Author's Note - This is was a lot longer than the previous two
chapters. I've trimmed them down now. Enjoy
Chapter 3 – An Invitation To Lunch
Though the fog was thick, Kate could see at least six feet in either direction, an ability for which she profoundly thanked whichever small gods or angels controlled this otherworldly wood. At least this way, she wouldn't be so blind as to not see a wolf or…well, whatever else there was in here with her until it was too late. It was the 'whatever else' that was giving her the trouble, and causing her to feel so profoundly scared.
Shivering, she rubbed her hands on her arms to massage some warmth into them and tried desperately not to think about what the fog could be hiding. She chided herself aloud, though not too loud, 'Come on Kate, it's not as if you've never been out here before…even if you don't know exactly where just here is' (an uneasy glance into the fog swirling at her passing) 'it's just birds and, and squirrels, and moose...' (another rub) 'or is that meese? Ok, so there were a few wolves, but they were headed the other way…No, of course you don't know where they headed off to, and yes that could have been them, but be sensible, what could possibly track anything in this muck? Be sensible and stay calm' Kate was very good at giving herself good advice, even if she wasn't very good at taking it.
A sudden cracking of twigs behind her made her start and turn, the ball of tension in her stomach tightening almost to the point of implosion.
'What the hell?' she whimpered. 'Wha'?' As she watched, a black shape on four legs emerged silently from the fog to her right, off to the west. Kate bit her lip in an agony of fear Oh Goddamnit this time I'm really gonna get killed, it's a damn wolf it's a damn wolf it's a damn wolf! The shape crossed to the middle of her field of vision, mostly hidden by undergrowth, staying close to the ground, snuffling at a scent, then stopped dead. All with that incredibly eerie silence which we expect of a distant alien star, or the daemonic dance of some many-ribbed monster of the deep sea. How this silent creature could possibly be terrestrial was an impossible thought. It remained where it was. Crouched. Motionless. A solid object in an empheral forest, where north could be south and east west at the slightest lapse of concentration, it should have been an anchor to her fear of the vanishing wood yet instead it was to her the very embodiment of all her nameless fears. Shaped and painted in the very colour of night, it stood crouched unseen, hidden doubly by fog and brush, making that little which was seen a terrible sillhouette. Whimpering very quietly, Kate took two shaking steps back, though without hope of escape. A mistake. Her feet became entangled in each other and she fell to the ground in a terrified heap. Suddenly the beast raised its head, a great shaggy monstrosity of a skull with deformed ears standing fully erect. The dreadful snout snuffled the air obscenely, jaws open and tongue no doubt lolling out, drooling at the thought of young, fresh meat upon which to feed. The head turned, faced her, and the unseen undergrowth rustled as it began its approach.
Kate's conscious mind was a last bastion in a swirling cold sea, a Titanic of sense. No matter how strong the outer hull, once breached, the whole ship goes down. No no no please no not like this! With a last effort of terrified will, Kate scrabbled backwards, sliding on her behind back and back, legs asplay, skirt riding up and muddied. The beast was still moving. Not hurrying, it seemed to savour every moment of anticipation, moving with all the purpose and inevitability of gravity pulling the midnight sky down on you as you watch, pinned to the earth. The beast came on, and now other shadows detached themselves from the surrounding undergrowth, growling and slavering. These she could see, pacing low and close to the earth, hungry as the gates of Hell itself, and proud as the prince of that same damned kingdom, they closed in. Almost in tears now, Kate gibbered and scrabbled back and back in a frenzy of panic, a delicious hell of impotence as her stomach collapsed within her, her lithe, long legs lost their strength, refused to push, and the last bastion of self control fell to the ground, broken and defeated. The grey wolves surrounding her turned with uniform purpose and began towards her, growling forgotten, all intent on the kill. The black shape, though, was faster and leapt, landing on her chest with a heat and weight that knocked her from her propped-up position to flat on her back. The sheer weight and smell of that massive animal, pinning her helpless to the earth, broke the last strand of her mind. Everything faded from her sight, dying in the mist, and she lost her fear, her despair melting in the apathy of the waking dead. Strangely, the absence of her fear didn't leave a void, the bestial heat burning in from her captor shot straight through her garments into her heart, and left only an anger within her, a raging defiance, that although she had had it, and no further luck was left to her, she didn't have to like it.
The last thing she heard in this world was a baying and yelping of canines, demon mongrels fighting over their next feed. Knock yourselves out, you bastards, she thought with her last conscious effort, there's not much here, but I hope you die fighting over it, and choke on what you win. Choke, and die…
A/N - Re-structured. Reviews always welcome.