Midnight Exuberance

The Woods

She woke up in the woods, terrified, breathless, and her eyes glazed over. The dark aurora of the trees and fog surrounded her.

Where did it take me?

Dakota sat up from the tousled ground, her side aching and dripping with blood and her long blonde hair framed her face like a picture. She took out her battered phone, hoping it was on. She pressed the on button and was met with a screen that displayed the time 4:23 a.m. She then realized that she had a text from the number 367-586-6793, her sister's number. Seeing as she has nothing to lose, she opened it.

"Have fun on your trip with Charles...but not too much fun ;)"

She laughed to herself but then remembered the situation she is was in and emitted a frown.

"This wasn't supposed to happen," Dakota mumbled to herself, remembering what had happened in the previous hours.

This was supposed to be a fun trip with my friends and...Charles.

Her friends had surprised her and Charles with an outdoor getaway, as a relaxation get away before their marriage. They excepted, thinking it would be a great stress reliever. They couldn't have been more wrong. The screaming, torture, agony, and pain. How that thing killed her friends in front of her, forcing her to watch in despair and helplessness. Sometimes it would pick them off, one by one. They would live in fear, not knowing who would be taken next.

Dakota didn't even notice the tears streaming down her face until she heard the high pitched, blood curdling scream of her attacker. The noise had been branded into her mind like a song you can't seem to shake. It was a big muscular creature with dark brown matted fur, big black eyes, ragged teeth, sharp claws that were 12 inches long, seemed to be 7'3, and the most terrifying scream known to man. She whipped her head to where the scream was heard. At first she saw nothing, but then she saw it. The giant shadow barreling towards her figure.

Dakota got down to the forest floor and hid in the bushes, hoping to God that it didn't see her. She didn't want the same fate as her friends and fiancé.

"Dakota it's coming! Run!"

"No Charles, I won't leave you to die like the others!"

"JUST GO ALRE-"

"CHARLES! NO!"

"Dakota run, I love yo-"

She remembered that moment so well, even though it was approximately 4 hours ago. How they were running for their lives and seeming to escape, but only to be battered down emotionally and physically. She felt an unbearable ache in her chest, thinking of the brutal massacre of her fiancé. The ripping of his flesh and the strangled screams. Another high pitched scream knocked her out of her thoughts. She heard the stomping of the creature getting nearer, so near that she can finally see it next to the mangled and bloodstained bushes ahead. It sniffed the air and had let out a horrible scream. Dakota stilled to the point where she could be considered a statue. The creature slowly turned its gruesome and bloodstained head towards in Dakota's direction. Dakota stared it dead in its big black eyes, hoping it doesn't notice her. The creature sensed her presence, snarled, and then screamed at her. Dakota started sprinting in the opposite direction, the burn in her legs definite. There was about a 50-foot distance between them, but that distance was quickly closing due to the animals excessive running.

She found a broken down building in the midst of the woods. It looked familiar but she didn't question it as there was something chasing her. She ran through the broken down doors of what used to be a building. Dakota could hear its footsteps getting closer. She started to panic, trying to find a way out of this situation, but ultimately coming up with nothing. She could only think of running away from the beast while she can. She took many turns within the rotting building, which seemed to let her get ahead of the monster a bit more than before. She entered a foul smelling room and regretted it immediately. She had shut everything out, which wasn't the best idea at that moment. Before her lied the remains of her loving fiancé. The tattered clothes, decaying face, broken limbs, exposed flesh, everything. She let out something close to a sob, covering her mouth to try to muffle her cries. She looked down the hall, seeing the creature dart into room A34. She heard it scream in frustration, which in turn made her still as if it couldn't see her.

She had a feeling of anxiousness, like her body was telling her to give up. But she knew she couldn't do that. Charles would've wanted her to try. She jumped out of the building through a torn corner in the wall, into the dark and murky forest. She sprinted as fast as she could, even when she heard a loud thud behind her. She sprinted and it was almost as if she was free. But then again, she never was. She felt a hard weight on her back, knocking her forward. She realized that this thing was now on top of her helpless body. She felt its 12 inch claws enter her body, and wrap around her spine. She let out a blood curdling scream, and it was if the world was moving in slow motion. She could feel the light start to leave her eyes. She then felt it rip up its muscular arm, but then feels nothing. It flipped her over onto her back and started to tear her apart. She grabbed a fistful of its matted fur, and screamed into the thin air. Eventually, she lost her grip on the animal. She closed her eyes as the wild beast ate her alive, mangling her body into ways that shouldn't be seen by the human eye. She let it take her body; all she saw was black.