[Small Warning about a graphic injury in this chapter. nothing too crazy, but its there.]

CHAPTER TWO |  Red Eyes In The Dark

Dawon jumped from his couch once he heard his doorbell ring. “I’ll get it!” He hollered, though he was the only one in the house.

When he opened the door, he saw both Rowoon and Hwiyoung standing on his front porch. Rowoon was wearing a black hoody with a light jean jacket over top and Hwiyoung surprisingly had on only a gray hoodie and shorts.

“You’re late. What’s your excuses?” He greeted them with a round of interrogation.

“I got l-lost?” Rowoon’s teeth were chattering from the cold.

“You have lived two houses down from me since elementary school.” Dawon shot down his lie immediately. “And you?”

“I decided to take my time.” Hwiyoung answered honestly.

“I appreciate your honesty.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Could we p-please g-get inside now? I’m f-freezing!” Rowoon pleaded with his hands searching his pockets for warmth.

“If you insist Mr. Tardy-pants.” Dawon moved out of the way so that they could come in and closed the door behind them.

“I smell Ramyeon.” Hwiyoung’s immediate reaction was to sniff out the food in the house. It was a talent of his.

“The noodles are probably bloated by now since you kept me waiting so long.”

“Dude, its only seven twenty.”

“That’s twenty minutes later than you should have been here.”

Hwiyoung huffed and helped himself to the pot of ramyeon that had been waiting for them on the kitchen table. He took a long whiff of the scent that emanated from the copper pot using his hand in a fanning motion. “Mmmm, delicious.”

The two other boys joined him at the table and Rowoon instantly noted the various flashlights and doggy supplies gathered on the counter.

“Is this our g-gear?” Rowoon asked.

“Right you are my good sir. I’ve got flashlights, dog toys, some treats, and I also have a catch pole leaning over there against my back door.” Dawon practically started modeling the materials as if he was shooting a commercial. Rowoon wasn’t even going to ask where he had gotten the catch pole from.

“Tonight will determine whether I die tomorrow or not. So let’s give it our all and find that little mutt!” He cheered enthusiastically.

“Mhm!” Hwiyoung pumped his fist in rooting for him while his mouth was occupied by a mess of noodles and kimchi. Rowoon was afraid he’d choke at the rate he was going.

“Now onto another serious note.” Dawon started. “How are you feeling, Rowoon? Any lasting damage from this morning?”

Hwiyoung slowed his eating at the latter’s question and side glanced at the boy while waiting for his answer.

“Hm? Oh.” Rowoon’s hand went up to his neck and he pulled the fabric of his collar together in his fist. “It’s nothing, just a small bruise—”

“He bruised you?! Damn, he really was going for blood, wasn’t he? That psycho!” Dawon burst. “C’mon! Let me see it!” He slid over to him and grabbed at his hoodie despite Rowoon protesting.

“S-stop violating my body!” He slapped at Dawon’s hands.

“Just let me see it!” Dawon persistently tugged down his hood, letting Rowoon’s messy black hair spill out onto his shoulders.

“Fine! Just s-stop touching me!” Rowoon gave in, ceasing their little skirmish.

“Let’s see then!”

Rowoon rolled his eyes and pulled down the collar of his hoodie to reveal a purple bruise that made out a clear handprint around his neck. His very own battle scar.

“Woah! What the hell did he do to you??” Dawon reached out to touch the sore spot, but Rowoon avoided him. “That Kim Taehyung, man, he’s the type of person we’d end up seeing wanted on the news for murder. You think you could sue him for this? I think we have enough evidence and witnesses to charge him with assault?”

“Forget about it.” Hwiyoung chimed in.

“Forget about it?” Dawon fretted. “The guy almost killed him, and you think we should just let it go?”

“That’s exactly what I think.” Hwiyoung answered simply and stood up from the table. “Getting too involved with Kim Taehyung will do more harm than good. Just do yourselves a favor and drop it.”

Dawon stared at him in disbelief. “You say this as if you know him?”

A suspicious feeling was building up between them.

“I don’t. I’m just not as stupid as I may seem.” Hwiyoung shrugged and put the now empty pot of ramyeon in the sink. “Anyways…” He his heels to face them with his usual laid-back aura returning to him as he did so. “Are we going to go looking for your sister’s dog or not? It’s almost 8 and I don’t feel like being out all night doing this.”

“, you’re right! Let’s get our butts moving!” Dawon settled and began distributing their gear to each of them.

Rowoon was handed a flashlight, a bag of dog treats, and the dog’s favorite little tiger chew toy.

