[b][u] Old Friends, New Prey [/u][/b]

The fennec raced through the forest, her heart pounding in her chest. No matter where she turned, trees emerged from the shadows to block her path, leaving her desperately dodging and stumbling around them to keep her distance.

“I know where you are, Christine~”

Christine bit her lip as she took a quick glance over her shoulder. She could see his flashlight trail in the distance, a cone of light that scanned the trees searching for her. It stretched out as he turned it in her direction, slowly turning until it appeared like a white, blinding dot on the horizon. 

“There you are~” her pursuer called, steadily making his way towards her. “I’m going to get you, little fennec. I’m so close I can [i]taste[/i] it.”

“N-no, no..!” She stumbled forward and tripped on a root, barely catching her footing before she fell over. Her whole body felt like it was moving in slow motion - she had been running for so long, and she had no idea where she was even going. She forced herself forward, but each step seemed to take five seconds for her foot to hit the ground. “Stay away from me! Leave me alone!”

“Mmh, got you now, you tasty little snack, you’re all mine.” The cloaked figure chuckled as he walked methodically towards her, each step of his huge boots echoing through the forest. Christine struggled, shaking her shoulders as her paw finally touched the ground, allowing her to lift up the one behind her to repeat the process. In the time it had taken her to take a single step he had already covered half of the lead she had on him. “Can you hear my stomach growling? That’s for you, shortstuff, it can’t wait to meet you~”

“P-please, no, don’t– I don’t want to be–” Christine whimpered, straining to force her leg to move faster. She managed to take another step, though she found herself seemingly going backwards. It wasn’t long before she felt his breath on her large ears, and then at the side of her neck. “Nonononono, please, let me go, don’t do it!”

“Mmh, i’m going to do it alright…” Her predator cooed in her ear, his arms wrapping around her body as he lowered her jaws over her head. “You’re going where all foxes belong,” he drooled, his throat lit with an eerie light as his hand wandered down to her tail. “Straight to my– GUT!” 


Christine awoke with a shriek, startling her boyfriend into almost swerving off the road. She gripped onto the car door, breathing rapidly as her eyes darted around - her fur standing on her end and her ears straight up. The cheetah sitting behind her laughed as he took his hand off her tail. “Holy shit, it actually worked!” He cackled, “Oh my god, dude, did you hear that?”

“Yeah, it was right in my fucking ear.” The tiger sitting beside her growled, “Damn it Chet, these roads are narrow! I need to concentrate!” he growled over his shoulder, though he kept his eyes on the road and his hands gripped so firmly on the wheel Christine wondered if he was about to rip it off and beat Chet over the head with it. He shot a glance her way, then quickly added “And stop giving my girlfriend nightmares!” before offering her a sympathetic look.

“It’s fine, I’m already starting to forget it,” Christine replied, stroking the fur on her arms back down with her brush before pulling her tail around to rest it on her lap. Her heart was still beating a mile a minute, but she wasn’t about to say that out loud. She glanced up at the rearview mirror, her eyes narrowing on the cheetah in the backseat. “Very funny, Chet. Really, got you me.”

“Hey, it wasn’t a prank, it was a psychological experiment. Messing with dreams and the subconscious and shit,” Chet leaned back, his legs spreading until his left knee poked at the snoring lion sitting next to him. “I totally Inception’d you.” 

“I don’t think that’s what that movie was about.” Christine flicked her ears back before looking back at the snoring lion. “Why don’t you try it on Leo instead? I’m probably not going to get back to sleep now.” She shuddered, shaking off the last of her slumber in the process.

“Nah, I’ve tried it. He’s too deep a sleeper for it to work on him, never gets into REM… or he’s always in REM, I forgot which one.” The cheetah pulled out his phone to check, “...Aaand there goes my last bar of signal. Cool, guess I’ll find out when I get back.”

“It’s three days, you’ll live.” Ty replied, only for his voice to drop into the angry muttering Christine had learned to ignore during their two months of dating. She instead looked out the window, watching the large redwood trees go rushing past as they traveled down the road towards the national park. Despite the forest matching the one in her dream, she quickly found herself lost in the beauty of nature. Her head drooped, and she could feel her eyelids starting to get heavy again.

[i]’Christine, I’m coming to get you~’[/i]

The fennec shuddered awake at the memory. She glared at Chet in the rearview mirror, but he was already busying himself leaning over and whispering things in Leo’s ear, no doubt trying to implant some thoughts or nightmares in the lion’s mind too. 

“Mmmgh…” The lion dozily opened his eyes and stretched, yawning loudly as he forced Chet back onto his side of the car. “Uuauahh… Mmh, are we still on the road?” the lion licked his lips as he blinked the sleep away. “Feels like we’ve been driving for hours.”

“I’ve been driving for hours, you’ve been sleeping.” Ty replied as he leaned back on his seat. 

“Heh, well that’s on you, bro. You’re the responsible one.” Leo grinned over at Chet, who gave a nod of agreement. The lion glanced at Christine, but she was quick to avoid eye contact with the bulking beast of a man. “Heh, though we might have a new responsible one. How long have you two been dating again?”

“Two months,” Ty replied. 

“New record!” Leo beamed.

“Yep.”  Ty muttered.

Christine gripped her tail, holding it tightly against her lap as she continued to stare purposefully out the window. She raked her fingers through it to calm herself down, but it only made her think more about it. Why did they have to keep bringing up Ty’s lacklustre dating history in front of her?

“Heh, she’s a cutie though. I can see why you’re dating,” Leo continued as though she wasn’t within earshot. The lion let out a rumbling purr as he leaned forward and let out a deep nostalgic sigh. “Y’know, being in the car with you guys kinda reminds me of the last time it was just the three of us and a cute fox–”

“Don’t make me kick your ass too, Lee!” Ty raised his voice as he leaned past the seat to shake his fist at the lion. “Chet's already in line for messing with her, but I can save some for your fat ass!” 

“Ty, road!” Christine yelped.

“Oh, shit–” The tiger quickly put both his hands back on the wheel, his eyes locked forward. For a moment the car was completely silent, then the tiger leaned forward and glowered. “If I crash and kill us all, you two are gonna be why.” 

“Nah, you’re the responsible one. You’d be wholly to blame,” Leo replied, leaning back in his seat and spreading his legs. For a moment all three of the men were silent, only the rumbling of the engine to fill the dead air.

 Chet grinned nervously. “...You’re not really going to fight me though, right man?”

“A fight suggests you’d get to punch back,” Ty remarked. The cheetah worriedly busied himself with his phone, then hissed in frustration as he reminded himself again about the lack of signal. “Chill, man. We’re here on vacation. Leave Christine alone and we’ll call it even.” The tiger finally relented, glancing down at the fennec. “You okay, babe?”

“Yeah, fine…” Christine lied, though it seemed enough to put Ty’s mind at ease. The three stopped talking all together - Ty kept his eyes on the road and Chet and Leo each stared out their windows. Christine leaned back in her seat, trying not to look at any of them out of fear of provoking another fight. 

[i] ‘The last time we were all together with a fox?’ What’s that about?’[/i] she thought to herself, wringing her tail nervously in her hands. [i]’Whatever’s going on between them, I only have to be around them for three days. Then it’ll be just me and him again’[/i] she thought, her eyes returning to the handsome, muscular tiger in the driver’s seat. [i]’...Yeah… this’ll be worth it. I can put up with his friends for a couple of days.’[/i]

The next corner they turned was the last leg of their trip - the long stretch of woodland road that led to the park where they’d be spending the weekend. Campfires, beers by the lake, smoking on the hilltops… and that wasn’t getting to what she and Ty would get up to in their room at the cabin, away from his frat bro friends. She blushed through her golden sandy fur as she looked over the tiger’s powerful form, and he grinned down at her as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. 

“It’s pretty nice out here,” she said, blushing as she glanced away from the tiger. “So secluded.”

“Yeah, like a horror movie.” Leo chuckled. 

“The only horror here is what’s going to happen in Ty’s cabin. Poor girl has to share a bed with someone twice her size,” Chet snickered as he flicked the back of Christine’s ear with his finger. “Better get all your hiking in on day one, right Chrissy? Don’t worry, we won’t knock if we hear you two going at it.”

“Shut up.” Christine rolled her eyes, trying not to blush too much as she glanced up at Ty.

“Aww, where’d you learn language like that, little girl?” Chet teased her as he reached forward to tease her ears. A quick glare from the tiger left him shrinking back into his seat though. “Sorry,” he mumbled to Ty, not her.

“Don’t listen to him, he’s just jealous,” Ty murmured, his fingers tightening on the steering wheel. Christine leaned against the window, watching the tall redwood trees, and the wooden animal sculptures dotted amongst them. The forest was vast and full of the reds and oranges of autumn, it seemed to go on forever, and in the fennec’s mind it did. Her ears folded as she remembered the dream, her hand tightening on her tail. She hoped the memories of it would be gone before nightfall.


Their car pulled up to the open iron gates with tall decorative totem poles either side of them. As soon as they made it past the threshold they were waved down and approached by a heavyset, middle-aged otter proudly wearing his park ranger uniform. His expression was dark and dour as they approached, his eyebrows furrowed as he watched the truck roll in. 

He transformed before Christine’s eyes in the ten steps it took to reach the driver’s side door, his face brightening as he gave them all a big smile. “Hello lads! –oh, and lady! –” He tipped his hat to Christine as Ty rolled the window down. “Are you just visiting for the day, or are you staying the weekend?”

“We’re staying, reservation should be under ‘Reed’,” Ty replied, leaning back casually in his seat. “Where do we get the keys?”

“You can pick them up from the front desk, just a few rules to go over before I give them to you,” The otter replied before gesturing towards the left corner of the parking lot. “You can park over there in the meantime, this whole section is for day visitors.” 

“Yeah, thanks.” The tiger said before snapping his fingers at the cheetah in the backseat. Chet immediately pulled a can of beer from the bag between his legs and passed it forward. 

“Ty, no.” Christine tucked her ears back. 

“I’m not going to get drunk in the 12 seconds it takes me to park.” Ty groaned as he cracked the can open. “I promised I wouldn't drink until I got us here, and now we’re here, so I’m drinking.” 

“Oh, ah. That’s actually one of the rules we’ll be going over; You can’t drink here.” The ranger spoke up, causing the tiger’s attention to snap back to him. The otter held out his hand for the can. “You can drink in your private cabin if you want, but please don’t bring any alcohol outside. Ah, that reminds me, please make sure you dispose of that can properly after you’re done with it.” 

“Are you serious, old man?” Ty’s muscles tensed, his eyes narrowing into icy blue slits.

“I’m the ranger of this park, son,” The otter replied, his friendly demeanour fading as he glared back at him. “It would be awful polite of you to save your drinking for your cabin.” 

“You know, you look familiar…” Ty clenched the can, causing its yellow contents to rise and begin spilling out from the top, leaving tiny streams running over his knuckles. “Have we met before?”

“Maybe we have…” The otter frowned. “...Small state, ain’t it?”

“That. it. Is.” Ty glowered, putting more pressure on the hand as he glared defiantly at the ranger. “Smallllll state.”

“One of the smallest.” The ranger agreed.

“I’ve heard New Hampshire is smaller.” Ty lifted the can to his lips.

“Wouldn’t know. Never been.” The otter frowned as he watched the can until Ty was forced to lower it again. “Just here. Just this area, really.”

“You should travel.” Ty replied. “Live your life while you can.”

“Reckon so,” The otter said, adjusting his hat as he looked into Ty’s eyes. “You living your life, Mr Reed? Are you and your friends gonna have a good time? Or am I gonna have to ask you to leave?”

“...Dude, are you going to park or what?” Leo whispered from the backseat. “My ass is falling asleep, and I’m getting thirsty”

“Have a beer.” Ty replied, only to return his gaze back to the otter as if challenging him. “It’s a stupid rule and the park needs customers. If he kicks us out, I’ll refund the cabin and he’ll be the one explaining why they lost money. He can’t do shit.”

“Is that right?” The otter growled, an angry chirp rising in the back of his throat. “Can’t do anything, huh? Hah… I’ll have to keep an eye on you, Mr Reed.” His pleasant smile almost returned, though it brought with it a condescending chuckle. “You’ve got a lot of nerve.”

“And you’ve got none, ranger,” Ty remarked. The two stared at each other in silence, the tension was enough to make Christine curl up in her seat. 

“Ty, come on, it’s been a long drive. I don’t want to go back home again.” she whispered. Chet and Leo leaned forward expectantly, and judging by the look on the tiger’s face it was three against one. The ranger held his hand out for the can.

The tiger brought the can to his muzzle and chugged, never breaking eye contact with the otter. With each glug that moved down the tiger’s throat the park ranger looked more stunned, until finally all that was left were a few sips. The tiger crushed the can in his hand, then stuck it out the window and dropped it at the otter’s feet. 

The truck sped into the parking area, leaving the otter to clean up his mess as his two friends laughed uproariously in the backseat. Christine leaned against the window and covered her face. 


[center] * * * [/center]

An hour had passed since they had arrived, and Christine didn’t feel much better. She had offered to pick up the keys while Ty and his friends unloaded the truck, mostly to avoid any of them starting another fight. It also provided a good opportunity to profusely apologise to the park ranger on Ty’s behalf. She was surprised they hadn’t been kicked out immediately, but the otter let her off with a warning to keep the noise down and ‘watch herself around those boys.’

She walked slowly on the way back to the cabin, taking in the surroundings without the yelling, cussing and rough-housing of the four hour drive it had taken to get to the park. Ty’s old friends seemed to bring out the worst in him, but they were a big part of his life, and if she was going to be his girlfriend she needed to learn to get along with them. 

She wandered through the woodlands for a while longer, stopping at a map to check the nature trails and see which she might like to try before the weekend was over. Finally she made her way to the cabin and offered the keys to Ty, who promptly took them and opened the front door before carrying his bag and the cooler inside. She and Ty would be sharing the room with the double bed, while Chet and Leo would have their own separate room with a single for each of them.

The fennec took her suitcase from the porch and made her way inside, taking in the old wooden scent of the house, as well as the preserved flowers and butterflies hung in picture frames on the walls. There was a large couch and two armchairs in the main room that surrounded a coffee table with a welcome basket. Chet immediately started eating the muffins while Leo helped himself to the cookies. She made her way into her bedroom, and Ty followed shortly after and closed the door behind them, blocking the sounds of his friends.

“...What’s up?” he asked - A dreaded question in any relationship. “Your ears are down and you're icing me out.*

“You didn’t need to do that. In the parking lot, I mean.” Christine said as she put her suitcase on the bed and opened it. “You acted like a jerk, and it really embarrassed me.”

“That guy was power-tripping, I had to put a stop to it. People will push you around if you let them.” Ty shrugged it off. “He was being a wad, and it was just one can that he immediately picked up anyway. It didn’t choke a squirrel to death or start a forest fire, and he can’t kick us out so don’t worry about it.” 

 “You know that isn’t what I’m mad about.” Christine shook her head, “that’s not the point.”

“Then what is?” 

“You're acting like a completely different person.” Christine glanced over her shoulder. “Either your friends are rubbing off on you, or you're usually like this and you just act differently around me.”

“Okay, so which would you prefer?” Ty asked bluntly, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall. “If Chet and Leo are bad for me then you're right, if I act differently around you then it's because I love you and you're still right. So which do you want?”

