Chapter 41: Curiosity Cannot Kill an Immortal Cat

Thump. Thump. Rrrrgh.

The sound echoed through the mist again, accompanied by a deep growling. It was coming from just behind a thick patch of large, leafy ferns a few yards ahead.

Blair’s heart hammered a frantic rhythm against her ribs. She slipped her hand into her hoodie pocket, her fingers wrapping tightly around her pepper spray.

She took a slow, trembling breath. This was it. The monsters. They were feeding again.

Was Professor Feron out here looking for them, too? Blair wondered wildly as she took a cautious step forward. Has he been out here looking for them all night? Is that why he made that other professor cover his detention shift?

Moving as silently as possible, she crept toward the ferns. She crouched low, using her free hand to slowly, carefully part the damp green leaves just enough to peek through into the clearing beyond.

Blair’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.

Through the gap in the leaves, she had a view of two beastmen. They were naked. One was pinned back against the trunk of a large oak tree, his head thrown back as the other beastman aggressively pinned his hips, thrusting forward with intense, frantic rhythm.

Wet slaps echoed through the clearing as bare skin met bare skin.

Blair forgot how to breathe. She forgot how to blink. Her face erupted into a brilliant, burning shade of crimson, turning as red as a fire engine.

Accidentally or not, she was a voyeur now, spying on an intense hookup in the woods.

Back away, her brain finally screamed at her, snapping her out of her stunned trance. Back away slowly. Do not make a sound.

Her face burning like a furnace, Blair slowly let go of the fern leaves, letting them rustle back into place. She took a slow, careful step backward, attempting a silent moonwalk away from the clearing.

Her heel came down hard on a dry twig.

SNAP.

The sound cracked through the quiet morning mist like a gunshot.

The thumping stopped instantly. The low growls cut off.

Blair froze, her blood turning to ice. Through the tiny gaps in the leaves, she saw the two naked beastmen whip their heads around. Their eyes, wide and feral, locked directly onto the patch of ferns where she was hiding.

The amorous mood was instantly replaced by terrified embarrassment.

"What the fuck?!" one of them yelled, grabbing a discarded uniform shirt from the grass and desperately trying to cover his crotch.

"Run!" Blair shrieked to herself.

She spun around and bolted. The adrenaline exploded in her veins, propelling her forward with the speed of a terrified rabbit. She didn’t look back. She just ran, the sound of heavy, furious footsteps crashing through the underbrush right behind her.

"Hey! Get back here!" the other beastman roared. The sound of tearing branches indicated they were closing the distance fast.

Blair risked a quick glance over her shoulder. They were actually chasing her. And they hadn’t bothered to put their pants on. Two naked beastmen were sprinting through the mist, their footsteps loud on the ground, their faces twisted in a mix of fury and humiliation.

Blair pushed her legs harder, her lungs burning in the chilly air. She dodged a low-hanging branch, but her stamina was no match for beastmen. They were gaining on her.

She rounded a thick cluster of trees and skidded to a halt. A massive rock face blocked her path. It was a dead end.

She spun around, pressing her back against the cold stone. The two beastmen burst through the tree line, panting heavily. They slowed their pace, spreading out slightly to block her only exit.

"You little creep," the taller one snarled, his face flushed as he held his hands awkwardly in front of his waist. "Were you taking pictures?"

Blair’s heart hammered in her throat. She gripped her pepper spray, but she was outnumbered. She needed a miracle.

"Oh my gosh!" Blair gasped suddenly, her eyes going wide. She pointed a trembling finger over the beastmen’s shoulders. "Look! It’s Professor Feron!"

The two beastmen froze. The blood drained from their faces at the mention of the terrifying Crow professor.

"Really?!" they both yelled in unison, their eyes wide with panic as they spun around to face the empty woods behind them, desperately trying to cover themselves.

"AHHHHHH!" Blair yelled.

Before they could turn back around, Blair ducked under the taller beastman’s arm and sprinted past them, bolting back into the safety of the mist.

"Hey! You little bitch!"

The furious roar echoed behind her. Now they were angrier than before. The thud of feet pounding against the dirt resumed, faster and more desperate.

