CHAPTER 49
"Patricia, whatever I tell you right now, you won't believe me; but haven't you noticed too? Even though it's a New Year's celebration, the weather is so nice, there are green trees. Look, anyway; the weather, the color of the trees none of that matters right now. Just stay calm, okay? Listen, if anything happens, run to the forest with the people here, alright? But for now, act like nothing's wrong."
"Hey Mike, are you okay? Yeah, the weather being like this is weird, but I was just joking about them eating us."
Mike stands up, just about to leave.
"Hey, sit down, where are you going?" Patricia asks.
"Look, Patricia, you don't understand me; I can't tell you why I'm here or how I got here. Maybe I'm not even supposed to tell you, I don't know. So please, just trust me; the moment something happens, run straight to the forest and stay together. Don't scatter; if you scatter, you'll be much easier to hunt. So just do as I say."
Mike gets up from the table; as he walks slowly and calmly, the man he saw earlier at the town entrance the one who insisted he sit at this table suddenly appears in front of him again.
"Hey, kid, you're not thinking of leaving early, are you? After all, it's New Year's Eve."
"New Year's, huh? Right, right."
"Come on, sit back down; we're about to have the main course."
"Main course?" Mike thinks to himself. When he turns around and looks at the table of young people, two of the ten are missing, and the rest have fainted.
"Hey, wait a minute," he says, just as he turns back to the man who grabs Mike's hand.
"Hey kid, I knew there was something different about you the moment you walked in here," the man says, and suddenly bites Mike's hand.
"Hey, don't worry; this will only put you to sleep for a short while. After all, we wouldn't want our dessert running away, would we?"
No matter how hard Mike tries, his eyes slowly close on their own.
"Hey Mike! Mike, wake up! Hey!"
Mike slowly opens his eyes.
With a confused look:
"Patricia, what what happened?"
"You were right, Mike; about this place..."
"Wait, I have to get out of here; come on, transform! Come on, why can't I transform right now, damn it!"
Patricia, crying:
"Mike, what transformation? What are you talking about, what transformation? They ate everyone, they're eating them! It's just us left, they're going to eat us too!"
"Okay, focus Mike, focus. Let the transformation come; I don't care if I lose control and kill everyone here, as long as I can get Patricia and myself out of this place."
"Hmm, yes, it's time for dessert. Heeey, you two, how are we doing over here?"
The man walks toward Mike and Patricia.
As soon as Patricia sees him, she screams.
The man looks like a decayed corpse reshaped into a disgusting, scaly creature about three meters tall, with claws reaching forty centimeters long.
"Hey, come on now, don't you like my true form? Anyway, which one of you should we eat first? Oh well, ladies and gentlemen: some of us will take the boy, some will take the girl. Who wants which? Actually, I've got a better idea: dig in! Ha, just kidding; we're not going to eat you that easily. Yes, prepare them."
One of the monsters begins untying Mike's ropes to prepare him, while Mike struggles to breathe.
"Breath, breath I can't breathe."
Mike faints. Just as the monster is about to finish untying him...
Mike suddenly grabs the creature by the throat and, with one powerful squeeze, crushes its neck, killing it instantly.
Mike begins to transform; Patricia just stares at him in utter confusion.
Patricia, terrified:
"Hey Mike, what what's happening to you? What are you?!"
"Hey, look, what's happening to our dessert? So, I guess I'll have to marinate you first, huh?"
Sharp spikes start bursting from Mike's back; his body grows larger, his hands forming claws that curve more than before but are far sharper. His teeth elongate drastically; red fur covers his body, its color as if soaked in blood. His eyes enlarge and turn completely black.
"VOAAAAAAHHHHH!" he roars, and in one swift motion appears before the monster leader. The leader is three meters tall; Mike's form towers over six meters, looking down on him from above, and with a single strike, rips the creature's heart straight from its chest.
As the monster falls to his knees, blood pouring from his mouth, he says:
"So it seems... a beautiful creature like you was meant to be the one to kill me, huh. It's been a long time since I've been this excited."
And he collapses to the ground, dead.