“I don’t know.” She sighed as she finished unpacking her clothes and moved onto her toiletries. “I’m just… I’m kind of stressed, your friends are… [i]a lot[/i], Chet especially. I’m worried about you, I’ve never seen you get that angry before.” She put her shampoo aside. “When I see you acting like them, it scares me. You’re on vacation and you’re flying off the handle every five seconds. How are you going to relax if they keep being jerks and dragging you down to their level?”

“Weed and beer, how else?” Ty remarked. Christine gave him an icy glare, and the tiger quickly averted his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“It was a long drive. We're all kind of agitated.” Ty sighed. The fennec turned away from him and tucked her ears back, only to perk them up as she suddenly found two thick, striped arms wrapping around her, pulling her back into his muscular abs. “Let’s just forget about it and start over, okay? I’m going to do what it takes to make this trip memorable for you. I’m sorry my friends are being shitheads.”

“...It’s fine,” said Christine. It wasn’t, but they could work that out later. She leaned back against him for a moment before wriggling out from under his arms. A sudden crash in the other room made her jump, and Ty’s muscles tensed as he scowled towards the door. “Maybe you should go try to calm them down.” She tilted her head back until she was staring up at him. “I need to get changed anyway, I’m kind of sweaty.”

“Oh. Yeah, no problem. Come out when you’re ready.” Ty replied, leaning down to kiss her gently on the forehead before quietly leaving the room. The fennec felt wracked with guilt the second he closed the door behind him, but it was good to be honest (or so she was told.) With a contemplative sigh she set a shirt from the pile on the bed aside and lifted the one she was wearing over her head to change into it.

As she pulled her head back out from under it, something moved in her peripheral vision.

Something in the window.

Something that moved like a man who had just been caught peeping.

She screamed and struggled with the shirt that still bound her arms together, eventually toppling over and landing on her butt. She finally wrestled it off and snatched the shirt from the bed, thankful it was a t-shirt and not something with buttons. Just as her heart settled Ty burst into the room like he planned to rip the door off the hinges. “What’s going on?” he demanded, “I heard you scream.”

“Someone was watching me get changed through the window!” Christine pointed, and Ty bounded across the room like a giant hound. He pulled the window up and stuck his head out, breathing slowly and heavily as the fur on the back of his neck stood in large striped spikes. Christine tucked her shirt down and slowly got to her feet, adjusting it as she tried to stop her heart from racing. “Do you see anyone?”

“No, no one. Must’ve run off when you yelled,” Ty murmured as he pulled his head back into the room. He slammed it down and immediately fastened the lock before checking it with a tug. “Piece of shit. He won’t be so lucky if he tries that again.”

The fennec sat on the bed, her ears wilting as she rested her head in her hands. “...Maybe it was just a feral raccoon or a bird,” she reasoned as she pulled her tail onto her lap and started to stroke it. “It happened really fast, I might have jumped to conclusions.”

“Maybe,” Ty grumbled, his muscles slowly relaxing. He pulled the blinds down and shut the curtains, leaving the room shrouded in a miserable gray. “Keep the curtains shut while you’re changing for now.”

“I really should’ve done that before,” Christine muttered, her fingers digging into her tail until it stung. 

“Fucking piece of shit coward, I’d have beaten his ass,” Ty muttered under his breath, offering her a gentle scratch behind the ear before stepping out and closing the door behind him. The walls were so thin and her ears so sensitive she could hear him recounting the story to the others as he returned to the main room, but there was still the matter of finishing her clothing change.

She glanced over at the window. Curtains and blinds, barely any light coming into the room at all. You’d need X-ray vision to see into the room from the outside now. Christine unbuckled her belt and moved to slide her pants off…

A bird chirped outside the window, and the fennec laid down on the floor and finished changing behind the cover of the bed. 


[center] * * * [/center]

Things had quietened down since the rough start to the trip. Ty had insisted on walking one of the nature trails, no doubt as a gesture to make up for everything. Leo had stayed behind and Chet had gotten bored and gone back to the cabin halfway through the walk, leaving just her and her boyfriend to walk through the beautiful autumn woods. She talked at length about the trees and plants while he listened intently, offering a ‘Huh, cool’ or a ‘That’s interesting’ when she needed it.

The sun had set by the time they had gotten back to the cabin, taking with it all of Christine’s worries and replacing them with warm fall memories. They returned to find Chet sitting by a barbecue pit while Leo brought the cooler from inside. After a long day of travelling and a long afternoon of hiking it was nice to drink, smoke and forget about all of life's problems.

At one point Ty pulled Leo aside and whispered, “Did you see anyone?” while trying not to look at her. Christine took a long drag from the blunt and passed it back to Chet, her ears tilting in the tiger’s direction. 

“Nothing, no one came by after you left.” Leo replied. “It was probably a kid or an animal, man. Don’t worry about it.”

“I’m worried about her, I don’t want her more freaked out than she already is. We’re supposed to be relaxing.” Ty muttered, giving a quick glance in her direction. She looked into the flames, twitching her tail as she stretched to appear unaware. “You think I want some peeping tom looking at her like that?”

“She should’ve just changed in front of you,” Leo whispered back. “Have you even seen her naked yet? Does she put out or what?”

“Yeah man, twice a week. Best pussy I’ve got all year.” Ty smirked. “Great bod too. She’s got that shortstack butt.”

Christine blushed and glanced away, though she couldn’t stop her ears straining for more compliments. 

“Is that why you haven't–”

“Nah. I've thought about it, but I really like her. I think she might be the one.” Ty shook his head, his voice dropped even lower as he shuffled closer. “But… I've thought about it, y’know? It’s like the shorter they are, the harder it gets.” 

Christine tilted her head, that wasn’t [i]exactly[/i] a compliment. Curiously she perked her ears a little more.

“It’s gotta be hard, I couldn't keep my jaws off her.” Leo licked his lips, “Mmrowl, fennec sounds good right now.”

The fennec froze, her fingers gripping onto her seat. They weren’t… They weren’t talking about what she [i]thought[/i] they were talking about. They couldn’t be.

“I know she’s your girlfriend, but if she wasn’t she’d be down my throat before she could yip.” Leo continued hungrily. “Ate some juicy guys like that before, bet she’d be even better.”

“Tell me about it. The fruity perfume she wears, the soft fur, that ‘four gulp, ten star’ body. She's prime prey material.” Ty wiped some drool off his muzzle. “Fuck, Why'd you make me think about it? Now I really want to,” His voice dropped into a rumbling purr, “I think she’s into it too, she really likes biting and shit. And dating me? She’s got to be one of those willing types if she’s into dudes twice her size, right?”

“If she is, you'd better act fast. If you don't, Chet might.” Leo warned him with a smirk, his laughter clear even without the fennec’s spectacular hearing. “Munchies hit that guy pretty hard, and unattended snacks are fair game.”

Christine let out an involuntary gasp, catching Chet's hazy attention as he rolled his head over to look at her. He gave her a wide, knowing smile and raised his beer to her. The fennec tried to stay calm, she couldn't keep her ears from shooting straight up. She looked back at the two just in time to make eye contact with Leo, who quickly turned away.

“Shit, I think she heard us.” Leo whispered hurriedly. “forgot about the ears.” 

“She knows you were joking, chill. I’ll talk to her,” Ty whispered, patting him on the shoulder before briskly walking back to the campfire. Christine slowly looked up at him, watching him emerge from the shadows as the fire lit him in a menacingly orange glow. 

“Hey.” he said, as if he weren't planning on eating her.

“Hey,’ she said, as if she were oblivious to the fact.

“Leo didn’t see anything,” the tiger said, taking a beer from the cooler as he passed it and cracking it open as he sat beside her. “They’re either too chicken to come back or it was your imagination.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and squeezed her gently. “Either way, you’re safe from creeps.” 

“Sure I am,” Chrstine huffed, curling up as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“I guess you heard all that then,” Ty took a long sip from the can. “...Sorry, I thought you knew. Honestly, I thought it was why you were dating me.”

“How could that possibly be why I’m dating you?” Christine asked as she shuffled out from under his arm and scooched her chair away, her left ear twitching. Ty reached out to touch her, but she flinched and shuffled away. He withdrew his hand, his eyes darkening as he stared down into his beer can.

“Christine,” he sighed, “come on–”

“Oooh, Ty's in the doghouse~” Chet giggled from across the firepit.

“Hmph. Maybe we should go somewhere else to talk about this,” the tiger heaved himself up before glancing down at the fennec. “Come on, let’s go,” he glanced at the other two. “Give us some space, okay? Don’t follow us. We’ll be back in an hour.”

“It’s going to take you an hour?” Leo chuckled as he sat down, the folding chair nearly breaking under his weight. “You’re out of practice, man.”

“Dude, we don’t even get to watch?” Chet frowned, “Dick move, bro. You really have changed.”

“I’m not going to eat her.” Ty’s fur flared, then settled as he looked down at the fennec. “...I’m not,” he reassured her.

She remained motionless, staring into the fire with a can held limply in her hands. “I’m not gonna eat you.” He repeated once more as he wandered towards the woods. “Come on. I've got a lot of explaining to do and I don't want to get distracted again.”

Christine felt her muscles tense as she considered her options - go with her boyfriend who probably wanted to eat her, or stay by the campfire with his idiot friends who definitely wanted to. Finally she put the can down by her chair and marched over to Ty while Chet and Leo whooped and laughed behind her. 

“Dude, she’s pissed. Ty’s going to come back with scratch marks!” 
“Yeah, or a full gut.”
“Hey, … know what … should …?”
“What? …haha! .. O.. e..ah.... funny…”

Their voices slowly faded away as she and Ty walked through the dark, until not even her large ears could pick them up. Christine lost track of how long they had been walking - five or ten minutes, long enough that the others wouldn’t disturb them and they both had a chance to calm down. The tiger finally stopped and turned to face her, his blue eyes gleaming in the dark. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Christine flicked her ears back, her arms remaining firmly crossed. “For acting like a jerk after I asked you not to? For bragging to your friends about how much sex you get? For, I don’t know, wanting to EAT ME?” Her fur flared as she turned away from him, her tail lashing behind her. “And you thought I’d enjoy it? That I’d WANT to be eaten by you?!”

“Like I said, I’ve got a lot of explaining to do,” Ty scratched the back of his neck as he turned away from her and faced out over the large lake. “Leo, Chet and I used to be in a frat, Felis Predatoris. We were the biggest predators on campus.” He shrugged. “I don’t know, it was college. You party, you let loose. It’s your final shot at doing whatever you want before you’re stuck with a boring office job.”

“But you don’t go around [i]eating[/i] people,” Christine said, “This isn’t about partying and having a good time, this is about… life and death, are you seriously telling me you used to do that all the time?” The fennec’s ears perked as a chill ran up her spine. “Or… that you still do?” She tucked her ears back, “Oh, Ty. Please tell me you don’t. Is that what happened to the other girls?”

“No! no, I stopped doing that after I got my own place.” Ty shook his hands in front of his chest quickly before looking out over the lake. “Chet and I fucked around a little after college, but once we parted ways I stopped too. I got a job, I got serious, I stopped being like them and I didn’t date anyone until I met you.” The tiger replied. “Look… I don’t pred anymore, and I’m obviously not going to do it to you. I just thought you liked it because…” he gestured with his hand. “...you know.”

“No, I don’t. That’s why I’m so confused right now,” Christine replied, gripping her ears. “Do I just give off ‘prey energy’ or something? Is it because I’m small?”

“Christine, you’re half my size. I didn’t think there was any other reason you’d want to be with someone so much bigger than you,” Ty turned to face her again and stepped towards her, his gait ambling in a determined effort not to startle her as he approached. “You like it when I pick you up and give you love bites too, you like it when I pin you down and the fact I can fit your whole chest in my mouth.” The tiger cocked an eyebrow. “Are you starting to see how I got confused?”

“That just means I like it rough and wild, it doesn’t mean I want to get eaten alive!” Christine shuddered. 

There was some truth in what the tiger was saying though - as he approached she found herself feeling smaller as his shadow engulfed her, his muscular body a chiselled silhouette in the moonlight. Her head spun with memories of their past experiences - being held up by her arms or tail, so easily lifted by the bulking feline. The way he used his tongue when he bit her - the hungry growl in his murmurs of satisfaction. Ty was finally close enough to wrap his arms around her, but he waited until she was ready.

“I guess I’ve been sending some mixed signals too,” Christine replied, finally unfolding her arms as she looked up at him. “It scares me though, knowing you used to do that… knowing you might still do it to me. You were literally just telling Leo how irresistible I am.” 

“That was guy talk, I don’t think about you that way at all.” Ty reassured her as he knelt down to be at eye level with her. “And you were right, those guys are assholes. After this trip I’m never going to see them again, I promise. I just… I really don’t want to lose you.”

“You don’t…” Christine started, then shook her head as she placed both her hands in the tiger’s massive one. His thumb and finger stroked over them delicately, his eyes staring deep into hers. “...Maybe you can be as good an influence on them as they are a bad one on you. If you can change, maybe they can too.” 

“You think?” Ty perked his ears.

“I don’t want you to lose your friends,” Christine said, shuffling a little closer to the tiger. “I just need you to act like the person you’ve become, not the person you were. Please, start acting like the Ty I fell in love again. I want this to work, I really do.” 

“I’ll try,” Ty said, planting a gentle kiss on her forehead as he wrapped his arms around her. “You’re so perfect.”

“Well, tell Leo that next time he thinks about having a Fennec sandwich instead of telling him how good I am in bed.” She smiled, playfully punching Ty in the chest. “I mean, ‘Twice a week’? I swear it’s less often than that.” 

“No, it’s usually about twice a week,” Ty purred, his features lightening as his hands trailed over her body. “But you know, I think we’re behind on that… and it’s Friday night.” 

“And the weed’s starting to kick in,” Christine replied as she nuzzled against the tiger’s cheek. “...and I was just talking about how I like it [i]wild[/i].” 

“Skinny dipping?” Ty offered, glancing at the lake.

“Maybe afterwards, when we need to clean up.” Christine said, her tail swishing high behind her as she ran her hands over the tiger’s shirt. “I want you to do that jaw thing you were talking about…”

“Mmmh, that really gets you going, doesn’t it?” Ty purred. The hand that had previously been trailing idly down her back suddenly grabbed her tail, leaving her letting out a gasp as he hoisted her off the ground. He spun her around and placed her gently on the grass before positioning himself over her, pinning her legs with his chest as he ran one clawed finger over her shirt.

The Fennec gave him a mischievous smile and crossed her arms over each other, her fingers curling around the hem of her shirt as she slowly lifted it over her head. The tiger nuzzled between her breasts, his teeth biting lightly at her bra as he let out teasing growls. “No wonder you kept making hungry noises when we fuck, you thought I was getting off to them,” Christine chuckled as she ran her finger idly over the tiger’s ears. “But I’m not prey, Ty. There’s only one part of me that you’re allowed to eat.” 

“Mmmh, well I’ll start with your tits and make my way down then,” Ty rumbled, matching her energy with a smirk as he wrapped his hands behind her back. After a little fumbling her bra came loose, and the tiger decided to make things even by taking off his shirt, revealing the rippling striped muscles underneath. Christine brushed her bra off her chest and laid back, her hands behind her head as she stared up at him. “You look great in the moonlight,” he said.

“It’s nice to get back to nature,” Christine responded, breathing in the scent of the grass around them, as well as the water of the nearby lake. The tiger pressed his muzzle down, his jaws parting as he took her left breast into his mouth. “Mmhhh,” she whimpered, squirming against the ground as his tongue flicked over her nipple. “Tyyyy~”

“Mmmh,” Ty murmured, his teeth gently squeezing the breast in his jaws while his hand moved to fondle the other. “Christine…”

Christine panted, her hands wrapping around the tiger. She dug her fingers into his back as she arched her own back, pushing her breasts into her boyfriend’s jaws. “Yyes, yes~” She whispered, wiggling her hips to idly get her shorts to slip. It wouldn’t be long until she needed to take them off anyway.

