Ten

"Why did you bring me here?" a girl asked, looking around which was so quiet and overgrown with many tall trees. "Didn't you say that we wanted to date?"

"Yes, we do want to date" replied a man walking next to her. "And here it is"

"Dating here?" The girl frowned and turned to her boyfriend. "Are you sure?"

"Sure. Even I'm very sure" replied the man nodding his head.

"But it's so lonely and dark in here. There's not even anyone but us" the girl said, averting her eyes and looking around.

"Then you feel scared?" the man raised an eyebrow and the girl nodded. "Honey, listen, you don't have to be afraid because I'm here. And I promise to protect you" he said, looking at the girl he loves with a smile etched on his face.

"What if there's a beast?" the girl asked with concern visible on her face. "I don't want to die in vain here. I still want to enjoy life!"

"Ssshh... Danica, calm down" the man said, holding the girl's shoulder and trying to calm her down. "Before I came here alone at night and I didn't find any wild animals. That's why I dared to take you to this forest. Because I know it's safe here and we'll be fine" he explained, looking at the girl deeply. "So you don't have to worry, okay?"

The girl just nodded, looking at the man without saying anything.

"Now we continue walking" added the man and the girl nodded. Then they walked back and explored the forest.

A few moments later, they had been walking for almost half an hour and everything seemed to be fine. There wasn't even a sign of any wild animals there.

"I was curious, why did you bring me here?" the girl asked without looking at her boyfriend.

"Because I've heard that the forest is one of the perfect places for a date," the man replied, looking around.

"But have you ever taken a girl out on a date in a place like this?" the girl asked.

"No," the man shook his head. "You're the first girl I took into the woods on a date," he said, turning to her.

The girl smiled, turning to the man without saying anything.

But they were immediately startled when they heard the sound of howling.

"Turner, did you hear that?" the girl asked, hugging her boyfriend's arm and looking around.

"Yes, I heard it" the man replied nodding his head. "And it looks like it's coming from up ahead," he said, looking straight ahead.

"We'd better go now. Because I'm afraid the animal is here," the girl said.

The man just nodded and looked around once more. Then they turned around, but they were immediately startled when they saw a brown wolf standing in front of them showing a row of sharp teeth.

"Turner," the girl said, wrapping her arms around the man's arm.

"Keep calm, don't move a bit. And on the count of three, we will run. You run to the right and I will run to the left" whispered the man.

"WHAT?" the girl frowned. "So we will run separately?" she asked, turning to look at the man. "No! That's not a good idea. He's going after one of us," she said, shaking her head.

"That's what I meant," the man replied, nodding his head. "And I hope he comes after me"

The girl just stayed silent, looked at the man, and looked disbelieving.

"Let's get started," the man added. "One... Two..." he started counting without taking his eyes off the animal. "Three... Run!"

They immediately ran and the girl ran to the right as instructed by the man. While the man he ran to the left.

"I hope he doesn't come after me or Turner," the girl mumbled as she continued to run as fast as she could.

***

"How was your and Colton's date last night?" Grace asked, turning to Kaylee who was walking beside her.

"Going smoothly as I expected" replied Kaylee looking straight ahead. Then she turned. "And I wanted to thank you," she said, making Grace raise an eyebrow. "Because of you, I became confident. Even I don't feel as nervous as before. One more thing, I managed to find the right clothes for me to wear" she continued with a smile etched on her face.

Grace smiled. "You're welcome. I'm glad to hear that," she said, nodding her head. Then she looked away. "By the way where is Caitlin? Isn't she here yet?" she asked, looking around the school hallway.

"Maybe" Kaylee nodded. "Because I didn't see her. And when I called her the number was off"

"I hope she's not late," Grace said and Kaylee nodded.

"Did you watch the news this morning?"

"No. What is the news about?"

"About the discovery of a man's body in a forest"

Grace stopped immediately, making Kaylee stop as well.

"What happened?" Kaylee asked, turning to Grace.

But Grace was silent, turned to her left, and saw two girls chatting.

"In a forest?"

"Yes. He died from a bite wound on his shoulder and it was an animal bite. Not only that, there was a bite in his stomach."

"I'm sure he must have been attacked by the beasts over there"

"A beast attack?" Grace frowned and asked inwardly.

"I thought so too. And until now the Sheriff is still investigating the case. But there was a witness who saw that he didn't go alone. Instead, he was with a girl and it looks like it was his girlfriend."

"Then how is the girl? Is she dead too?"

"I don't know. The sheriff is still figuring it out."

"I hope the girl is safe"

"Yeah, I hope so too"

"This isn't the first time I've heard of a case like this. Last night wasn't a full moon and that means the man wasn't attacked by a wolf" Grace said to herself and looked away.

"Grace?" Kaylee said, patting Grace on the shoulder and snapping her out of her reverie.

"Yes, what is up?" Grace asked, turning to Kaylee.

"Are you okay?" Kaylee frowned.

"Sure. As you can see" Grace replied nodding her head.

Kaylee nodded. "Then let's walk again," she said and Grace nodded.

Then they walked again and headed for their class.