Wiping it from her mouth with her arm, Allison scanned the crowd for Gabby. People darted into the trees around the open meadow, which only a few minutes prior had been the dance floor for the biggest party of the semester, as others with blood dripping from their mouths gave chase. Red plastic cups and corpses littered the ground. Some had chunks of meat missing from their arms and legs, the wounds oozing into red puddles around the bodies. A group of frat boys bolted from the tree line making a run for the clearing where the cars were parked. Nick, Gabby’s date, was with them. Blood splattered across his polo shirt and chiseled face. But Gabby was nowhere in sight. Attackers poured from the woods causing the panicked frat brothers to separate, each running off in different directions. Allison lost sight of Nick in the fleeing crowd of drunk college students.
Allison looked toward the makeshift parking lot, but her view was blocked by trees and the mob of fleeing people. She slid back onto her stomach, sinking into the cool mud as she crawled, using the log for cover. Rocks and sticks dug deep into her skin, sending sharp pains into her shaky muscles as she moved. She reached the edge of the log and peered around the corner. There was Gabby’s car, bloody handprints on the hood, but no Gabby.
A gurgling screech pierced the air, sending an icy wave down Allison’s back. She shuddered as her heart again quickened to a frantic pace. Allison’s fingers intertwined in her hair, pulling at it as she propped up on her elbows, head in her hands. Flee, hide, fight? A blank look covered her face as she scanned the area near her. What do you do when people are fucking eating each other!
Her breathing hastened as nervous sweat dripped down the back of her neck, causing the back of her dress to cling to her skin. Get it together, you don’t want to die out here. She looked over to the man with the lifeless eyes, his innards spread out around him. Allison locked eyes with the screeching woman who was eating him. Bloody chunks of flesh and bone dropped from her mouth as she let out another high-pitched shriek. The woman then lunged in a sprint toward Allison. The choice was made for her.
Flee.
Allison jumped to her feet and dashed into the forest. The flesh-hungry woman mere feet behind her. Allison’s form-hugging dress was not fit for intense power walking while shopping, let alone running for her life. The white sandals flew off her feet causing her to stumble. She remained upright, ignoring the pain caused by the uneven ground beneath her bare feet, and continued to run.
The pounding of the woman’s footsteps grew louder and louder as she was shortening the distance between them. As Allison ran, she forced her legs out in front of her further and further with each step until the dress ripped at the side seams allowing her to take longer strides. The glow from the party was fading; shadows overtook the forest. Shit, I’m going to die here.
The shrieking woman was so close that Allison felt a flash of air on her neck as the woman’s hand reached out and swiped at her short hair. Moonlight peeked through the leafy canopy and shined on a fallen tree to her right. Allison veered toward the giant, rotting log as her legs burned with each step. She jumped, barely making it over. She landed on quivering limbs, then sprinted forward. The shrieking woman hit the log, flipping over it and landing hard on the ground. A cry of pain echoed through the trees as she thrashed on the ground and then the woman was still. Allison stopped running and braced against a tree.
Her breath was ragged, sweat coating her body. Every muscle in her body shook, threatening to give out on her at any second. She kept her gaze locked on the unmoving body of the woman.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Allison stammered. Her body trembled as tears flowed from her eyes and a stream of warm urine leaked down her leg forming a yellow-tinted puddle at her feet.
The woman bolted up. She let out a barbaric sound of frustration and glared at Allison, her pupils large and alert. Blood dripped from her crushed nose. A large gash across her forehead, plastered with dirt and hair, seeped blood into her eyes. In a fluid motion, the woman leaped to her feet and took off in Allison’s direction again.
“Oh shit!” Allison turned and ran. Her chest was heavy and she struggled to breathe. Her legs burned with each step; her body could not continue much longer. Then she saw it, like an answer to a prayer. In front of her, drenched in moonlight, was an old wooden ladder leaning against a tree. In the branches above the ladder was a wooden platform, a hunter’s stand, perched among the sparse autumn leaves. She had to make it there.
Allison took off in the ladder’s direction as fast as her painful calves would allow. A burst of energy shot through her body, pushing her feet forward. It was not enough to outrun the wild woman; she ran like an Olympian on steroids, covering ground twice as fast as Allison’s fatigued muscles carried her.
Allison reached the ladder with the shrieking woman just steps behind her. Allison leaped; her feet landed on the third rung of the ladder. She grasped its weathered sides, splinters pierced beneath her skin as she scrambled up toward the wooden platform. Her muscles shuddered with
