When she reached the path leading to the edge of town, the sun was nearly touching the horizon. Time was passing by too quickly and she had not paused for a moment to acknowledge the danger she could be heading into. Her head was swimming with thoughts of the doctor, of the things people had said about him… and she was pained to admit even some doubt. She wanted to believe in him, the man she felt so close to even though they have only communicated from a distance. It was in the air between them that she found comfort. He was there, and for a time that was enough. Now he was gone and she realized just how much closer she wished they had gotten.

Looking down the dirt path, so seldom used that no one bothered to pave it over, something new washed over her. A chill ran through her body, even though the wind was not blowing strong. With only a faint breeze passing by once in a while, the trees were still for the most part. Not even the shadows they cast seemed to have any life about them, just blankets of darkness draped over the earth. An eerie silence.

Why would the doctor go down such an isolated and covered path? Mei felt more and more uneasy the further she stepped into the growing darkness. Her ears were so devoid of sound that she felt hyper aware of every little thing around her. She placed her arms around her in an attempt to comfort herself. Another faint chill ran down her spine. Something just… didn't feel right. A strange, unsettling presence permeated the atmosphere. Her instincts were telling her to turn back and go home, but her heart really wanted to find the missing doctor. What if he had gotten lost out here?

I'll look for just a little longer, she thought. Maybe he came out here to find a specific plant for some weird new tonic he was making or some other odd thing and found himself turned around in the thick brush. That was possible. Anything was possible, and it was that thought that troubled her the most. The talk of a beast roaming the town at night rushed to the forefront of her mind.

A disturbance reverberated through the trees. Mei jumped slightly and stopped in her tracks when she suddenly heard the sound of rustling… Leaves and twigs crushed under a large weight, not like a small animal like a rodent, but something much bigger. The echoes were far too loud to be anything smaller than herself; even her steps didn't make that much noise. A large animal like a deer? No, these sounds did not hold the grace of such an animal. The sounds here clumsy, dragging along almost more than full steps. Could it… be a person?

"Doctor…?" Mei called out, hoping to hear a response she recognized. Her voice seemed to carry through the stillness that surrounded her. Straining to listen for an answer, there was a pause in the air. All movement seemed to halt, as though triggered by her call. Fear began setting in as she believed she was making things up in her head. Did she really hear anything to begin with?

Suddenly, the rustling started again. The pace had quickened slightly, growing louder, approaching in her direction. The lady was petrified with both fear and hope. Her heart pounded against her chest, and she could feel the blood rushing through her body. Adrenaline was being pumped into her system and it was only a matter of time before her fight or flight response kicked in. Trying to see what was in the brush, she finally noticed the sun had set and night was upon her. If there was a beast, there was no way she could see her way back to town before she was sure to be caught. She only had seconds to make a move.

THUD. THUD. THUD. THUD.

The sound of huge, heavy footsteps grew closer. Those definitely weren't Junkenstein's… The only other sound Mei could hear was the ever increasing pounding of her heart ringing in her ears. Her mind screamed for her to run, but her body wouldn't respond. All she could do was make herself as small as possible and hope to be overlooked by whatever this thing was coming for her.

THUD. THUD.

The sound stopped… Silence once again settled into the darkness. An ominous, dreadful feeling overwhelmed Mei. Was it watching her? Toying with her like she was some sort of prey being hunted? Her breaths became quick and shallow, close to hyperventilating. Her senses were being pushed beyond their limits and her mind was unable to compensate for all the information flowing into her brain. A monster? A murderer? A shadow ready to swallow her loomed ever closer. She had to force her body to move. She had to get away. Squeezing her eyes shut, Mei kept telling herself she had to get a hold of herself. Just move her legs, will them to take that first crucial step that would break her from the spell she was under. Opening her eyes, she focused all her energy on her legs. When she did, she managed to turn around…

Her scream pierced the silent air. Towering over her was the most hideous, terrifying thing she had ever seen- a giant deformed beast-like man with grotesque green skin, a large nose like a pig's, a massive belly with some kind of gauge protruding from his belly button and metal pipes going into his guts, an awful mess of black hair on his ugly head, and two metal poles jutting out of his back which pulsed with electricity. A black coat that was clearly five sizes too small, purple pants barely held up by a belt, huge hands dressed in purple gloves, and black boots attired this monstrosity. His body, from his neck to his arms to his belly, were line with stitches like a ragdoll. Except this ragdoll was somehow living and breathing. Clutched in his left hand was a hook large enough to snatch up livestock. This beast stared with black beady eyes at the horrified woman below him, lifting his hook without breaking eye contact. Pure terror ravaged Mei's mind and body, causing her legs to practically turn into jelly and lock in place. Black spots began to cloud her vision. Her brain was going haywire with panic. She had forgotten how to even breathe, all her systems incapable of responding as a result of seeing such a monster. With the lack of oxygen reaching her bloodstream, her brain shut down and everything went black. The young woman crumpled to the ground at the monster's feet.

The huge man watched the woman collapse and lie motionless for a while, clutching his hook in his shaking hand, yet he found he couldn't bring it down to strike. Somehow, something in his tangled mess of a mind resisted the urge to splatter this woman's blood across the trees. Something about her in particular… seemed… familiar? Despite his bloodlust, his unnatural insides told him he could not kill this one.

The monster leaned down, dragging his enormous hand under her body. With surprising care for a being with violent tendencies, he lifted the unconscious lady and placed her over his shoulder. What now… She mustn't be killed. So that leaves only one other option for the unholy beast to consider…