Something attacks Matt

John and Matt walked hurriedly through a clearer patch of ground, with short thick bushes on either side of them, the cone of their torches being even further reduced by the foliage until they only illuminated the ground right ahead of them. At either side, the shadows seemed to grow thicker and taller, looming over them and closing in until it was like they were squeezing their way through a ravine of darkness.

John's eyes were down at his feet to make sure he didn't trip, when he glimpsed movement from one side, and quickly flicked his head up. Before he could even be sure if he had seen something, it happened.

A segment of blackness separated from the dark shadows surrounding them, crashing into and then over Matt, sending him careening into the bushes on his left. The phone flew out of his hand, it's light spiraling through the air and flashing the surrounding forest like a strobe. In it's spinning glow, John caught sight of that dark shape wheeling around again, turning to face Matt. All John could make out was that it was a hunched lump of fur and snarling teeth, before Matt's phone hit the floor, and it's light was smothered.

Pinning his phone's flashlight to the last spot he saw the creature, John charged forward, hoping to get to Matt before whatever it was attacked again. An instinctual and wordless shout came from his lips, like he was trying to scare off a bear, the type of roar that you could only make when high on adrenaline. The phone's light bobbed wickedly as he ran, casting the space ahead of him in and out of shadow, all he could see was a black shape prowling towards where he had last seen Matt.

When the phone's light picked out his friend's sprawled feet, John skidded to a halt, standing between Matt and whatever it was that had attacked him. He couldn't tell what shape Matt was in, but he couldn't spare a second to look. Turning his back on his friend, he faced towards the slavering beast, that now growled low through the thorns and thickets in between them.

With a trembling hand, John pointed his phone into the darkness, trying to see where the animal had slipped away to. At the very edge of his phone's light, he saw it. Two sharp clawed paws scratched impatiently at the ground, a mouth of razor sharp teeth hung open, and it's eyes glinted angrily in the light.

Staring John down from the very edge of the shadow, the creature snarled and growled again, it's slitted pupils flaring and hot breath billowing from it's nostrils. On some level, John knew it was just an animal, but from here, between it and what it saw as prey, it looked a lot like a monster. All John could do was plant his feet and level his gaze at it as it snapped it's jaws at him, prowling back and forth at light's edge, searching for an opportunity to strike.

When the beast laid itself low, coiling like a spring, it seemed that opportunity had been found, and John braced himself to be leapt upon.

Tom crashed into the spotlight of the torch, running full pelt and bringing his boot to bear on the underside of the furry shape. Like kicking a field goal, his foot scooped it up and launched it deep into the bushes, a tiny moment of shock visible in it's amber eyes before it was ejected completely from the light's glow.

"Get the fuck outta here!" Tom bellowed as he followed through with his kick, nearly stumbling and falling over himself from the hysterical **** he put into the blow. The animal landed with a heavy thud and a yelp, before the sound of it scurrying quickly away through the dry leaves could be heard. They listened to it run until they couldn't hear it anymore, and then they kept listening to make sure it wasn't coming back, straining their ears in silence for what felt like minutes but may have only been seconds.

Even with the immediate danger gone, running away with it's bushy tail between it's legs, John still couldn't stop staring at the periphery of his torch's reach. Like a sentry, his eyes scanned every angle for potential signs of danger, his body operating on a level of awareness he didn't know it had. To his surprise, he realized his breathing was coming in ragged bursts, and that he could hear his heart pounding in his ears.

Only when he heard Matt grunt “fuck” from behind him, could John tears his eyes from the trees to check on his friend.

Flat on his ass, Matt lay sprawled in the dirt, one leg bent and the other laid straight out as he pushed himself up on his elbows. Dust and grime marked his elbows and knees, and a few minor thorns and sticks still clung to his leather coat. The whiteness of his face made stark contrast to the black shades he still wore, and he looked as shook as John felt, but he mostly seemed ok.