“Goddamn, you’re beautiful,” Ty whispered, pulling his mouth away and kissing her chest before going back to gnawing gently on them. “So cute and tasty~ My little fennec sandwich~”

“Oh my god, don’t say that,” Christine laughed, pushing down on the back of Ty’s head to muffle his voice. “You’ll ruin it.” 

“A night by the lake with my perfect girlfriend?” Ty purred as he leaned up until she could feel the tent in his shorts pressing firmly against her crotch. “Nothing’s going to ruin this, babe.”

The sudden flash of light made her jump, her eyes widening as the white light amongst the trees overtook her vision. She yelped and fell back, quickly covering herself up as Ty let her go and whirled around, one hand raised to shield his eyes from the blinding flashlight. “What the fuck?!” Ty growled, whirling around and glaring over his shoulder.

“BREAK IT UP, YOU TWO! THIS IS A PUBLIC PARK!” A voice bellowed from the darkness. “No one wants to see a couple’a’lovebirds fuckin’ like rabbits!”

“I-I’m so sorry, we had no idea there’d be people ar–” Christine began, only for Ty to clasp his hand over her muzzle to silence her. As the panic faded, she started to recognise the voice… as well as the shrill one that followed immediately after it.

“BWOOP BWOOP! FREEZE! COCKBLOCK POLICE!” Chet shouted, swinging his flashlight wildly. “Come out with your pants up!”

“God DAMN IT you guys! I’ve had it!” Ty snarled as he tossed his shirt over Christine to cover her and got to his feet. “A single fucking hour with my girlfriend, that’s all I asked for!” 

“Breaker 1-9-2-4 Suspect appears aggressive and armed with a two inch cock,” Chet mumbled into his beer can. “Proceed with caution, we don’t want him poking someone’s eye out.” 

“Copy that 69er,” Leo laughed, his reply broken up by wheezing and chuckling as he swung the flashlight around. “Proceed with caution and detain the suspect.”

“I’m not fucking around, you two have been riding my ass the entire trip, but this time you crossed the line!” The tiger growled, seemingly doubling in size as he stood up straight, his muscles tensing and his fur standing on end. Christine awkwardly pulled Ty’s shirt over herself and shuffled backwards, watching wide-eyed as he stomped towards the two other big cats. “It’s day fucking one, and I was trying to be romantic and you two ruined it, just like you’ve ruined everything else so far.” 

“Hah, riding your ass,” Chet snickered, “Gay.”

“Shut the fuck up, you two idiots have ruined everything!” Ty jabbed his finger towards Chet. “You especially, I know this was your idea, you scrawny pussy!”

“Ty… chill, it was a prank,” Leo frowned. “We’ll leave you alone, but take your meds, bro.”

“Also, [i]We[/i] ruined the trip? Neither of us brought girls. This is supposed to be guy time.” Chet added with a sneer. “You’re the one who went on that gay ass woodland adventure with Yoko instead of pre-gaming with us. I thought you’d at least come back with some shrooms!”

“And stop calling things ‘gay’, you’re gay! You fuck dudes! You were bragging about topping an otter last week!” Ty snarled, his hands clenched into fists. “I can’t believe I wanted to see you guys again, you haven't changed a bit! You’re still acting like punks instead of what you really are…” he pointed at Leo, “A burnout,” then at Chet, “and the mooch who lives with him!”

“Bro,” Leo lowered his flashlight, then finally turned it off all together. “What the fuck, man? It was a joke.”

“You're a joke.” Ty sniffed.

“Hey, fuck you, man!” Leo snapped, his expression dropping into rage as he stormed over and shoved the tiger. “Business class asshole, you think you’re better than me just because fucking your food?”

Christine tensed as the lion’s eyes fell on her. Ty glanced over his shoulder for a moment, and she could see the burning rage in his eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Her whole body seemed occupied with making her heartbeat as quickly as possible.

“She’s not my food, she’s my girlfriend.” Ty shoved him back. “What, you want to ruin my love life because you're jealous of me? I worked hard to get where I am! I didn't sit around eating donuts! You’re going nowhere!”

“Woah! Okay–” Chet threw his hands up, gasping and guffawing dramatically. “You know what, Ty? You know what–”

“What, Chet? What? I don't know.” Ty glared down at him. The cheetah bunched up his face, stomped a little, then receded into his natural slouch and turned off his flashlight as well. The tiger flicked his attention to the lion, bearing his teeth. “Yeah?*

“Yeah?” Leo repeated mockingly, cocking his head before standing at his full height, his eyeline matching the tiger’s. The cheetah next to him tried to square up too, but the closest he could get was their chests. Ty and Leo stared into each other’s eyes for the longest time. 

Then Leo finally spoke: “Dropout.”

Ty brought his fist back and landed it square on the lion’s right eye, leaving him staggering backwards. Chet immediately leapt into action, but a single swing of the tiger’s arm sent him flying back into the bushes. Leo let out a roar and leapt forward, pouncing Ty and leaving the two rolling around on the floor. “Ty, stop! What are you doing?!” Christine yelled. “Both of you, stop it!” 

“Listen to your girl, housecat!” Leo snarled, saliva flying from his jaws. “Pussy little kitty bitch! Domesticated balless little desk jockey!” He finally pinned the tiger to the ground and loomed over him, the weight of his gut pressing down on the tiger’s toned abdomen. “You used to be Felis Predatoris, man! You’re nothing now, just a coward who suckerpunches his friends over a prank!” 

“At least I have a girl you virgin fuck!” Ty growled, putting his full weight into a sudden roll to the side. “Get out of my fucking life!”

The momentum allowed him to finally throw the lion off of him, as well as solid ground. Leo landed with a splash in the lake and Ty pushed himself up, panting as he watched the water. 

…Leo didn’t come back up.

“How deep is the lake?” Christine broke the silence.

“It… I didn’t think it was that deep,” Ty panted, the anger in his eyes slowly beginning to fade as his breathing slowed.

“Can he swim?” Christine asked.

Ty stared silently at the water, his worried eyes lit by the reflected moonlight coming from its surface.

“Ty!” Christine yelled.

“He’s fucking with me, give him a sec.” Ty waved his hand dismissively, his eyes narrowing on the water.

“Ty, I don’t think he’s fucking with you.” Christine insisted as she ran over to Ty’s side, paying little mind to Chet as he struggled his way free from the thorny vines that had gotten tangled around his ankle. “Ty, can he–”

The lion burst from the water in a huge gasp, his mane soaked and covering his eyes as he flailed his arms. Christine immediately shot back from the shore, almost stumbling into Chet. “What the hell, man?! This water’s cold as shit! Eugh, I drank some of it!” Leo shouted, spluttering and splashing. “Oh god, that was mould, there’s mould in the lake and it got in my mouth!” 

“It’s probably algae, dipshit, that’s what you get for shouting instead of swimming. Just get out before you sink,” Ty grunted indifferently as he leaned forward to offer the lion his hand. “C’mon, I’ll pull you out.”

“Yeah bullshit, like I’m letting you shove me in again. I’m getting out by myself!” Leo growled before huffing as he started to paddle towards a nearby rickety wooden dock, or more likely the old row boat attached to it. The group followed him along the bank - Ty staring silently at the floundering lion while Chet stared at the ground, his hands deep in his cargo shorts. Christine took a few quick steps to catch up to Ty, but he increased his pace to keep his distance. The fennec fell back, her ears tucking. “You owe me a shirt, man!” Leo yelled as he neared the boat. “This is from Krúdskoll’s Reunion Tour, I’m never going to get another one like it!”

“I’ll pay for your dry cleaning, and if you didn’t pack a spare you can have one of mine,” Ty offered, though Leo just grunted and kept swimming faster and more aggressively. Just as he was about to reach the boat he jerked back, his head splashing underwater as his hands flailed for the nearest oar. 

“...Leo?” Ty called, “Leo!” 

The lion resurfaced with a gasp, his hands pushing down against the water around him. “F-fuck– something’s got me, something’s grabbing my leg!” he yelled.

“Nothing’s grabbing your leg, it’s probably just a plant,” Ty called back. “Shake it loose and get on the boat.” He then quickly glanced back at the cheetah. “Get a life jacket,” he whispered.

“A life jacket? The guy weighs a thousand pounds, we can’t find a life jacket for him,” Chet replied hurriedly, though judging by the lion’s expression not quietly enough. “Maybe there’s a floaty thing around, but it’s not going to support him.”

“I’m 328! And a lot of that is muscle!” Leo shouted as he made another desperate grab for the oar, only to plummet under the water again. He dragged himself back to the surface, though he was barely keeping his head above the water. “H-holy shit, I think it’s eating me, you guys! It’s eating me!” 

“Kick your legs!” Ty shouted.

“Kick it’s ass, Leo!” Chet cheered.
“I can’t, it’s got them! It’s got my legs!” The lion yelled, his eyes wide in panic as he splashed under water, only to splutter and gasp for air as he came back up. “Ty, man, help! It’s got my stomach! A-ahh! It’s– It’s pulling me under! TY!” 

Christine wanted to yell, or act, or do literally anything except stand and stare on the shoreline, but she couldn’t. Her mind raced as she watched the bubbles rising around Leo’s arms, disguised by the ripples and waves he was making by splashing. She could see the shadow rising under him, but it was hard to tell where the lion ended and whatever was devouring him began. She started to look around for a life jacket, a ring, something she could use as a weapon… 

That was when Leo went under, and Ty leapt into the water after him with a loud splash. 

“Leo!” Chet yelled as he ran to the shoreline and stared at where the lion and tiger had disappeared beneath the water’s surface. The fennec trembled, her eyes wide and her ears perked for any sound. [i]’Please be okay,’[/i] she thought [i]’Oh god, Ty, please be okay.[/i] 

Several seconds of deafening silence went by. Chet glanced over at her, as if begging for an excuse to run for his life. 

Then the still surface erupted in a fountain as Ty burst out, his soaked fur clinging to his body… alone. 

The tiger ripped the oar from the boat and ineffectively swung it down into the water, splashing it around. He growled violently, thrashing it against the water. “Motherfucker, you Motherfucking piece of shit!” he snarled, beating the surface of the lake and jabbing the oar deep into it.  

After a few moments the tiger exhausted himself, breathing heavily as he stared at the ripples echoing out from where he had struck. He finally let go of the oar and climbed the rest of the way onto the boat, rolling onto his back and sprawled out in it as he took deep, heavy breaths. “Hff… hf…. Hff…” He breathed, his eyes wide and his fur and clothes drenched.

“What happened? Where’s Leo?” Chet ran over to Ty’s side, with Christine following after, one of her eyes still locked onto the water.

“I couldn’t find him,” Ty wheezed. “I- …I don’t know what happened, it was dark but… I think something grabbed him, I think there’s something in the lake.” He panted, glancing up at the two. “I don’t know what but… I couldn’t pull him away from it, it’s got him. I don’t think we’re getting him back.” 

“What’re we still doing here then? We need to go!” Chet yelled, kicking the side of the boat to rouse the tiger. “Come on! Let’s go! We’ve got to get back to the cabin!” 

“Go? What about Leo?” Christine gasped. 

“He just got eaten by the fucking loch ness monster, what do you think ‘what about Leo’?!” The cheetah snapped at her, though as he caught the tiger’s icy glare he backpedalled just as fast. “Look, whatever got him… got him. We can’t save him now, we just have to make sure it doesn’t get anyone else.” 

“You’re not even going to try to save him?” The fennec gawked. 

“I just did,” Ty growled in a tone Christine had never heard from him before. Her fur stood on end as he slowly sat up and climbed up onto the dock, taking one last hateful glance at the water before storming back to the cabin, leaving a trail of puddles in his wake. Chet scurried after him, then quickly overtook him as he sprinted back to the cabin, running for his life.

Christine couldn’t bring herself to look back at the lake as they walked away, her hands clutched around her chest as she held the tiger’s shirt against her body. All she could picture was the look on Leo’s face before he went under - the uncharacteristically wide eyes of a predator turned prey.

And as she and Ty walked back towards the campfire, she was almost certain she heard the lake belch. 

[center] * * * [/center]

The trio sat in silence in the cabin - the main room lit only by a single candle that tried desperately to spread its orange glow around all corners of the room. Christine had tried to convince the boys to let her light more, but Chet didn’t want to risk giving their position away to the lake monster, and Ty claimed he preferred the darkness.

“Eaten alive,” Chet took another long drag of his latest blunt, paying no attention to the pile of burnt out ends that had congregated in the ashtray on the table in front of him. “Shit’s fucked, man. What a way to go.” 

Ty stayed silent, cracking his knuckles in the dark. 

“...It’s kind of weird though, y’know, since he was always eating people,” The cheetah continued his thought with another deep breath, only to exhale slowly and take a sip of his soda to clear the taste from his mouth. “It’s like, irony or something. Like, cosmic justice or karma or some bullshit,” He took another drag almost immediately, then shook his head in distaste. “I hope that doesn’t happen to us though, it looks like a bitch way to bite it.” 

“You could have some respect,” Christine muttered as she stared into the candlelight. Her eyes drifted up to Ty, and she curled her tail to brush against his hand. He stroked back softly, and she took it as an invitation to lean against him. “It wasn’t your fault. You had no clue what was in the lake, and you tried to help him.” 

“...Yeah.” Ty finally replied, his first word in twenty minutes. “...Fuck, I should’ve just throw him into the bushes. Maybe I could’ve killed Chet instead by crushing him under his big fat ass.” 

“Bro!” Chet gawked. 

“Look, you didn’t… please don’t say you ‘killed’ him, okay?” Christine wrapped her arms around the tiger’s broad chest. “It was an accident, you were in the middle of a fight. He looked like he really wanted to hurt you, it was self defense, you didn’t have any other option–.” 

“Christine, just… stop. Okay?” Ty rubbed his hand over his face. “I don’t want to hear that from you. Can someone please just call me an asshole so we can get this over with?”

“Asshole,” Chet obliged immediately through a dopey grin before taking another long drag of his blunt. “Look, Ty, don’t feel bad, alright? Leo’s gone, we can’t change that now. All we can do is continue his life’s work of eating a bunch of prey.”

“How could you consider eating people after seeing that?” Christine gasped. “Didn’t you see how scared he was? That’s how everyone you’ve ever eaten has felt. That’s what you do to people [i]every time[/i] you eat them.”

“Trust me, I can tell,” Chet ran his hand over his gut as he reminisced. “It’s weird to see it happen to Leo, but it’s also kind of like… life, y’know? Shit happens, people get eaten. The rest of us get to do the eating.” 

The fennec’s jaw hung open, and for a moment it felt like her brain had short-circuited. Chet’s total lack of remorse, even after seeing it happen to a dear friend, probably one of his only friends if his personality was anything to go by, had baffled her in ways she never thought possible. Then a breeze blew the scent of his marijuana breath her way, and her eyes fell to the empty beer cans scattered over the table. The fennec looked over the scene before her, then lowered her ears sympathetically.

“...It’s okay to feel bad, you know.” She told him as patiently as she could. “You don’t need to act tough or numb yourself to it. You lost someone dear to you today, and trying to cover it up instead of processing it won’t help in the long term. it’s a lot better to be honest with your emotions–”

“Yeah, I’ll get back to you when my balls fall off like Ty’s did.” Chet brushed her off before kicking his leg and rolling over, his head resting on one arm and his legs dangling over the other as he stuck the blunt back in his mouth. The fennec’s ears drooped, though a gentle squeeze from the tiger’s hand around her shoulder let her know he was thankful she at least tried. The room fell back into silence for a while, with Chet smoking and staring at the ceiling. 

