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Chapter 3) "Hey, what the fuck is this?!" "Oh god..." "Aaagh!!"

"What are these bastards thinking?! These people deserve better!"

"No... No... Please stop..."

"Shut up! Stop saying nonsense! We can't let them take him back!"

"NO!!! Stop it!"

A couple of loud screams echo through the forest while an angry scream comes from a child.

"What's wrong?" Alex asks worriedly, looking between the boys in the forest. He grabs his gun and starts shooting at the creatures that suddenly appear in front of him. 'Shit… I forgot about those guys… Damn… Fuck!' he thinks while firing his rifle in the air in search of targets. Alex aims straight at one of the creatures, shooting it in the head without hesitation. The sound of gunshots echoes throughout the trees as he reloads his gun and shoots again.

He runs forward a few paces and begins to shoot as he makes his way to the other side of the clearing. He keeps moving, avoiding any bullets and dodging the beasts that come at him from behind. After running for several minutes, the teen stops dead in his tracks. "They must've gotten out. Shit… I have to go and help." Alex curses. The teenager turns to leave before freezing mid step. He hears a familiar, terrified scream coming from somewhere close by. He whirls around only to see one of the creatures heading toward him with a bloody mouth, blood dripping from its fangs. The young man tries to shoot, but another creature appears on Alex's left. He freezes once more and panics as he feels the creature getting closer and closer... It's claws reach his throat in a blink of an eye…

"STOP IT!! STOP!!"

A sudden yell cuts through the thick silence of the surrounding area. A tall figure rushes past the teenager.

It's a guy, roughly the same age as him. He's wearing dark clothes and a scarf. With one quick movement, the newcomer reaches the beast and kicks it in the abdomen. "GET THE FUCK OFF ME!!" He yells angrily as he shoves the thing off of him, making it stumble backward. "FUCKING SHIT! FUUUUCK!!" He stumbles away from the creature while breathing heavily. He turns to look at Alex for a split second and stares at him wide eyed, clearly shocked and confused.

"Who are you?" the teenager asks, pointing his gun at the attacker. Alex glances at him and smiles. He raises his hands into the air, completely ignoring the fact that his hands are shaking slightly.

"I'm sorry if I startled you, Andrew..." Alex speaks calmly, keeping his hands in the air. "You probably thought we kidnapped you or something…"

Andrew frowns, still pointing the gun at the intruder, but lowers it gradually. He keeps staring at Alex. He can't understand how such a small and harmless looking individual managed to make those creatures freeze like that... "What did you do?"He asks with a puzzled tone. Alex smirks and takes a few steps closer to him.

"Let me show you," he says while reaching for the teen's arm and pulling him along. The man leads Andrew to his house. When he arrives, he lets Andrew pass and tells him to wait inside. "Go ahead," Alex encourages the teenager as he heads toward the kitchen, "I'll join you shortly."

"Why are you acting strangely? And… Wait a minute… Don't tell me you've turned into a monster."The teen mumbles, narrowing his eyes.

"Don't worry, Andrew." The teen shakes his head. "I'll explain everything to you later. First things first. Go inside and rest. You need your strength." He tells him, giving him a reassuring nod before disappearing behind a wall.

~*~

Alex walks around his house aimlessly while watching the road from afar. He knows he should've asked Andrew to sit in one of his armchairs, but he didn't want to risk him being uncomfortable or scared, especially with him being a stranger to their home. Plus, he figured he could use all the rest he could get, since tomorrow is going to be a very long day.

Alex sighs heavily before walking towards the living room. He sits on one of the arm chairs and picks up his cell phone from his pocket. A text message pops up, signaling a new message. Alex opens it and reads it:

From: Neil

Subject: Re: Re: Are you still alive?

To: Alex

Just checking in, how are you doing?

Alex grins and replies with a quick:

From: Alex

Subject: Re: Re: Are you still alive?

To: Neil

I'm alright. Thanks for asking.

From: Neil

Subject: Re: Re: Re: Are you still alive?

To: Alex

Yeah, that's good :) I'm glad to hear that.

To: