Creatures of the night

They smelled it long before they could see it. It was a delicious, absolutely intoxicating. Its scent promised the warmth and comfort of a full belly. With so many numbers it wasn't always an easy thing to achieve. The thought of it was just too much to resist. They moved as one between the trees, toes digging into the decaying foliage on the forest floor, propelling their lithe bodies faster. The smell became stronger suddenly as they neared the coast. It drove their hearts faster, beating in their chests like war drums as a great cry went up.

"Meat," they all chanted mindlessly. Their once tight formation spread out in a jumbled disarray as they snarled and hissed at clan members who dared come too close. The chant became a murderous babble as they saw the tell tale glow of a fire and shadows moving about it. The leader of this rabble uttered a thunderous growl, "Meat! Food thing! We come for you!"

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Megamind was deeply disturbed by the inhuman screeches that began far off in the distance. Though unintelligible and primitive, it spoke of violence and hunger. When it grew notably louder, he moved to wake his companions.

"What on earth is that noise," Roxanne whispered when she fully woke, "it sounds like a horde of dying cats!"

A shriek rose above the rest, chilling all three to the bone.

"More like a hundred nails on a chalk board," Megamind commented.

"What do we do, Sir," Minion asked hovering at Megamind's side.

"Stoke the fire," Megamind ordered, "it needs to be brighter."

Roxanne and Minion set to work on the small fire with haste, and soon it was at a roar. Disturbing whoops and wails emitted from the thick underbrush. Many large red eyes gleamed in the gloom, pacing back and forth in an irate manner. The trio huddled closer to the fire as they warily watched. Minion clutched a large bough in his hands, poised to defend his master to the death.

The savage beasts began to grow impatient. They edged closer to the light darting about, showing off the outlines of their small hunched bodies, their action getting more and more frenzied. Megamind thought quickly of a way to make them more cautious of the campsite. They appeared to work as a pack, so he assumed that they would back off when a few of its members got hurt. He took up a good sized stone from beside the fire and hurled it at one of the shadowy figures, striking and felling it. The mob silenced, scuffling around the obviously injured animal that was making pathetic whines. Roxanne regarded the thin blue man for a moment; he was either way stronger than he looked or these creatures weren't that tough. If push came to shove, she was hoping for the later.

The quiet suddenly erupted into a deafening squabble. Megamind's stomach churned as he guessed why. The crunch of bones and the wet ripping sound of flesh didn't last long, thankfully. Soon they turned their focus back to their terrified prey. They found a new boldness with help from the blood on their tongues; coming further into the light despite the pain it caused their watery eyes. They needed more than that taste. They were so hungry. They couldn't wait much longer.

The wrinkly gray creatures stood before them like three foot tall, hairless jerboas with huge dilated eyes and long twitchy snouts much like a shrew's. A ridge of coarse bristled 'fur' ran down their back to the end of their long rat tails. Their saliva dripped red from their sharp teeth and the blood of their companion spattered their short, clawed paws and hypnotically twitching noses.

"I don't think that helped much, Sir," Minion whispered shrilly.

Megamind eyed the twenty or so creatures that slowly approached. "We're going to have to run for it," he said as he slowly moved into a crouch, "judging from their stance, I'm guessing they don't climb very well."

His eyes flickered to the tree line, quickly calculating the probability of not only getting to the tree but climbing it with enough haste. He figured their best chance of escape would be a tall, sturdy tree with long dangling vines and numerous, protruding knots that rested thirty feet away.

"When I say go, run as fast as you can to that big knobby tree, "he motion with his head.

Roxanne began searching for any sort of 'weapon' that she could feel in the powdery sand, never letting her eyes stray from the hideous rodents. She clutched a large, flat rock with white knuckles as she got ready.

"Go," he shouted. All three took off running to the left, swerving toward the water's edge to avoid the snapping of razor sharp jaws. Roxanne lagged behind, the sand slowing her progress. She soon had the animals snapping at her heels. Megamind slowed and grabbed her wrist, tugging her along faster. It seemed like forever before they were climbing the tree; Minion helped Megamind up into the branches and reached for Roxanne. One of the rodents grabbed a hold of the end her grey pencil skirt, slashing her leg and letting dark blood flow. She screamed and bashed it in the head with the side of her rock, stunning it. Minion pulled her up into the tree beside Megamind. Big painful tears welled up in her eyes and spilled out. It hurt like hell, but she was no wimp. She inspected the long jagged gash that started half way down the outside of her thigh and ended above her kneecap. She inhaled between her teeth as it throbbed and bled.

Megamind observed her quietly while Minion fussed over her. She was trying to be brave, and he admired her strength. The wound was deep and needed medical attention very soon. If it didn't it would certainly get infected in this Petri dish of a jungle, and then she would probably-. He didn't finish the thought, he couldn't. He glared down at the circling beasts, voraciously trying to scramble up the tree with their stumpy arms. Things certainly did not look good at the moment. He racked his beloved brain for an ingenious plan, but nothing came to him. He only wished that he hadn't lost his De-gun in the confusion of their arrival. Minion went back to search for it earlier, but it was nowhere to be found. It would have been so much more effective than throwing sticks and stones like some primordial monkey. He could have destroyed the little devils by now, avoiding Miss. Ritchi's injury in the first place.

Minion ripped Roxanne's elbow length sleeves off her white shirt and used them as bandages to stop the bleeding. She painfully leaned back against the tree's trunk when he was done and closed her eyes, clinging to the wide branch. It was going to be a very long night, and the rancid smell of these hairless vultures weren't going to help any with their morale.