6 The Hunt 2 END

(Unknown POV)

"Huff..! Huff..! Huff..! Huff..!" I ran through the dark forest without looking back. My heart was beating so fast it felt like it was going to burst out of my chest at any moment.

I hear screams of despair and gunshots echoing through the forest, and I immediately quicken my pace. However, as it was so dark, I trip over something hard and fall flat on my face.

"Fuck!" I cursed.

This is no time to stumble! I need to get away from here!

I hurriedly got to my feet, but as I put strength into my right arm to pull myself up, I feel a shock go through my body and my arm explodes in pain.

"Urgh...! Shit! I think it's broken..."

Taking a deep breath, I force myself to my feet and brace my broken arm with my left arm. The pain is great, but I can bear it.

I take a step to start running, but then I hear the faint sound of a twig snapping and I freeze. I turned around, but there was nothing there. I breathed a sigh of relief. Good, it was probably an insect.

I let out a light chuckle before turning around again. But then, something pulls me hard to the side. I tried to scream, but my mouth was covered with something.

Oh no! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! I'm gonna die! Why is this happening to me? I didn't do anything to deserve this!

I'm a man of God! I have a wife and children, I go to church every week! Okay, I indeed cheated on my wife with Edward, our neighbor, but it was just a single night of curiosity and I already regretted it! I swear!

God, please have mercy!

"Why the hell are you shaking so much, dude? You look like my aunt's chihuahua."

My thoughts stopped abruptly upon hearing that. What the-?

I open my eyes, which I didn't even realize were closed, and see that who pulled me over and is covering my mouth is, in fact, another human.

I didn't know his name, but I recognized him as part of the search party.

I felt relief again, but then I got irritated. My goodness, I almost pissed my pants, you bastard!

"I'm going to remove my hand, but I need you to be quiet, okay?" he whispered to me.

I nodded, and he slowly withdrew his hand.

"I'm Karl, what's your name?"

"S-Simon," I answered quietly.

"All right, Simon. Do you have any information on what's going on?"

I shook my head. "N-no I...I just started to hear shots and screams everywhere before I even realize that something was going on. I and others who were with me quickly tried to run following the path that led to the entrance of the forest but..."

"But?"

"B-But we couldn't find it! There is a dense fog around the forest that has appeared out of nowhere! Some of us entered the fog wanting to escape, but after a while, we heard even more screams coming from inside the dense fog. After that, everyone ran in fear in random directions looking for an exit - myself included."

"I see," Karl said with a contemplative expression.

"A-And you?" I asked. "Do you know anything?"

He was silent for a few seconds, making me nervous, and then he answered, "There's something in this forest. And it's hunting us."

"Something is here with us? A tiger or a mountain lion maybe?"

I still remember the Champawat Tiger, a legendary Bengal tiger that killed and devoured more than 400 people in India. It's a famous story among hunters. Maybe there's a tiger like that here in this forest?

"No." Karl shook his head. " The only predatory feline around these parts nowadays is the Bobcat."

"So what could be causing all of this?" I asked Karl, hoping he could give me an answer.

Karl then sighed and to my surprise, he answered, "I have a theory, but... No, it's nothing. You wouldn't believe it, forget it."

"What? What is it! Just say it already!"

How can he want to keep information in this situation?! It doesn't matter what he says, any information is important! My life is on the line here!

"Alright, if you want to know then..." Karl looked at me seriously. "I think It's a vampire."

Alright, I take back what I said. He should keep that to himself.

"A vampire? Do you think it's time for jokes?! Just say what you know!" I replied irritably. I almost raised my voice but managed to hold it back.

"I'm serious. Some time ago, we found a deer that was as dry as a mummy. It was a very bizarre sight, which made me a little worried. Then a native that was in our group and Benjamin, the old hunter who requested this search party operation, analyzed the corpse. I wasn't too far away, so I could hear the conversation. According to what the native hunter deduced, what killed the deer was an Alukah, the native term for vampire or ghoul. I was also completely skeptical at the time, but then the gunshots and screams started." Karl explained.

Unbelievable. We're lost in a forest, with great danger on the loose, and this retard thinks a fairy tale is killing us?!

"Do you seriously want me to believe that?! Listen to what you're saying! A vampire?! A fairy tale does not hurt people!"

