7 Chapter Seven: Red Eyes

Camo jerked awake with the sound of a low growl. She hadn't even noticed she had dozed off. The fire was dying, and something was just beyond the light. Something big.

Her eyes followed the path it paced to the best of her ability, her eyes jumping to the spot she heard another branch break.

She desperately wanted to relight the fire. And wake Damien. And blindly shoot her gun off. But she knew better. Any fast movement could cause it to attack. Any loud noise could anger it. And she couldn't afford to waste bullets.

So she stayed silent and still, her gun clutched in her hand, ready to fire it if the creature came into sight.

Another growl made her hair stand on end. It was feral, hungry, violent, and unearthly. It terrified her, and she wasn't easily scared. After living on a military base most of her life, she had grown used to the mutilated people brought into the infirmary, the bomb droppings and air strike warning sirens. They didn't bother her. But this did.

She slowly raised her gun, going through the normally calming routine of checking her gun. She never looked down for very long.

She could practically feel the creatures eyes on her. Hungry and dangerous.

Another snap of a branch made her look up again quickly. Her eyes met with red ones. They seemed to glow crimson in the darkness. The creature ccontined to pace, those red eyes never leaving her.

It's becoming bolder.

Camo realized with a start. The fire was dying fast. If they had any chance of survival with this thing, she had to get the fire going again.

Readying her gun, she took a deep breath, glanced over at Damien's sleeping form, and slowly stood. She took small, slow steps away from the men, and raised her gun. The creature had stopped pacing. It was watching her closely.

Her muscles tensed as she prepared to run. She'd have one chance to get as much time as possible for Damien to start the fire.

He'd better not fuck up.

She swallowed her fear and shouted.

"Damien!  Fire!" She had no time for anything else, she was already running.

She heard the creature jump into a run, in pursuit of her. Just as she hoped. She made an awful racket as she stumbled blindly in the dark, barely dodging the trees before she ran into them. The creature was hot on her trail, easily racing through the dark, fast approaching.

Grabbing her gun in both hands, she dug her heel into the terf, swung her weight around, and fired her gun.

The creature yelped, then growled. She had either startled it or hit it. She hoped it was the latter.

There was a deafening silence after the gun shots. The night seemed to hold its breath and wait. Wait to see what came of the stupidly reckless girl who had just run from her only source of protection.

As much as Camo strained her ears, she heard nothing. No nightlife, no foot steps, no voices. No creature.

I couldn't have hit it... Could I have?

As she was wondering, her arms had lowered the gun. She took a breath, just then realizing she had been holding it in. She began shaking, the adrenaline still coursing through her body, having no where to go.

Camo took a step forward, ready to search for the thing that had chased her, when a dark figure came hurtling at her. Sharp claws shoved her to the ground as scizzor like teeth bit into her shoulder. She screamed, struggling to bring her gun to the creature and fire before it was too late. Pain blossomed in her shoulder and stomach, her head was ringing, and the creatures deep throated growls echoed in her head.

I'm going to die.

She thought with cold certainty.