Finally he took the blunt out of his mouth and looked in their direction again. “What do you think got him?” 

Ty let out a sardonic scoff. “The loch ness monster.”

“Seriously though,” Chet sat up. “Do you think whatever ate him is going to come after us?”

“Leo was… pretty large. Do you think it would even be able to?” Christine offered gingerly. “I can't imagine moving anywhere while carrying the weight of someone that big.”

“They still managed to get away from me underwater.” Ty frowned.

“You think it's a ‘they’?” Chet cocked an eyebrow.

Ty frowned and stared into the candle's flame.

“Ty, if you saw something that could identify the predator we need to tell the police, or at least the park ranger.” Christine insisted, both her hands resting on his as she stared up at him. “We could get justice for him and make sure this doesn't happen again.”

“Fucking hell, dude, and I thought the rabbit you dated before her was green.” Chet rested his arm over his face. “Where did you find this one, living under a rock?”

“Excuse me?” Christine flicked her ears back.

“Chrissy, police don't give a fuck if predators eat prey, no one does.” The cheetah replied, wiggling his blunt at her. “It's like with weed - if you get caught possessing it, it's like ‘oh shit you're busted, fuck you’, but if you do it and [i]then[/i] get caught, no one cares because it's like, you've already smoked it, you know?” he took a long hit from the blunt before tapping it's tip against the ash tray. “Try and prove any of these belong to me tomorrow. You can't, it's just a pile of ash and a strong smell. Just like Leo’s gonna be–”

“Chet.” Ty grunted.

“I’m making a point,” Chet snapped back before kicking his feet up. “Filibuster.” He said, apparently resting his case as he blew smoke into the air.

“That… can't possibly be true.” Christine stared from one of them to the other. “I mean, if someone kills someone, they go to jail. I know pred laws are archaic and have a lot of leeway but you still get punished for it, right?”

“No? Eight years ago Ty, Leo and I ordered out and ate the delivery guy.” Chet waved his hand as he told the tale, “They sent one cop over to ask questions and then left us alone. We had his cellphone, he was last seen delivering [i]to our place.[/i] Ty even called the pizza place back and messed with the guy’s social media. The cops didn't do fucking shit. They didn't do [I]shitake,[/I] dude.” the cheetah leaned over to grab his beer, shaking his head. 

“No, once you get eaten you're old news. We can go find the predator and get our revenge if you want, but the only thing the cops are going to do is arrest you and Ty for plowing in public.” He winked cheekily at Christine, “Public indecency’s a very serious crime, Christine, shame on you.” He tutted, “A mild-mannered girl like you should know better than to hike your tail in public. You were lucky the cockblock police showed up when they did.”

Christine couldn’t even respond to the cheetah’s taunting, all she do was focus on the sinking feeling in her stomach at the news. Predators really could eat you, and nothing would happen to them at all. She glanced up at Ty, and he gave the slightest nod as confirmation. The fennec curled up, her tail wrapping around her waist. “Holy shit, he's telling the truth isn't he? There’s really no punishment for predators at all?” She shook her head in dismay. “Wow. I… I really need to get out of this country.” 

“Yeah, it's all going to hell,” Chet reclined back in his spot, spread lengthways across the arms of the armchair. “Good time to be a pred though. Unless you're Leo.”

“Or unless you're the one who ate him.” Ty’s voice dropped into a thundering growl as he punched the palm of his hand. “I'm going to rip his balls off.” 

“ ‘His’?” Christine perked her ears. “Ty… do you know who ate Leo?”

“No,” Ty muttered, his claws flexing from his fingertips before retracting again as he focused on his breathing. “Maybe. I’m just trying to think of who could eat him underwater without drowning.”

“A really big fish?” Chet guessed. 

“An otter.” Ty’s eyes darkened. “The park ranger could’ve done it for all we know. He hates us, so why wouldn’t he?” 

“That seems like a really hasty conclusion to jump to,” Christine told him as she moved one hand behind his back to calm him down. “There were other cars in the parking lot, we haven’t seen anyone else but that doesn’t mean the ranger is the only one in the park who can breathe underwater.” 

“I’m not ruling out the big fish idea,” Chet added as he checked his phone, then sneered. “Still no signal.”

“I had a bar back at the gate, but it doesn’t really matter if we’re not even going to consider calling the police.” Christine said, pointedly glaring at Chet before glancing up at Ty. “So, what’re we going to do?”

“Stay here all night. No one leaves, no one comes in, and anyone who [I]does[/I] come in gets thrown through the wall.” The tiger replied firmly, his hand gripping her shoulder so tight she could feel it pop. “And you don’t leave my sight for a second. I’m not leaving you alone with Chet either.” He shot a dirty look towards the stoned cheetah.

“Wow, Edgy. Clingy too. I can see why you're dating him, Christine, he's the full package. Real ‘stalker boyfriend’ vibes, just don’t break up with him or you’re dinner.” Chet smirked, only to yawn and stretch before sitting up and stubbing out the last of his blunt. “Well, if we’re staying here all night we might as well sleep. Can I get in your room before you go to bed? I’ve gotta piss.” 

“Why the fuck would I let you in my room for that?” Ty sneered.

“Because you’ve got an en suite in there, right?” Chet blinked. “Leo and I didn’t have a bathroom in our– [i]my[/i] room, and there're no other rooms in the cabin so…” he rolled his hand over towards the doors to the bedrooms. “Can I use yours or what?”

“Chet, there’s no plumbing in these cabins.” Christine tucked her ears back. “Didn’t you read the welcome pack? There’s an old outhouse nearby, but the nearest place with running water is the communal shower and restroom by the ranger’s station.” 

“...Huh?” Chet blinked.

“I pointed it out when we walked past it earlier,” Ty said, leaning back on the couch. “You said ‘I’ll out your house’, so I thought you heard me.”

“Well, that’s just great. So I’m going to go out there and die because you couldn’t afford a better cabin?” Chet flicked his ears back and pushed himself off the couch and stumbled into a standing position. He surveyed the room and then sauntered towards the plant in the corner, his tail lashing the air behind him. “Fuck that, I’m just going to go in the plant. Christine, cover your eyes.” 

“Chet.” Christine griimaced, “That’s disgusting!”

“I put down a two hundred dollar deposit on this place, I’m not going to lose that because your stoned ass couldn’t aim,” Ty growled as he got up, shifting the weight on the couch so much Christine bounced a few inches into the air. “You’re going outside.” 

“Outside with Jason Vore-hees? No thanks.” Chet replied as he reached the potted plant and unzipped his shorts. “You guys are going to thank me for establishing a pee corner when you need to go– ACK!” 

Ty grabbed him by his shirt and yanked him backwards, leaving the cheetah stumbling to grab his shorts before they dropped around his ankles while kicking his legs to maintain his balance. “I said outside, asshole. Just find a tree, it'll take two minutes.”

“And be a sitting duck for a predator? Fuck that!” Chet growled. “You better let me go or–” 

He fell silent as the tiger loomed over him, letting out a hot breath from his nose over the cheetah's face. Christine glanced from one to the other, then raised her hand to get Ty's attention. “He does have a point. He's going to be exposed out there. He should at least head to the outhouse.”

“Alone?!” Chet yelped.

“Yes alone, are you five years old?” Ty growled.

“No, I'm just not stupid enough to wander around blindly in the dark in a horror movie!” Chet shouted back.

Ty fell silent for a moment, his brow furrowing in contemplation. “Fine.” He said, “We’re both going to the outhouse. It’s a five minute walk, and if we stick together nothing will happen.” He said, before looking over his shoulder at Christine. “You’d better come too so you're not alone either.”

“Sure,” Christine replied, though she had never been less sure of anything in her life. The fennec got to her feet as Ty shoved Chet towards the front door, keeping less than a foot of distance between them to ensure the cheetah wouldn’t get around him. 

As they stepped out into the humid forest air, she knew it was going to be a long night.


[center] * * * [/center]

The walk to the outhouse was tense but uneventful. Chet dashed inside the moment they arrived, and Christine immediately regretted coming along. She had tried to block the sounds by holding down her ears, but before long she found she needed to step away entirely. She had begun to step away, and Ty loyally followed her through the shadowy forest.

“How's this? Still hear him?” Ty asked ten minutes into their walk on the northern trail, the shortest hike in the park.

“No, he's out of earshot now,” Christine breathed out, her ears lilting as she covered her face with one hand. “God, the groaning. He sounded like he was getting oral in there.” 

“Yeah, try living with him. It was one of the many reasons I moved out.” Ty rolled his eyes as he looked around. “No sign of the ranger. Maybe he's still stuck at the bottom of the lake digesting Leo.”

“I still think you’re jumping to conclusions, when we spoke alone he was pretty nice.” Christine said as she glanced up the path ahead. “I don’t think he’d eat anyone.”

“He might’ve gone easy on you, but he had it out for the rest of us. Man, over a fucking beer can.” Ty grunted as he shoved his hands into his pockets. “Well, if he’s going to eat Leo, I’m going to eat him.”

“Ty, no. You told me that was in the past,” Christine tucked her ears back. Dread flooded her mind as she looked up at the huge tiger, watching the intense fire behind his eyes. Even if it was in the past, he still [i]did[/i] it. It was something she had been grappling with in the silence of the cabin… and now, the silence of the forest, save for the rustling treetops and the hidden cicadas amongst their trunks.

“I’ll kick his ass then,” Ty compromised with a huff. “Whatever, it doesn’t matter. What matters is he’s not getting away with this.”

“I still think we should call the police,” the fennec said. “They’d have to do something.”

“No, they wouldn’t. Trust me,” The tiger replied flatly as he started walking faster, leaving her trailing behind him as he walked purposefully up the hill. “No one gives a shit except us, so either we get revenge or he walks free.” 

[i]’Those can’t be the only options…’[/i] Christine thought to herself. [i]’And if he’s wrong and the ranger is innocent… I don’t even want to think about it.’[/i] 

Ty stopped at the top of the hill, the white moonlight outlining his muscles in the dark as he stood past the break in the trees. Christine hurried to follow him, then followed his gaze to the firewatch tower in the centre of the forest clearing. As she looked up she could see the burning determination in Ty’s eyes, his mouth slowly spreading into a snarl. 

“..Ty…” Christine began, “Look, even if he’s there, at least let's hear him out first. He might not be the predator, and if he was in there when it happened he might have seen something that would point to who is.”

“Likely story. Come on.” Ty gestured with his hand as he ran forward, keeping his back low as he dashed towards the staircase. Christine somehow doubted that such a large orange-furred being would go undetected in the dark, but she couldn’t help but try to sneak along too as she followed him. 

They made their way up the rickety staircase, the boards creaking with each step they made. The higher they climbed, the more Christine realised just how tall the tower was. Before long they were above the canopy, and as they turned another corner she found she could see the entire park; from the large lake where the fight had taken place to the various log cabins dotted about the forest, their windows dark and their occupants sleeping. The lake was still and quiet again, a crystal mirror that reflected the moon above.

As she looked east she could see the welcome centre. The car park was much emptier now - she had turned just in time to see the last car of the visitor's parking area leave. Even the long-term parking area seemed barren, but she could see Ty’s truck clearly sitting in the shadow of the welcome centre.

“Maybe we should just leave,” Christine said, pointing out the truck to Ty. “If we think there’s a predator hunting us, we should just get in the truck and go.” 

“No predator’s going to fuck with us.” Ty cracked his knuckles, huffing as he made his way up the last few steps. The cabin at the top of the tower was dark - no lights or movements inside. Christine perked her ears, listening carefully for breathing. As she caught a curious glance from Ty she shook her head. 

“So he’s not here,” The tiger muttered in disappointment, his shoulders slumping and his fists relaxing for now.

“He’s probably at the welcome centre.” Christine said, leaning on the railing and pointing out at the parking lot. She quickly took her hands off the railing as it began to bend at her weight and took a step back to put some distance between herself and the long drop on the other side. “This place has seen better days. I don’t think we’re supposed to be up here.”

“Well, so long as we’re breaking rules.” Ty turned towards the door, then brought his foot back and kicked it with all his might. The old wood flew open immediately, the door creaking and tilting as if the tiger had damaged the hinge. “Knock knock,” he murmured as he stepped inside. 

“You could’ve checked if it was unlocked first,” Christine whispered harshly. “What if someone saw us come up here? They’d know we were the ones who broke the door!”

Ty flicked on the light, and suddenly that became much less of an issue compared to papers covering every wall. Long strings of thread ran between them, an interconnecting web linking print outs of social media posts, to newspapers, to pictures… pictures of [i]them.[/i] 

“Oh… my god.” Christine covered her mouth, a nauseating chill rolling through her.

“Still think Ranger McNiceGuy is innocent?” Ty asked as he stormed over to a wall with a photo of himself. “This profile picture’s pretty old. He must’ve been at this for a while.” He tore it off the wall and tossed it to the ground.

“He’s… he’s been stalking us,” The fennec whimpered as she moved to her wall, hugging herself to try to disperse the horrible chill that had filled her the moment the light switched on. Printed copies of her social media feeds laid scattered across the wall, with seemingly random words highlighted in yellow marker: ‘Get a bite to eat’, ‘Such a jerk’, ‘Wish I could eat something’, New BF so handsome, haha’, ‘Boyfriend’, ‘Doing crimes lmao’. 

There were pictures of her too, and not all of them from her online presence. There were photos of her talking with her friends at the coffee shop, her getting on a bus with careful attention to making sure the number was in view. PIctures of her apartment and her car’s licence plate, and her leaving her father’s restaurant. Following a thread from the last she found a whole section of the wall dedicated to her father. 

There was one taken through her apartment window of her cuddling up to Ty on the couch, both of them shirtless… and another of them in bed together, taken through a crack in the curtain from a far away angle. Her stomach turned; she took them both from the wall and tore them to pieces, but she didn't feel any better.

“He’s obsessed with us… Ty, what does all this mean?” Christine asked, looking over her shoulder at the tiger. 

“It means he’s been waiting for us to all get together for a while,” Ty said as he turned to face her. “So he could get rid of us.” 

“Why?” Christine asked, “Why us?”

The tiger glanced at the table in the centre of the room and Christine immediately did too. There was a manilla folder among the papers on the table, marked with an official looking stamp. The tiger went to grab it, but Christine moved quicker, snatching it up before clearing some space amongst the litter on the table to open it.

The first object was a ragged newspaper clipping, so faded she could hardly read it. The headline was still visible though: “TWO MISSING: PREDATOR HUNT CONTINUES AT LOCAL CAMPUS”.

Ty tensed as he saw it. “Maybe we should go,” he said, moving towards the door and gesturing for her to follow. “It doesn’t matter why he’s after us, we need to leave. He could come back any second.”

“What happened to kicking his ass? Just keep an eye out for me.” Christine remarked dismissively as she put the newspaper aside and took out the next object. It was a detective’s notebook; plain black cover and white paper, its rings connecting the cardboard panels to the paper at the top. She flipped it to the first page - “Felis Predatoris” the top read, followed by some ink-blotted incomprehensible squiggles, and finally a list of names. Chaz Chetson, Leon Coroban and…

“Tyson Reed,” Christine whispered, her fingers clamping around the page to fight the urge to drop it. “...Ty…”

The tiger avoided her gaze as she took the next item from the manilla folder - a police badge. She stood in silence for a moment, the police badge in one hand and the detective’s notebook in the other. “He’s not a stalker. He’s a detective…” 

“A detective looking into a case eight years too late, by the looks of things,” Ty said as he sat on the table, his body hunched over as he wrung his hands. “I guess I can’t be surprised that some people can’t leave stuff in the past.”

