The Serum

E I G H T.

Why me? Runs through my head as I look around wildly for something to get the bear off Aria's shoulders. It's a monstrous thing, to say the least. It took me a minute at the least to just get over my shock of looking at it. Aria had practically lost her voice screaming at us to do something.  Fear has made her white as paper and she's breathing quicker and quicker as the minutes pass. 

I throw open the flap of my backpack and scrounge around. I feel the sleek metal of the gun but decide against it. The sound will attract god knows what and I don't want to risk it. Withdrawing the dagger, I edge around the beast. Grabbing a few hand size rocks, I chuck them at the bear. The first few don't seem to bother him but after the fourth, he grunts and lumbers to face us. Fear squeezes my chest but I force myself to relax. 

I've never actually seen a Creeper up close. Until now. 

His shaggy brown fur is matted and ratty, while bulbous spines protrude from his limbs, back, and even his head. It makes him look like some gland deficient porcupine. When he roars at us-correction, slimes us with his disgusting saliva-I can see his canines have sharpened into fangs. Sharp, long fangs. 

I gulp. 

His claws are twice the size of his teeth and could probably sever me in half. Aria sinks against the ground, curling in on herself from terror. Lucas darts around the bear to her, guiding her to hide behind the brush. He joins me on the other side, breathing raggedly.

"What are we going to do?"

"I have absolutely no idea."

"Wonderful." He mutters. 

I don't have time to glare at him, so I don't.

"Hey, blowhead! Over here!" Oliver yells, waving his arms back and forth. The bear huffs and turns just enough for me to slide forward quietly.

Not quietly enough, apparently.

The bear whisks around, stopping me in place. He stares at me for a long moment, then curls his upper lip, showing off his enlarged canines. He emits a heart-stopping roar and thunders towards me. The vibrations of his shuddering footsteps rattle my bones. He stands on his hind legs, claws raised menacingly, ready to tear me to ribbons. I hold up my dagger and close my eyes, pleading to whatever god is out there. I'm not a religious person but praying, at this moment, just feels like the right thing to do.

Please, please, please.

I expect to feel his claws and fur but instead, I hear a sickening squelch. I crack an eyelid open and gasp, unable to believe what I'm seeing. 

The Creeper, which had previously been about to shred me with its killer claws, is dead. My dagger, which I'd held high, had pierced the creature in the heart. Blood oozes onto my hair and skin, still warm. It reeks to the high heavens, and so does its corpse. I hold my nose and gag as I shuffle around it's dead body.

Lucas looks at me with new respect and whoops. "Way to go, Selburn!"

I start to smile back but a thought makes the smile melt off my face. A chord of fear strikes me once again. "Wait, can the infection be transmitted by touch?"

Oliver shakes his head. "Not by blood, no."

I sag, relieved. 

Aria approaches from the bushes, dragging her feet.

"Thanks." She says, chagrined.

"That's it? Just thanks?" I demand, crossing my arms. I immediately regret it, because now both my arms are smeared with bear blood. I shiver, itches breaking out over my body. 

Aria scowls. "What did you expect, a parade?"

"No." I scoff. Actually, that wouldn't be too bad. I slant my attention to Oliver.

"Where's the nearest stream?"

Oliver points to a break in the undergrowth.

"I'll be back." I assure them, before running down the path. I can't wait to feel clean again. Well, as clean as one could be after killing a Creeper, of all the things. I chuckle, the shock of what I did lingering. I killed a Creeper. Me, Lizzy Selburn. The girl who frequented the Ardmore sheriff's office, who's the town's resident graffiti artist. I giggle giddily. How cool will it be to be able to go around town saying I slayed a Creeper? And a giant one, at that.

I find the creek Oliver had mentioned and dive in, sighing as the cool water takes all evidence of the blood downstream. My bones ache and my muscles pull tight. It's only been a day or two and I'm already getting aches and pains.

What am I, 80?

I tilt my head up, watching the everlasting navy sky. Much to my pleasure, there is indeed sun here. It's not as strong, blocked off by the trees, but it's there. Night, however, seeps in through whatever cracks it can. 

A chilling howl arises somewhere to the south and I feel the sudden urge to get back to camp. 

If other Creepers are anything like the bear I killed, I definitely don't wanna be out, by myself, without weapons, at night.

Who knows what stalks the Wilds at night.