Midnight Monster Hunt Part 3

In the night, one light shines down from the treehouse in the woods.

The shadow of a person walked into the light, revealing Sophie, a cigarette hanging from her lips as she loaded up the small pistol in her hand.

The young girl had been taught by her great uncle how to shoot back when he first caught her sneaking out of the house one night back when she was eleven. "These people out there in the world will think nothing of you as a delicate thing. So learning to shoot will surprise them. That's how you win a fight girl. By doing the things people expect less," he had told her that night. Then he took her out the next morning and taught her how to shoot.

The cigarette hanging out of her mouth wasn't yet lit as she concentrated solely on the pistol, loading it with the bullets her uncle and she made the night before.

The bag on her back was filled with more, providing her enough to take on a small army if the occasion needed.

Stanford Sawyer was no fool, as Sophie always would tell people.

In the monster hunts that she and her friends would always go on, Ford would help Sophie make whatever weapons she told him would help in the fight against them if they ever showed themselves. And while it was obvious to her that he didn't believe in these monsters himself, he did it because he cared for her and to Sophie, it was enough.

"Wish those monsters luck," Sophie murmured to herself, flipping the gun's safety on before she tucked it away on the Hollister she wore attached to her belt of the camouflage pants she wore.

"Sounds like Sophie's armed," Pierce commented as he and the two other boys approached the treehouse.

"Someone needs to protect you three when we're out there. Sometimes Data's inventions may not do the trick or work at all," Sophie said, looking over at Data with a knowing smile.

The memory of that incident brought a deep blush on Data's cheeks and the boy laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. "I thought that it was a monster, not a squirrel. And it was supposed to send out a shock so strong it could take down a bear. I just did the wiring a little wrong," he stated, trying to defend himself to his friends laughing.

Cam wrapped his arm around Data's shoulders. "Forget about it, Data. It was still a good idea, whether it worked or not. Just be happy it was a squirrel and not a bear or worse a real monster," Cam told him, flicking the boy's head.

He then walked to stand beside Sophie. "We ready?" he asked the others, turning on his flashlight.

Everyone looked at each other, returning one another's nods.

"Then let's begin."

Heading out into the woods Pierce and Cameron walked with their flashlights on, lighting the way ahead. Data used his night vision goggles and Sophie stood alert, a hand rested on her pistol.

This was how they did it every night, exploring a new area of the woods; Cam and Pierce in front, Data behind them and Sophie behind Data.

"Anything, Data?" Pierce questioned, looking high and low with his flashlight for any anomaly.

"Nothing. I'm not picking up any heat signatures other than our own," Data replied.

The group walked farther into the woods, heading in the direction of Lake York. Lake York for twenty years now had been used by local kids as a swimming ground, tying ropes to trees to jump into the water, setting docks all around and at night it was a teenage hotspot.

"Why are we going toward the lake?" Sophie questioned, gripping the handle of the pistol tighter in her hand.

"My brother and his friends made plans to come down here. I want to see what exactly it is they were planning to do," Cam told them, leading the way to the hill that would lead down to the shore of the lake.

When the four of them got to the top of the hill they went down onto the ground, watching from afar at the bonfire that had been made on the beach.

"How many people are there?" Cam asks Data who was looking down at the fire with his goggles on.

"I see six heat signatures. Human, unfortunately," Data said.

"Why are they here?" Sophie questioned, taking out the binoculars from her bag.

"Isn't it obvious? They're having a party, Sophie. They're drinking! Maybe even doing something kind of illegal," Pierce hissed at her. Pierce then stood from the grass and began to carefully and slowly make his way down the hill towards them.

"Pierce!" Cam called quietly, hoping to get Pierce to stop but the boy just ignored him.

"Stay here," Cam ordered the other two as he stood from his spot on the grass and began to follow Pierce down the hill, using the trees to help him stay upward.

Making his way closer to Pierce he finally caught up as Pierce had reached the bottom of the hill and was nearing the beach.

Jumping onto him, Cam tackled Pierce to the ground, holding him down as quietly as he could.

"Get off!" Pierce hissed, struggling beneath Cam.

"You can't just go off because you feel curious Pierce-" Cam explained only to stop talking when he and Pierce heard the sound of a familiar voice shouting, "Hey you little fucks, get over here!"

Cam and Pierce look at each other as panic shoots through each of their veins. Falling to the ground, Cam grabbed Pierce as they helped each other up and ran up the hill.

