Disclaimer:  All characters are the property of Squaresoft.

 Author's Note:  Sorry to have to subject you to a rewrite, but I didn't like how the original version was going.  I couldn't motivate myself to write it, and I didn't have any real idea of what I was doing next.  The major plot points of the story remain the same, however.  And, just to warn you, this version is gory, so if you don't like that sort of thing, I apologize.

NIGHT HUNTERS

Part One

Shattered Dreams

No moonlight escaped the heavy cloud covering; nothing that could reflect off the oily black fur or glistening fangs.  The creature was one with the night, one with the shadows that had birthed it.

Balamb was a ghost town this late at night.  No people walked the cracked streets.  The wind moaning through the streets could be the whispers of the dead.

Flitting from shadow to shadow, the creature stalked the dark alleyways, nostrils aquiver as it sought prey.

There!  The malodorous stench of garbage wafted towards the creature, intermingled with the scent of humanity.  A flick of one sensitive ear caught the scrape of leather on stone, and the creature silently oriented on the sound, burning eyes locking on its prey.

She felt the roar of blood in her ears, the pounding of her heard in anticipation.  Saliva dripped from her lips as she imagined the sweet taste of meat on her tongue...

Sharp eyes made out the vague shape of a rag-clad figure rifling through a dumpster.  It stank of sickness and rot, but it was still meat.

Her eyes watered at the strength of the odor; she could almost taste it.  But she was hungry, so hungry, and lone humans that wouldn't be missed were nearly impossible to find.

Eyes that flickered in their depths stared unblinking at the homeless man, and the creature took a step forward, carefully keeping its claws raised above the ground to keep any sound from betraying it.

The man suspected nothing until razor claws tore through his left bicep like butter, and yanked him around.  The man's eyes widened at the near-invisible assailant, and he opened his mouth to scream.

The creature slammed its head into the man's chest, and he fell to the ground with a wet gasp, breath knocked from his lungs and several ribs shattered.

She stood above the man, staring down at his frightened face.  Blood flecked his lips, and she ran her tongue along them, savoring the taste, her body quivering in ecstasy.

The man's gasps were becoming louder.  It wouldn't be long before he could cry out.  The creature forced the man's jaws open, then gripped the tongue with its claws.  With a powerful tug, it ripped the tongue free.  It swallowed the chunk of meat, then thrust its muzzle into the man's mouth and lapped up the blood.

She shivered as the hot fluid slid down her throat, filling her stomach.  The feeding gave her a sensual thrill, and she moaned in pleasure.

The creature could wait no longer; it inserted two claws into the hollow of the thrashing man's throat, and tore upward, peeling the skin from the man's face.  Gargling moans came feebly from the victim.  Lidless eyes stared at the beast in horror.

More!  More!  She gobbled down the flesh ravenously, then licked her gums in satisfaction.  She was finally feeding, and she was going to gorge herself!  But she wanted to leave him alive as long as possible; dead meat didn't taste as sweet.

The eyes were next, pulled neatly from their sockets and eagerly gulped down.  Then the chest; the creature's claws slit the man from neck to groin.  The man's body stilled, but the shattered chest was still shallowly rising with every gasped breath.  The sickly scent of the organs mixed with the rank odor of urine rolled over the beast, but it was too lost in its feeding to care.

She ate it...  all of it.  Blood dripped down her fur, clumping it into spikes.  She was careful not to let any drip on the pavement, however, using the ragged clothing to sop up whatever she missed.  She ate the man down to the bone, even after he finally died when she tore away his heart.  Her stomach was taut under her skin when she finally began to suck out the marrow, but she continued to feed, aware this could be her last decent meal in a long time, and that she couldn't afford to leave anything to find.

It even ate the bones, cracking them into fragments and swallowing them.  All that remained were the rancid, blood-soaked rags that it stuffed into the dumpster.

Then it turned away without a backwards glance, seeming to vanish from sight as if it had never been real.

But the one who had experienced the kill with it as if in a dream knew it had existed.  Miles away, a woman woke up screaming.

