You and Sarah both froze in surprise. Neither of you daring to move. A few seconds past, before there was a knock on the door again. "Maybe its Leo?" You whispered. 

Sarah looked thoughtful. "Maybe. I'm not sure though. I've just got a bad feeling..." A few more seconds past, before a shadow moved under the door. There was a muffled voice outside. It sounded like someone talking. You strained your ears, trying to listen in. You could feel Sarah doing the same. 

???: - "What about this room? Maybe they went in there?

???: "Hey, listen, we had our job remember, and we're sticking to it. We're getting paid for the experiment, not for investigating the results." 

???: "Hmm. Well, considering we don't even know what that liquid substance stuff was meant to do-"

???: "Like I said, we aren't getting paid to investigate. Just get the Anthros to have as much of it as possible. The other Human guests have been purposely delayed to give the substance time to work."

???: "Pfffttt. Ha! What could possibly-"

Their voices faded away as they moved back down the hall. The silence quickly becoming replaced with music from the party downstairs, as someone turned up the volume of the music. It was strange. The two people outside had said something about a substance and giving it to Anthros. You agreed with Sarah. Something was very wrong here. 

Sarah herself, meanwhile, looked exhausted. Her brow furrowed in deep through. Her tail occasionally twitching.

 You were trying to figure out what was going on, all the while a part of your brain wanted to keep as far away from Sarah as possible. Even though you had promised to forgive her, and it was obvious she didn't know what was going on either. You couldn't help it! 

That was when Sarah let out a sudden loud groan. 

"Err. Sarah? Y-You, okay?" You asked cautiously. but concerned.  

"Uhhh, it's happening again!" Sarah responded, clutching her head, as she swayed slightly. You got up. You weren't sure what she meant, but you definitely did not like the sound of it. 

"Um, listen, Sarah. Just stay there. I'm going to run down at get Leo. Maybe he can help-"

At that moment, a part of you had been regretting that you were going to leave Sarah. Even if it was for just a minute. She really wasn't looking very well. Another part of you wanted to walk back over to her on the bed and comfort her. Promising that they would work it out together. However, you were glad you didn't listen to either part of your brain because at that moment, Sarah let out one final huge groan, one hand on her stomach, the other over her forehead, before she suddenly stopped.  

She raised her head to look at you. Only this time, there was a different look in her eyes. It wasn't quite like the feral look she had before, nor the comforting Dragoness friend that you had known and loved for years. Either way, she looked hungry. It was enough to make your face turn pale, and heart rate shoot through the ceiling. Nothing could hide the hungry look in Sarah's eyes as she watched you from the far end of the room.

"Ummm, Sarah?" You asked nervously, before not wanting to wait any longer, shot your hand out for the door handle. At that moment, Sarah leapt at you. Something you had never seen her do before, as you only just managed to doge. You unlocked the door and tore out into the hallway at top-speed. You heard a growl from behind you, as Sarah yelled back at you. 

"Y/N! Come back here sweetie! I promise I won't hurt you..." She purred, as she took off after you. Your legs were still shaking, from the shock of being eaten before, but at this point, it was your flight or fight response that was driving you. Nothing else. Luckily, your body had chosen to run, instead of fight, which was probably not a good idea considering how well Sarah had gulped you down before. 

Besides, no matter what happened, you doubted that you could ever bring yourself to hurt Sarah. Not that you probably even could. 

Something felt very wrong about the situation. Probably because it was wrong! Anthros shouldn't be eating Humans! They can't! It was impossible. At least... you had thought it was impossible. You were just reaching the stairwell, with the party below, when you were suddenly yanked back by the back of your shirt. You hung there, before being turned around to meet Sarah's face. 

"There we are! Nowhere to run now little Y/N~" She cooed, as she held you in place, with extraordinary strength. You kicked and squirmed, begging Sarah - if it even was Sarah - to let you go and to not eat you. Knowing there was no other option, you began yelling as loudly as you could for help. Sarah's ears twitched, before with her free hand, covered your mouth. 

It was at this moment; did you suddenly hear shouts coming from the party below. It sounded like people were just at the bottom of the stairs. 

You tried to call out again, but you could only get out muffled cries for help as Sarah still had her hand across your mouth. She let off a small growl, her ears twitching again, listening. For a few seconds, her eyes and focus seemed to wonder away from you, and you didn't hesitate with the opportunity. 

Giving a sudden squirm, you managed to drop your legs, getting out of Sarah's grasp in the process in her surprise, before without wasting another second, bolted down the staircase. Within a second, you heard Sarah growl again, before giving chase once more. 