My patience was already at its limit and, with the pain I was feeling in my arm, I was already close to exploding with rage.

"What if it's not a fairy tale? What if all those old tales and myths are actually true?" Karl replied calmly." Look, I know it sounds crazy. But that's the only clue we have at the moment. Besides, that doesn't change the fact that we have to flee from here and reach the city."

Listening to Karl, I took a deep breath and calmed down. He's right. No matter what is hunting us - a tiger, a bear, or a goddammit vampire - our goal of getting out of this forest has not changed.

"All right. Do you have a plan?" I inquired.

"Actually yes, I do have a plan."

I smiled at Karl's response. Hell yeah, baby! My chances of surviving have increased a lot! It seems that God heard my prayers and sent this angel to rescue me!

From one of his pockets, Karl takes a large rolled-up piece of paper; it was a map.

"This is a map of this forest. Since I'm not from the region, I don't know anything about the topography here, so I bought one and, luckily, I kept it in my pocket, not in my backpack," he explained as he opened the map for the two of us to see.

I quickly moved over beside him, careful not to move my broken arm. "Great! Does this map show any other way out?"

"Yes, but we can't use them. The nearest exit is blocked with the fog as you said. Any other exit is so far away that it would take a full day of walking. By then, we'll be dead."

"So...What can we do?" I said, my hopes plummeting.

"Well, I was following the map to get to the nearest exit before finding you, and I came up with a plan B just in case. Now I'll show you my plan B. See this red dot here on this mountain?" Karl pointed to a specific mountain on the map. "This red dot shows that there is a forest patrol observation tower at this location. We are over here, and this marked location... It's right there."

Karl pointed up to a mountain some kilometers far away from us, and I followed the direction he pointed with my eyes. But it's too dark and I can't see anything. Using the light of the moon, I strain my eyes through the darkness, and I finally can see a small red light that keeps blinking in the distance!

Holy crap! There really is an observation tower there!

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" I exclaimed softly, excited at my good fortune. If it really is a watchtower, then it will have supplies, and most likely a radio and flares!

Karl nodded. He put the map in his pocket again, and then we started running towards the mountain.

As we ran, we heard screams coming from the forest behind us again.

"Don't mind the screams! They are already lost! Keep running!" Karl said as he ran beside me.

Don't say, smart ass! As if I'm going to try to help strangers I've never seen! My life is much more important!

__________

We ran for a while, I can't tell for how long. Minutes, hours maybe? But that didn't matter, as we were close to the tower!

"Let's go! We are almost there!" I said to Karl beside me, both of us smiling.

But that moment of hope was interrupted by the sound of footsteps and a strange snotty and suffocating murmur as if it was choking on something.

We both stopped. Karl immediately took his rifle from his back and aimed the gun where the sound was coming from, and I stayed behind him.

What? I have a broken arm, I can't do much!

The sounds grew louder and closer until the moonlight partially illuminated the place. When we saw what it was, we sighed in relief.

It was another hunter! We couldn't see his face, but we could see his outfit. Maybe he was also going to the tower? Well, I'm not going to say no to one more shield so to speak!

"Wait, that outfit, is that you Mr. Benjamin?" Karl asked as he holstered the gun at his back.

Benjamin? Wasn't that the name of the old fool who called for a rescue party in the middle of the night? Son of a bitch! If my arm wasn't broken, I'd hit that old man, I tell you!

The man hobbled forward but didn't answer. Is he hurt?

"Mr. Benjamin? Is everything alright?" Karl slowly began to cautiously approach him. "We are going to the forest watchtower which is right there, do you want to come with us?"

Instead of answering the man took another step forward, and then, the moonlight illuminated his face.

" "!!!!" "

Karl and I stared in shock at Benjamin's face...or rather, the lack of a face. All there was was his bloody skull with his bulging eyes staring at us.

"Oh, God! What happened to you?!" Karl exclaimed in horror.

I could not bear such a sight before me, and I vomited on the spot.

Benjamin slowly opened his mouth and black blood flowed out of it.

"Hel...p me...!" He whispered, his voice mixed along with a profane grunting sound of blood and flesh that prevented him from speaking properly.

Before Karl or I could say anything, Benjamin dropped to his knees, and slowly fell to the ground, dead.

