Chapter 1
It was exactly 11:00 PM when I clocked out. The street was dead and the lamps on. My work uniform was covered in grease stains. This was the night that was always busiest; Friday. It was the day when the most cars passed through our small town. Our street was covered in pot holes, I must've changed at least 50 tires today. My hands ached, being a mechanic was hard.
I took my normal route home, sticking to the main road. Everything was the same, but there was an eerie feeling at night here. Up ahead of me, a light flickered on and off. The hair on my neck and arms stood straight up, no way…it wasn't very likely. Nobody was out t this time of night. The town was small and the population consisted mostly of older people. So I quickly pushed the idea of someone standing under the light out of my mind.
The light flickered again no one was under it. "See?" I told myself, more for comfort than anything.
A low growl sounded off to my right. My heart jumped and my breathing sped up. There weren't very many predators around here, of course we were in the middle of the woods, but everything stayed away. But there was always the People of the Woods… The growl sounded again, closer this time. Without thinking, I dove into the alleyway between Sue's diner and Hanson's Hardware. I settled my back against a dumpster and allowed my breathing and pulse to slow. Whatever was out there wasn't human.
I curled into a ball and took out my pocketknife. I fingered the blade and watched the entrance to my alley. A dark shape, close to the ground, passed in front of the alleyway releasing a low growl. My breathing caught in my throat making a gasping sound. The animal stopped and turned to face me. Its yellow eyes glowed in the night. Our eyes locked and it ran full speed towards me. The animal grabbed my arm in its huge jaws and threw me against the brick wall. I felt something snap within, and my broken body fell like a doll to the ground. I was about to give up when I heard a small voice in the back of my head say, Fight, Live, Survive. The monster grunted and ran again, at the last second I whipped out my hand with the knife in it and held it out. There was a pushing on it, and my hand hit fur. It roared and reared back. I heard the knife clatter to the ground, but I was already up and sprinting toward the street. I saw the street in the soft glow of the streetlights.
50 feet.
40 feet.
20 feet.
10 feet.
I stretched out my arm and the light covered my knuckles before the animal dug its claws into my shoulder and brought me to the ground. I fought and fought, but the animal won. It buried its massive teeth in my neck. The world faded in and out as the air became thick with the coppery smell of blood. My blood.
My body was fighting consciousness. I wanted to let go, but my body said no. I locked eyes again with my attacker. Before me, it transformed into a man. Whoever it was, they put two fingers to my neck and I passed out.