“That's how you knew him,” Christine muttered, her fingers trailing over the ridges on the badge. “And how he knew you.”

Ty stayed silent, but nodded briefly before leaning forward and exhaling through his nose.

“Do you think that’s it? He’s trying to get justice for a prey your friends ate?” Christine asked as she put the badge aside and started flipping through the notebook. The writing became more frantic as the ink started to get newer, notes were scrawled over each other, things crossed out and arrows pointing around, seemingly connecting facts to each other: 

‘Felis Predatoris - Frat House’
‘Tiger - dropped out.’
‘Tiger and Cheetah living together’
‘Tiger - New Job: Business Analyst’
‘Cheetah - Fired: Grocer's’
‘Cheetah moved in with Lion, Tiger (???)’
‘Lion at grocery store - case of beer, burgers’, 
‘Cheetah - jailed for public drunkeness. Opportunity? ’ X ‘Cheetah bailed out.’ 
‘Found tiger’s resume - Finances, Business Analyst’
‘Tiger’s social media: @StripedAndRipped20’ 
‘Social media post: Tiger - New girlfriend.’ 
‘Christine Saunders - Ralph Saunders (father)’
‘Cheetah and Lion at Party. Check for missing people.’ 
‘Social media post: Harkan’s Park Trip (All three). 9th October.’  
‘Job opening at park <- This is my chance, don’t fuck it up again.’ 
‘New girlfriend might complicate things <- In on it? Part of the group? [u]Next victim[/u]?’
‘Arrived - It’s them. This is my chance. Don’t run this time. Make it right.’
‘Lion - Gone’
‘New Girl - [u]Next Victim[/u]’

 …’Next Victim’ had been underlined multiple times. New girl. A shiver ran down Christine’s spine as she glanced up at Ty. He looked over at her, then widened his eyes as he saw the two words. “Motherfucker,” he growled. “He’s after you. He’s going to try to get you next.”

“What?” Christine gasped, dropping the notebook on the table as she glanced around the room. “That… that can’t be right, whatever this is, I had nothing to do with this! I don't know anything about Felis Predatoris! I didn't even know you back then!”

“He doesn’t know that. He thinks you’re a predator like us–” he flinched, “Like we [i]were[/], or like I was, I don’t know about the other two.” The tiger hopped up from the table. “Fuck this, we’re leaving. Let’s go get Chet and tell him we’re heading out.” 

Christine’s mind raced as she looked from the wall chart mapping out every detail the park ranger had on her to the notebook on the table, the two words still clear in the dim light from the overhead hanging bulb. [i]’Next Victim. Next Victim.’[/i] Her eyes darted about the board, seeing pictures of her talking with her father, waiting for the bus with its number showing, leaving her father’s restaurant… the way her head had been circled in dark black ink in a photo of her cuddling with Ty. [i]’Next Victim, [u]Next Victim[/u].[/i]

The others had their own walls too, with photos of them at the gym or the grocery store, old photos of them out late at night with huge swollen guts filled with prey and new ones of them walking down the street with bags full of beer for the trip… but none of them were marked as the ‘Next Victim’. Only her. 

There was one last thing to check in the manilla folder - a stack of papers stapled at the top left corner - screenshots of a text conversation. Ty moved to pull the folder away from her, but the fennec took the pages out before he could. “Don’t look at that,” he grunted. “We have to go, Chet could be in danger. YOU could be in danger.”

“Who’s Kou? Was he another one of your frat buddies?” she asked, reading the name at the top of the image on the page. Her eyes scanned the messages, “He texts a lot like you… in kind of a weird, scary way.”

Ty’s shoulders slackened, his large hand rested on the table as he held his breath.

“He says he’s not coming to DnD, and that he quit his job at the pizza place. That he’s ‘found his true calling’,” Christine continued to read, “And there’s a photo, it’s…”

She covered her mouth and gagged into her hand - it was a fox’s skull resting on a white belly, bordered by orange fur and black stripes. She knew the fur well, she had rested her head on it many times, enjoying its softness against her cheeks. “Oh… Ty, that's…” she gagged.

“...It’s in the past,” Ty repeated quietly. “I really regret it, but it’s in the past.”

“Past or not, this is… it’s psychotic…” The fennec skimmed the rest of the texts, reading as the tiger taunted Kou’s friends about his fate - Digested into nothing but fat on his gut. He didn't stop there either, there were pictures of his ass from various angles, as well as his gut and muscles. And an audio recording that spiked in the middle… stomach sounds, maybe a belch. The more Christine thought about it the worse it got.

“Ty… how could you do something like this? Don’t you realise what it must’ve been like for them? This is… really, really fucked up.” She stammered, skimming faster and faster. The sentences became a blur, but words kept popping out: ‘Felt good’, Churned, ‘Delicious’. ‘Struggled’. She felt like her brain was shutting down - All this time she had been dating a stranger, and that stranger was a murderous sociopath.

A murderous sociopath who was the only one who could protect her from a [I]violent[/I] murderous sociopath who thought she was part of his group. She looked up at the tiger, then down at the printed text messages. “Why did you send these messages?” she asked quietly. “Even if you ate him, why would you do this?”

“I don't remember,” he lied. “I guess I thought it was funny. I was a stupid asshole, just like Chet and Leo. I'd never do that kind of stuff now.”

“You should've never done it [I]then![/I]” Christine shouted at him. “You ate someone, digested them, and then gloated about it to their friends?!”

“That's what predators do, Chriss. It's not that uncommon,” Ty said, shaking his head. “Look, I admit that it's pretty fucked in hindsight, but you don't think about that shit in the moment. It was eight years ago, do you think I'd still do something like that?”

“Well, I'm glad you feel redeemed, because Kou is gone and his friends are probably traumatised!” Christine threw the papers down on the table between them. Silence filled the cabin as she caught her breath, her fur rising on the back of her neck. She immediately regretted the outburst, but she meant what she said. She decided to try again, “Ty, this changes… a lot,” she said, taking a step back from the tiger as he reached out to touch her. “I don't know if I can look past this. I thought I could, but this is so much worse than I imagined. It's evil!”

“Then why did you read it?” Ty snarled, swiping at the table and sending a flurry of papers scattering across the room. “Why did you have to find out? Why couldn't you just love me for who I am now, instead of hating me for who I was then?!”

“You ate and digested a fox and then taunted his friends about it, that's not something you should cover up!” Christine retorted.

“So it matters because it was a fox, right?” Ty frowned. “Figures. I get it, you’re scared I’m going to eat you because you’re a fox too.”

“I’m not scared of–! That's not–!” Christine tugged her ears in frustration. “Don't change the subject, it doesn't matter who they were, what matters is what you did.”

“Eight years ago, and then one more time six years ago.” Ty thrusted his hand towards his wall of the watchtower. “Go ahead, check this creep's notes. That was the last time I ate anyone, and they were willing prey. I stopped after that.”

“Ty–”

“Read it!” Ty roared. His angry expression vanished into fright, his eyes wide with regret. “Just… read it, okay?” He repeated in a mumble, along with something that vaguely sounded like ‘sorry’ as he slipped past her and back out into the cold night air. Christine watched him go, then made her way to his wall.

There was Kou, and then a long period of nothing. Then a screenshot of a status message on Ty's profile: “Spent the night with a guy, got a lot to work off at the gym. #Gains”. The image attached to it showed the tiger sporting a heavy gut, one hand groping it and digging into the fat. Just as Ty said, it was from six years ago, two years after eating Kou, but Christine had no idea if the prey was willing. All she had was Ty's word, as tenuous as it had been so far.

She stepped out of the building, her hands in her pockets as she stopped at Ty's side, looking out over the forest. The wind made the canopy wave, the stars were clearer than she had ever seen them. On any other night, it would have been a beautiful memory.

“...Are we good?” Ty asked quietly, his head hung in shame as he kept his hands firmly in his pockets. “I'm sorry for… everything, really. I don't know where to begin. I guess ‘I’m sorry I yelled at you.’ “

Were they good? Christine wasn't sure. But she was sure they needed each other if they were going to escape. She stared out towards the parking lot, her eyes falling on the welcome centre. If the ranger wasn't at the watchtower, he was probably there. She just hoped they could get to the car and out the gate without seeing him, or him seeing them.

“Let's go get Chet and head for the truck,” the fennec said as she brushed past him and walked towards the stairs. “We can figure things out from there.”

“H-hey, I'm not going to eat you.” Ty called after her, stumbling down the steps with his heavy footsteps. “Christine, look at me. I'm not.”

“I know, don't worry about it.” Christine said, not looking back as she continued down the stairs to the trail that led south back towards the outhouse. “It's in the past, right? And everything in the past doesn't matter anymore, nothing we do has any consequence so long as it’s [i]‘in the past.’[/i] ” She hissed through her teeth, throwing her hands into finger quotes.

“Christine–” Ty grumbled.

“Just… don't.” She held up her hand to stop him, and to her surprise he stopped. Her ears drooped and she lowered her hand, shoving them into her pockets as she continued down the worn out wooden stairs. “Let's just be quiet so we don't draw the ranger's attention.” 

“...Okay.” Ty sighed, “okay.”

And, true to his word, the tiger didn't say anything the whole walk back.

[center] * * * [/center]


Chet leaned back against the wall of the outhouse, his eyes glued to his phone screen. He still had no signal, but he didn’t need it to match gems. The coloured jewels in the game were far more vivid now that he was blazed - the way the particles moved across the screen looked like magic. He didn’t even care that he was losing after only a couple of levels each time.

Being surrounded by walls on all sides had helped calm him down as well - there were no hidden corners a predator could hide in, no other entrance other than the locked wooden door ahead of him. He had half a mind to stay there all night, maybe the predator would just eat Ty’s annoying-ass girlfriend and call it a night, and he and Ty could finally bro out the way they were meant to since they first arrived. 

He paused with his finger on an orange gemstone, holding it just before it could slide into a column of four. Did he [i]really[/i] want to bro out with the guy who inadvertently got Leo eaten and called him a mooch? The fucker hadn’t even apologised, he just kept sitting and glaring and growling. Maybe it’d be better if the predator ate him instead. 

…No, then he’d be stuck with Christine, though that was a problem he could solve easily enough. The cheetah ran his hand over his midsection, picturing the whiny voice of the fennec getting frantically higher and higher, and then more and more muffled until it was lost under a sea of gurgles and growls. He licked his lips and leaned back until he could hear the wood creak behind him. Oh yeah, now [i]that[/i] was a plan. Ty gets eaten, and he’d get to eat. Finally something would go right tonight.

[i]Knock.[/i] The cheetah immediately bolted upright at the sound on the front door, being careful not to touch any of the walls. [i]’Knock Knock’[/i] the sound came again, more insistent this time. Feeling brave, the cheetah slammed the door with his heel. “Occupied!” he called.

For a while there was silence, and then… scratching. Scratching and breathing. Chet gripped onto the seat with both hands, his ears pinned back as he stared at the door, then quickly glanced around for other exits. Suddenly the tight wooden structure felt more like a coffin than a safe haven. “...I said occupied, asshole!” He called again, trying to keep his voice from shaking. “I’ll be out in a sec, have some goddamn patience.”

The scratching grew louder, but kept the same rhythm. The claw strokes were long and grazing, but Chet could see moonlight starting to peek through the door. Whoever it was, they were making progress. “...Ty?” he called hopefully. 

No response, just more scratching, and breath that got heavier and angrier with each wheezing gasp. Chet pushed himself against the back wall, his shaking hand reaching into his pocket and grasping around, fumbling with his lighter before finding what he was looking for. He gripped the handle with his right hand and reached for the lock with his left. 

He wasn’t going to die like a bitch. If he was going down he was at least going to take the predator down with him. After taking a moment to steel himself, he unlocked the door and swung it open.

[center] * * * [/center]

The door to the outhouse swung open and Chet leapt out, his pocket knife swinging wildly in front of him. Christine gasped and leapt back, with Ty quickly positioning himself between her and the frantic cheetah. “Chet, what the fuck?! Stop!” he yelled.

“I’m not letting you get me, you piece of shit!” Chet yelled frantically, continuing to swing the knife. “Fucker! I know you’re here, show yourself! I’m going to cut Leo right out of you!”

“Chet, it’s just us!” Christine yelped, screaming as Chet swung the knife towards them. “Calm down, we were just checking on you! It’s been half an hour, we were worried!”

“Bullshit! Someone was banging on the door, scratching, breathing–!” Chet snarled, his mad orange eyes flicking from Ty to her. “Or was that just you messing with me? Oh, that’s fucking hilarious, Ty. Last time someone did a prank like that, you shoved them into the lake and they got eaten alive!”

“Calm the fuck down.” Ty growled, his muscles tensing as he stood just out of reach of the cheetah’s blade. “We literally just knocked on the door a few seconds ago, bro. We didn’t want to stick around listening to you in there so we moved away.”

“Yeah, so the predator could get me!” Chet growled, keeping low to the ground as he started to circle around Ty, who matched each step he made while Christine backed away. “That’s it, isn’t it? You’re working with him - This whole trip was just a plan to get me and Leo eaten so you could cover up your past. You shoved him into the lake, and then you made me drink a whole case of beer so I’d be alone and he could get me!”

“Chet, that’s insane.” Ty grunted. “Listen to what you’re saying! You’re acting crazy, just drop the knife and we can talk.”

“What other explanation is there? You think there’s a monster in the lake? You- You think the park ranger is eating us over a lousy beer can?” Chet snapped back, his eyes darting to Christine. “Or maybe she’s behind this whole thing. We probably ate her sister or something and she’s only dating you to get us all together and exact her revenge!”

“Chet – First of all, I’m an only child – and secondly, I don’t know what’s going on anymore than you do, I’m just as scared as you are.” Christine insisted, her hands raised as she backed away another few steps. “But it's not about the beer can, the park ranger is–”

“I’m not scared, I’ve got a knife!” Chet swung his blade in the air. “And so long as I’ve got a knife, neither of you or your predator friend can touch me without getting cut open from the inside!”

“Chet, come on. That’s a shitty little box cutter, you could barely cut butter with that.” Ty said, his ears flattening as he opened his palms towards the cheetah, “Why don’t you just put it in your pocket and we can head to the car and get out of here?”

Chet’s posture faltered, his eyes darting back and forth for a moment. “...We… We can leave?” He asked desperately, his hand shaking. “We can just… go? We don’t even have to stay the night?”

“Yeah man, let’s get out of here. Fuck this place,” Ty replied, his hand reaching out towards Chet. “Come on, let’s head for the parking lot. I’ve got the keys, we can come back in the morning for the rest of our stuff.”

“Yeah… yeah… okay, yeah... Keys... yeah…” Chet breathed out, the knife limp in his hand and he sheathed the blade and put it back in his pocket. He stepped towards Ty, spreading his arms for a hug. “I’m sorry, man.”

Christine let out a sigh of relief, watching the two men embrace each other. 

“I’m sorry, man.” Chet repeated quietly.

He brought his knee up into the tiger’s crotch and swung his arm back, revealing the jangling truck keys for a moment before he shoved them into his cargo shorts. Ty tripped forward, lunging to grab the cheetah with his free hand while the other clutched between his legs. Chet dodged deftly and, in a fraction of a second, disappeared into the forest.

