HUNT, OR BE HUNTED

CHAPTER 32: THE TURNING

The man edged forward, his crowbar glinting under the streetlight. He brought it down on Raphael, again and again. The attacker’s strength was so immense, Raphael was sure that if he had been a normal human being, his scalp would be smashed to smithereens, leaving pieces of his brain scattered all over the ground.

Bane was writhing in pain on the gravel a few feet away. He had been stabbed multiple times with the attacker’s knife. His vision was blurry, but he wasn’t going to give up that easily. Blood poured out of his wounds. He could see Raphael on the ground, his attacker looming over him, about to bring the crowbar down one more time.

Bane didn’t know what happened, but all he wanted to do was to save his friend. He got up on his feet, and then everything turned misty as he faded into darkness.

“Holy mother of God,” Raphael’s mouth was wide open when he saw the animal leaping up with outstretched claws, aiming at his attacker. Sharp claws dug into the man’s back, and he let go of the crowbar almost instantly. “Holy sh-,” Raphael could not believe what he was looking at.

The jet-black panther had a large paw on the man’s chest, and its snapping jaws were only inches away from his face. Where the hell had it come from? What the hell was a panther doing in a place like this?

“Bane…” Raphael inched away from the scene, his eyes wide as he turned to look for his companion. “Bane?” The dark-haired man had disappeared.

His heart jumped out of his throat when another panther appeared out of nowhere. His attacker had vanished into thin air. In front of him were two vicious-looking panthers, circling each other, licking their chops. Raphael was so confused he wasn’t sure if this was reality, or just a dream.

He stood there, frozen. If he made a move, he was sure he was going to be their prey. He was trying not to shiver, trying to stop his knees from knocking together. Never before had he felt so terrified in his life. Slowly, he took a step back, then another. He just had to get out of there.

The panthers were growling loudly, a sound that frightened Raphael out of his wits. He had seen wild animals fighting on television, but not like this, right before his eyes. One of them was larger and more muscular than the other. If there were two panthers, what had happened to Bane and the attacker? Had they been eaten alive? Or had they just run off?

“Raphael. Get out of here,” Bane’s voice was as light as a breeze. Raphael turned to the left and right anxiously, but there was no one there-it sounded as if Bane had whispered the words in his ear, and then disappeared.

“What the hell is going on?” Raphael said aloud. He was shaking now, praying that the panthers had not seen him. But as he turned his gaze to the animals, he noticed that one of them was staring at him, its golden eyes locked on his face. He froze instantly, his heart racing, adrenaline rushing in his veins.

“Raphael. Get out of here, now,” Bane repeated. The panther was still looking at Raphael, its gaze never leaving his. Those golden eyes…they were so familiar, so…

“Oh my God,” Raphael gasped. “Oh my freaking…Holy sh-,” he stuttered when he realized what had happened. Those two men hadn’t disappeared, and hadn’t been cat food.

They had both turned into panthers. They had turned into their true selves-vicious, ravenous, and murderous beasts.

Raphael flinched when the panther closest to him, the one with its back to him, made the first move. It pounced, making a terrifying roar as it landed on top of the other animal. Claws penetrated skin, drawing blood. This was unlike anything weird that had happened in his life. This was bizarre. This was…impossible.