The woods around the cottage were in chaos. She heard the shouts of soldiers, gunfire bouncing through the trees, the crackle of instructions over the walkie strapped to her, and the occasional scream as the wolf found its prey.

Cara ran into the trees, following the noise, desperate to find him before the soldiers did. It was dark in the small patch that she trudged her way into, the light of the moon occasionally slipping through the bare branches. Her stolen boots dug a path through the layer of snow that just covered the surface of the ground, crunching the dying leaves underneath. The noise of the soldiers became minimal. She could see some in the distance, moving further away. They had lost him.

She glanced around the trees, the snow on the ground, searching for clues to his path. But she was as lost as the rest of them. Running further away from the cottage, she stumbled upon a bloody heap in a pile of red snow; a soldier that had been unfortunate to meet the werewolf up close. Up a bit further ahead, she could see the soldier's ghost wandering through the trees. And there were others. Ghostly moans rang out through the forest.

Cara suddenly felt a fearful panic at the sight of this. The soldier's face was split along into three pieces, and his arm was barely attached. She realized she was alone in the forest, hunting a werewolf during the full moon. Her only chance was that where these soldiers wanted to capture the wolf alive, making them hesitant when facing him, she was ready with her silver bullets. At least she hoped she would be.

The soldiers were moving further away from the cottage, moving towards the other homes. A crackle came over the walkie, "Trail leading north through the trees, along the property line of the next house over. Units Alpha, Bravo follow the trail. Delta, circle around, close off the wolf's escape on the other side." They were losing him, Cara thought, almost gleefully. If he broke past their unit on the other side, perhaps he could run free, far out of their grasp. But she had to prepare if they pushed him back.

She cut down to her right, moving towards the lake. The trees were thinner here. If the wolf came running back this way, she was confident she could get a clear shot. She tossed aside the assault rifle; it was of no use anymore (only regular bullets, meant to slow him down but not kill), and drew her pistol.

The woods were eerily silent. Why were there no shots up ahead? Surely he would have reached them by now. Then the crackle over the walkie once more, "Trail was a decoy, target is moving through the trees. Repeat! Target is in the trees."

Cara looked a second before it happened. Her eyes darted across the branches, connecting with those demon yellow eyes, as the werewolf pounced out of the tree, claws and teeth bearing down on her. She managed to fire once, she even thought it hit, but it wasn't the fatal blow she needed. The impact sent her flying back, collapsing into the snow on the ground. The gun flew from her hand as the werewolf pressed down on her. She felt the claws digging into her side; saw the wide jaws full of glistening fangs. And then he bit down. That massive jaw crunched down on her collarbone. There was immense pressure, immediately followed by crushing pain. The bite might have killed her instantly had it not been for the soldier's vest she was wearing.

The wolf thrashed her around, shaking its massive head back and forth with Cara caught in its mouth. She let out a gargled scream as blood sprayed her face and soaked the snow. The edges of her vision blurred, and she felt terrified, held at the mercy of this beast.

Only, it wasn't just the beast there. It was Daniel. Still him, somewhere in there. She tried to speak, tried to call out to him, but her breath was shallow. She summoned up a whisper of a voice.

"Daniel..."

The werewolf halted, releasing her from its brutal teeth, though it seemed only so it could reexamine its prey and find a more lethal bite.

She cried out once more, as loud as she could, "Daniel!" 

The beast halted as it aimed to tear open her throat. The soldier's helmet she was wearing had slipped off as the wolf tossed her around. She moved her hand up, from the side that wasn't ripped apart, and pushed the soldier's mask off as well. The wolf could see her true face now, and though the wolf hated her, Daniel loved her. Cara gazed into the werewolf's yellow eyes, expecting the end to come. But instead they stared back, and began to change. Cara gave a weak smile as she recognized Daniel's grey eyes.

She lifted her hand to the course hair on the side of his face.

"Daniel," she whispered, her mind fading as she continued to bleed.

A noise, then, two hits. Cara looked down at Daniel's side, Daniel did too. Two tranquilizer darts were sticking out of him. When Daniel looked back up, his eyes were gone and the werewolf remained. With a roar, the beast leapt up into the air, grabbing hold of the closest tree, lunging from one to the next.

Cara heard soldiers running and crying out in the distance, tracking the wolf across the forest, as she lay there in the snow. She reached a hand up to her mangled collarbone, feeling the punctures left there as warm blood seeped out. She felt cold though, so cold.

More shots fired through the trees. More screams. A howl from the werewolf. And then a crash. A resounding, frightening crash. Cara knew what it meant before the voice crackled over the walkie, "Target is down. Repeat, target is down, unconscious and ready for transport." Cara sobbed out, weak and helpless. They'd won. She listened as more orders were sent out, orders on what to do with Daniel, then orders to track her down, and orders to sweep the forest for any wounded soldiers.

Cara realized they would find her. They would find her and she would be helpless to do anything. If she didn't bleed out they would do worse to her. She squeezed pressure onto her collarbone and clenched her teeth as she rolled over, crying out. She didn't know what she was doing, what her options were. She just had to escape.

Then she looked down at the lake, the dark water, edges freezing over. Cara suspected she would lose consciousness and drown if she went in, but that seemed like a better alternative than the Imperial Cult taking her. She dragged herself along best that she could. Each little movement sent shooting pain through her body that threatened to make her pass out.

Somehow she reached the waters edge, arms cracking the thin ice. She didn't give it more thought, just rolled herself in. The water set her body into panic. The cold that hit overtook her. But for a moment she was alert. She pushed herself out as far as she could, floating out, kicking weakly, her strength fading fast.

Cara tried to steady herself as sheshivered in the ungodly cold water. Shelooked up at the sky, the stars and the full moon glimmering above. The moon captivated her, until it was theonly thing she could see. How couldsomething so beautiful be the source of something so horrible, shewondered. She kept wondering as her mindwent dark.