*    *    *

Rinoa awoke with blood on her hands and a scream on her lips.  She was atop her bed, straddling a tattered comforter and the shredded remains of a feathered pillow.  She thrashed her body, struggling to escape the tangled web of her dreams.

At last, her vision cleared, and it was no longer the shadowed streets of Balamb she saw but her Spartan quarters in Garden.

She groaned and rolled off her bed, staggering as a wave of pain swept through her at the movement.  She glanced down at herself, seeing for the first time the blood that soaked her lower body.  Oh, shit, she thought. Hyne, not another hemorrhage!  She cast a Curaga on herself, healing the internal wounds inflicted during her forced labor two years ago.

She should see a doctor, she knew, but none had been able to help her so far.  She'd already suffered through surgery once when the doctors had first tried to put her back together.  She doubted they could help her now.

This must have been the cause of my dream...  I hope...  She stared down at her bloody hand, then moaned and pressed it to her aching head, smearing the blood across her face.  I'm falling apart...  How much longer can I hold together?  These dreams... are they finally the sign of the madness everyone thinks has overcome me?

The dream...  At the memory, the gorge rose in her throat, and she rushed to the bathroom and vomited.  Even her vomit was tinged red with blood, she noticed.  Now what's wrong with me?

She really should go see Dr. Kadowaki.  But it would do no good, she realized.  She didn't need a doctor to tell her she was dying.

*    *    *

She didn't see the doctor the next morning.  She hurt, but no new problems manifested overnight.  Nothing to justify calling on the overworked Dr. Kadowaki.  Or so she told herself.

Instead, she limped to her favorite seat on the fountain. The other students avoided her, and she didn't blame them.  The stories of the half-mad sorceress that circulated the Garden were enough to frighten away anyone.

A hand touched her shoulder, and she started.  She tossed her hair, which had grown to waist length, out of her eyes and met the concerned face of Zell.  Well, almost anyone...

"Mind if I sit down?" he asked quietly, seating himself before she could respond.

Rinoa didn't reply, but she let her gaze slip down his lithe, lean form, noticing the improving muscle tone in the legs exposed by his shorts.  He had spent a year learning to walk again after an operation to repair his spinal cord.  Now, he was struggling to regain his original fighting form.  Like her, he'd been damaged, almost irreparably.  They'd become very close during their recuperation.

"What's the matter?" he asked her softly.  "You look worse than usual."

At least he was honest.  "D-do y-you know w-what d-day it is?" she whispered in the halting stutter she'd developed over a year ago.

His bright eyes widened, and a sympathetic expression crossed his face.  "Hyne, I forgot!  I'm sorry..."

"S'okay," she mumbled.  She stared listlessly down at the pool of water below her, the tranquil surface reflecting her dull features back at her.  I look so... old.  The face that gazed back had dark eyes permanently filled with pain, and a mouth curved into a perpetual frown.  Her dark hair, which had long ago lost its luster, shadowed a face etched with agony.

Two years ago today...  Rinoa leaned her head on the cool stone bench, her gaze never leaving the water in front of her.  Why did it have to happen?  Why?

 

Two years ago, her children had been ripped from her womb and stolen from her.  Her father had died in an agonizing fashion, and the bond that had existed so long between herself and the Guardian Force Angelo had been severed, leaving Rinoa a shattered, emotional wreck.  For two years, her friends at Balamb Garden had sheltered her, struggling to bring Rinoa back to her senses.  At the same time, they had begun a search for the sorceress who had done this, but to no avail.  It was as if Reya, the Lady of the Night, a sorceress of unknown power, had vanished off the face of the planet.

Hyne...  Why can't it all get better?  Rinoa still slipped into severe depression, and it was all her friends could do to persuade Rinoa to keep on living.  But now they seemed to be growing further and further from her...  Partly her fault, she knew.  It was so hard...

