• Prologue:

    The Hunt

    Sheer terror pulsed through his body. Eyes shifted looking somewhere -anywhere- to hide.

    The crashing reached his ears.

    Fear boiled and forced him to speed up. A single thought raced through his mind; "Run! Run! RUN!"

    The sound of pursuit grew louder, his heart beat faster, threatening to burst from his chest.

    His body ached, legs screamed in pain, begging for rest

    Fear urged him onward.

    IT closed in, nearer, almost upon him! He screamed in terror, heart bashing against his insides, but the monster rushed on wiht glee in its eyes.

    It clenched, tensed, pounced.

    Pain erupted in his neck, another scream caught in his throat. He was flung forward by the creature, into a tree.

    He rolled over onto his back, raising his hands in a desperate attempt to protect himself. It stood over him, dark silhouette blocking out the moonlight. It had the body of a young woman, but the face, grotesque and contorted, had green scales across it's front, nose and jaw jutted out like a lizard. A lip-less mouth housed dozens razor sharp teeth. Lidless orange eyes stared at their owner's prey, paralyzing him with fear.

    "MONSTER!"

    The creature raised its hands, no fingers to speak of, only claws, left hand glinting in the moonlight, right hand dripping with blood. Opening it's jaws, the beast let a guttural, monstrous roar. It struck.

    No words escaped his mouth, only sound, the sound of pure terror, splitting the air, over powering even the creature's screech.

    Claws ripped.

    Blood spilled.

    Teeth gnashed.

    Stomach filled.