The growling sound made Mark’s grip on the revolver become tense. His finger returned to the trigger instantly. The young human remained otherwise perfectly still, head turning to see the source. It was another of the black-furred monsters. It stood, half crouched, arms wide, her claws out. Her fur was black, much like the first one, but this one was slightly shorter, only marginally taller than Mark himself. Her gaze glowed red, fangs gleaming under the sunlight, and mouth twisted into a wicked snarl.

“Don’t shoot,” Veronica whispered under her breath, barely audible to the young man. “The others… will come.”

Mark’s eyes widened, and his jaw clenched. She was right, but would they be able to have the luxury to decide? He was too focused on the monster woman, looking at her from the corner of his eye and not facing her in full. Could he move without having her jump? Would she attack even if he didn’t move? His finger against the trigger tensed. She was too close. He wouldn’t be able to level the weapon before she reached him. A human would be able to get a good hit in before that. What would be the case to this monster?

It meant that, without a doubt, the moment she tried to move, Mark wouldn’t have the time to react, let alone avoid it. Slowly, his left hand let go of the firearm. He remembered how the spider killed the other student almost instantly. He knew he’d die if she grabbed a hold of his head or neck. With a clenched fist, he spared a thought to Barry.

The moment he unloaded the gun, the rest of the pack would come.

They weren’t able to outrun them. Veronica was right. It would be a death sentence. But what else could he do?

“Don’t move.” Veronica was moving, pulling herself to her feet and using the branch for cover to avoid being seen. There was something in her hands. A can? She was pale as she glanced at him, her breath a whisper. “Three…”

The monster’s ears perked. Her eyes flickered at the large branch that was being used for cover. Her lips thinned as the growl grew deeper.

“Two…”

The creature took half a step to the left, lowering herself as her hackles raised, ready to jump.

“ONE!”

Mark didn’t know what was about to happen, but he jumped back to duck behind the trunk. Veronica’s hand reached around the trunk and aimed the spray-can, blindly unloading its contents on the canine.

The bark the monster let out was deafening, followed by a whine that became a screech. The dog-woman’s face was now coated in a layer of white paint. She stumbled back, clutching at her eyes and nose. A second shriek came as she tripped and fell from the trunk. It was a full ten meter drop that ended with a solid thud. Mark couldn’t believe his eyes as, apparently, the fall had not even fazed the monster. She continued rolling on the ground, clawing at her face, trying to remove the sting from the paint.

“That was too noisy.” Mark gave her a look. “I thought you got rid of all the paint.”

“What? And stay defenseless?” She shot him a dirty look. “Forget that. The bark was fucking loud. We need to go.”

“Not without Barry.”

“Fuck Barry, he’s safe in that spot, it’s us who are in danger!”

He looked down at the hole, at his younger brother curled up and covering his mouth tightly with both hands. The monster they’d dropped was only half a dozen meters away. And though she was clutching her face and writhing on the ground in agony, Mark guessed it would not take very long before she’d get up. She’d probably be very, very angry. It made him tighten his fist.

“They’re fucking here!”

That was the only warning he needed. The older brother caught on the sound of barks. And they were growing closer fast. Mark cursed under his breath, glancing at Veronica and then back at Barry.

The younger sibling shook his head, trembling as he kept his mouth covered with his hands. The terror was clear in his eyes as he could only curl further into the hole under the roots in hope none of the monsters would find him.

“I-”

Mark’s lungs failed to inhale. What should he do? What could he do? All his body left him able to do was clench the gun tighter. Despite the weapon in his grip, he felt powerless, the part of him screaming to run down there almost deafening out the other one that pointed at how fruitless it would be. He didn’t notice the shadows shifting behind him, or the figure slowly emerging from them, eyes glowing red.

“Behind you!”

With Veronica’s scream, Mark’s body moved on automatic, jumping forward and feeling something cold run its way down his spine. He stumbled, falling down and turning, raising the gun and meeting the gaze of the bigger of the two black monsters. Her eyes simmered with anger as she stepped in his direction, ready to attack.

In a snap decision, he took aim and pulled the trigger.

BLAM

It was aimed true, directly at the center of the monster’s chest. The sound was deafening in the forest’s silence. It left Mark’s ears ringing. He could almost see the bullet hitting her squarely in the center of her chest. The creature cried out, clutching her head and stumbling back a step. Veronica leaped out of her hiding spot and shoved her off before the monster could recover her balance. A cry followed as she fell down. The impact against the ground was solid. She became still on the ground below.

The pack had reached the clearing, stopping dead in its tracks as all five of them stared up at Mark and then down at the fallen pack leader. Their eyes turned to the other black one. She was coughing as she stood up, eyes red and white paint splattered all over her face.

The young man stood up on shaking legs.

His foot slipped on the trunk, and his world tumbled only for half a turn. He was going to fall.

“MARK!”

The cry came from amongst the roots under the tree down below, where Barry was staring with wide, panicked eyes.

Veronica moved to grab Mark’s shirt. “I’ve got you!” Her grip was tenuous, but it was enough, barely enough. Mark had almost fallen over. With one hand gripping the revolver tightly and the other reaching out to grasp at her, he pulled himself back to a stable footing.

But his near fall was not what was on his mind. It was Barry.

In his cry, Barry had drawn the attention of the pack. The monsters had seen him, and three had turned to focus on him. The one with the white paint glared at Mark, snarling as her focus flickered towards her downed companion.

“Oh shit,” Veronica’s words rang in the air, heavy.

“This is bad.”

“Mark.” She pointed below. “She’s not dead.”

Both of them glanced downwards at the monster that had been shot in the chest and fallen ten meters to the ground. They could only gasp. The monster coughed, whining and shaking her head. And, with some effort, got up.

She was not dead.

She wasn’t even bleeding.