She supposed she didn't blame them for drifting away from her; after all, they were SeeDs, and they had a school to run and mercenary actions to coordinate, even if Balamb had fewer people than ever before.  It was getting harder to sustain the school with the smaller enrollment, and Balamb's gloomy reputation frightened away many potential clients.

And of course, Seifer and Quistis were busy with their month-old son.  Rinoa choked back the envy that washed over her, bringing tears to her eyes.  They were lucky...

"I'm going to the Training Center for a little exercise.  Wanna come?  Irvine and Selphie both have classes, and Quistis and Seifer are 'busy' again."  Zell rolled his eyes.  Rinoa almost smiled.  Neither of them - nor anyone else in Garden, for that matter - had expected the duo to be such doting parents.

"Qu-quistis c-couldn't f-fight anyway," Rinoa reminded him, remembering how long it had taken her own body to recover from birth.  Admittedly, she'd been a special case.

At the memory, Rinoa's shoulders slumped.  She stared down at the hands folded in her lap.  "I c-can't," Rinoa whispered.  Her voice was slightly hoarse from disuse.  She barely spoke to anyone, even her friends.  Zell got more out of her than anyone else.  "I d-don't f-feel up to it t-today."

Zell frowned.  "I'm sorry... It's stupid of me to ask, today of all days. Do you want me to stay with you?  I will, if you need me to."

"G-go on," she said.  "I w-want to be alone."

Zell got to his feet reluctantly.  "All right.  But if you need someone to talk to, or even just to be with you, just look for one of us, okay?  We're here for you."

"I know," Rinoa said.  She leaned over, brushing her reflection with her fingers, watching the image fracture and break.  That's how I feel... Broken...

*    *    *

Zell trotted towards the Training Center, grimacing at how his body still didn't respond with the strength and speed he'd had before he was attacked.  He would recover, his doctor in Esthar reassured him, but it would take time.  But patience had never been one of Zell's strengths; he wanted to regain what he had lost.

He wished Rinoa had come with him.  She had been his closest friend during his recovery; even when she'd been barely stable, he could rely on her to be there for him.  Privately, Zell thought she may have transferred some of her maternal instincts towards him.  Whatever it was, it had been good for the both of them.

Zell just wished he could help her in return.  When he'd been wheelchair bound, he'd done an extensive search via computer, trying to find any information about Reya, any clue to her whereabouts.  All he'd found were references to her traveling show, which seemed to have disappeared along with her.  While he and the others still continued to search, hope was fading.

And so was Rinoa...  Zell entered the Center, remembering Rinoa's lifeless face.  Ever since Squall had died, she'd been depressed, but now it was as though she were giving up on life.  I won't give up on her...  We've all lost so much already!  We can't lose her, too!

 

"Quit your daydreaming; there's a T-Rexaur around the bend," a voice from behind him suddenly warned.  Zell turned to the speaker.  He hadn't noticed anyone else on the path, so preoccupied was he with his thoughts.  He was grateful for the warning; even at full strength, he wouldn't have wanted to take on a T-Rexaur on his own.

"Thank you," Zell said as a young woman in a cadet uniform stepped from around the trunk of a tree.  Well, she was mostly in cadet uniform - she wore a pair of scuffed jeans in place of the uncomfortably short skirt the girls wore.  He met her eyes and smiled.

"I'm Hannah," the girl offered.  She looked to be about seventeen or eighteen, with short black hair and pale blue eyes.  She was tall, slim but well muscled, and armed only with a pair of daggers thrust into her boots.  She held a long-fingered hand to Zell, and he took it.

"I'm Zell," he said.  He hadn't seen her before, which was a surprise.  Balamb Garden rarely received new students any more, and Zell thought he'd met them all.  "You're new here, right?"

Hannah nodded.  "I transferred here from Trabia two days ago.  I heard Balamb was the best."

"Yes," Zell agreed sadly.  "It was."

"Most of the instructors here saved the world, I'm told," Hannah continued as if she hadn't heard the tragic note in Zell's voice.  "Too bad about all that's happened."