"Get back here!" Richard's familiar voice sounded from behind, making the two-run faster up the hill.

When the two neared the top of the hill their arms were grabbed by Sophie and Data who pulled them up the rest of the way. Together the four of them ran from the hill and down it, turning off their flashlights and instead followed Kevin, linking their arms so they stuck by him.

Behind, the sound of the teens shouting got closer and closer.

With the last sprint, the four ducked in behind a large rock, huddling together and trying to calm their beating hearts and rasped breathing.

Cam, Sophie, Pierce and Data all listened to the sounds around them, trying to hear if the teens were onto where they were hiding. Silence filled their surroundings other than the sound of their breathing.

But then, like a banshee screaming of death, the teen boys all screamed a horrifying scream.

Sophie was the one to look over the rock, taking the pistol from her hip and holding Cam's flashlight out to the woods in front of them. She could see six figures running so fast away from the west, running in the directions of the town as they all screamed at each other so fast that she couldn't even understand what they were saying. Until she heard one word she knew well.

"Werewolf."

Sophie looked down at the boys, seeing each of them look at her with matching shocked eyes.

"Did they say?..." Data whispered, looking at the others.

The four of them glanced at each other, disbelief on their faces. The idea that a real monster, a werewolf, being not far away at this moment had them all feeling giddy.

"Camera, the camera," Cameron whispered to Sophie, unzipping her bag to get to the camera inside for them to get the digital proof they needed to show everyone they were right.

One after the other they stood from the ground and walked out from behind the rock, following Cam to where they had seen the teens run from.

Sophie walked with the flashlight in one hand and the other was her pistol, safety off and her finger ready on the trigger. She walked a little away from the boys, careful that she wouldn't shoot any of them.

They neared the area where they had seen the six boys run from in terror. Data looked in the distance, all directions, trying to find a heat signature while Cam and Pierce stood behind him, watching Sophie as she stood still, waiting for something to come out and surprise them.

The forest seemed to stand still along with the four of them, the silence surrounding them that left chills running down their backs.

They all looked around, Sophie nearing the boys as she pointed her gun in the direction Data was concentrating on.

"Heat," is all Data spoke before he slowly began walking alongside Sophie toward the heat signature he had picked up.

Cam and Pierce walked holding both Data and Sophie's bags on their backs, working hard to keep their breathing down from the excitement and the fear.

This was possibly the day that they would prove to their town that monsters were real and all their sneaking out and immaturity was for truth, not a myth.

"Get the camera ready," Pierce whispered to Cam, watching him take the camera and get it ready to take a quick photo of the werewolf before they would maybe have to run or tug it dead back to town.

Sophie looked at Data as he stopped walking and placed his hand on her upper arm. He pointed to the cave in the distance, and Sophie moved her flashlight there, her eyes widening as sure enough a large grey beast crouched down on all fours beginning to howl at the moon stood there.

Cam and Pierce copied Data and Sophie's looks of amazement, Cam taking a quick photo of the werewolf before he observed it himself from afar with the others.

The wolf was grey, the size of the average human being. It had arms, elbows and even legs with knee joints like a human. The difference between it and a human being that it was covered in fur and had the head of a wolf.

"What do we do?" Data whispered.

None of them could feel their legs enough to run away. Instead, they remained standing where they were, watching the creature as it stopped howling. The wolf shook its head, then walked toward the cave. As it reached the entrance of the cave while the teens should have seen it go inside they saw the creature vanish like it never had been there at all.

Sophie lowered the pistol, pointing the flashlight to the cave and took a step forward.

"Data?" she questioned, glancing back at him.

Data didn't move. He didn't breathe. His body remained frozen to the spot. He couldn't believe what he was seeing from the goggles but he knew they weren't lying; the wolf had disappeared.

"I cannot believe it. If I wasn't wearing these I would think that the beast simply went into the cave and we didn't see it but... it vanished. Its heat signature is gone," Data told the others, looking at the cave.

Cam walked to Sophie's side, staring off at the cave, hoping that what Data had just said wasn't the least bit true. If it was, then it brought the question, how?

Pierce walked past the others, walking to the cave and just as he went to enter inside it he too disappeared.

Data quickly removed his goggles and looked at the others as they looked at him. Together, Cam, Data and Sophie ran to the cave, following Pierce through the invisible field and all four disappeared.

Sounds of nature returned. Owls hooting, wolves howling at the full moon in the sky.

"It is coming..."