Hwiyoung was also given a flashlight but was put in charge of handling a large butterfly net that Dawon insisted would come in handy. He couldn’t help but feel skeptical of his friend’s logic.

Dawon on the other hand, put it upon himself to carry around the snatch pole with a bright light strapped to his forehead for maximum mobility while pursuing their target.

With all their things gathered, Dawon lead them into his backyard, then into the thick wooded area that dragged on for miles. They surely had a lot of space to cover, but Dawon had to remain optimistic that his sister’s dog would find its way back to them.

“I should have w-worn s-something heavier.” Rowoon shivered as they advanced through the moonlit trees. His cold breaths spiraled from his mouth as he breathed heat onto his chilled fingers. Other than the near freezing temperature, the night was actually very pretty. The moon was hanging plumply in the sky, and the trillions of stars above shone brightly without a single cloud to block their way. The only thing they could hear was the distant sound of cars and the chirping of crickets.

“Hey, you guys?”

Both Rowoon and Hwiyoung hummed in response and stopped to listen.

“You don’t think there are any predators out here, do you? You know, the kind that would attack us out of nowhere?” Dawon asked.

“Nah. I wouldn’t worry.” Hwiyoung was quick to brush him off.

“You’re s-sure?” Rowoon piped in, stuck dwelling on the thought of a rabid fox getting a good bite out of him.

“Completely sure. Besides, any predators out here are carnivores. So that rules you out as a meal Beanpole.” Hwiyoung chuckled reassuringly as he wrapped his arm around Rowoon’s shoulder. His height was just barely enough to hold onto him for long.

“What about me??” Dawon whined.

“You probably wouldn’t taste good.” Hwiyoung winked and released Rowoon.

“Haha, very funny.”

Rowoon listened and watched his two friends bickering and playfully wrestling with each other as they got deeper into the woods. So far there was no sign of the lost Pomeranian. “Tilly?” Rowoon called out the dog’s name, cupping his hands around his mouth to project his voice like a microphone. “Tilly!”

“Hey! Stop shining your stupid light in my face!” Hwiyoung complained in the background.

“Stop putting your face in front of my light! I’m trying to find my dog!”

Rowoon tried his best to drown out their squabbling voices, but it wasn’t easy.

Just then, he heard the echoing sound of a branch cracking. Both Rowoon and Hwiyoung halted, leaving Dawon to wonder why they had stopped. “Why? What’s wrong?” He hid himself halfway behind the brown-haired boy for protection.

Hwiyoung and Rowoon exchanged glances, confirming to one another that they had, for sure, heard the same noise. It didn’t sound like your average crunching foliage. Someone or something had to have put their weight on it produce such a sound.

Without a word, they flashed their lights around the tree line, scanning the dark for the origin of the sound.

“What did you guys hear?” Dawon shuddered, following their lead by darting his flashlight all around him. “Is it Tilly? Did you hear her—?”

“Shh!” Hwiyoung quieted him with his finger to his mouth.

There was another audible crack that made them all flinch. Hwiyoung took a couple steps forward in the direction he pinpointed the crack to be coming from. “Be careful.” Rowoon said cautiously as his friend kept taking short steps further away from them.

“Hwiyoungggg. Where are you going?! Get back here!” Dawon waved him back through clenched teeth. “If you get yourself attacked by anything, I’m running, I hope you know that!”

Rowoon watched him closely, moving his light around in surveillance. He had a bad feeling in his stomach.

As Hwiyoung advanced, the other two held their breath. The suspense was killing them. Was there something out there or not?!

Unexpectedly, the high-pitched yapping of a little white dog produced a startled scream from Dawon who ducked behind Rowoon. Hwiyoung shown the light on the dog and let out a deep sigh of relief.

“Tilly!” Rowoon crouched down and opened his arms to offer his embrace. “Come h-here boy!” He said in a sweet tone.

“There you are you crazy dog!” Dawon opened a bag of treats and began shaking them to draw him into them. “Come here! You must be hungry by now?” He spoke in a baby-like voice.

The little white dog continued to bark at them with his tail wagging and his ears flatted down. He spun multiple times and began backing away instead of approaching them.

“Please don’t be difficult Tilly! Just get your little fluffy over here so that I can bring you home! Don’t you wanna see your mama?” Dawon talked to the dog as if it knew exactly what he was saying. It was a miracle that he had shown up so early in their search. The last thing he needed was to have to go on a wild goose chase trying to capture the dang thing. “Please Tilly!”