Zell frowned.  "You know what happened and still wanted to come?"  Most students, upon learning about the former commander's bestial transformation and rampage, immediately wanted transfer despite the fact that Squall was long gone.

"I'm not afraid."  Hannah drew her daggers, a sly grin teasing the corners of her mouth.  "Want to take on the T-Rexaur with me?  I'm not supposed to do it alone..."

Zell hesitated.  "All right...  But at the first sign of trouble, we flee, got it?  I'm a little rusty myself."

Together, they went to take on Balamb Garden's most fearful predator.

*    *    *

Rinoa stared down at her burger, watching the greasy blood flow down and pool around the bun.  She poked at it listlessly, wondering if she could choke the meal down.  Bloody...  Just like my dream last night.  She hadn't been able to eat well-cooked meat ever since her pregnancy, when she'd been forced to eat raw meat to sate her hunger.  The habit disgusted her, but she couldn't break it.  But at least she ate.  Occasionally.

She'd hoped to get through lunch quickly and get out of there before anyone took notice of her, but the clump of books being dropped on the table beside her told her she hadn't been quick enough.  "Is this seat taken?" a cool but polite voice queried.  Rinoa just shrugged, and the speaker took a seat beside her.  She didn't raise her head, but examined the other out of the corner of her eye.

Garen was a new student to Garden, having started about two months ago.  He was old for a student, almost eighteen, but he had enough talent to make SeeD by the end of the year, if he could just get through his courses.  He was arrogant and aloof from the other students, but seemed to be attracted to Rinoa.

When she'd mentioned this to Zell, he'd laughed at her and told her a little romance would be good for her.  And why wouldn't anyone be interested in her?  Rinoa was uncomfortable with the thought of having a suitor.  Zell was wrong; a half-mad sorceress wasn't a good match for anyone.  Garen was probably just enamored with the idea of becoming a sorceress's knight.  And she wasn't interested in anyone, anyway.  She didn't want to start a relationship that was doomed to end tragically.

She had to admit, though, Garen was cute.  With his tousled black hair and icy blue eyes, he was one of the best looking males at Garden.  And his attitude was so much like Squall's...  Sometimes, he really was hard to resist.

"How are classes going?"  Rinoa spoke slowly, concealing the stutter.  She was only secure enough not to hide her affected speech around her closest friends.

"They're torture.  Why do I need to know all of this, anyway?  History, science, social studies...  I'm here to fight."  Garen glowered at his pile of books.

Rinoa smiled slightly.  "It's part of the job to know what we're getting in to.  We don't want our alliances to further cause problems.  It's all politics."

"Oh," Garen grunted dismissively.  "So, are you doing anything today?"

Rinoa picked up a burger and took a bite of the cold meat and soggy bun.  "Evading the question, are we?" Garen said with a smile.  "I can take the hint."

"I'm going to Balamb," she said, after slowly chewing her mouthful.  She hoped he wouldn't ask why.  She didn't want to explain that she was going because of a dream...  And he might try to stop her.  She was going to have to take a load of painkillers just to make the trip, which was why she wasn't going to ask permission.  She'd have to steal the car to go, but it would be worth it to put her mind at ease.  Was the dream real?  Did I...

Garen wasn't one to pry.  He turned to his sandwich and opened up one of his books.   Just then, Zell caught up with them.  The excited blond had seemed more riled up than usual after his Training Center exercises, and Rinoa was intrigued. 

"I fought a T-Rexaur," he blurted out, eyes shining.

"Alone?"  Rinoa was torn between chastising her friend and congratulating him.  "That's dangerous."

"Not alone," he admitted.  "With... her."  He pointed to a young woman waiting in the lunch line.  "That's Hannah.  She's new here - just transferred from Trabia.  She fights very well."

Rinoa arched a brow.  "So it would seem, if you two took on a T-Rexaur."  She toyed with her burger again before forcing herself to take another bite.  Now that he'd seen she was eating, Zell wouldn't leave the table until she had finished the contents of her plate.  "She's cute," Rinoa said slyly.

