her to the ground from an extended out arm! Kim grunted as she was thrown to her back on the forest floor. She lifted her head in a lean forward to the empty forest before her. Her breathing shuddered as the beast circled around her on all fours shuffling into view, all while keeping its nose pointed to her and not breaking the stare. A terrified whimper left Kim as her assailant straddled over her body, snarling wildly at her, it's face so close to hers that she could feel it's hot and humid breath. The monster then roared, followed with the terror filled screams of Kim as its jaws snapped around her neck, as the noises of the intense struggle and attack echoed in the open, and soon to be quiet forest.