Uninvited Dinner Guests

My rain-soaked hair froze in an odd shape as more water came down from the heavens. The crew and I walked miserably closer to our next stop. Not only disheartened by the recent events but, also the gloomy afternoon. The dark clouds showed no signs of clearing as Robert slowed to my pace.

"Hey Greg, how's your leg doing?" he asked while immersing himself in the storm. Robert was the only one who liked the dark weather.

"Oh, it's okay...I s-see you are enjoying the rain," I said, shivering from the bitter cold.

"Yes, it's quite beautiful. I think when the sun is out, the day is boring. A little rain never hurt anyone, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so," I replied right before getting startled by a flash of lighting.

"So, you think this beast will ever come back?" I said, shifting my gaze towards him.

"I don't think it will. But if it does, we'd better be prepared. Next time, we should have two watchmen for every shift,"

"We have enough men for that?" I asked, raising a brow.

"Even if we have to do two shifts in one night, it's worth it," Robert said as his boot stepped on a stick. It snapped as he put his next foot in front, alerting whatever predators were near. I didn't think much of it, and neither did Robert as we continued walking.

Raindrops ran across my face as I said: "This beast took out over half the crew, you think two men will stop it?"

"Hey, I'm not the one who was knocked out and couldn't warn the crew," countered Robert, raising his voice.

"Ohhh, so this whole thing is on me, right?"

"No, I never-" the growls of an animal cut him off.

We both turned our heads to see a creature; it was a tiger. The tiger's shades of orange were drenched by water as it jumped. It landed on my torso, pinning me to the ground. Drooling spit dropped onto my face as I held the tiger's sharp claws back.

The creature tried to bite me as it placed its limbs over mine. Its claws pressed on my bandaged cut, making me scream in pain as Robert tried his best to push the tiger off. His head turned, and he growled at Robert, then leapt onto him.

The tiger's claws sunk deep into Robert's chest, making blood paint the creature's paw. I struggled my way over to him right before I heard a gunshot. The tiger was shot dead by Henry, using his rifle. He placed the gun down and ran to our aid.

"Are you alr-" Henry was saying, right before getting pushed to the ground by another tiger. Henry couldn't reach his gun, but he had a knife in his pocket. He went for it, but the ferocious animal stepped on his hand, piercing the veins with his sharp claws.

Henry screamed in pain as another crewman pulled out a knife and stabbed the tiger. He jumped up and decided to attack the crewman. Luckily, he had a pistol and shot the animal dead. Henry's hand was bleeding violently as yet another of the devil's henchmen attacked. He winced in pain as I aimed my rifle and shot the creature of hell.

"WE HAVE TO MOVE!!" shouted Henry, clutching his hand while running to the safety of the shadows. Blood seeped through his fingers onto the ground as he rushed for cover.

We all ran to the bushes in hopes of not being spotted by another creature. We thought the coast was clear until two other predators came out. They hadn't seen us yet, but we knew that they soon would, so we slowly stepped our way deeper into the bushy area.

"How's my hand doc?" whispered Henry, breathing heavily.

"I have to clean the cut. If I don't, it will become infected, and you will die. This will most definitely hurt. I will cover your mouth, so your screams aren't heard," said Richard, while starting to pour the alcohol onto Henry's hand.

His facial expressions alone could describe the pain he was in. A drop of sweat rolled down his face as one of the creatures skimmed the bushes. He didn't see us, but he was following our scent. The crew had their weapons aimed, ready to kill the beast if it attacked. Henry almost burst from his quietness when the pain suddenly intensified.

Richard finished the bandages and let go of Henry's mouth on the promise that he wouldn't scream. He then took care of the other injured crewmen, and we could finally move on. But where? The path was no longer an option since the creatures decided to crowd it.

The trail that we were following would've led us to the center of the jungle, which is where we needed to go. These creatures would only attack us if we were on that trail, so we had to take a different route. The problem is, we didn't plan for that. The crew and I were set on taking the fastest road to our destination.

"So, where are we headed?" I asked, hoping Henry had a plan.

"We will stay hidden, but travel on the same path. Just barely in these bushes, so no animal knows we are here,"

"That's risky don't you think?" Robert asked.

"Well, it's a risk we'll have to take. Anyone else have a problem with it?" said Henry, clutching his bandaged hand.

"No sir!" shouted the men as we began our journey yet again.

The pain in my leg slowly diminished as an eerie feeling came over me. Not knowing what it was, I ignored the fright and hoped that I was, for once, right. We kept our pace steady for the rest of the day and found a well-hidden spot to camp. The rain continued all night, and with barely any cover from the heavens, we got soaked; making our sleep miserable.