Zell looked embarrassed.  "I'm not interested..." he began, but just then, Hannah caught his eye.  She flashed him a wide smile, and showed him the two platters of hot dogs she'd purchased. 

"Zell," Hannah said warmly, when she reached the table.  "That was a wonderful battle.  We should do it again some time."

Zell blushed, and Rinoa's eyebrows rose further.  "It wasn't much..." he said modestly.

"Don't be so modest," Hannah said.  Then she frowned.  "But why didn't you let us finish off the T-Rexaur?  We had it..."

"It's the mating season, and that was a female.  We don't kill them when they're in season.  We had to let her go.  Since we're here, I'll make some introductions," Zell said quickly.  "This is Garen."

"I know him," Hannah said. 

"Oh?" Zell asked, sounding suspicious.  Rinoa hid a smile.  He's got it bad...

"She's my twin sister," Garen told them, without looking up from his book. 

Rinoa blinked.  She hadn't realized Garen had family.  Though now that she looked at them, it was obvious they were related.  With their black hair and blue eyes, they were a matched set.

Then Zell turned to Rinoa.  "This is my friend, Rinoa Heartily," Zell said.  The smile seemed to freeze on Hannah's face.

"You're Rinoa?"  Hannah asked tightly.  The hand she'd extended to shake Rinoa's fell limp at her side.  "I've heard a lot about you," she said coolly.

"Oh?"  Rinoa said softly.  When no more seemed forthcoming, Rinoa turned her attention to her food, and Hannah began to discuss fighting techniques with the oblivious Zell.

Her puzzlement over Hannah's curious attitude towards her was forgotten as Seifer and Quistis entered the cafeteria.  Quistis carried her son in her good arm, and Seifer had his arm over her shoulder.  The sight tore at Rinoa.  If only that were Squall and I...  Tears welled in her eyes.  Suddenly, she'd lost her appetite.

"I have to go," Rinoa whispered, pushing herself from the table.  Zell seemed about to protest, then stopped when he saw her face.

"Do what you have to," Zell said, his voice sad.

Rinoa rushed out of there before her sobbing became uncontrollable.  Won't things ever get better? she thought miserably.

*    *    *

Rinoa shivered and pulled the long coat closer around her slight form.  The wind coming off the ocean had a chill to it, and Rinoa hastened down the streets as fast as her lame leg could take her, trying to keep warm.  Her head darted back and forth as she scanned around for the alleyway from her dream.

It can't be real.  It can't be.  And so what if I do find the alley?  I've been to Balamb many times; it could just be my memory that made the dream so vivid.  And I've seen enough blood in the past few years to make that part detailed…

She caught site of an alley behind one of the few restaurants in Balamb that was still open.  It had to be the right one; she recognized the cracked window nearest the alley.  That still doesn't mean anything.

Taking a deep breath, Rinoa stepped into the shadowy alley.  The solid walls cut off the wind, and she sighed with relief.  Then she moved forward, deeper into the site of her nightmare.  It was difficult to tell, once inside, if it was indeed the same alley.  Everything had been coated in darkness, and she'd been too busy to take in the details of her surroundings.

She went to the dumpster first.  She pulled herself up with difficulty and peered inside.  The rank odor of garbage made her eyes water, but she forced herself to look.  There was nothing, not even bags of garbage.  They'd already emptied the dumpster.

Would the garbage men have noticed the bloody clothing and alerted the authorities?  Or would they have just dismissed it, assuming they saw the clothes at all?  That is, if the clothes had even been there, and weren't just a product of Rinoa's dreams, as she hoped.

What did the dream mean?  She'd had some savage dreams ever since Squall's transformation, but last night's had been like no other she'd ever had.  It was as if she'd been the werewolf…  But that wasn't possible.  She wasn't the same person she had once been, but she wasn't a monster. 

Right?

The blood's intoxicating aroma teased her nostrils, and she yearned for more.  Its sweetness was a taste to be savored, an addiction she had to satisfy.

