The ground shook beneath me as a deafening sound sliced through the wind. Loud, feral. It sent me crashing to the ground, my luggage tumbling down beside me.
The monster whipped its head around, its maw letting out a pitiful cry, its body crouching as if ready to bolt. Before it could, a loud thud echoed through the woods, and a massive shape slammed into the creature.
Dark, oily blood gushed over the dirt as a second beast sank its teeth into the monster’s neck.
Enormous, its dusky fur cloaked a body built like a wolf but the size of a bear.
In swift, vicious motions, it tore the skeletal monster apart. The dying animal squirmed in protest, its shrieks echoing like a cry for help.
A whimper had lodged in my throat, my chest heaving. I dragged myself backward, hands scraping against the stones until I stood and bolted.
I veered between the trees, each heartbeat pounding harder as I raced toward the station. Fog curled around my vision, butI didn’t slow down. Couldn’t afford to slow down. I focused all my attention on the path before me, trying to step on cleared ground.
But the rumble vibrating at my back distracted me, and I stepped on a rock that sent me careening against a tree trunk. Pain erupted in my ankle, but I barely noticed it over the burst of crippling terror.
The bear-sized animal had followed me, its rows of sharp teeth flashing, and I knew—it was going to kill me next.
My throat tightened, and my feet instinctively dug into the earth, between the roots, pressing me hard against the tree. There was only a flash of fur before I curled into myself, tucking my head and arms so I wouldn’t look.
My nails dug into my palms as I waited. The beast’s snarling breaths rasped close.
A puff of warm air stirred my hair, and I pressed my chest harder against my legs. A damp, coarse texture brushed the back of my hands.
I couldn’t breathe.
Its cold snout pressed harder against my left arm, and I gasped. With the next forceful nudge, my hands fell from my face, and I saw the predator before me.
My body stayed rigid as I stared at its mouth, waiting for the teeth, but its jaw was closed.
The beast slunk back and stopped, watching.
It did not attack.
Instead, it flared its snout and tilted its enormous head in a way I understood, as if beckoning me to follow.
Hesitation and fear rooted my body in place, but I turned my head toward the station.
The animal rumbled, baring its teeth again as though in warning.
“All right,” I gasped, raising my hands in surrender.
I forced myself upright, legs still shaking.
The beast turned, padding back in the opposite direction, deeper into the woods.
With a shuddering breath, I followed.
???
The creature prowled farther into the forest, its steps silent over the stony path. The mist was thicker the deeper we reached, and my ankle was still sore from the fall, but the silence was probably the most unnerving part. No animals were in sight, except for the one leading me.
Leading me gods know where. Perhaps to meet its pack. I pushed away the thought that made me want to shudder.
I made a mistake along the way, because this was not the Capital.
The creature before me was something I couldn’t identify, and I didn’t even want to think about the skeletal monster it had killed.
Its ears twitched with every change in my pace, never looking back to check if I was following it. Trying to run would be useless.