You had no idea what was going on. You would think that Sarah had been drugged, but as you had thought before, there was no way an Anthro could eat a Human whole and alive. It had never happened and was physically impossible. Then again... Sarah had just managed to effortlessly swallow you whole and alive, and to be honest, you weren't sure if her digestive system could melt down a whole Human, an alive one at that, but you certainly weren't going to turn around and ask her. 

Finally, after a tense couple of seconds - half expecting that with your luck, you'd trip and Sarah would catch you - you managed to reach the first floor where it had all begun, as you burst into the huge open main room where the party was still taking place. 

Music and colored lights blared, as people danced and cheered, completely oblivious to what had just taken place upstairs. Not hesitating, you dived into the mix of people, fur and scale brushing against your body as you squeezed into the crowd. Maybe you could lose Sarah in the crowd? You didn't look back, but you could tell Sarah was behind you, back at the stairwell. No doubt looking around for you. You also had no doubts about what she would do to you if she caught you again. 

She may be your best friend, but you had no desire to end up in her stomach for a second time. Let alone become a part of her. 

You muttered to yourself, as you dodged and weaved through couples and Anthros laughing and chatting, trying to make your way to safety. Or the next best thing, which was to find Leo. Some of the Anthros you recognized from some of your old high school classes, while many others you didn't know. In fact, it wasn't just Anthros in the party, as it seemed quite a few other Humans had also shown up. 

Leo really has invited everyone for a reunion. I guess he did say he invited everyone who graduated... You thought, glancing back regularly, keeping an eye out for Sarah. You weren't sure where she was, as you had lost her when you ran into the bulk of the party, but hopefully that meant that she had also lost you. A part of you still hoped she was alright. 

As you ran, you spotted a number of Anthros drinking out of tall champaign glasses, only the liquid inside looked strange. Like bubbly orange juice. It didn't exactly look completely appetizing, but you had to admit, it certainly smelled good.

Meanwhile, the voice of the person echoed in your mind. The other Human guests have been delayed. Just get the Anthros to drink as much of the stuff as possible. Is that what happened to Sarah? Did she drink some of this... stuff? If so... then all of these Anthros could have had it as well!...

Now you really did need to find Leo. Especially if all of these Anthros were going to turn into  hungry ferals, then every Human here was probably in a lot of danger. Especially considering the 'delayed' guests were starting to show up. Which also included you, only you hadn't been late. Not that to mention you already had Sarah hunting for you. Wherever she was now. Hopefully not about to pounce on you. 

For a brief moment, you wondered why every other Human had been purposefully delayed except you? But you brushed the thought off and kept moving. Later would be a better time to ask questions. 

Pushing through a group, you also noticed a lot of Anthros were giving you very strange looks. Some looked hungry... It almost seemed to remind you of Sarah. Trying to block these paranoid feelings out, you continued dodging and weaving before finally reaching the edge of the room.

After a few seconds of desperate searching, you finally spotted Leo in the corner, standing with a group of other Anthros, all laughing and talking. All of them were holding the nice-smelling drink. Around you, it was still being served out by many servants, and even at the bar. For the second time that evening, you felt something was very wrong. 

Not wasting any time, you walked briskly over to Leo. Glancing around a bit, before Leo's voice abruptly drew you out of your thoughts. 

"Hey! Y/N! Where were you and Sarah? I saw you guys go upstairs before. Did she finally tell you- say, where is Sarah? Y/N is everything alright? Are you okay?" He asked, looking down at you, before his expression shifted to a worried one, as if noticing for the first time how you were looking. You were covered in sweat, and out of breath. You also probably looked quite worried and panicked, which was exactly how you were feeling. 

Grabbing your friend's arm, you pulled him aside, before beginning to tell him urgently what was going on. 

"Listen, Leo, something is really wrong with Sarah." You said hurriedly, as Leo downed the rest of his strange orange drink, before tilting his head, still looking down at you concerned, only there was something else in his eyes. You were too busy talking in your haste and fear to notice any of this. 

"Yeah, she did take me upstairs, but when we were alone, she began acting really weird. Like she was going to attack me, and then she- well, listen, Leo, please, I think something really bad is about to happen-" Before you could reach the most concerning and crazy part of your story, you saw something out of the conner of your eye. Before you could think, say, or do anything, a sudden cry and scream tore through the crowd. 

(Author's Note)----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When your Anthro best friend tries to eat you, what do you do?... Play the fool and run away! If you hide from the problem, the problem can't get you! 

...I think?

Honestly, I really need to get back into the groove of finishing off my stories, instead of just starting a new one. People have been requesting to have this story finished off, so I've decided I'll do just that. 

I'm getting into a new writing habit!

(Unless people decide to make it a longer story instead of a short one. I won't complain either way!) 

:)

Stay safe everyone!