“Chet!” Christine called, breaking into a sprint before skidding to a halt and reaching back to help Ty. “Ty, are you okay–”

“Just GO!” Ty smacked her hand away immediately. “Don’t lose him! He’s got the keys!” He snarled, thrusting his finger in the direction of the cheetah’s fading footsteps before doubling over and taking deep breaths. Christine began to run again, though no matter how hard she pushed herself Chet grew further away.

And worse yet, she could hear footsteps behind her. Not the large, lumbering footsteps of her boyfriend, but light footsteps, as if they were trying to remain undetected. She tried to run as if she hadn’t noticed, but her ears swiveled back to pay attention to them. Running through the dark forest suddenly felt horribly familiar - all at once her nightmare had become real. 

She dipped between the narrow trees, stepping deftly over the twisted roots as she moved away from the main path and into the darkness. It made more sense, at least in the moment, to be hidden. The predator would be hidden too, but at least she could keep track of him with her ears. He was close enough now that she could hear his rasping breaths, and the way his hands pushed off each tree to propel himself forward. One thing was clear to the fennec; If she didn’t lose him soon, she’d be toast.

Finally the forest got so dark she couldn’t see anything, and she found herself running into trees and having to turn sharply to dodge around them. She pressed her hand against them, feeling around for any loose branches. 

And suddenly she could see her shadow ahead of her, surrounded in a halo of light. She turned slowly, one hand held up to shield her eyes from the light. “Christine?” Ty called from the light’s source before lowering his cellphone’s flashlight to the ground. “What’re you doing out here? This isn’t the way to the parking lot.”

“I..” Christine hesitated as she glanced around, her eyes slowly adjusting to the dark again. Her ears strained for the rasping breaths and claws against bark… but there was nothing. Just the sound of the tiger lumbering towards her. “I heard someone coming after me and decided to hide.”

“Yeah, that’d be me.” Ty frowned. 

“No, it wasn’t you, it was… it was someone smaller, with big claws and…” she rubbed her temples to coax more out of the memory, “...a tail. It was thick and fluffy, I could hear it brushing the grass as he walked.”

“You can tell all that just by hearing?” The tiger cocked a brow, finally slowing his pace and stopped in front of her before flashing his light around the forest. “I don’t see anyone, I guess I scared him off.”

“Safety in numbers,” Christine mumbled agreeably as she peered into the shadows before returning her eyes to the forest floor. “I’m sorry I lost Chet. Are you okay?”

“I’m better than he’s going to be when I find him,” Ty reassured her as he canted his head to the left and began to walk towards the light peeking through the trees. “The path’s back that way, we should be able to make it to the front gate at least, truck or no truck.”

Christine wandered along after him, her tail trailing behind her. Now that the adrenaline had worn off she could feel how much the running had taken its toll on her. Her footsteps were heavy, and she felt like she might keel over if she leaned too far to one side or the other, resulting in a shambling gait filled with deep breaths. “Ty… about what we saw in the tower.”

Ty went silent for what seemed like an eternity, and then grumbled “It’s in the past.” 

“You went on his social media and screwed with his friends, past or not, it’s… a lot.” Christine tucked her ears, “And even if you've only eaten two people in the past eight years, I don't know what you did before that. I used to think maybe it was once or twice, but Chet and Leo made it sound a lot more common than that.”

Ty remained silent, though his tail swished in agitation behind him. 

“I guess I’m just scared to think that if you met me sooner, you’d have eaten me without a second thought,” Christine continued, wringing her hands as they finally stepped out of the shadows of the trees and back into the moonlit forest path. “That If I were that delivery fox, I wouldn’t be here today, and you wouldn’t care. That I’d be ‘in the past.’ ”

“So you’re just scared for yourself,” Ty surmised bluntly.

“No, I’m just using that as an example,” Christine flicked her ears back. “And… I don’t know if I can move past it. I don’t know if we can be together if you really don’t care about all the prey you’ve eaten over the years. If you’re as remorseless as Chet–”

“Chet’s on another level, Christine. I’m nothing like him, or this bastard who’s been hunting us all night.” Ty said, finally turning to face her. “I want to be better, but people like you make that really hard. What am I supposed to do? Bring all my prey back from the dead?” He narrowed his eyes. “You don’t think I would if I could? Well, I can’t. All I can do is try not to let it happen again, and being with you is helping me do that.” 

“...Okay,” Christine breathed out. “That’s a lot of pressure, but okay.” 

“Let’s just find our way out of this place and we can talk it over,” Ty said, pressing on up the path to the front gate. “We’ll get to the parking lot, I’ll go inside and kick the ranger’s ass, and then we’ll kick Chet’s ass and get in the truck and never come back.”

“Okay,” Christine repeated, clutching her arms as a chill ran through her fur again. “...If the predator is the park ranger, anyway.” 

“Who else is it going to be?” Ty glared over his shoulder. “You saw the evidence! Don’t tell me you believed Chet’s stoner bullshit.”

“It’s not that, it’s just… I mean, what I heard didn’t sound like him. They were light on their feet, and they had pretty firm claws.” Christine perked her ears and did a quick sweep of the treeline with her eyes. “It didn’t sound like an otter, especially not one as big or old as the park ranger.”

“So what, another camper?” Ty asked.

“I don’t know, but I don’t think it was an otter. I'm almost certain,” Christine replied firmly. “I think… maybe one of Chet’s crackpot theories could be right. What if it’s a relative someone you ate in the past? Did Kou have any brothers or sisters?”

“How should I know? He was a delivery guy I ate without thinking,” Ty replied bluntly, then shook his head as he calmed himself down again. “Look, how would a puny fox swallow a full grown lion underwater? He’d choke and drown,” The tiger growled with a dismissive lash of his tail. “Use your head, Chrissy.”

Christine walked quietly for the rest of the journey, ruminating on Ty’s last question as they walked along the dirt path, gradually passing more and more signs of civilisation - fences, a billboard, trail signs… they all faded into the scenery as the fennec contemplated the question. [i]’How could he have not drowned while eating someone underwater?’[/i]


Finally they could see the lights of the parking lot. In it sat Ty’s truck… and two large iron gates that were firmly sealed across the exit.

“Fuuuuuuccckk,” Ty breathed out, his hand gripping his forehead as his eyes trailed over the gate. “Why the hell would they lock this place up at night?! What are people going to steal, trees?!”

“At least it kept Chet from leaving, we can probably find the keys in the welcome center,” Christine reassured him, her hand gently running over the tiger’s other hand as it dangled limply at his side. “You’d better go talk to Chet, I’ll check the building.”

“We should probably stick together,” Ty shook his head before walking forward, his hand leaving hers as he began his stride. Christine gave one last glance to the dark windows of the cabin before following after him, her footsteps concealed by the loud stomping of the tiger. Even as they approached the car she could already see Chet scrambling inside through the back window - first trying to start the truck and then ducking in the driver’s seat to hide. 

Ty moved swiftly to the driver’s window and hit it with the side of his fist. “Open up, Chet. You don’t know how to drive.”

“One pedal goes forward, the other makes you stop, how hard can it be?” Chet called back quickly.

“Uh huh, and when do you change gears?” Ty asked. The cheetah’s silence said enough. Ty leaned with one arm on top of the truck and gazed through the window. “That was a dick move, leaving us to die back there, but I’m willing to move past that if you open the door.” 

“That’s… oddly diplomatic of you,” Christine blinked. “Not threatening physical violence for once.”

“It’s been a long night.” Ty breathed out a heavy sigh. “I can strangle him later.”

“I’m not opening this door until there’s a way out of here,” Chet called, sitting up and gripping the wheel with both hands. “Open the gate first, [i]then[/i] I’ll let you in.”

“No, [i]then[/i] you’ll try to drive off and immediately crash into the wall.” The tiger corrected him with a menacing stare. “You can’t leave without us bro.”

“We can’t leave at all with the gate closed,” Chet shot back, matching his glare.

“Can we not have this argument while someone’s hunting us?” Christine snapped before looking into the car window. “Look, Chet, I understand you’re scared–”

“Uuuughhhhhhhh!” Chet threw his head back and groaned like a scolded teenager. “Not this shit again, come on!”

“--but the only way out is if we work together.” She continued over his groaning, “You’ve got something we want, we’ve got something you want. Ty can drive us out of here safely, if you try to drive yourself you could be in an even worse position. Just try to trust us so we can trust you, okay?”

“...Nah,” Chet replied, casually leaning back in the seat. “I’m going to get out of here somehow, and you two can suck it.” He grabbed his crotch with his hand. “Have fun getting eaten, suckers. Even if I can’t leave, I’m still safe in here.”

“Do you think a locked door is going to keep out someone who managed to overpower and eat Leo?” Christine asked.

“...Locked…” Chet’s blazed eyes slowly widened. “Oh…” he mumbled, “Dicks.”

Ty perked his ears, then gripped the door handle and easily pulled it open. The cheetah scrambled for the door, allowing Ty to grab him by the collar of his shirt and yank him out. “You forgot to lock it, Steve McQueen.” He snapped, immediately pulling the keys out of the ignition with his other hand.

“I’ve been sitting in an unlocked car this whole time?!” Chet gawked, his bloodshot eyes turning back towards the car. “Fuuuck dude, I was going to sleep in there!”

“Yeah? Well now your high, cowardly ass is sleeping in me,” Ty grunted before pinning him to the side of the truck and opening his jaws wide enough to engulf the cheetah’s head. “It’s about time someone got what they deserved tonight!”

“Ty!” Christine gasped. 

“What, not even Chet? He’s going to get us killed,” Ty growled at her, shoving the cheetah forcefully up against the truck as he licked his lips and opened his jaws again. “Trust me, he’s earned this, and so have I for having to put up with him for ten years.” He licked his lips as he looked back at Chet. “Last prey I’m ever gonna eat. I’m really glad it’s you.”

“Shit man, don’t eat me,” Chet closed his eyes tightly. “I’m bad with tight spaces!”

“Ty, please,” Christine begged, her hands out towards the tiger. Ty hesitated, his blue eyes falling on her as the cheetah trembled in his grip. He snapped his jaws shut an inch from his face and shoved him aside, immediately dipping into the front of the truck as if he had more important things to do. 

The fennec took a deep breath and raised her hands. “Okay, so… I think everyone is kind of high strung, but we’re all in agreement that we need to get the gate open.”

Ty let out a quiet grunt of agreement, Chet nodded rapidly from his spot on the floor, his back flat against the truck.

“The welcome cabin should have someone who can help us, or barring that, a way to open the gate.” She continued, trying to keep her voice as calm as possible. Her eyes drifted back to the gate, “It looks like it’s just got a padlock on it, so maybe someone inside has the key. Once we’ve got it unlocked, we’ll all get in the truck and [i]Ty[/i] will drive us out of here.”

“S-sure,” Chet mumbled, his hand reaching for his pocket before quickly drawing it away as Ty glanced over his shoulder at him. Christine found herself oddly calm despite the clear bulge of the pocket knife in his cargo shorts - not even Chet would be stupid enough to try that again.

“We need someone to stay here and watch the car to make sure the predator doesn’t do anything to it while we’re gone,” Christine said, glancing between the two larger men. “The other two will head into the cabin and get the keys.” 

“SHOTGUN!” Chet cried as he made a leap for the front seat of the truck. Ty grabbed him by his waistband, leaving the cheetah hastily gripping onto the seat to stop himself from slamming his face into the floor. “Ack, hey!” 

“If anyone’s staying, it’s Christine.” Ty said, glancing down at the fennec. “You’d be a lot safer in the truck.”

“Ty, Chet is… really inebriated,” Christine tucked her ears back as she looked at the blazed cheetah. “I think we should take the keys and then lock him in the truck so he’s safe, but he won’t be able to drive off either.”

“So what, he gets to stay in the car listening to music while you and I risk our lives? After what he just tried to pull?” Ty frowned.

“It seems like he could do a lot less damage in the truck than outside it,” Christine replied, her voice dropping to a whisper as she crossed her arms. Chet sat by the truck, his gaze shifting from one to the other as they talked, like a delinquent waiting to hear if his parents would be called. Finally Ty looked down at him, sighed and threw his hands up in defeat.

“Okay, fine. Chet, get in the truck. If you see the predator honk the horn and we’ll come running.” The tiger said as he stepped to one side to let the cheetah in. “Don’t make me regret it.”

Chet scampered into the truck and closed the door before Ty could change his mind, and the tiger locked the truck from the outside before twirling the keys on his finger and slipping them into his jeans. He gave Christine a quick look, his ‘you better be right about this’ look that was usually reserved for trivia nights at the bar. The fennec simply nodded and turned to face the cabin.

They walked across the car park and Ty pushed the front door, finding it unlocked despite none of the lights being on. The reception was abandoned, though Christine took some comfort in knowing she had been right before - the giant cartoon squirrel mascot in the corner of the room was [i]way[/i] creepier in the dark. She tried not to look at it as she made her way to the front desk, her hand reaching towards the service bell.

Ty grabbed her hand just before she made contact with it and gave her a firm shake of his head. The fennec nodded and retracted her hand - He was right, of course, it was best to handle this quietly. He pointed to himself and a door on the left wall that read ‘Ranger's Office’, and then her and the door past the gift shop that read ‘Staff Only”. She nodded, and they split up.

Christine crept quietly through the giftshop area and over to the office, now far more aware of the floorboards creaking with each step she took. She deftly avoided upsetting a rack of keychains, though she did take one of the tiny flashlights off the shelf and pressed the button. The circle of light it emitted was tiny and dim, but that seemed much better than the bright light of her phone.

She finally reached the door and took a deep breath before opening it. The room was lit with the blue light of the moon, horizontal lines of white cut up by the blinds on the window. She made her way there first, slowly opening the blinds until she had enough light to see by. 

There was a large desk in the middle, a tall coat rack in the corner with a black coat draped over it, and filing cabinets along all the walls. No Park Ranger though, Christine realised nauseating relief. If he wasn't here, Ty would find him first, and that wasn't going to be pretty. Seeing as she was alone she began to move a little more casually, her body relaxing and her fur settling back down as she began to search for the key.

She went to the desk first and pulled open the first drawer, finding a small glass bottle of amber liquid. She opened the drawer below it, revealing polaroids of the three big cats she had arrived with. Some seemed like they were taken years ago, others were much more recent. There were notes too, pages and pages of scrawled memos to the ranger.

“Smart not to keep all his notes in one place I guess,” she grimaced. The reminder of his obsession put her on edge though, including the flash of the words in her mind like a haunting memory: ‘Next Victim’

She gripped the whiskey bottle by the neck for protection - Suddenly the park ranger’s office felt a lot less safe. She opened the next desk drawer, and then the next, frantically searching for the key to the gate. “Come on, come on…”

Nothing. “Shit,” she hissed, and quickly closed the last drawer to search the cabinet behind her. She opened the top drawer and a tidal wave of papers spilled out immediately, along with a heavy object that slammed into her shoulder. “Aah!” She yelped in pain, clutching her shoulder and darting back. Whatever came next, she was glad she avoided it. It landed with a heavy thud, clattering by her feet.

“Motherffffffff..! Aaaah…” she groaned, rubbing her wounded shoulder as she stared down at the two objects shrouded in darkness. She picked up the tiny flashlight from the desk and pressed the button on the back to illuminate the two objects.

The otter skull stared back at her with empty eye sockets, its jaw slack. The fennec let out a scream, then quickly covered her mouth to hold it in as she swung her light to the other object - a large lion skull. 

