I scrambled up to my feet, brushing myself down. He was gone. I couldn't see him anywhere in the dark. He'd vanished. I took a cautious step forwards.

My heart was thudding in my ears. I could feel it racing. My stomach churned, making me feel sick. I took another step forwards.

“GERARD?!” I called out into the darkness, walking in the direction he'd disappeared.

I'd reached the edge of the trees that surrounded either side of the park. He must've been dragged through that way. I walked faster, looking all around me, trying to quieten the thudding in my ears.

“Gerard?” I questioned.

It was too dark to see more than a few feet ahead of me. The autumn leaves crunched under my feet as I stepped forwards. I could hear myself breathing as I did so.

“Gerard? Gee-”

Ahead of me I could hear something moving. I stopped. It was moving towards me fast. I considered turning around and running. My heart got faster. I clenched my fist ready to thump anything that came too close.

It was coming. Closer. Closer. . .

I was pushed over backwards as it ran into me. I made a noise of surprise as I fell onto my back, getting ready to use my fist.

Gerard looked down at me through wild, panicked eyes. Dirt was smeared all over his face. There was a cut on his forehead. He scrabbled with me desperately, clutching to my coat, shakily trying to pull us both up.

“Gee, I-”

“N-n-no!” He flustered “Mikey, it's right behind me! It's right behind me!” He screamed out.

He wiped at his forehead and then grabbed at my face, smearing the blood across my face. I pulled his hand from my face.

“It's right behind me! It's right behind-” He screamed again and was dragged off of me again.

I got up and rushed after him. He was on his front and standing over him. . . God, I don't even know how to describe it. It was huge. Bent over him, growling.

My eyes widened. It lashed forwards while Gerard writhed underneath it, trying to get away. He screamed out again. It raised its. . . well I guess it was a paw- it had huge claws. He cried out as it tore at him.

“Gerard!” I cried.

I rushed forwards, grabbing at a rock from the ground. It roared and Gerard screamed. Rock in hand, I hit at whatever it was. It ignored me. I hit harder, trying to use a corner on the rock. It growled angrily as I thumped at it with the rock.

It's huge arm lashed out at me and knocked me backwards. I fell back and groaned, rubbing at my head. Whatever it was – that thing – it had now turned its massive eyes on me. It growled again. In the distance, I could see Gerard scrambling up and running.

With this thing advancing on me, I was trapped. It was getting closer. I looked around desperately. The rock I'd grabbed was by my feet. I reached down for it, not taking my eyes off of what was in front of me. It got closer. The smell was awful. It's breath. It smelt rotten.

I took my chance. I kicked at its face, simultaneously hitting it on the head with the rock and running. It roared angrily behind us.

Gerard was in front of me. He grabbed at my wrist and dragged me along behind him.

“C'mon, we have to go!” He cried desperately.

We'd reached the road. Gerard didn't even stop to check if anything was coming. He just ran out, dragging me with him. Bright lights in front of us. We both screamed and threw ourselves out of the vans way.

The thing had been giving chase behind us. We turned in time to see it pick the wrong moment to leap out into the road. The van ploughed straight into it, spraying blood and flesh everywhere. Gerard grabbed at my arm.

“Let's go. Let's get out of here!”

* * *

“Mom, Dad!” I cried out, dragging Gerard through the front door.

He had an arm over my shoulder and was staring around vacantly. I pulled him upstairs and into our room, turning the light on and pushing him over to his bed. He lay back, staring up at the ceiling, dirt covering his face and a blood stain soaking into the shoulder of his shirt. Mom and Dad must've still been out with the Colemans.

I rushed to the bathroom, pulled our first aid kit out of the cabinet and soaked a face cloth under the hot water. Gerard was breathing heavily when I returned and wiped the dirt from his face. I sat beside him and opened to first aid kit to pull out an antiseptic wipe.

“N-no no no! Don't touch it!” He begged as I unzipped his hoody.

He fought weakly, trying to push my hands away. I pulled his shoulder out of his hoody firmly and made to dab at it with the wipe.

“No. Don't!” He argued “It's burning. Don't touch it- it hurts.”

“Just let me see, I won't touch it!”

There were three deep gashes in his shoulder. He looked at them and whimpered.

“What did I do?” He questioned “What was it? What happened?”

“A big dog?” I questioned.

“That's fucked up! What the fuck did we do?”

“Maybe a bear?”

“There aren't any bears anywhere fucking near here!”

I shook my head in agreement. I began to wipe at his cuts, trying to clean them up as best as I could. He shook with fear. I stroked the skin with a finger.

“Does this hurt?” I questioned, gently touching his cuts.

He shook his head, looking down as I poked.

“No.”

I wiped more blood away. It sounds impossible but his cuts had started to close up since I'd first looked at them. I shook my head in disbelief.

“This can't be right. It's impossible!”

“What is?”

“They're already healing. This can't be right. I'm calling an ambulance.”

He sat up immediately and grabbed at me. I tried to pull my arm free to get the phone but he pulled sharply.

“N-no, don't, Mikey!” He pleaded “You said they're already healing. It's fine. Just, please spare me Mom finding out. She'll be all 'I was right, you were wrong'. Please don't!”

“But-”

“Look at me, Mikey. They're healing, you said yourself. I'm fine. If it gets worse in a week or so, we can go to a doctor.”

I sat beside him as he put an arm around my shoulder and hugged me. I leant into him and put an arm around his waist to hug him.

“I thought you were gonna' die,” I whispered to him.

“No, look at me. I'm okay,” He reassured “I'm okay. I'll be fine.”

We both drifted off into an uneasy sleep with the TV on in the background. My sleep was interrupted all night. The slightest noise would wake me up; Mom and Dad coming home, a dog barking outside, birds hooting, a sudden noise on the TV.

I dreamed of the thing that had attacked us. It was huge and hairy and monstrous. Growling and chasing me through the trees. Chasing me alone. I'd scream and shout and cry for help but no one would come. It would chase me further and further. I'd stumble and trip and scramble to my feet as it growled behind me. I reached the very familiar road. The van nearly hit me. I fell forwards. I heard it cry out in pain as there was the sickening sound of metal hitting soft flesh. Only when I turned around, expecting a large animal lying dead and bloody in the road, it was Gerard.

Notes

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