The light shining through the rear window woke me up. Ben and Tessa were still asleep. I carefully crawled out of bed. Happy greeted me as my feet touched the floor. He obsessively licked my toes and feet before hopping on the bed and doing the same to her. He'd taken a liking to Tessa as well. Was it because of what happened last night? We had been together most of the day and all night. It was the most passionate love I had ever had with Ben. Then there was Tessa, a beautiful girl I found in the forest. She provoked me in a way no other female had, and how she carried herself was intoxicating. I'd never been with a female, let alone been with one twice on the same day. I even shared my boyfriend with her, which felt normal. She was intense and passionate. What am I saying? I was as fierce and passionate as she was. We were like animals mating, and then it came to me. Had Tessa been in her period when she first came here? My chance to ask her came quickly. Happy's licking had woken her.

 

"Hey Tessa," I said.

 

She looked at me, then at Ben. For a moment, she seemed surprised.

 

"I'm so sorry, Hannah!" she exclaimed as she gazed at the two of us.

 

"What? Oh, that. I can't blame you since I encouraged you." I said.

 

"I don't know what came over me," Tessa whispered.

 

"Yeah, same here. It was like a drive that drew me to you." I admitted.

 

I sensed she was uncomfortable. We continued our conversation in the driver's cabin.

 

"Tessa, when were you in your period? You know. I don't know how to explain this. When he revealed himself to you?" I questioned.

 

"Yes, I was, and I have been having it for a while now. I don't know how or why," Tessa replied.

 

"Did you notice any physical changes?" I asked more.

 

"My breasts and butt grew two, maybe three sizes. I noticed my body was more fit and muscular. I've never worked out a day in my life, but I knew I was stronger."

 

"This is unbelievable. What are they and what do they want from us?"

 

"All I can claim is I know they desire us and it's a primal need. I know that neither of them will stop until they possess us. That is… unless they kill one another."

 

"You said you knew of another one?"

 

"I never saw him, but I got his scent once. I instantly knew what he was." 

 

"How are we able to smell these scents?"

 

"It's part of the change. First comes your sense of smell. Then your hearing improves, and finally sight and touch. That's when the connection or bond with him is complete."

 

"Is it permanent?"

 

"I dunno, but once it starts..." Tessa trailed off.

 

"But I don't understand how it could happen."

 

"He can do things to my mind. At first, he made me see things. Then he would do things to me when he had me alone. Small things at first."

 

"The one stalking me caused me to see things."

 

"They make you see something familiar when it's them."

 

"What are they then?"

 

"He's a man, yet he's not. He can be a beast when he wants to. I never saw it happen, but I heard him change a few times."

 

"Like a werewolf?"

 

"I dunno. Clarence thought that silver would hurt him, but it didn't. The silver knife my grandma gave me didn't even make him flinch. Clarence thought we needed a bullet after that. So we melted the sliver the best we could into bullets. That didn't work either."

 

"Oh my god, how are we going to kill them if we have to?"

 

All this was a lot to take in. I laid back in the seat. This was worse than I thought. Could these be werewolves or some offshoot of them? Tessa quietly sat looking out the window. We needed to get away from this forest.

 

"What happened last night?" Ben said.

 

His sudden appearance made me jump along with Tessa.

 

"I can't explain last night," I said.

 

"I'm sorry, I couldn't control myself!" Tessa stammered.

 

"No you're fine. I was just curious, that's all."

 

Ben looked back and forth between us. He observed both of us as we stared out the windows. I sat in the driver's seat, and Tessa sat in the passenger seat. She sat in the seat with her legs to her chest. Her green dress draped to the side of her legs. I sat with my hands on the steering wheel and my feet near the gas pedal. Just in case I needed to take control. I knew the autopilot would take care of us, but I needed to feel like I had to do something. I wore a matching light blue dress; that was all we had. The clothing I packed for camping was gone. I only brought delicate dresses for when we had activities planned other than camping.

 

"Are you sure Ben?"

 

"I'm sure I just didn't expect things to turn out the way they did. Hey, don't get the wrong idea, ladies; I'm not complaining about anything that happened. I just wanted to know if this has any relation to what has been going on."

 

"Ben…" I said before he cut me off.

 

"Hold on! Hannah let me in the driver's seat!" he said vehemently.

 

Startled, I hoped out of the way. Ben disengaged the autopilot and then turned us around. He turned the floodlights on, revealing the gas station we passed last night. The only difference was the surrounding area. The last time, this area was more open, yet now it was like the forest was swallowing it up. I had missed it from the dark overcast of the enormous trees. He parked us alongside the front before retrieving a rifle from a hidden compartment on the floor. He gave Tessa and me the two pistols, and I wondered how many more he had.

 

"This time, I'm not leaving you alone. We're all going, okay." Ben said.

 

Tessa and I agreed, following Ben outside. This time, he made sure Happy didn't get out. As we walked toward the abandoned fuel station. I smelled two distinct scents, and we knew who they belonged to. They'd been here, and I wonder if it was simultaneously. The inside of the station was void of any furniture save for a few shelves and the main counter. I used my flashlight to explore the area while Tessa stayed close to me. There was glass broken all over the floor, so we had to watch our steps. Ben walked towards the back of the station, checking the rear area. There were several rooms, and after several minutes of searching, he returned empty-handed and found nothing. Then, I noticed a large panel leaning against the wall. As I looked over it, I found a door behind it.

 

"Hey Ben, there is a door here," I said.