“What?! No..!” She backed away, darting the light from one skull to the next. “N-no no no no, no, no that doesn’t– but he was–!” she whimpered, her light falling on the saliva-soaked otter skull. “But if he’s not, then who..?!”

“What’s going on?” Ty asked, suddenly appearing in the doorway with his claws ready to tear the room apart. “Why did you yell? Is that prick here? I’ll kill him–!”

“No! Ty, it’s– it wasn’t the park ranger, he’s already gone, he’s– It wasn’t him, the predator ate him too!” Christine explained frantically, her whole body shaking as she swung the flashlight over to him. “He must’ve meant he thought I was going to be [i]your[/i] next victim. It’s someone else!”

“Wh…” Ty managed, his claws slowly retracting. He began to lower his hands. “It… it’s not…” he muttered, his voice almost inaudible as his left hand finally rested on the handle of the door. “It’s… not… it’s not…”

“No, Ty, listen to me!” Christine frantically explained, “Th-their skulls, I found their skulls, and they're still wet. Ty, they're [i]wet![/i] That means the predator's here, we need to get the keys before–!” 

The fennec stammered to a halt. Why wasn’t he saying anything? The tiger was suddenly as still as a statue, motionless as he stood silhouetted in the doorway. 

His gaze was locked on the corner of the room behind her. Even in the darkness she could see the fright in his blue eyes. For the first time tonight, maybe ever, Christine could see fear on his face. What could he possibly be afraid of? He was strong, and huge! Her mind begged her not to find out, but her body was moving on its own. She slowly followed his gaze to the coat rack at the corner of the room.

A shadowy figure stood in its place, a long black coat draped over him. All she could make out beyond the large hood was a long slender fox muzzle, illuminated by glowing ghostly blue eyes… and at his feet, a thick fluffy tail with patches missing. The fox slowly pulled his hood back, his fiery eyes locking onto Ty like he knew him… like he [i]hated[/i] him. 

She glanced back at the tiger for his reaction - All day long he had been angry, he had been talking about kicking everyone’s asses, especially the predator’s. But now his eyes were filled with fear. He stared open-mouthed at the fox, his body shaking as he gripped the door handle. He didn’t even look at her, he just kept staring slack-jawed at the cloaked stranger in the corner of the room. But it wasn’t a stranger to him, somehow he knew him. Somehow, he [i]feared[/i] him.

“T-Ty…” Christine whispered.

Ty didn’t say a word. He just gradually started to step backwards.

“Ty..?” She repeated, only for her heart to sink as the tiger walked back into the gift shop. 

The door creaked as he closed it behind him, its latch falling into place with a dooming ‘thunk’. 

“NO!” The fennec made a leap towards it and pulled at the handle, but the tiger held it firmly on the other side. “Ty! Ty, open the door! TY!” She shouted, bounding on the door with her other hand. There was a hurried rattling of metal, and then the lock clicking into place. It seemed like the tiger had found the keys after all. 

“Tyson Reed, you open this door RIGHT NOW!” Christine yanked at the door handle, but she could already hear him running for the exit. She pounded on the door until her fists hurt, “TY! TY!” she screamed, “Ty, don’t leave me! Ty!”

A gurgle behind her reminded her she wasn’t alone. She turned and planted her back to the door, her eyes wide as she glanced at the fox standing motionlessly in the corner of the room, watching her with his ghostly gaze. His arms hung limply at his sides as he stared at her.

She tightened her grip on the whiskey bottle. “F-fuck, fuck!” she whimpered, trembling as he stalked around the desk, getting closer by the second. “No, please no, fuck no, please, I-I- I don’t want to be food! Please don’t eat me, please, oh god..” she stammered, her other hand still rattling the door handle. “Oh, fuck, fuck, Ty. Come back, please, Ty. Please come back–”

The fox peered at her, at the door behind her. He took a step forward, snarled silently, and let out a banshee shriek. She curled up into a tight ball, waiting for the claws and teeth to come down hard on her. 

Instead, all she heard was the glass shattering as the creature leapt through the window to pursue the tiger.

The fennec’s mind raced, her hand still gripping the neck of the bottle so tightly she could barely feel her thumb through the pain. Fifteen seconds passed… thirty… a minute… she slowed her breathing with her hand on her chest, then collapsed to the floor, dropping the bottle so she could cover her face while she cried. 

“Oh god…” she whispered, curling into a ball and clutching her tail. She could hear Chet and Ty yelling in the distance, and the rapid footsteps of the fox as he charged towards them. As she strained her ears she could even hear the rattling of the lock on the gate as Ty unlocked it. 

She opened her eyes and sat up straight…The gate. Ty had the keys, he was going to open the gate. He was going to leave her, just like he left her locked in the room with a monster. 

He and Chet would drive off and abandon her. 

The fennec pushed herself to her feet and ran over to the window, sticking her head out and straining her ears. She didn’t hear the rumble of the truck’s engine, which meant there was still time. She punched out the remaining glass shards from the bottom of the window with the bottle and hopped out. Her shirt got torn on a stray shard she had missed, but she didn’t care, there was no time to lose!

She landed softly on the grass and pressed her back to the cabin wall, creeping quickly to the edge and peering into the parking lot. The gate was unlocked now, but the truck was still there, its passenger door wide open. For once, Chet’s cowardice might have come in handy.

Her ears pricked up and swivelled, finally locating the sound of footsteps and yelling in the forest. Breathing in a sigh of frustration she dashed the open space between the cabin and the treeline before immediately ducking into the bushes. 

She crawled along the forest floor, following the sounds of the conversation through the undergrowth until finally she could make out a few words. 

“It’s that damn fox from college, he’s back!” Ty’s baritone whisper began.

“What the fuck, how?! Did you revive him?” Chet’s shrill whisper replied.

“Dipshit, of course I didn’t revive him! What the hell are you talking about? You think if I had magical powers we’d be in this mess?!”

Christine crept a little closer, then scooted behind a nearby tree as she heard the two walking past. 

“Magic! That’s it, he was friends with those Dungeons and Dragons people, right?” Chet said as he turned to face Ty, pointing up at him abruptly. “They must’ve used dark magic! Bro I read about this in that comic from church, they totally hexed us. They’re all satanists, and they did some kind of necromancy–”

“Chet, shut the fuck up. It doesn’t matter how or why he’s back, what matters is that you left the truck!” Ty shoved him forward, leaving the cheetah toppling dangerously close to the bush next to her before he steadied himself. “He could be hiding in there waiting to ambush us now.”

“I told you, I heard someone coming and made a tactical retreat,” The cheetah snapped back. “I broke the window and dashed, dude. You’d have done the same.”

“You broke my window too?” Ty snarled. “For fucks sake, I should’ve just left you to get eaten, you’re too stupid to live.”

“Yeah, like you left your girlfriend,” Chet scoffed. “Big man Ty couldn’t handle one little undead fox. Poor Christine, she’s probably still calling your name. ‘Oh Ty, it’s so dark in here, Eww I’m too pretty to be fox fat~’ ” The cheetah glanced back at him, a teasing smirk on his muzzle, “and now you’ll never get to eat her cute little tits again.”

“Knock it off,” Ty warned him, raising his fist to punch the cheetah in the back of the head, only to growl and punch a nearby tree instead. “It doesn’t matter anyway, she pretty much dumped me after all the stuff you and Leo said. If she’s slowing him down and not slowing us down, I don’t give a shit,” Ty hissed. “Now quit talking so loud, you’re going to get us caught.”

Christine dug her fingers into her tail, her whole body burning with rage. She wanted to confront him. She wanted to leap out of the bush and give him a piece of her mind… [i]‘I should do that,’[/i] she thought, her calves tensing as she prepared to spring out from behind the bush. [i]’If that’s how he feels about me, I should tell him about how I feel about him!’[/i]

“Hold up,” Ty grabbed Chet’s shoulder. “...Someone’s here.”

“It’s him! Fuck!” Chet yelled, immediately dashing forward back towards the parking lot.

“Don’t run off again, you freaking–” Ty reached out to grab him, but the cheetah’s tail slipped through his fingers and he ended up toppling over. The tiger landed hard on his front, his jaw slamming against a particularly thick root. “Uuughh…” Ty groaned as he shakily started to push himself back up, only to slump forward again. Christine felt a little vindicated seeing him get knocked down, it seemed like the perfect time to reveal herself.

Until she realised the ‘someone’ he was talking about before wasn’t her. 

The fox stepped out of the shadows and walked over to the stunned tiger, working with robotic and methodical precision as he wrapped a rope around Ty’s ankles, tying it and pulling it hard enough to make the tiger groan. He moved to his wrists next, clasping the burly man’s arms behind his back without any effort and tying his wrists together.

Christine held her breath as she peeked around the edge of the tree. The fox didn’t acknowledge her - maybe he didn’t know she was there, but somehow, she knew he did. Ty was starting to come to, grunting as he thrashed and pulled against his bindings. “H-hey, what the hell? What the hell?!”

The fox reached into Ty’s pockets and pulled out the truck keys, tossing them arbitrarily into the nearest bush, close to the one she was hiding behind. 

He stepped down on Ty’s calves and gradually pulled him back by his wrist restraints until he was kneeling up, his head directly up to stare into the ghostly glowing eyes above him. The fox placed one hand on each of the tiger’s broad shoulders and parted his jaws, letting out a plume of steamy breath as he slowly lowered his maw towards the muscular feline’s face. “N-no, no you can’t– there’s no way, you can’t even– I’m not–!”

The fox put all those doubts to rest in a single swing of his head, engulfing Ty’s entire head in his jaws in a single go. Christine gasped into her hand, but she couldn’t bring herself to move. All she could do was watch as the fox slurped over her ex-boyfriend’s face, and in a single gulp dragged it into his throat. 

The tiger let out a muffled roar, though it was quickly silenced by another gulp from the fox, bringing his jaws down to his chest and locking his arms to his sides. The predator’s hands trailed over his muscles, as if admiring the sheer enormity of his catch. There was no doubt in Christine’s mind he could handle Ty though, especially after eating the much larger lion just that afternoon. To her surprise the fox showed no sign at all of his weight, though perhaps it was all hidden under the huge black cloak he wore. 

[i]’I should help him, but… what can I even do at this point?’[/i] Christine wondered as she slowly moved to retrieve the keys from the undergrowth. [i]’At least he’ll slow him down, isn’t that what he said about me before?’[/i]

Her fingers curled around the 8-ball keyring and dragged the truck keys carefully out of the thorns and leaves, being careful not to make any noise as the fox continued to gulp his way down the much larger man. He pushed his hands hard against the tiger’s arms, compacting his prey as much as he could before delivering it into his throat with a heavy gulp. Before long the tiger was in past his chest, and soon after his abs followed, his shirt now clinging to them from how much drool it had absorbed.

Christine slipped the keys into her pocket, watching as the fox slammed his upper body forward, taking in the rest of Ty’s abs in a single gulp and bringing the tiger in up to his hips. His legs continued to thrash and kick, but nothing seemed to shake the firm bindings on his ankles. The fox slowly lifted the tiger up by his thighs, raising his legs off the ground before tilting his head back, giving them a straight shot down to his belly. Now that he was standing upright she could see the squirming form of the tiger as he thrashed inside the fox, leaving his hefty stomach bouncing and jostling around.

The fennec remained frozen, willing her body to move but finding herself unable to look away from the sight before her. It was incredible how effortlessly the fox was handling him, supernatural or not Ty was almost twice his size and weight. The fox took a heavy gulp, dragging the tiger’s thighs into his jaws, then down to his knees, and finally swallowed him up to his paws, leaving them dangling from his jaws, the tip of the tiger’s tail still twitching for freedom. 

That was when he finally looked her way, staring deep into her eyes. Christine let out a whimper, her ears tucking to keep them under the top edge of the bush. The damage had already been done though, he knew she was there. He turned to face her, his belly pushing into the bush and leaving the fennec face to face with her future - nothing but a squirming bulge in his gut, and probably not the last either. 

Suddenly Ty’s face pressed firmly against it, letting out a muffled roar among the [i]grrggbbls[/i] and [i]GRrwwrrRllls[/i] around him. It sent a jolt through Christine’s senses, allowing her to finally break her nerves and push herself away with a yell. She scooted along the floor, backing away as the fox pushed his way uncaringly through the bush. He tilted his head back, swallowing the last of the tiger before staring down at her. He licked his lips. 

“N-no, NO!” Christine yelled, turning and pushing herself to her feet in a single motion. After a few staggered steps she broke into a sprint, listening to the groans and gurgles of the tiger’s digestive fate fade into the distance as she ran towards the light of the parking lot. Suddenly the metres felt like miles, the nightmare started to play back in her mind again… [i]’I’m going to get you, little fennec~’[/i]

She slammed into another body in the dark and immediately started punching and kicking, her fists pounding at his chest. The figure shoved her back against a nearby tree and pinned her in place with one hand on stomach. “N-no! No! Let me go! Let me GO!” she screamed.

“Shut the fuck up, you’re going to get us both eaten!” Chet hissed. The fennec’s eyes widened, taking in more of the dim light that fell down from the trees above. She could make out Chet’s lean form, his hand continuing to hold her in place. “Where’s Ty?”

“Th- That fox got him,” Christine panted. “Chet, that fox– It’s Kou, isn’t it? It’s the fox from–”

“It’s the guy, the guy from the food delivery! the satanist guy!” Chet rambled, glancing over his shoulder nervously… and then suddenly, a disquieting calm rippled over his fur, his grip loosening on her. “...Wait, did you say he got Ty?”

“Y-yeah, I saw everything. He swallowed him whole. Ty’s g-gone, it’s just you and me now.” Christine breathed out, her hands moving to Chet’s wrist. To her surprise it was still planted firmly, even as she tugged at it the cheetah kept her pinned. “Chet, we need to go. Ty unlocked the gate, and I’ve got the keys to the truck, I can drive us out of here–”

“What’s the rush?” The cheetah asked as he brought his muzzle close to hers, his bright orange eyes gleaning in the dark. “He’s going to be pretty busy with a big guy like Ty, I bet he can’t even move right now.” He licked his lips, “It should give us a few hours… Man, after all that time worrying, this worked out [i]exactly[/i] like I hoped.”

“Like you… hoped..?” Christine repeated slowly, cringing at the scent of weed and alcohol on his breath as she turned away. “Chet, what are you talking about? Ty’s gone.”

“Exactly. Ty gets eaten, which means the predator’s too full to eat me…” The cheetah purred indulgently as he moved his hands to her sides and pulled him against her. “And he’s not going to stop me from finally eating your whiny ass. Tiny lady like you shouldn’t get in the way of the steering wheel either~” He ran his tongue along her ear. “Mmmmh, I love a happy ending, don’t you, Chrissy?”

“You’re going to–” Christine tucked her ears back. “After everything we went through? After you lost two friends tonight? With the predator only a couple of feet away?” She stammered.  “You’re going to… EAT me?”

“Yeeahh…” Chet chuckled, one hand trailing up her side before wrapping around the back of her head. “Been running around all night, blazed up and no snacks in sight… except for this gorgeous little fennec~” his hot, rough tongue ran over from the tip of her nose all the way up to her forehead. “Should keep me going until I find somewhere to get a burger or pizza. You’re mostly ears, but you’ll fill me up enough for now.”

Christine trembled in his arms, shivering with a perfect storm of fear and rage. “Chet, listen to me. The predator is going to catch up to us any moment. If he’s going to eat either of us, it’s going to be you. You’re the one he’s got a grudge against, not me.” She reminded him, her voice seething as the cheetah continued to slurp over her head, purring at the flavour of her fur. “You’re risking both our lives and wasting valuable escape time and you SERIOUSLY want to stop and eat me right now? Are you high?!”

