Beast, Blood, & Soul

* 2 *

The tent was a top-of-the-line model with two rooms. I had a cot with a thick mattress and sleeping bag, a space heater if I got cold, and the second room contained a small portable kitchen with food in case I got hungry. There was even a beanbag chair if I wanted to sit and read next to the kerosene lamp by the kitchen area, providing light in the tent.

If this is hazing, someone needs to change the definition in the dictionary.

Dr. Castor had left me here, about a mile into the forest, with the stipulation that I must stay here until he retrieved me in the morning. If I left the grounds for any reason barring an emergency, I would fail the job interview. I had reassured him that I would be fine, and I saw him smile to himself as he went to leave.

He knew what was in store for tonight. I could only hope that whatever prank my future co-workers were planning wouldn't get too out of control. I took a deep breath, settle into the beanbag chair with my phone, and wait for whatever was in store for tonight.

The first two hours pass with no incident, and I start to get a little apprehensive. Shouldn't whatever prank they were going to pull have started by now?

Almost in answer to my thought, I hear movement near the edge of the tent. I sit still, waiting to see what was going to happen.

The tent shakes as something moves along the tent's bottom edge, slowly heading towards the opening. I watch from my chair, curious but not alarmed since whatever was moving was small. Soon, a black little nose appears. Whiskers and the cutest little face soon poke through the tent opening.

I couldn't help but coo at the little cutie that jumps into my tent and was sniffing around. I stay seated in my beanbag so that I won't frighten the rabbit.

"Odd, rabbits are usually burrowed by this point. Too many predators at night." I think to myself.

The black ball of fluff hops right over to my chair and starts sniffing around. I lean over slowly to watch the little darling when the rabbit looks up and stares right at me with its lavender eyes. It gives me an intense look that I return, puzzled by the animal's behavior. I have never seen a rabbit this forward before.

I slowly lean away from the curious rabbit, look over at the little kitchen, and glance at the food options. I have fixings for a salad, so I grab a carrot and lean slowly back over, and offer the little guy the vegetable. The rabbit sniffs at the offering and slowly snares it with its mouth and pulls it from my hand. Crunching away, the rabbit devours the carrot in just minutes.

I talk to him softly as he's eating, and once he is done, he looks back up at me, and to my surprise, jumps into my lap.

"Oh, wow," I exclaim as the little animal takes stock of his new surroundings. He sniffs me, the beanbag chair, and my jeans, and then burrows himself into the dent behind my bent legs.

"Whoa, little guy, be careful under my legs. Don't want you getting hurt." I say gently. I giggle to myself because while he's burrowing, he's tickling the back of my legs, behind my knees, oh my gosh, that's ticklish, and no, I'm not going to admit my butt is ticklish. It doesn't help that I laugh and fall out of the beanbag chair when the rabbit goosed me.

As I sat there, laughing at the silly rabbit who has just tickled me out of the beanbag chair, I hear a wolf howl. I gasp quickly, and before I can move to secure the tent, a big brown wolf jumps into the tent.

Terrified, I quickly note that the animal is not growling. A good sign, I hope. I pray that Daniel was right and that none of these animals are dangerous. 

Then the wolf starts to growl.

Oh no.

Before I can move, the rabbit squeaks, and the wolf barks and begins to chase the frightened animal. The wolf jumps onto the beanbag chair, snapping at the rabbit. The small animal jumps from the beanbag chair and into my lap, burrowing inside my jacket. Before I can move, the wolf jumps onto me and starts clawing apart my jacket, going after the rabbit.

Screaming in fright, I'm helpless to do anything with these two animals going at it all over me. My leg gets scratched by the wolf's nails, and the rabbit is clawing up my shirt. It's only a matter of time before I'm disemboweled as the wolf goes after his lunch.

Then the strangest thing happens. The wolf stops struggling and removes itself from my coat with the rabbit now caught in its mouth. Holding the rabbit in its jaws by the scruff like a mother cat, the wolf growls like it's talking to itself, or the rabbit, and walks away from me, back to the tent opening. It then looks back at me with its lavender eyes, bows, with the rabbit still hanging from its mouth, and then leaves the tent.

What. Just. Happened?!!

I take quick stock of my own body, making sure I'm not seriously damaged. Other than a few scratches, I'm not seriously hurt. Shaken up, I quickly close the tent door so nothing else can sneak in and scare me.

It takes me a few minutes....hell, more than a few... to calm down and get my heartbeat under control. I walk into the kitchen and find a bottle of wine along with the salad and sandwich fixings.  I pop the cork and chug it. After a few gulps, I stop to breathe and get my composure back.

What was THAT?!! 

I know Daniel said that the animals weren't dangerous, but he didn't warn me that nature's laws were changed in this forest. That wolf clearly wasn't trying to eat the rabbit or me. If I didn't know better, it looked more like a parent retrieving a lost child.

I laugh at my crazy thoughts. I'm more shaken up than I realize. I finish drinking the bottle of wine, make myself a sandwich, and climb into the sleeping bag. As my eyes close I pray, "Please, let me sleep peacefully tonight."

A few hours later, I wake up to hear a scratching noise from the tent wall.

"Not again," I mumble.

A soft whine sounds from the other side of the tent wall. That didn't sound dangerous. I open my eyes and lay in my sleeping bag, listening. Trying to determine what I was hearing. Something scratched at the tent wall, and the whining continued. It sounded almost like a dog. What is a dog doing in a forest with a wolf?

Seriously, what kind of hazing is this?

I climb out of my sleeping bag and slip on my boots before checking what is making noise next to the tent. Turning on the lamp, I look out the screen window and see what looks like a small dog sniffing around. I look around, checking to see if the wolf is nearby. Seeing nothing, I unzip the tent and open the flap to check out the dog.

The curious animal continues to sniff around the tent, and I gently and slowly put my hand out for it to sniff. With its head still down, it comes to me and sniffs my fingers.

"You're the second adorable little animal to come see me tonight," I whisper. The dog barks and tries to climb into my lap. I kneel and I find myself sitting in the tent doorway, holding the snuggling canine. I try to determine the breed when it looks up at me with its gem-like eyes.

I look into the adorable face of this dog only to realize that I'm looking at lavender eyes. No animals have purple eyes. I think back on the rabbit and the wolf and realize they also had lavender eyes.

"How many animals have lavender eyes?" I murmur to myself.

Before I can answer my question, a blindfold covers my eyes and I'm whisked away by strong arms.

I'm not screaming...yet.

I'm waiting to see if this is finally the hazing I've been expecting. I'm being held rather comfortably by a pair of strong arms that are moving smoothly through the forest. I can feel the wind on my face and hear the leaves rustle on the trees as it blows through. I can hear the measured yet quick footsteps of my captor. Their breathing is even and steady, so this isn't some last-minute kidnap by a clumsy crook. Whoever has me isn't worried.

So, it's finally happening. Whatever Daniel had planned for my first night had begun. I hope.