"Remind me how I let you talk me into this?" Carly said, putting on her best scowl as she glared at the back of David's head.
"Let's just say I'm very persuasive." David replied, glancing at her with a smirk through the rear view mirror.
"If you call spamming me with texts and calls persuasion, then sure." She grumbled. She contemplated on smacking David across the back of his head just to show how annoyed she was with him, but decided not to. Mark was in the driver's seat next to him, concentrating on the road ahead. The darkened roads very perilous, metal rails separating them from sheers drops on one side and woodland on the other.
"I don't see what's the problem with inviting you to a party." David said.
"I had studying to do. Do you have any idea about the amount of homework I have?"
David shrugged. "A little fun never hurt anyone, especially not a grouch like you. Sheesh, you're so uptight. "
"You're so uptight." Carly mimicked David's words in a high pitched voice, crossing her arms and sinking into her seat between Ashley and Bethany.
"I heard Evan Sanders arranged for a band to perform at the party." Ashley piped up as she stared into her compact mirror, fixing her eyeliner.
"Who cares, as long as they've got beer, I'm down." David nudged Mark in the side, grinning impishly.
"As if you two need alcohol." Bethany said with a smirk. "David, if I recall correctly, you almost got arrested last time for stealing an officer's horse, then riding through people's gardens singing 'Yankee Doodle' at the top of your lungs- in your underwear, I add."
David's ears went red and the rest of the gang snickered in amusement. The car turned into a parking lot lit by the yellow glow of street lamps, cars and jeeps taking up every available space. There were teenagers from their school idling about, making their way to the park gates.
The group followed after the tide of chatting teens, coming onto an arrangement of wooden benches around a roaring bonfire. Pop music blasted out of the speakers and many silhouetted shapes wove to and fro to the beat. Some hovered around the food table; plates piled high with pizza and hands clutching multiple beer cans. Some were already drunk, chugging down cans of beer as if it were nothing more than lemonade, raucous and drunken laughter intermingling with off key singing and lewd catcalling. Some wasted teens had wandered onto the dance floor, flapping about and giving the impression of being animated noodles. Those who did not seem keen to engage in the fun had retired to the benches around the bonfire, exchanging brief conversation, roasting marshmallows and just fiddling with their phones.
"Selfie!" Ashley squealed, grabbing an unwilling Carly, sandwiching the girl between herself and Bethany. Carly gave the camera a strained smile, glad to be released from her friend's vice like grip as she busied herself with selecting a good filter.
"What shall we do?" Bethany asked as Ashley pulled Mark onto the dance floor. While David began to stray to the refreshment's table .
"For starters, get away from David." Carly commented. "I do not want to be involved in any drunken mess he gets into this time."
Bethany chuckled and looped her arm through Carly's, the two of them choosing to pull away from the party and onto the path that circled around the area, talking and laughing and generally poking fun at the people around them. They were never quite alone however, since there were teenagers loitering about well away from the party. Most of them were couples seeking privacy, hastily retreating into bushes as Carly and Bethany chanced upon them.
As the two girls continued their jog down the path they passed another girl they vaguely recognized from their school. She was alone and very nervous looking, stilling as she saw Carly and Bethany pass by. She did not say anything however, waiting for them to go by before she headed back to the party. Carly noticed her strange behaviour and pointed it out to Bethany. Before either of them could comment upon it, Bethany's phone rang. She picked it up. Turning away from Carly she listened intently but did not say anything. She then disabled the call and turned to Carly apologetically.
"I have to go, it's another emergency." She said hastily. "Have a nice evening Carly!"
She left, sprinting off with her blond hair flying. Carly watched her go, suddenly feeling very lonely. She wanted to go home, but had arranged to leave with Mark and Ashley. As she wandered back to the heart of the party, she could see they were far from ready to head back just yet, dancing intently with one another. With a sigh, she sat down by the bonfire, kicking at the dirt and wondering what she was to do now. She slowly began to lose herself in her thoughts, she noticed the girl from before sitting a short distance away. She still looked extremely nervous, wringing her hands with her eyes darting back and forth, looking for escape. It was then that a guy came up to her, holding a beer and trying to make conversation.
The girl was obviously not interested, but the boy failed to cotton on to that fact. Instead, he slid down next to her, too close for comfort, laughing a bit too hard. The girl recoiled, trying to distance herself from him. But the boy was persistent, putting his arm around the uncomfortable girl.
Carly was on her feet, advancing with purposeful strides. She was quickly noticed, the boy turning to meet her furious glare.
"Are you some sort of half wit?" She snarled, a distasteful scowl marring her face. "She's obviously not okay with you hanging around, so leave her alone."
