"Karen, where were you?"
"Here, right here. I kept hearing you shout but I was afraid to answer." She shined the flashlight on me. "Dear God, you're hurt," she cried.
"What ... was it," I asked. I rolled to my knees as she shined the light on the creature. I stared at it and shuddered through the pain in my chest. It was as big as a bear with thick hindlegs and a massive blunt face that stuck out of hunched shoulders. Black blood oozed from the gaping holes in its chest, staining the fur and dripping on the crumpled grass.
"What kind of a beast is that?" I said in wonder. It had moved with the speed of a machine when it struck me.
"I heard it following me in the dark. I ran into the trees and kept still."
"It went for the light when it hit me. Maybe it has no sense of smell."
"It didn't come any closer when I stopped. I was afraid to shout at you. Oh David, look at your arm."
I felt the blood on my arm, shaking my head. "Not that. Something's wrong with my chest. I think it busted some ribs when it jumped me."
I tried to ease the fire in my body, but I couldn't move very far before knives jabbed into my flesh.
"We've got to get out of here," she whimpered.