Chase
The full moon is shining brightly in the sky. The forest seems to be lightened up by its bright light. It's the chilling atmosphere of the night as the wind blows through the leaves of the trees. Silence consumes everything, if it wasn't for the crackling of leaves.
Feeling his heart pounding, he runs through the forest. The adrenaline already shot up into his brain, making him run faster than he could ever have normally. With heavy breathing he continues, there's no stopping in sight. 'I need to be faster' he thinks to himself, knowing that unfortunately the leaves under his feet are going to make it hard for him to stay hidden for long.
His heart pounds faster and faster as he continues to run through the forest. Suddenly he can hear their howls. Sweat starts to run down his forehead as he increases his speed. 'No matter what happens, anything is better than getting caught by them,' he thinks to himself.
Suddenly the path ends. Split between turning to the left or the right side, he decides that it would be best to run down this slope of dirt.
But as soon as he sets his first step down there, he slips. Sliding down there at, he's getting faster and faster, feeling how the stones cut open a few wounds. But thanks to the adrenaline and his desire to survive, he just accepts the pain.
And after what feels like an eternity, it finally ends. Looking up he can see that he has gone quite a way, the imprints of his body into the dirt soil being very visible. 'Hopefully they won't find my scent down hereβ¦' he thinks to himself, as he quickly looks over his arms and legs. He got quite a few scratches, but that's not his primary concern.
Hoping that they wouldn't immediately see his trace, he starts running again. After a few steps he can hear the distant howls again, causing him to speed up again. All he can think of is running, as the moon shines with its eerie glow.
After another while he comes across a small cave. 'I feel like I should be able to take a small pause' he thinks to himself, as his breathing becomes even heavier. Now that the adrenaline is broken down, he feels how exhausted he actually is. His muscles hurt and it feels like he couldn't walk any more - let alone run away. 'It's probably only a matter of time until they find me hereβ¦ They are going to have an easy time following my scent, just waiting for the moment that they can tear me apart and feast on meβ¦ Just the thought of itβ¦' he thinks to himself. Looking down on his body, he sees that his clothes have also been in better shape. 'I really wonder why they wanted me to wear this before starting the hunt. Do they want to have some kind of trophy after catching me? Do they want to keep these torn, blood dripped clothes, just so they can brag about how many humans have fallen victim to their craving of blood?'
A new howl out of the direction he came from instantly breaks his thoughts. Jumping out of his position he's ready to continue. After a few milliseconds of realizing that the howls aren't too distanced, he's right back to running. The exhaustion he experienced just a few moments ago is instantly gone. The only thing that counts is getting away.
And so he's back into prey mode, ready to react in an instant, hyperfocused on even the slightest sound. Every time he hears just the slightest sound of a twig breaking, his vision instantly shifts there. It's a game in which even the slightest mistake means his death. As soon as one of the werewolves is close enough, it's game over. The only difference between him and a piece of flesh is that he's still alive. The instance that a werewolf gets close enough, all that's needed is a quick pounce to change that - from that moment on, there is no difference anymore. From that moment on, he's nothing more than prey - a large piece of meat waiting to be devoured. He knows that. He saw it himself. His friends experienced it.
This is why he's in a state of constant surveillance. His eyes and ears were working to catch any danger, despite it probably being too late by the moment he'd notice. He knows how fast the werewolves are. Deep down he knows that he can't outrun them. He knows that they will find him. But deep down he hopes that this time will be different. That this time he's smarter, that he can cover all of his tracks.
And then suddenly he hears a crack. A twitch breaking. The sound of heavy breathing. Panting.
Instantly his mind is flooded with a rush of fears, emotions and adrenaline. Paralyzed by fear, he's unable to move. Unable to react.
Loud howls can be heard throughout the forest. The howls of the werewolves. Werewolves hunting their prey - ready to claim the human flesh.