 

He stopped what he was doing to investigate, coming to where I pointed my flashlight. Ben shined his flashlight on the door before handing his flashlight to Tessa. After he moved the panel and some other debris, he checked the door. It was unlocked, and he carefully pulled it open. The darkness below was a scary sight. There was this smell of staleness and a little mold. Ben took his flashlight from Tessa, gesturing he would go down first. The stairs wrapped around them, so I couldn't see when he reached the bottom. I waited with Tessa in apprehension for several long minutes before he came back.

"It looks clear to me. Come on down, but keep alert," Ben instructed.

 

As we descended the stairwell, I realized how far it went. The stairs took us down four or five levels into a deep basement. It was more like a bunker than a basement, and the place was in disarray. Someone had been living here at one point, but that was no longer the case. I shined my flashlight across the room, illuminating various backpacks and luggage piled in a corner.

 

"Some of these suitcases are old," Tessa whispered as she bent over to look.

 

Her bare bottom was on display when Ben turned around. He quickly averted his eyes like he did that first night. I didn't look away, and there was a tingle between my legs. I wanted him to want her just as much as he wanted me. Tessa noticed something calling our attention.

 

"That's one of my bags from our camper!" Tessa exclaimed.

 

"Let me see," I said.

 

On the luggage, it said Tessa Nicole Lawrence. I did a little more thorough search and found some of our suitcases, but they were empty, just like the rest of the discarded bags.

 

"Some of these bags are old," Ben stated.

 

"Like decades old?" I asked.

 

"More like centuries," Ben said flatly.

 

Tessa and I kneeled on a pile of backpacks and began searching through them. A little more searching revealed a map Tessa found sticking out from the pouch of a hiker's pack. 

 

"Hannah, it's a map of the area. There was a town close by. But we should have been there by now. We've already passed this place before." I said.

 

We couldn't be going in circles. The road is straight. Deeper at the bottom of the pack was a diary. I pulled it out, flipping the pages, stopping at random. The date was from over half a century ago.

 

Ralph and I have been driving for days. We couldn't find our way since we took the scenic route. There was supposed to be a town somewhere along this highway. So far, all we've seen is the forest. We don't have a lot of fuel left either. I'm getting scared. Every time we stop, I see things in the forest. Once, Ralph went into the forest, and I got lost all day and night. He found me the next morning, asking why I'd run off. I swore I saw him go into the woods.

 

The pages read like an exact record of what happened to me. Tessa had gone through the same things we were going through, too.

 

"Clarence and I drove until we ran out of gas. But we never passed this fuel station twice. We were out here for weeks. If it wasn't for solar panels powering the engine after we ran out of fuel, then…" Tessa trailed off.

 

She dropped to her knees, crying. I rushed to her side, holding her as she cried into my chest. All Ben could do was watch us. I reached for him to take my hand, and he did so as we held Tessa together. A warm feeling swelled in my stomach.

 

"Tessa, we won't let anything happen to you. I won't let you get hurt again. Ben would risk his life to save us both. That's the type of man he is," I told her, helping her stand up.

 

She hugged me, wrapping her arms around my waist. She must have seen what that creature did to Clarence but could not stop it. Ben held her from behind, and he wrapped his arms around us. All three of us stood there for some time before she stopped crying. If we wanted to make it out of this forest together, we would have to figure out what we were dealing with. We would need to do everything we could to stay ahead of these creatures. If Clarence could find Tessa wherever that beast took her, then we need to help her remember what Clarence knew. It's the key to our survival. A warmth radiated from Tessa, warming the three of us.

 

She raised her head, and her eyes were glowing light blue with that gold hue. Her gaze entranced me, and a warmth suddenly swelled between my legs. I tried to look away from her, but I knew I did not want to resist the depths of her gaze. The air around us felt electric, and she kissed me. Ben turned to investigate the rest of the basement, but Tessa and I each grabbed his hand. He stopped turning around to see why we had stopped him, only to find the two of us standing there staring at his eyes. He seemed confused by our gaze but couldn't look away. We pulled our dresses off in unison, letting them fall to the floor.

 

Ben stood, shocked and dumbfounded by what we'd just done. We were naked, waiting for him, and I sensed he was unaware of what was about to happen. We were under a potent influence, and that force installed a craving in us that we had to obey. There was no ignoring the urge that was building within our bodies. Only one act could ease the desire that flowed through our bodies, and Ben was the only one capable of curving that hunger. Our heavy breathing filled the room as we breathed in unison. My stomach was burning with want as I rubbed my thigh with my free hand. I held Tessa's hand, and she gripped my hand firmly. We both took a step toward Ben with the intent and purpose he was unprepared for.

 

"Hey… what's going on?" Ben questioned in a confused voice, taking a step backward.

 

The thumping of my beating heart, hers and Ben's, sent me an electrifying sensation. We took slow steps closer to him. Each step caused him to retreat, yet there was nowhere to go. The way out was behind us, and he was backing up into a concrete wall. Our breathing was now a fast panting.

 

Tessa moved him to stand before him, backing him towards the wall with her breast almost touching him. Her face was inches from his, and sweat poured from his forehead. By now, Ben was undoubtedly aware of the otherworldly glow from our eyes. The pricking of goosebumps spread over his skin mirrored my body as our connection grew. Ben's body was underneath my skin, and I experienced the raw emotion he felt. With her hands, she took his hands into hers, bringing them to her breast. She rubbed hers and his hands all over her bosom as she stared him in the eyes. Ben tried to look away, but we locked eyes with him. Hers and his facial expressions showed his growing interest. His face was red with emotion, and I moved to his side, placing my hand on his chest.