"neither will you," i hissed.

the man startled and twisted to look at me. his eyes widened in shock at seeing me alive, and right next to him. he never even had time to realize i was armed. as soon as his head was facing me, giving me an ideal target, i focused all my pain, fear and rage at the maniac. i brought my arms around, twisting my hips and reinforcing the strike. surprise and adrenaline gave me speed, and he never even moved to defend himself. he didn't have time. my hit was true, and the rod connected to his temple with a sickening thud that reverberated all the way up my arms.

the man's head snapped to the side. just as i feared that i didn't have the strength to knock him out, his knees buckled and he dropped like a ton of bricks. the wooden stake fell away from his relaxed fingers and rolled onto the dirt beside him. i kicked the vile, symbolic thing under the stairs. the iron rod felt red-hot in my hand. not wanting the metal touching my skin any longer, i dropped it to my side. it thudded to the ground and rested near my feet.

my vision swam as the adrenaline rushed out of my body and the realization of what i'd done, swept in. the man was very still and i really didn't know if he was alive or not. my stomach rose into my throat and i pressed on it to make it stop. now wasn't the time to lose my last meal or stare at the downed man like an idiot. now was the time to do what i'd told teren i'd do...now was the time to run.

just as i was mentally preparing myself for the flight away from this rickety farmhouse, and wondering how i'd get a hold of teren's family in time so they could come help him, i heard it. a low growl was coming from one side of the room; an impossibly deep growl that sent shivers up my spine and dotted my skin with goose bumps. a growl that i'd heard a few times before, but never once directed towards me. an inhuman growl that made me afraid i'd lose control of my bladder.

tracking the sound, i turned to stare over at the piece of ground where i'd left teren's broken body. only, he was no longer where i'd left him; only our ripped apart belts were lying on the ground. he was standing in a low crouch, his body lightly shaking as he wobbled on his feet. that wasn't what sent ice cold fear throughout my veins though. it was his face.

his skin was still ashen, and he had the sunken look of someone very ill. the whites of his eyes faintly glowed in the dim light, and his pale, light blue irises were locked onto me. they danced with a near frenzied excitement. his mouth was open in a vicious looking snarl and his teeth were extended to sharp points; his fangs were longer than i'd ever seen them.

he looked like a pure animal, nothing left of my teren at all. and for a split-second sadness swept through me at the thought that maybe he wasn't my teren anymore. maybe that man really had died today. my sadness shifted right back to fear when the starving creature before me let out another deep, menacing growl, and took a step forward.