"And who are you supposed to be?" He shot back, clearly annoyed with the intervention. He still did not remove his arm from around the girl. "Mind your own business."
"I'm the girl who is five seconds away from knocking your teeth out." Carly spat, drawing herself to full height and giving the boy her scariest glare. "And this sort of stuff is my business."
The boy laughed at her, guffawing like a maniac as though what Carly had said amused him greatly. His laughter was cut short by a loud thump as Carly's fist made contact with his face. The boy fell back, spilling his beer all over himself. People around them stopped to watch the commotion, sniggering behind their hands as the boy struggled to his feet, clutching the side of his face and spewing profanities. Carly flipped him off with a smirk.
"Get lost asshole." She said. Whether it was out of embarrassment or intimidation, the guy turned on his heel and scurried off. Carly sat down next to the girl and smiled at her.
"You okay?" She asked kindly.
"Yeah, thanks." The girl smiled back gratefully. "He's been bothering me for ages. No matter how many times I turn him down, he keeps coming back. Are you sure it was a good idea to punch him? I don't want you getting in trouble on my behalf."
"Don't worry about it." Carly winked. "Violence has never failed me before. Bastards like him deserve nothing less than that, trust me, I know from experience."
Carly's smile faltered as she said this, scolding herself inwardly for saying too much. She changed the subject.
"Did you come alone?" She asked with concern.
"No." The girl shook her head. "My best friend forced me to come along with her, but I lost sight of her when she went off with a hot guy." Shaking away the bitterness of her tone, she held her hand out and forced a little cheerfulness into her words.
"I'm Madeline." She introduced herself.
"Carly."
The two of them sat talking for a while until Madeline announced it was time for her to go. During their time together, the girl had been a lot more relaxed and clam. Now however the fidgety nature returned.
"Carly, can I ask you to walk me to the parking lot?" She asked.
"Sure." Carly nodded at once, having noticed the boy from before lingering in the shadows out of the corner of her eye. The two of them set off, leaving the bright lights and music behind.
The walk was short, yet Carly could not help feel it was taking longer than necessary. Madeline was gravely silent beside her, dragging her feet along and wringing her hands continuously.
"Is your car waiting for you?" Carly asked, trying to dispel the silence. Madeline, in reply only managed a grunt.
"Who's coming to take you home?"
Carly only heard a small growl issue from the girl's mouth. Madeline came to a sudden halt and Carly did not register this until she was a few paces away. Turning back, she felt a wave of dread wash over her.
"Madeline, is everything okay?" She called to the girl cautiously, suddenly aware of how alone they were. The only source of sound was the distant thump of music and the girl before her, standing with her hair shrouding her face in shadow. Madeline gave another grunt, then a whine, panting loudly. She sank to her knees, shaking violently, her nails digging into her palms until they drew blood. Madeline let out a sudden, anguished howl, throwing her head back and snarling up at Carly with teeth too large and canine in nature. Carly could feel her heart thump against her rib cage, her whole body trembling as she could only watch on in horror when Madeleine's eyes rolled back into her head, the whites standing out is sharp contrast against the darkness. She was on all fours now, her skin seemingly rippling as thought caught in a haze.
Carly stumbled back as Madeline's body contorted, the sharp crack of bones making her sick to her stomach. Her grunts turned throaty and guttural, more inhuman with each passing second. With fear freezing her in place, she could only watch as the girl before her transformed into a hairy beast, inch long claws scratching at the gravel in a most sinister way. Then all at once, Madeline reared, standing upon her back legs and towering over the tiny form of Carly. Her eyes glowered at Carly as she sniffed the air, letting loose another growl. She began to advance with the gait of a predator.
It was only the rustle of bushes that made the werewolf turn its attention from Carly. As the undergrowth parted the boy from before stumbled onto the path, very drunk. He blinked up at the werewolf and then grinned.
"Eh, I could have sworn you were a bit shorter." He slurred, swinging his arms to keep his balance. "And a lot less hairy. Whatever, I can work with that."
You idiot! Carly screamed inwardly as the werewolf turned its full attention on to the foolish boy. It growled, low and menacing, the sound making Carly's body vibrate. A scream worked its way up her throat.
"Get out of here!" She managed to yell.
But it was too late. The werewolf sprang into the air, its shadow engulfing the boy. Carly only caught a brief flash of the fear in his eyes before the werewolf was upon him, his terrified screams muffled by savage snarls. There came the sound of ripping flesh and the scream was abruptly silenced. It was replaced by a steady dripping sound the reverberated in Carly's ears, the boy's blood splattering onto the ground.