“Oh, extremely.” Chet grinned, his lower jaw popping as he gripped the back of her head tightly and shoved her towards his open mouth. “Down the hatch, bitch~”

“Ugh.. y-you’re the worst person I’ve ever met!” Christine cringed, tilting her face away from him as his breath wafted over her nose again. “You’re awful, I hope he gets you! I hope you never get out of this park!”

“Yeah, but I will. Because I’m not a juicy little fensnack~” He purred, opening it impossibly wide as he forced her muzzle into his throat. All at once Christine’s view was eclipsed by teeth, flesh and darkness. Everything felt wet, and as the cheetah took his first gulp things only became wetter. Her ears were pinned back, and despite pushing against his chest with her hands she couldn’t make any distance between her and the long, slimy trip ahead.

At least she finally had an answer for Ty’s theory earlier - No, she definitely [i]didn’t[/i] want to be prey. She thrashed her upper body and kicked with her legs, but another swallow from the hungry cheetah dragged her in up to her chest. She held her breath as the walls tightened around her, squeezing her forwards along the slimy trail that lead to his waiting, growling stomach. 

[i]’You’ve got to be kidding me, after all that?![/i] Christine thought in frustration as Chet’s teeth dug into her breasts, clenching down as his tongue slathered over her tan fur. One of her feet finally found its mark between his legs, but other than a grunt and a few coughs the cheetah was unperturbed, only holding her tighter against himself as he gulped faster and faster. [i]’Glrrrk! Glrrrk! Glrrsh!’ [/i]

Her feet lifted off her ground, leaving her kicking rapidly to try to find it again. His hands moved to her butt, one on each cheek as he gradually lifted her up into the air, tilting his body back in unison to give the fennec a straight shot to his belly. “T-this is it..!” she whimpered. “Chet, you fuck, spit me out or I swear to god–!” She winced as she felt another gulp drag her forward, “I’ve got the truck keys in my pocket, you idiot! You won’t be able to escape!”

Chet let out a purr, his tongue lathering her midsection with drool. Whether it was because too high or too hungry, one thing was for certain - he didn’t care. All he wanted was to eat her. The walls around Christine tensed as the cheetah took a deep breath, preparing for his next and final swallow.

The walls tightened as Chet prepared for his next and seemingly final gulp, and just as they were about to loosen they tightened even harder, crushing Christine’s ears against her head. She let out a scream and kicked her legs, but whatever was squeezing the walls around her was making her move back up, not down. 

She broke into the cool moonlight with a gasp, landing with her head slamming against the tree. She took deep, rapid breaths, her hand resting on her heart. It was beating like it was about to burst, but the sight before her made it go still and cold again. Chet stood paralysed in fright with two slender arms wrapped around his abdomen - the arms of the risen fox. The predator looked more like a wolf now, standing almost as tall as Ty with the cheetah’s head resting against his chest, and his jaws positioned directly over his head.

“N-no, no! Fuck! No, let me– C-come on, man, you just ate Ty, you can’t be that hungry!” Chet yelled, his eyes wide as he stared into the steadily opening jaws of the fox as they reared back to make their final descent. “L–look man, let me at least eat her first! Or take her yourself, I don’t care! You just ate a tiger, you can’t be that hung–!” 

[i]CHOMP![/i] the fox’s jaws snapped down on Chet’s head, engulfing him up to his neck in a single bite. The cheetah let out a muffled yell of fright, his legs rapidly kicking as he moved both his hands to the fox’s head to try to pry it off of him. The fox simply opened his jaws wider, engulfing the two hands and swallowing to lock them in place next to the cat’s head. That left nothing for Chet to fight back with but his legs, which he mostly flailed at the air in front of him, leaving Christine cowering against the tree to avoid being kicked in the face. 

Her ears twitched at a jangle as something fell from the flailing cheetah’s pockets - the car keys, followed quickly by his pocket knife. She reached her foot out and pressed down on the sheathed pocket knife, dragging them across the grass towards her as the fox continued to guzzle down their former owner. He hoisted Chet upwards with his arms wrapped around his waist, forcing the cheetah in up to his scrawny spotted chest.

Once the knife was in reach Christine grabbed it and slowly brought her feet under her, getting ready to spring up and sprint away at a moment’s notice. The fox’s cold, piercing gaze shot down at her past his prey, his eyes glowing violently in the dark of the night. The fennec tensed and pressed her back to the tree, forced to wait, and watch as he finished his next meal. 

Seeing her stay still the fox turned his attention back to the cheetah in his jaws, swallowing hard and fast to drag him in up to his waist as his arms slowly slipped down his slender body with each gulp he took. His hands moved to the cheetah’s calves and hoisted him upwards, keeping each leg firmly in his grasp as he lifted Chet above his head, his jaws parting wider to allow the cheetah to sink in. Now Christine could see the bulge the cheetah made in his neck - the solid lump of his lower back clearly visible just before the fox’s cloak. Even with it wrapped tightly around his midsection, she could see the growing belly lying underneath, thrashing and squirming with Chet’s upper body. 

[i]’No trace of Ty though,’[/i] Christine thought as she stared at the shaking gut. [i]‘Did he let him go..? No, that can’t be it.’[/i]

“W-wait, I’m sorry–! Don’t– Christine, do something!” Chet yelled as the fox forced his legs together, his head tilted at a perfect vertical angle. He practically inhaled the rest of the cheetah, leaving his legs rapidly descending into his jaws before disappearing all together as they snapped shut around his feet. The fox brought his chest back and let out one final, booming [i]GLLLRK![/i] …and Chet was pulled completely into his stomach.. 

Christine pressed her back to the tree, narrowly avoiding the belly touching her nose as it slumped out towards her, exposing the rim of the fox’s shirt beyond his black cloak. She found herself face to face with a predator’s stomach again, but this time she could see just how quickly it broke down the cheetah inside it. Its groans and gurgles grew louder by the second, muffling the yelling and swearing of the jock inside as it rapidly shrank back below the cloak. 

“P-please,” She panted as she finally pushed herself to her feet, her back still pressed to the tree. “Please let me go. I-I get it, I really do, I understand why you ate them. Even the park ranger. They were all–” she hesitated, breathing in as he took a step closer. “They were all people who wronged you. Ty and his friends, and the police officer who failed to bring them to justice…” she shook her head. “But I had nothing to do with it. I don’t know you, I swear, before today I had no idea Ty did any of this, I’d never have dated him if I did.”

The fox’s face remained emotionless, his burning blue eyes staring soulless into her own as he took another step forward.

“I’m not who you think I am,” Christine pleaded, “My name is Christine Saunders. I’m twenty two, I’m studying psychology at Nottinghale,” she stammered, holding out her hands as he stepped closer. “I-I’m an admin on an anime messageboard, I read comics, I like punk music, I smoke weed sometimes, but I’m not a stoner, I’m a Libra–” …Wait, none of that was useful. Her mind raced for more identifying information as the fox’s stomach finally shrank behind his cloak, the last [i]Grrbbbbleeess[/i] of the cheetah’s soupy remains leaving it empty for her.

“Ahh!” Christine yelped at the sound, breathing in a cold breath to steady herself as her body started to freeze up again. She racked her brain for more information about herself. Useful, [i]identifying[/i] information. “I volunteer at Gates Animal Shelter, my parents pay my tuition and rent but I work at a coffee shop anyway, I’m part of the drama society at university, I have 200 followers, my mom’s a surgeon, and my dad’s a manager at Pizza Pleazah!”

The fox stopped in his tracks, his hands still outstretched towards her as if someone had pulled out his battery. Christine took a deep breath to steady herself, her hand slipping into her shorts to find the handle of the pocket knife. “So please, let me go. I didn’t have anything to do with you getting eaten. You have no reason to get revenge on me,”

The predator stayed still, his hands still hanging in the air before her. Finally they started moving again, lowering downwards and towards himself. His fingers curled around the hem of his cloak, and then pulled it until the buckle at the centre snapped and clattered to the floor. He kept pulling until it fell off his shoulders, allowing her to finally see his body - torn cargo shorts, and a fat, well-fed gut that stretched his red shirt. 

Its colour was familiar, Christine’s heart stopped as she saw the emblem on his chest. It was a logo she hadn’t seen in so long - the company had rebranded so many times, but she knew that dripping cheesy slice everywhere. She didn’t even need to read the text below it:  

‘Pizza Pleazah’

“No…” Christine gasped.

His voice came like a deathly chill in the wind. “Is… father… Manager… Ralph… Saunders…?”

“No… N-no!” She lied, shaking her head desperately to avoid the truth. “N-no,” she repeated, less convincingly as she stepped around the tree and hastily walked backwards towards the parking lot. “No, no, no.. no… no no.” She repeated, frantically shaking her head as the fox’s jaws parted once more, his eyes glowing with rage. “NO!”

He lunged forward, his arms outstretched to grab her. Thinking quickly she drew the sheathed knife from her pocket and wedged it between his upper and lower jaw before turning to flee as he grappled with it. He pulled it out and threw it aside unharmed, but it had bought her precious seconds as she sprinted for the truck.

He chased after her, snarling and roaring as he flailed his arms ahead of him, trying to grab at her tail. She burst through the trees and made a bee-line for the truck, her calves burning with each step she took. The cut in her side from climbing through the window started to ache, bringing with it a painful stitch that made it harder to breathe. Everything was going against her, even her own body wanted her to collapse and accept her fate.

She reached the driver's side door and pulled it open, grabbing a half empty beer can and tossing it towards the fox with as much force as she could muster. He swung his arm, blocking it with a snarl as she ducked into the truck and quickly shut the door behind her. She locked all the doors just as his hand reached the handle, pulling at it before pounding on the glass with his claws, breathing hot steam and splattering drool over the passenger window. He balled his hands into fists and beat the window, leaving the glass rattling and splintering as Christine turned the key, desperately waiting for the engine to start.

It came alive with more power than she expected, her foot pressing down hard on the pedal as she strained to reach it while keeping her head above the steering wheel. Ty’s truck was built for a much larger mammal, but she could still just about manage to reach the pedals. The truck sped towards the wall by the gate, leaving her spinning the wheel to quickly swerve away from it. She spun it too hard, leaving the truck’s tires screeching as it spun donuts through the parking lot, its force pressing the Fennec against the door as she struggled to wrest the wheel back under control.

She finally remembered to hit the brakes and the truck stopped, bouncing her back into the centre of the seat, her hair frazzled and her fur a mess. The world spun ahead of her, but she could see the predator standing in the middle of the parking lot… and the open gates to her freedom directly behind him. 

She panted heavily and adjusted the clutch before gripping the wheel with both hands, her breaths slowly becoming heavier and angrier as she stared at the predator. He spread his arms and legs, posing like a werewolf ready to leap 20ft and through the windshield to devour her.

“Eat this you undead son of a bitch!” She screamed, slamming her foot down on the accelerator. 

The truck sped through the parking lot and rammed into the fox, sending him flying under the tires. The truck rocked as the body rolled under her, but the fennec kept driving until she was past the gate, and into the inky shadows of the night, with only the headlights to guide her way.

She drove for a while longer before finally stopping to adjust the seat, her lower body aching from stretching throughout the agonising minutes of straining to reach the pedals. She set her phone up on the dashboard and opened up Maps, setting a course for the nearest motel before she finally put on her seatbelt and started to drive slower back towards civilisation. 

The motel wasn't far now, just under an hour. Forty eight minutes and she could shower, and call her mom, and start looking for an affordable therapist.

She had done so much she thought she wouldn’t be able to today. Driving a truck two sizes too big for her was nothing.

[center] * * * [/center]

The vacancy sign at the motel had never been more welcoming - a bright white panel under a blue neon sign, like a checkpoint from a videogame. Even in her motel room Christine couldn’t remember what it said, some cute pun about resting and slumber. She was sure, she’d have to check it again in the morning.

She had met a young couple on their honeymoon, Donna and Debbie, who had offered her some of their clothes when she told them about the night she had.They had even offered to pay for her room, but she didn’t want to trouble them more than she already had. She did accept the hot cocoa from the waiter at the hotel bar though, calories be damned. 

She called the police, but it was just like Chet said - once you’re eaten, you’re old news. They said they’d send someone to look for the predator tomorrow anyway, but she doubted they’d find anything but the two skulls left behind in the ranger’s office, and the tiger and cheetah ones left unaccounted for. She hoped they’d find a fox’s body too, laying motionless in the parking lot where it could never hurt or eat anyone again. Maybe that was too morbid though, perhaps it’d be better if he vanished back whatever shadow he had come from. 

It was too late at night to call her mother, so she settled for having a long shower and deleting every picture of Ty on her phone, as well as their chat history. There were a remarkable amount of dick pics and signs she had never seen before about who he really was. She’d be more careful next time - maybe just stick to dating birds and rabbits for a bit.

She stepped out of the shower and wrapped the towel around herself, drying off her golden fur. She got a glimpse of herself in the steam-shrouded mirror, already looking much better than she did when she arrived. She tried to smile, but she wasn’t feeling like it yet. Maybe tomorrow.

There was a bump in the other room and Christine immediately searched for a weapon, settling for a plunger. She tried to break it over her knee to form a stake, but found herself too tired to even do that. Her body tensed as she tried to channel some of Ty’s fury, or what she had expected it to be when he had walked in on her and the predator. She wasn’t going to be afraid anymore - she was going to Kick. It’s. Ass.

She grabbed the handle and swung the door open, her free hand spinning the plunger out in front of her like a club. It sailed through the air unimpeded, and she immediately dropped it in favour of a better weapon - the sturdy wooden polecat statue on the dresser. She walked backwards until she reached the corner of the room, holding the long and thin statue like a baseball bat, its head smiling at whatever she was about to bludgeon to death.

The room was empty, and the window was closed. Unwilling to let her guard down she pulled the closet door open and prepared to strike. Nothing. 

She really was alone then. The fennec breathed out, still keeping her body low as she skulked towards her bed. She jumped suddenly, ducking down to peer under it. 

Still nothing. This was getting ridiculous. The fennec stood back up again and listened to the walls creaking. It was getting colder now, maybe the building were just expanding or contracting with the temperature. Maybe it was the pipes groaning, the way they sounded like the hollow groans of a stomach unfilled, waiting for prey. She took another deep breath, trying to relax as she sat back on the bed. 

And that was when she felt a lump in the sheets. Something firm resting just under her tail, with a flat curve that bulged out from under the covers. She slowly lifted her tail off it and stood open before turning to face it, the polecat still in her hand. She gripped the sheets, held her breath, and pulled it back.

The empty eyes of the tiger’s skull stared up at her, still wet with drool. Christine gagged and covered her mouth before grabbing the rim of the tiny trash can in the corner of the room to cover it up. Her fingers brushed bone, and as she looked down she found a cheetah skull watching her amongst the scrunched up waste paper and beer cans.

And then she saw something in the window. 

Something that moved like a man who had just been caught peeping.

She made her way over to the glass and stared out into the night, her hand still gripping firmly onto the wooden polecat. Her eyes narrowed on the figure standing in the parking lot. It stared back up at her for what felt like an eternity, and then sped off into the darkness of the forest.

Christine placed one hand on the cord to her right, her other gripping the solid wooden polecat. It felt heavy. Heavy enough to kill a man, or a monster. She stared at the spot where she had last seen him and clutched the polecat’s neck tightly in her palm.

The fennec narrowed her eyes. “...You better run.”

She shut the blinds tight.

The End