Rinoa could almost taste the blood on her lips, warm and fresh as if she'd just drunk it from a living body.  The need for it swept through her, and her legs buckled as she suddenly felt weak.  Rinoa stumbled forward, catching herself against the brick wall.  She scraped her hand and blood welled from her palm, and the scent of it almost drove her wild.

It was better than love, better than sex, this feeling of killing and eating.  There was nothing like the satisfaction of hunting down your prey and tearing it apart with your own claws and teeth, and savoring the taste of victory.

"Oh, Hyne," Rinoa whimpered when she realized she'd licked the blood from her hand.  The gorge rose in her throat, and she threw up.  She slid down the wall and crouched in the shadows, tears sliding down her face.

"Excuse me, miss?" a voice called softly.

The blood slid down her throat with chunks of raw meat and bone.  She closed her eyes in ecstasy, red-tinged saliva dripping down her jaws and onto the raw hamburger of the man's chest.  His heart beat rapidly under one paw, as if it would burst.  That wouldn't do; she decided she'd take that next, before it destroyed itself.

"Miss?  Are you all right?"  A hand touched Rinoa's shoulder, and she nearly lashed out blindly as the dream drew her back in.  "Do you want me to call a doctor?"

The heart tore free with a wet snap, and the body stilled beneath her.  This was what made the hunt worthwhile, this chunk of meat that was so vital to a person.  There was nothing quite like swallowing the still-beating organ and making it part of herself.

The shaking on her shoulder became more insistent, and Rinoa snapped abruptly out of her trance-like state.  She turned to face the concerned young man standing over her.  He wore the outfit of one of the restaurant's cooks, and he had a garbage bag beside him.  "Huh?" she asked thickly.

"I asked if you need a doctor," the man said.  "Are you all right? Can I help you?"

"I…"  Rinoa struggled to get her feet under her, and the man assisted her.  "I-I've b-been s-sick," she managed, unable to control her stutter.  "I-I'll b-be all r-right."

"Are you sure?  You don't look so good," the man protested.

"I-I just n-need to g-get h-home.  I-I'll b-be f-fine."

The man looked doubtful, but he let Rinoa stagger out of the alley after she'd refused his offer of a glass of water.  All she could think of was the horrifying vision she'd just had.  What did it mean?  Was she going crazy?  What if she began to believe she was a monster like Squall had been and actually attacked someone?

What if she already had?

No!  It was only a dream; the dream of someone who's been through too much and is finally losing her grip on reality.  Maybe Quistis is right; maybe I do need to get mental help.

As she reached the mouth of the alley, she abruptly halted.  Carved into the cement was a pair of long slashes, still fresh.  The parallel rips could have been made by the garbage men as they emptied the trash.

Or it could have been done by a powerful set of claws.

*    *    *

She was too restless to sleep that night, so Rinoa found herself on Garden's balcony, her eyes on the star-spangled sky.

It would be so easy to jump...  end the pain... I've lost so much!  Squall, my father,  Angelo...  My children... My innocence...  Myself…  Who am I now? Am I mad?  My actions in the past month make even me wonder.  Her grip tightened on the railing that was all that kept her from plunging to her death.  She studied her fingers a moment, wondering if she could pry them from their death grip and make that final plunge...

But I can't...  Her head lifted again, eyes on the distant horizon.  My children are out there.  I have to find them!  And, if need be, avenge them... Maybe then I'll have peace.

 

A flash of movement caught her eye, and Rinoa turned in time to glimpse a shooting star, already fading from sight.  How long since I last saw one of those?  Since Squall first kissed me?  She hadn't searched for them in a long time but seeing one now seemed almost... ominous.

Rinoa sighed, brushing one hand, scarred by acid from a monster's attack, through her long hair.    It's just a star.  It doesn't mean anything.  I'm just on edge tonight.  Maybe I should go talk to Zell after all.  Or Garen… He'd love it if I went running to him.

