Episode 2

It’s been 13 min and 53 seconds, 54… 55. No Mandy. She’s lost, she fell and can’t get up, she’s dead. She’ll be walking out from behind that tree any second now. Dana doesn’t fiddle when nervous, doesn’t pace, she solves puzzles and writes her stories. This, all this shit, is like a cheesy fanfiction or something. B-list detective drama with supernatural villains… It must be, right? Because this can’t be real. THIS is NOT real. Dana can’t make sense of that thing. It doesn’t fit any of the known variables. Too big to be a dog, hell too big to be a wolf even. Didn’t move right either, front legs (legs? arms?) were too long. Like an ape’s? No no, that’s not it.

After a few more minutes of waiting, Dana climbs into her car and turns on the engine. It sputters alive coughing a little. It’s not warmer in the car, heater broke a while back… but it feels safer. She’s been thinking about leaving to get help. Even calling her dad and telling him what they did, what she did. If Mandy’s not… dead, then she needs help. It feels wrong to leave even worse to stay. Fuck. She thinks that this will be the very last time she taps into her dads police radio.

The passenger door is ripped open with force and the car wobbles as someone (omg thing?) is thrown inside. The door is slammed shut too hard and it bounces open again. Slammed shut once more and stays.

“Dana! Fuck! Dana, fucking drive already!” The last few seconds reverses and plays back for Dana, and she understands. Mandy made it back, there’s blood so she’s hurt, and she want’s Dana to fucking drive already. Easy input. She can do that. She fucking drives.

Mandy is short of breath, winces at every intake and holds her side where blood has soaked through her sweater and now trickles down onto the car seat. She has leaves in her hair, Dana notes, and smudges of dirt all over her clothes and face.

“I lost my glasses. Dana, shit, I lost them. My sister’s going to kill me.”

Dana blinks at her. She’s sitting there bleeding and her main worry is losing her glasses. Un-fucking-believable.

“I think she might care more about the hole in your side, Mads.”

Mandy looks down at where she is pressing her hand to the wound, as if she’d forgotten it was there. She starts shaking and tears well up in her eyes. “It bit me…” It’s barely a whisper. “I- I think it bit me D.”

The next morning everything seems brighter and less scary, less crazy. Or well, maybe not that last one. They had managed to clean the wound and dress it. It had looked gnarly yesterday, and Mandy hesitates to look under the dressings today. It doesn’t hurt as much now, a good sign she hopes, but still doesn’t dare look at it. With a sigh she throws on a fresh t-shirt then grabs her schoolbag on her way down the stairs. She jumps down the last few steps landing with a thud. Without stopping she grabs an apple from the kitchen and yells a goodbye to her sister around the first bite of it. Mandy feels fine. Awesome actually. The woods and the creature seems far away kind of like a dream. Today will be a good day, she can feel it. She hums a little tune and slams the door shut behind her.