Rapidly my fingertips fused with the bone beneath and started morphing into a claw. Realizing it was the creature doing this to me I tried to get up only to find... I could. I looked down in wonder as my destroyed knee supported my weight, thanking the gods, the old and the new, I sprinted away from that horrid thing. Dodging and weaving through the trees I ran faster than I ever thought I could. Soon I came close enough to see the light of the fire.

Abruptly I fell to the ground and gripped my stomach, the hunger had returned. I started to crawl towards my comrades while screaming. Finally, I came close enough to see Dave and the seven others preparing for battle. When they noticed me Fredrick and Rolaf quickly came over to drag me out. I could hear their bones scraping and heart pumping. I'm ashamed to admit that my mouth started to water.

With a little struggle, they got me out of that god-forsaken forest. Fredrick, our field medic, rolled me over and started checking my wounds. He winced at my shoulder wounds but his sympathetic look soon turned to horror when he saw my lips and new claw.

“By the gods man, what happened to you?” he asked while waving over Deadlaf, the head ranger, and leader of this expedition. I wanted to tell them of the horrors I’ve witnessed and that dreadful thing but the only thing I could say was,

“...Run....”

POV shift—————————————-

“I honestly don’t know what happened Deadlaf,” Fredrick said with uncertainty, “but whatever did that to Mike was big and very pissed off. I mean his knee will probably have to be amputated, his lips were torn off and his hand is all kinds of screwed up. It is probably best to retreat and report to the council”

I knew he was right, retreat was the best option for our current situation but I couldn’t bring myself to do it, “No, we are close to completing our objective and if we go back empty-handed we will be seen as failures.”

“But sir we are up against at least a level three creature and we are not prepared in the slightest,” he said in agitation, “I know you were just newly promoted but you need to understand that this can turn into a life and death situation real quick.”

Through gritted teeth, I responded, “We have taken down level three creatures before, we can do it again if we have to.”

I knew the only reason we were able to hunt them before was because of weeks of planning and preparation. But since this is my first mission since my promotion I couldn’t let it fail. Fredrick could see it in my eyes that I wouldn’t back down so he stormed off to the tent where Mike was resting. I stared at the setting moon pondering if I made the right call when a blood-curdling scream abruptly filled the air. In a panic, everyone quickly dropped what they were doing and rushed to the source, the medic tent.

Alex got to the tent first but when he opened the flap he was sent flying back with a new claw mark going from his shoulder to waist. Another scream erupted from the tent but this one was more... inhuman. A mix between a mother who just lost her children and a madman. Rolaf quickly came up beside me with bow poised to shoot, he looked at me and I nodded. I waved over Apelica and we both readied our swords. With cautious steps, we approached the tent to check if Fredrick was still in there.

We slowly approached the back flap and with shaking hands, I lowered my body to peer through the flap only to see something horrid. Mike was kneeling over Fredrick furiously tearing into his guts. Mike was emitting a low sobbing noise as he feasted but with each bite, he dug in faster. Finally, I couldn’t control myself and let out a whimper, Fredrick was my good friend and we rose up the ranks together. Hearing my whimper Mike whipped his head around and roared, his mouth opening twice as wide as it should be able to. His teeth had become triangles of bone and his flesh had turned a deathly pale.

The creature Mike had become charged out of the tent, I barely dodged the storm of claws but Apelica was not so lucky. It hit her like a runaway horse and before I knew it her jaw and arm were ripped off brutally. It turned its head to her legs and with a crunch it bit one off with a single bite. In a vain attempt to save her I raised my sword and prepared to strike its back when it swung back its hand and knocked it out of the way. It turned and stood at its full height and roared at the sky.