Blair sprinted blindly, her eyes darting frantically through the mist for a path back to the safety of the campus. She was so focused on what was behind her that she failed to look at the ground in front of her.

Her foot caught on a hidden rope buried beneath a pile of dead leaves.

A sharp whoosh cut through the air. The ground vanished from beneath Blair’s feet.

Before she could even scream, a rope snare yanked her violently by the ankle. She was hoisted high into the canopy with terrifying speed, the world spinning in a blur of green and gray.

The violent jolt knocked the breath from her lungs. She swung helplessly upside down, suspended fifteen feet in the air like a pendulum. Her uniform skirt flipped over her head, exposing her plain white underwear to the cold morning air. Her gray hoodie fell over her head. Her pepper spray slipped from her pocket, plummeting to the ground and disappearing into the bushes below.

Blair gasped, frantically trying to push her skirt back down and right her clothes while hanging by one leg. She slapped both of her hands over her mouth and nose, forcing herself to hold her breath.

Directly below her, the underbrush parted.

The two naked, angry beastmen burst into the clearing. They were panting, their eyes scanning the fog-covered ground. They looked furious, their fists clenched as they paced the small area, sniffing the damp earth.

Blair hung perfectly still. Her heart was beating so loud she was terrified they would hear it. She squeezed her eyes shut, praying to whoever was listening that they wouldn’t look up. Please, please, please just leave.

The beastmen circled the area twice, grunting in frustration. Finding nothing but empty woods and fog, they finally turned, preparing to head back the way they came.

Blair let out a tiny, silent exhale through her nose. She was safe.

But just as they reached the edge of the clearing, one of the beastmen abruptly stopped.

He stood perfectly still. Slowly, he tilted his head back, his nose twitching as he sniffed the cold morning air.

And then, he looked straight up.

"There!" the beastman shouted, pointing a finger directly at Blair’s dangling form.

Blair squeezed her eyes shut, letting out a muffled squeak of pure terror. All the blood was rushing to her head, making her dizzy and disoriented, but she felt a small wave of relief wash over her. She was high up. At least fifteen feet off the ground.

The two naked beastmen rushed over to stand beneath her. They jumped, swiping their hands through the air, their fingers missing her dangling arms.

Blair let out a shaky breath. They couldn’t reach her. She didn’t know how she was going to get down without breaking her neck, but at this moment, the trap was the only thing keeping her alive.

She clung to her skirt, holding her breath as they jumped again.

Screeeaaak.

Blair froze.

The groaning sound of straining wood echoed from above her.

SNAP.

Blair let out a terrified yelp as the branch she was hanging from gave way with a crack. She plummeted downward, the rope going slack for a second before jerking tight again.

She was lowered another four feet.

Blair gulped loudly, her eyes wide as she stared upside down at the two very angry beastmen waiting below her.

Blood rushed to Blair’s head, throbbing against her temples in a painful pulse. The world was entirely upside down, making the two naked, furious beastmen waiting below her look even more disorienting.

"I’ve got twenty credits that says the fall snaps her neck," the taller beastman sneered, crossing his thick, hairy arms over his chest.

"I’ll take that bet," the second one grinned maliciously, flexing his hands. His fingernails elongated into jagged claws. "I say my claws get to her before gravity finishes the job. I’m going to rip her to shreds."

Blair squeezed her eyes shut, a dizzying wave of nausea washing over her. "N-Neither please?" she stammered out.

The two beastmen just laughed, pacing like hungry wolves under a trapped squirrel.

"Please, just let me go!" Blair begged, desperately trying to keep her skirt pulled down while clutching the coarse rope around her ankle. "I swear I won’t tell anyone! I didn’t even see anything! I swear!"

Screeeaaak.

The branch above her groaned a splintering sound. Blair let out a sharp gasp as she plummeted another twelve inches. The rope caught her with a violent jerk, swinging her back and forth like a pendulum.

She squeezed her eyes shut again. Her panicked brain weighed the options: the quick, sudden darkness of a broken neck versus surviving the fall only to go mad from the pain of being torn apart.

She had no options left.

Well, except for one.