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Mitchell leaned heavily on Terry and they quickened their pace, but after only three strides, they were petrified with fear by a throaty growl. The sound of breaking branches echoed from behind them in the foliage.

“Terry, what is that?”

“I don't know Mitch, but we've got to keep going.”
Another deep snarl froze them in their tracks. Everything went quiet, leaving them only with the sounds of their shallow breathing and pounding heartbeats.

Both strained their eyes into the dimly lit forest behind them, trying to catch a glimpse of whatever was there. Neither saw anything at first, but in a flash, Mitchell caught the reflection of two large, yellow eyes. The silence exploded into a bestial roar as a huge wolf erupted from the thicket and slammed into them, knocking them both to the ground. Mitchell cried out in pain. As Terry frantically tried to get to his feet, he noticed a dead tree with several broken branches within his reach.
Quickly, he broke off a tree limb and looked for the beast. What he saw however, made his blood run cold. He had seen many wolves in the zoo and on television, but no wolf he'd ever seen on the Animal Planet channel, looked anything like the creature that was slowly circling Mitchell's prone body.
“Get away from him!” Terry screamed, brandishing the branch and charging the beast. As he approached striking distance, the wolf-creature completely caught the young man off guard. It stood up like a man.