Rowoon had his eyes glued to the dog with a hopeful expression on his face. “Come on b-boy!” He waved him towards him, but Tilly refused to come a single inch closer to them. The little dog whimpered fearfully and darted to his right, scampering off into the dark of the woods.

“No, no, no!” Dawon cried in annoyance. “What the heck is wrong with him?!” He grumbled, smacking his catch pole on the ground in aggravation.

Rowoon hung his head in disappointment and let out a lengthy sigh. Seemed like they were in for a long, arduous night. He never really did like that dog.

When Rowoon lifted his head, he took a second to stare off into the darkness of the woods in front of him. His thoughts were all floating around in his head until he suddenly noticed something strange in the distance. The fact that they were in the woods late at night almost guaranteed that their eyes would be playing tricks on when adjusting to the darkness, but Rowoon swore he was seeing a pair of big red eyes looking straight back at him. “Um… g-guys?” He stammered. His body was freezing up the longer he held the contact. Something within him was telling him not to shine his light on whatever it was.

“What?” Dawon answered sorely.

“W-what is t-that?” He pointed in the direction of the glowing orbs.

Both Dawon and Hwiyoung followed his finger to see exactly what he was pointing at. Their eyes widened at the sight of the daunting eyes and Hwiyoung immediately began taking steps backwards.

“Guys, run.” He instructed them calmly.

Dawon imitated his friend’s movements and dropped the catch pole on the ground as he did so.

Rowoon was hesitant to move. His body wasn’t cooperating with him. Chills were creeping down his spine and his heart was pounding against his chest in fear.

“Rowoon! What are you doing?!” Dawon whispered urgently.

“Guys!” Hwiyoung drawled.

“Rowoon!”

A low, rumble of a growl echoed through the trees, causing every hair on his body to stand up. Goosebumps littered his skin.

“Run!!” Hwiyoung yelled forcefully enough to snap Rowoon out of his trance and send all three of them running as fast their feet could carry them.

They ran dodging trees and other foliage with only the light of the moon and Dawon’s head light to guide them. Rowoon was moving too quickly to use his flashlight. He could hear the pounding of whatever it was chasing them as it charged. Its footsteps fell heavily on the forest floor. Rowoon’s heart was in his throat.

As the woods got thicker, the three boys grew farther apart. Hwiyoung was nearly out of sight from the other two boys.

Rowoon’s adrenaline was giving him the strength to reach a speed he never thought possible to achieve. Going fast or not, he was no match for the hidden ledge that sent him tumbling down a few feet of jagged rocks, landing all the way to the bottom of a ditch. For a couple of seconds, his world was spinning. Then a shooting pain radiated through his body that ignited a series of groans.

“Rowoon!” Dawon screamed down to him from the top of the cliff. His instincts told him that something was terribly wrong. So as quick and carefully as he could, he scaled the side of the cliff, sliding down the dirt and rocks unsteadily. When he reached the bottom, his head light immediately revealed the boy laying on his stomach with his glasses crushed beside him and his leg twisted in a way that wasn’t humanly possible.

“!” Panic rapidly took over Dawon as he dropped to his knees next to Rowoon and began shaking him. “Rowoon! Rowoon answer me!” He rolled him onto his back and the latter instantly screamed in agony.

Blood was dripping down his forehead where he had hit it on a sharp rock and Dawon realized one of the bones of his lower leg was sticking right out of his flesh. Red liquid dripped down from the wound onto the dirt, making a small puddle below him.

“, , !” He was shaken by the sight. Tears began spilling down his cheeks. “What the hell is going on?! What am I going to do??” Dawon sobbed with his fingers tangling through his hair in a mixture of confusion and terror.

“D-dawon?” Rowoon sputtered. “Is t-that you? I can’t f-feel my legs…” Tears were also trickling down the side of his face. His lips were quivering, nostrils flaring, and his eyes frantically attempted to make out figures in the darkness. Without his glasses he was half blind.

“I’m right here! You’re going to be ok!” Dawon whispered to him comfortingly, though he was unsure of himself. He took his friend’s hand into his own and rocked anxiously on his knees, racking his brain to come up with an escape plan. Reaching into his back pocket, he whipped out his cellphone and desperately tried to call for an ambulance or the police. To his dismay, his cell service was cut off. “Damnit!” He angrily returned his phone to his pocket and thought hard.

“I’m going to try to lift you, ok?”

Rowoon nodded feebly, coughing under his breath.

