Not a Wolf 2

"Why do you think he's acting this way?" asked Ace. "Like he is high or something?" 

"It's possible those fruits have that effect on a human's biology," Norman answered. 

The group resumed their trek, their progress abysmally slow as they made their way through the dense undergrowth. Yet they didn't dare to stop. If that woman changed her mind and led a pack of monsters back to them, they would regret not moving. 

Ace frowned and asked Norman about the monsters. "I don't get it. How are they so big and so fast? Those things look ten times bigger than a cow but ten times faster than a tiger. How does that make sense?" 

Norman was confused as well. Nothing he knew about biology prepared him for this. "To move something so big, that fast, the muscle would need to consume enormous amounts of energy. They would be hotter than boiling water after just a couple of seconds. I calculated the distance between two of the big trees they passed by, and they were moving faster than a sports car." 

Ace gulped loudly. Not to mention there were dozens of them running around here, and it wasn't just one pack passing by three times. It was three packs passing by once. 

"At least that's the biggest creature around. They must be the apex predator in these woods, casually running through the forest like that." Ace said, but when he turned to Norman, he saw him seemingly not agreeing with his assesment. A bad feeling assaulted his stomach, like the sensation right before explosive diarrhea. 

Norman smiled ruefully. "Just because they run in broad daylight doesn't mean they are the top predator. In the African savannah, a pack of wild dogs acts the same way, but the lion is a hundred times stronger and runs in packs too." 

Ace drew a sharp breath and slowed his pace even more. He looked around the forest cautiously, wondering how big things could get in this world. He looked up, thanking the heavens that no flying creature could see them through the canopy. He had once thought of climbing a tree to see further of some signs of civilization, but Norman shut that idea down. 

He explained that, like the Amazon forest, there could be entire ecosystems up there, and the beasts there might never interact with the creatures on the ground. Since they were at least somewhat familiar with the ground, Ace let go of that idea. Why test the monstrosities in the canopy, since the ones on the ground seemed more than enough. 

By the time the forest began to dim, they had put a couple of miles between them and the landing spot. They hadn't heard another scream since the initial one from the woman, and no one thought she had any chance of her making it back home alive at the end of the countdown. And that was if their conjecture of the countdown sending them back home was true. But no one dared think of the alternative. Imagining being stuck in a world flooded with beasts that made lions seem meek and cute, was not something anyone had energy for. 

Ace found a spot as good as any other, a large tree that would shield them from the view of half the forest and began setting up camp. Camp consisted of getting to know the lay of the land in their surroundings, so if they had to hide, they wouldn't stumble on reeds or anything. 

No one dared to clear the thick underbrush; they even hoped it would grow thicker in fact. They wished to be hidden completely and never found. The tall grass and fern-like plants around them were the only things that gave them any semblance of peace. They were also scared of destroying the plants. Raven, the guy who tried hitting Ace with a piece of wood, had tried going to the toilet once and ripped a couple of leaves for material. Seconds later, his hands began swelling as if he'd dipped them into boiling water. 

Ace went to check up on him and saw that the swelling had gone down. He was interested not because he particularly cared about the guy's wellbeing, but because he'd moaned quite loudly for the better part of two hours, and he needed to know if he'd make more noise come nightfall. He was surprised to see the hands healed already, as he thought they were pretty badly damaged. He didn't think more of it and put it at the back of his mind. It was one less thing to worry about. 

Ace went to the middle of the group to give a speech to prepare them for the coming darkness. He knew what he was about to say was already common knowledge, but he felt it was best to not take chances. 

"Listen up, night is coming, and as we all know, different creatures might roam this forest at that time. I know that besides those massive wolves—" 

One of the boys interrupted Ace, drawing everyone's ire. "It is a mistake to call them wol—" 

Norman frowned and shouted, "Shut up, Brian!" making the boy who was twice the size of Norman lower his head. Ace's eyebrows lifted; he never thought Norman would have the guts to tell someone to keep quiet. But apparently, the forest had changed him, making him unafraid to bark. 

Ahem! 

Ace cleared his throat to grab everyone's attention again. "Besides those massive wolves, we haven't seen anything other than some insect creatures and slimes. Don't drop your guard. We all know what happens when we touch things we shouldn't. We are foreigners in this world. We didn't evolve here, and we don't belong here." His voice lowered, "We never will. Your next move might be your last. So be smart and keep as still and quiet as possible. We don't know what the night holds." 

He then pointed to Riley, who, despite the ten-hour trek, hadn't woken up. At first Ace believed he'd been too rough on him, but Norman assured him it was the fruits he ate. He was running a very high fever. 

"Don't be like him. That's it." 

Just as Ace finished, the whole sky lit up with a myriad of small green lights, flooding the entire world in a warm and gentle glow. Gasps resounded from the crowd and they feared that green fire had caught the entire forest in a blaze. But as the seconds passed, the dim atmosphere of moments earlier was nowhere to be found anymore, and everyone could feel the light from above casting down only warmth. Everyone could feel their bodies grow relaxed and even their fatigue seemed to grow weaker. 

Ace turned to Norman, and seeing the same confusion in his eyes, shrugged. "Get to sleep. We have thirty-eight hours left."