The group moved into the forest with too much confidence. The path, if you could even call it that, was overgrown and narrow. We had to walk in a line—Jordan in front, Bella and Callum hand-in-hand behind him, then Dove, then me, then Tyler taking up the rear. It was quiet. No crickets. No owls.
Not even wind.
Only the crunch of leaves under our boots.
I stared at Jordan's broad back. He was a sophomore, and probably the tallest guy in his year. He was the captain of the university swim team, and he was on his way to being captain of the football team too.
Bella and Callum were freshmen like us, but Bella went to the same high-school as Dove, Tyler and I. She was the girl that everyone wanted to be. Perfect golden blonde hair, a face that didn't need makeup and a body that made every head turn. She was also smart, smart enough to have gotten into Virek University with an engineering scholarship.
I didn't know much about Callum. He was quiet, and he kept to himself. I'd only ever seen him in class with Tyler. I didn't know how long they had been friends for, but I could tell that they were the closest to one another.
"I thought this was supposed to be a clearing," Bella said after a while.
"There is one," Jordan replied. "My cousin camped here before she graduated. Swore they saw glowing red eyes in the dark."
"Maybe it was just a raccoon," Callum offered.
"Or a vampire," Dove said. "Dun dun dun."
I rolled my eyes. "We'd be lucky if it was just a bear."
No one laughed.
A few minutes later, we found the clearing. It looked like it had been used before—rocks in a circle, charred wood in the center, scraps of tarp fluttering from a tree branch like someone had left in a hurry.
Jordan dropped his bag in the middle. "Boom. Camp."
"I don't like this," Bella muttered, eyes scanning the trees. I nodded in agreement, even though no one noticed it.
"Don't be such a buzzkill," Dove replied, snaking her arm around mine. Her grip was tight, which gave me the impression that she also didn't like this.
We unpacked quickly, wanting to settle down. Two tents were set up, each one big enough to fit three people. Bella and Callum started kissing by the firepit while Jordan tried to light damp wood. Dove wandered off a little, looking around with a flashlight. I caught Tyler staring into the dark, stiff and alert.
He was also uneasy about this place. I frowned. Why would he suggest camping at a place he was afraid of as well?
I opened my mouth to ask him what he was looking at, but my voice caught in my throat. My eyes darted to the spot he was staring at. Something had moved past there. Quick. Just behind the trees.
"Did you see that?" I asked him softly.
"Probably a deer," he responded, though his eyes never left that area.
Another flicker of motion.
Then a sound—a low crack, like someone stepping on a branch. But it didn't echo like a normal step. It sounded deliberate.
Predatory.
Tyler suddenly stood up, "We need to leave."
Jordan looked up from his poor attempt to light a campfire, "Come on, man. We just got here. Don't tell me you're also scared."
"Now." Tyler left no room for argument.
Callum and Bella looked at each other for a moment before they silently stood up. Dove made her way back to us, looking around. "What's going on?"
"We're leaving." I updated her.
"We just got here." She mumbled.
"Right? That's what I just said." Jordan nodded.
Before anyone else could speak, something exploded from the trees.
It hit Callum first. One second he was standing, the next he was screaming... then choked silent as claws slashed across his chest. Blood sprayed across Bella's face before she even turned to run.
My eyes widened in horror, and screaming erupted. Bella didn't make it more than a few feet before another figure came from the side—so fast it blurred—grabbing her and snapping her neck with a sickening twist.
"Callum!" Jordan bolted, but something slammed into him from above, dragging him back into the shadows. His cries were cut short.
I stared silently, frozen in place. Dove roughly grabbed my wrist, eyes wide with horror. "Run. Now!"
My body felt rigid, but I finally started moving—and it was too late.
A cold hand tangled in my hair and yanked.
I screamed as I was dragged backward, boots digging into the dirt, flashlight falling and rolling away. I kicked, fought—but the grip only tightened. Cold fingers like iron.
They threw me down in the center of the clearing. The world spun, my head throbbing. Leaves stuck to my jacket. A boot stepped on my wrist, pinning me. I choked back a sob, my fist clenching around damp soil. I mustered the strength to turn my head, to look up and see the source of my fear. There wasn't one monster.
There were three of them.
Three tall figures. Men, maybe—if men had glowing red eyes and inhuman speed. My heart crashed against my ribs like it was trying to escape.
"She smells better than the others," the one holding me said, crouching beside me. His voice was playful—too playful. He tilted his head like he was studying a butterfly he meant to pluck the wings off. "Sweeter. Like warmth and honey."
Another shape moved behind him. The second man was quiet. Taller, broader, his face unreadable. His eyes flicked to me, then to the other two.
"Get it over with so we can go," he said. His voice was low and flat. Uninterested. "Kill her."
"She's mine alone," the one pinning me hissed. "I found her."
"She isn't yours," said the third—his voice smooth, calm. His eyes locked with mine, and something in me froze. He didn't look at me like the other one did. Like I was some sort of prey. I didn't know what that meant, but it didn't mean anything good. "She's in my land."
The creepy one snarled, his boot pressing my wrist deeper into the ground. It felt like a car was parked over it. I clenched my teeth, trying to be quiet. "We already ripped and tore through three others. This one doesn't need a gentle approach."
The third one knelt down beside me, his calm demeanor not wavering.
"I want to do it," he said. "Release her."
The creepy one rolled his eyes before lifting his foot off me. My arm felt numb, and I flinched when I felt a cold hand brush my hair aside gently, revealing my collarbone.
My body trembled as the man leaned in slowly, like he didn't want to scare me more than I already was. Tears rolled down my face as his cold breath ghosted over my skin. I braced myself, knowing what was coming.
Then—pain.
But not sharp. It was deep and warm and strange. My vision flickered at the edges. My body went slack, heat blooming where his fangs sank into me.
It felt like being lit from the inside.
The sound of footsteps snapped the trance.
"Hey!" Tyler's voice rang through the trees. My eyes slowly opened.
He rushed in, swinging a thick branch and catching one of them across the back—it broke instantly, but it worked.
The one who bit me pulled back, his mouth red. The creepy one cursed. Tyler dashed back into the trees, making all three men get up and sprint after him, their speed impossible to even phantom.
"Lets go!" Dove's voice. She ran toward me, grabbed my arm and heaved me up.
I stumbled, legs numb, blood pounding in my ears. What just happened?
We ran. Ran. Ran. Ran until we saw the cars.
Somehow, Tyler managed to get there before we did. He threw himself into the backseat as we reached Dove's car. She shoved me into the passenger side and jumped in behind the wheel. The engine roared, tires screeching as we sped away.
My hand shakily reached for my neck, and I felt the warm moisture of my blood. I gulped, looking back slowly.
The three figures stood at the edge of the trees, shadows swallowing their faces. One of them—him—raised a hand, almost like he was reaching for me.
My neck throbbed where he'd bitten me. A strange warmth pulsed there—wrong, but not painful.
I didn't know what had just happened.
But I knew it wasn't over.