 

She should certainly go speak to someone.  After all, she couldn't run and hide every time she saw Quistis and her new baby.  But she hadn't realized how painful it would be to see them happy...

She leaned her weight against the railing, wincing slightly as it brushed her abdomen.  Some pain never leaves...  Would she even have the time to find her children?  If she was right, and she was dying, then she didn't have much longer.  Or she was descending into madness…  The vivid dreams could be a symptom of something seriously wrong with her.

Where are you, Reya? I need to find you, now!  While I still can!  She'd searched so long for the woman to no avail.  Hyne, but I want to kill her so badly.  Kill her!  Kill!

 

The strength of her last thoughts jolted her from her reverie.  She wanted to kill Reya, yes, but her feelings had surprised her.  The thought had been accompanied by a surge of anger and rage that was almost an echo of her thoughts rather than a part of them.

An echo?  Rinoa cleared her mind, concentrating on the elusive feelings that had momentarily manifested so strongly.

There!  Faintly, stalking the edge of her consciousness, was an aura that burned in her mind's eye; strange, yet familiar.  No...  When it realized she was aware of it, it vanished, leaving behind a howl that reverberated in her mind, fracturing into mocking laughter before fading away.

Hyne…  Please let that be a waking nightmare as well…

*    *    *

The student shivered as he advanced through the darkened Training Center.  This was a stupid idea, Mero thought angrily as he tripped over a branch hidden in shadows, falling to his knees and tearing his cadet uniform.  But a dare was a dare, and if he wanted to prove to the guys he had what it took to be a SeeD, then he wasn't going to back down.

But... going into the Training Center in the middle of the night?  What if I meet a T-Rexaur?  Or worse?  Mero had heard the stories, of course, about Balamb Garden's former commander, and how he'd made a meal of many of SeeD's best officers.  It was whispered that he still roamed the corridors, devouring cadets who were too weak or cowardly to become one of the elite mercenaries.  Mero had laughed at the stories, but now... The twelve-year-old's imagination was working overtime, turning every whisper of noise into soft footsteps, or the scrape of claws on bark, or the rasp of breath through gleaming teeth...

Stop that!  All he had to do was circle the Center, stopping at the so-called secret area to leave a marker to show he'd been there.  He was nearly there...  Then he could get out of here.

He'd almost calmed himself when he tripped again, falling with a splash.  He swore, pulling his hands free from the sticky liquid before pushing himself to his feet.  Probably fell in T-Rexaur piss...

 

He froze before fully straightening.  He'd been vaguely aware of a dark shape in front of him, but had paid it no heed until his eyes caught the dull gleam of teeth grinning at him...

Releasing his breath with a whimper, Mero began to back away from the T-Rexaur's staring head.  Why hasn't it attacked? he wondered distantly as he staggered sideways and into a wall of flesh.

Mero whirled to face this new attacker, his breath coming out in sobs.  I'm doomed...

 

But still there was no movement.  Mero reached one hand towards it, wondering.  Then, with a squishing noise, his hand sank into the flesh.

Now Mero screamed, yanking his hand loose and running.  It was a T-Rexaur, all right, but it had been dismembered!

Mero didn't want to meet whatever could tear apart one of the vicious beasts.  He didn't stop running until he was out of the Center, down the halls, and safely in his room.  And even then, he couldn't stop trembling.  He didn't get any sleep that night.

*    *    *

The creature watched Mero's flight with cold, calculating eyes, longing to leap from hiding and rend the child limb from limb but knowing that to expose itself now would ruin everything.

Not now... not yet...  It remained crouched in the bushes near its kill, where it had sat a mere hairsbreadth from the frightened child.  When its sensitive ears caught no sound of an investigation, it crept from its hiding spot, making no sound.

The beast turned back towards the carcass of the prey it had felled, content for now to nibble the spilled entrails.  Claws flashed, further opening the chest cavity.  Yes... This would do for now.  But soon, it could satisfy its hunger with human prey.

But only after the insane sorceress was out of the way.  She would be taken care of when the time was right.  Soon…

To Be Continued...