Dawon hesitated at first, contemplating the best way to get his friend to his feet without any further damage being done. He bit down on his lower lip and wrapped his arms around Rowoon’s shoulders and back. The injured boy cringed in pain as he sat upwards with Dawon’s help. “Alright, I’m going to lift you in 1…2…3!” Dawon gave him the chance to prepare himself and then heaved him up with much difficulty.

Rowoon screamed in pain as his body shifted and let all his weight pull them both back to the ground. Dawon fell onto his , catching his friend in his arms.

“I-I can’t d-do it.” Rowoon sputtered. “It hurts t-too much.”

In that moment they both made their own sudden realizations. For Dawon, he concluded that the only way he was going to be able to get help to his friend, was if he went to find it himself. He was going to have to leave him behind and make a break for civilization. But with that creature still lurking around out there, it would be easier said than done.

Rowoon, on the other hand, was beginning to accept the fact that this truly was going to be the day he died. If being wrongly assaulted by the psychopath of the school didn’t kill him, him falling down a ledge, and possibly being chewed to bits by some monster in the woods would surely do the trick. Still, he couldn’t keep himself from being scared. He was too young, only seventeen. There was still so much he never experienced. This was a bummer.

“I’m going to find some help.” Dawon regrettably announced. “It’s the only way.”

Rowoon’s face tightened and tears slipped from the outer corners of his eyes. He wanted to beg him to stay. The last thing he wanted was to be all alone. But it was either they sat and waited who-knows-how-long for help to come find them, praying that he wouldn’t bleed out by then. Or, the more mobile one of the two could make a mad dash to the authorities. The better option was obvious. With that thought in mind, Rowoon choked back his objections and nodded. “Ok.”

There was a faint feeling of shock when Rowoon permitted him to leave, but it was quickly replaced with a strong sense of determination. He wiped his tears with the back of his hand and gently let go of his friend. “I’m going to come back for you!” Dawon promised, taking his jacket off and covering the boy’s frame with it for extra warmth from the cold. “Just you wait.” He began backing up and inspected his surroundings for the best path to take. “You better be alive when I get back!” He sniffled and hesitated slightly before sprinting off into the woods.

It was when Rowoon was sure he was alone that he let his emotions get the best of him. Tears spilled profusely from his eyes and his chest heaved from the excess of his sobbing. He was on the verge of hyperventilating. His pain was becoming more apparent to him now that he was left to his own thoughts. He estimated it would be an hour or more before anyone found him. By then his adrenaline would have worn off and the extent of his pain would take over. Either way, the only thing he could do was wait.

After what felt like five minutes, there was a rustling in the bushes that put him on edge. “D-awon? Hwiyoung?” He called out to them meekly. His heart was racing, and too his horror, the thing that emerged from the foliage was unmistakably not either of them.

Two beastly gray arms with claws the size of daggers rooted themselves into the forest floor as they slowly carried a monstrous creature towards the defenseless boy on the ground. Rowoon couldn’t believe what he was seeing even with his foggy vision. Two glowing red eyes, multiple rows of razor-sharp teeth, dark leathery skin with patches of gray hair, and a body he could only describe as grotesque and animalistic. Wolf-like, to be more exact. But it was no wolf. The monster coming towards him was much larger and deformed, like a demon.

Rowoon wanted to scream, but he couldn’t. In his petrified state, he could only manage a weak “N-no… please don’t” with wide eyes.

The monster came closer despite his pleading. He could feel the vibration of the growl mustering in its throat as it stalked up to him.

“Please…” Rowoon winced, closing his eyes and bracing himself against the heat of the creature’s breath. Hot saliva dropped onto his cheek from its jowls. Rowoon didn’t need to wait long before the predator latched its jaws into his leg and dug its lengthy talons into his hip. The boy belted in agony and continued to scream as he was dragged across the forest floor like a limp piece of meat.

When pondering death, Rowoon never considered the likelihood of being eating alive by a demonic-monster-thingy to be one of his possibilities. A car crash, old age, or even a freak choking incident were all things he had prepared himself for, but never in his wildest dreams did he see this coming. And man did it .

Gritting his teeth, Rowoon found it harder and harder to stay conscious. The pain was too much. His already blurry vision was starting to fade to black. The last thing he could remember before passing out was a flash of brown and white followed by the relief of pressure on his body. Everything went still and his conscious gradually slipped away.

Second chapter down! I was supposed to post this straight after the first, but stuff came up. 

Mehh. Stuff happens, yah know?

Hope you're enjoying? Don't be afriad to leave a comment! I really wanna hear from you ♥