Two hooded figures stood barely visible under the black, starless sky: a young man and woman. They were no older than eighteen, possibly twenty, but were covered in dark red blood. The man, who had an unused silver bow on his back, whispered to the second figure, as if afraid that someone would hear:

"Teresa, calm down, isn't this what you wanted?"

The woman shook her head. She was trembling with fear as she held a knife dripping with endless, dark red blood. The puddle, mixed with fur that had once presumably been silver, under their feet grew larger and larger.

"No… Michael… this is wrong. I know I wanted revenge, but… I didn't come here for murder!"

Suddenly, they heard a howl ring through the night. They had been discovered. The two figures ran with all their might, for they had to get out of there, and fast. If the council of the Night World found them on shifter territory, the shifters would have an excuse to wage a long awaited war on the hunter community.

Since the signing of the treaty, killing kin of the Night Creatures was forbidden and whoever committed the crime would be punished with death. Now, after centuries, the Creatures of the Night were becoming bold. No longer, did they fear the hunters.

The figures ran toward the east gate, in hopes that no one would be posted there. Soon dawn would come, and neither the man nor woman would be trespassing. Both ran faster than ever before, no longer noticing their surroundings. Branches and twigs tore their clothes and scrapped their faces, but the two didn't care. Only when they stopped did the two hear them, the countless footsteps close behind. The man who the woman had referred to as Michael and the woman who the man had referred to as Teresa turned around, and prepared for battle.

Eyes gleamed in the shadows, and the two heard low, soft growls. Teresa grabbed her knife and got in position, just as teacher taught her to do. Michael prepared to fire his silver arrows from his bow. The bow gleamed, but there was no light shining on it.

"These are partial animals, they have only instinct. They will have no plan. We just have to last through the n-"

Suddenly, the boy named Michael fell to the ground. An arrow was lodged in his shoulder. He shook uncontrollably as veres spread through his system. Now both of them were surrounded, and Teresa could not fight off the shifters alone.

A young girl with silver hair stepped forward. The girl's tail swished back and forth in delight as she smiled. The voice she spoke with was like broken glass:

"Do you know what it's like to have the veres in your body? It's really wonderful, the process by which a hunter can die. Slowly, the veres with break down his body, from the inside. He'll be dead in five minutes, and believe me, it will be painful. So hunter, are you ready to die?"

She stretched her hand toward the sky, and gave the order to kill Teresa. Shifters rushed at the two from all sides, but Teresa was frozen stiff. The girl's voice kept echoing through her head, and she couldn't shake it off. Suddenly, Michael spoke,

"TERESA! Get ahold of yourself, and get up on your feet and RUN!"

He was standing, bow and arrow in hand, fighting off the shifters. The veres didn't matter to him, for he had the will to fight through the pain. Teresa gave him a look of protest. He turned and smiled to her.

"I'll be fine, I promise."

Teresa ran, faster than she ever had in her life. Michael had been lying, and she knew it. That smile was fake.

Teresa ran faster and faster, everything she passed was a blur. When Teresa arrived at the east gate, she saw that same girl again. Except, this time, the girl held a gun. She pulled the trigger. There was no way the girl could miss from this distance.

When the veres bullet hit Teresa, she screamed. The pain was unheard of, unreal. It was horrifying, Teresa had never felt anything like it before. The veres were invading her body.

Teresa's vision began to fade. She was in a world of black and white. The shifter girl was standing over Teresa. The girl had such an enormous smile on her face. The shifter leaned close, and spoke to Teresa with only one word:

"Die."