"W-we have to go! NOW!" I screamed, desperation washing over me. Karl immediately nodded.

"Now now, where are you two thinking of going?"

Suddenly, we hear a melodious female voice, coming from the same direction Benjamin came from.

From the darkness, a woman came out. The most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my life. Long white hair, skin pale as porcelain, and beautiful ruby-red eyes. She looked like a moon goddess.

Beside me, Karl quickly pulls out his gun and aims at the girl, which baffles me.

"Whoa Whoa, Karl! It's a girl! Not the damn bigfoot! Put the gun down!" I yelled at him.

"You dumbass! Think a little with your head! What would a girl dressed in clothes from the last century be doing in the middle of a forest at night?! And look at her! Does she look human to you?!"

Now that you mention it...

Without giving me another second to think, Karl pulls the trigger.

BANG!

The rifle shot hits the girl in the middle of her chest, making her fall back.

"Holy shit, dude! You really shot!"

We were silent for a few seconds. "Is she dead?" I muttered.

As if to answer me, the girl's body slowly rises as if it were levitating. I widen my eyes. What the hell! She was shot in the chest! How can she get up?!

Standing, the girl sighs. She looks at the big hole in her chest, and then she looks at us. "You know, that was really rude. And here I was, thinking of giving you two a quick death since you two are the last ones."

Before our incredulous eyes, the wound on the girl's chest closes in the blink of an eye.

What the?!

"Vampire...." Karl muttered.

The girl looked at him with slight surprise. "Oh? I'm surprised you deduced that. You're right, I'm a vampire. Well, not exactly a normal vampire... But that's beside the point. Anyway, I'm a little pissed off that you shot me. I mean, what kind of gentleman shoots a girl? So now, how about I make you play with my dog?"

Her...Dog?

"Baskerville, there's one more you can devour," the girl said. Karl and I stare at each other. Who was she talking to?

To our astonishment, shortly afterward the shadows under the girl began to take shape, and soon a large demonic dog was in front of us.

The big dog glared at us and kept looking between me and Karl. As if he were choosing your next meal.

The girl slaps the dog on the butt, which makes us both jump in surprise. "No no! You can't have both, greedy dog! You can have the one on the right! The guy with the gun! You can play and devour him. The other is mine."

The dog grunts and growls, as if in response.

"What do you mean fair division?! We killed almost the same amount! And I own you! If I tell you to get a bone, you get it! If I tell you to drop it, you drop it!"

The dog rolled its eyes and she continued arguing with the dog.

Meanwhile, I slowly nudged Karl. "Karl, how many more shots do you have?"

"I...I only have one more shot left before I have to reload..." he muttered, not taking his eyes off the dog and the girl.

"All right. We can use that shot as a distraction. On the count of three, shoot the dog, and we'll run for the tower, all right?" I said, and Karl nodded. He's so focused on what's in front of him that he doesn't realize I've literally told him he's going to be the bait for my escape. Idiot.

"One..."

I started to gather strength in my legs and clenched my fist.

"Two..."

Sweat trickled down my face and I could feel the adrenaline start to seep into my blood.

"Thre-"

WOOSH!

A gale seemed to have passed by my side, throwing me aside.

What the fuck just happened?!

I looked to the side, and Karl was no longer there. I heard the sound of bones being crunched and my eyes widened. I slowly turned my face, and there was Karl in the dog's mouth. He have a horrified expression on his face as the dog chew him like gum, making his organs and blood squirt everywhere.

"Tsk, that dog has no manners!" I heard the girl mumble, and I turned to her. She was slowly walking towards me.

Fear began to overwhelm me, and I can no longer think straight.

"N-NO! Don't come near me, you monster!"

"Let's make this easy, okay? Please don't run because-"

Before she could get any closer, I hurriedly got up off the ground, not caring about my broken arm, and started running with everything I had.

I ran and ran and ran.

My legs felt like they were going to explode, but I kept running.

After running what felt like a marathon, I stopped, out of breath.

"Did I lose her?" I muttered.

Then I felt a light sweet breeze, and a breath close to my ear.

"As I was saying, don't run. I don't like to chase."

I turned back in horror, and the last thing I saw was the sight of her glowing crimson eyes and her fangs coming toward my neck.

God... Why are you so unfair...?