"Fuck," he sighed again, running a trembling hand through his hair. "It was just a dumb, fucking, dog!" He spat, frustrated by the needlessness of the attack, the necessity for a brainless animal to be hurt on his behalf, or by his own scared reaction to it.

"Yeah, just a dog," John exhaled, relieved that that was all it turned out to be. "Come on," he extended a hand towards his friend, "let me help you up."

It was only when Matt reached out towards him that John noticed the blood. It ran down his left arm, trickling in a red river over his skin to soak his jacket's sleeve, that must have slipped up his forearm during the tumble. It was impossible to tell where exactly on Matt's arm the blood came from, it was so soaked with it, but only that it flowed readily.

"Jesus, Matt!" John shouted, drawing his attention to the wound that he hadn't even seemed to notice yet.

"Ah, yeah," Matt hissed, holding his forearm up in John's torchlight to inspect it for himself. "It bit me a little, the fucker." It was hard to tell under all the blood and with only the phone's weak torch for light, but it looked like the dog's teeth had caught Matt near his wrist.

John hurried his friend to his feet, grabbing his uninjured arm to drag him up. "Shit dude, we've gotta get that looked at." As he spoke, John looked ahead towards Sarah's house, the lights of which could barely be seen through the bare branches of the trees. It seemed so far away now. "Just. . . Just keep it elevated for now!"

Matt seemed much less concerned than John, but he still complied, wrapping his other hand tight around his forearm and holding it out at head level.

"Don't be a pussy, it's just a scratch," Tom shrugged. "You can take a better look at it back at Sarah's if you're so worried."

John resented Tom's words, but he agreed with his second point. The sooner they got back to Sarah's, the better. He was about to start frog marching Matt that way in earnest, when his friend stopped him.
"Where'd my phone go?" He asked, looking around at the leaf litter, even as John itched to be off.

"I got it," Tom held it up, turning the light off before dropping it into one of the pockets of Matt's coat. "Cheers," Matt smiled weakly, before finally allowing John to lead him away.

John was at the head of the pack now, where he had wanted to be when racing back for a chance to sit next to the beautiful Miranda, but was the least of his concerns at the moment. Not only was he worried about Matt, he was also concerned that the dog might come back again. It was clearly aggressive, violently so, and it knew roughly where they were. Maybe Tom's toe had taught it a lesson, or maybe it had just gone to lick it's wounds before coming back to try again.

The final stretch of the journey passed in the same hurried silence as before, with no sounds but the crunch of twigs and leaves under the group's feet. John only breathed a slight sigh of relief when they slipped out from under the oppressive tree line, to walk in the openness of the grounds of Sarah's house again.

The light of the moon was even brighter now, the clouds having thinned to the point that they could see more than enough to race across the grass. The blood on Matt's arm looked almost silvery in this light, ironically making him look even more like his costume, like a cyborg ripped open. Matt had declined John's offer to put an arm over his shoulders, but John had stayed close anyway. He doubted anything would happen, but he wanted to be nearby, just in case.

Nicole was still looking for them out the window as they headed back up the driveway, smiling and waving cheerily at them, until she noticed their hastened manner. John only spared her a quick glance, before walking past her to Sarah's front door, throwing it open and holding it wide for Matt and Tom to follow him. Once they were both safely inside, he shut it again, and locked it for good measure.

Only now, with four solid walls surrounding him and the warm glow of electric lights above, could John even begin to relax. Whatever level of hurt Matt had, solving it could begin here, without the potential for an animalistic interruption.

John had been about to step over to Matt to get a better look at his injured arm, when the door to the living room flung open.

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Thank you for reading, I hope this shocking chapter lived up to your expectations. If you want to see the fallout of Matt's sudden attack, then please consider joining my Patreon. The next two chapters are already available there. Also, I will be away next Saturday so I won't be able to post here on my usual schedule. I will be able to schedule an upload to post automatically on Patreon, however, so you can become a subscriber there if you don't want to miss a beat.

https://www.patreon.com/Cheesers123