“Okay,” she said, not quite convinced. “You also thought ghouls wouldn’t be in Alcroft.”

“Like I said, ghouls are cockroaches. No matter how hard you fight to exterminate them, they always come back.” He grabbed her chin gently with his hand and forced her eyes to his. “Trust me. We’ll be fine now.”

Fate is often a cruel bitch. Not only that but it also had a sick sense of humor. As soon as those words were out of his mouth, the surrounding area erupted into noise in many different places. Russel’s entire body tightened and his senses went on overdrive. The air still smelled clear which meant whoever was out there had masked their scent somehow. Even though he couldn’t tell who or what made all the noise, he did know there were a lot of them. A lot more than seven like the last time they got attacked.

“We need to go,” Russel told Lola. He grabbed her arm and started dragging her away. “Now.”

Lola didn’t argue with him. She started running.

“What happened…” she said, pulling in a gasp of air. “...to guarded…borders?”

“Not the time,” he replied.

Before they could get far, creatures came out and surrounded them. Russel stopped short and Lola almost collided into his back. He looked around, his nose curling up as a snarl ripped through him. His eyes flashed amber in the dark, causing the creatures to top short. Russel and Lola got a good look at them.

Ghouls. Again.

One of them, bigger and nastier than the others, stepped forward. It looked at Russel with obvious hatred and contempt.

“Wolf,” it said. “I have tracked you, finally.”

Russel didn’t let the shock that a ghoul was speaking actual words cross his features even though he’d never heard a ghoul speak before.

“You have,” he said, standing protectively in front of Lola but she didn’t show any fear this time. “Now what do you plan to do about it?”

The mysterious talking ghoul raised one hand and brought it down in a savage, downward slash.

“Kill you,” the ghoul said simply.

As soon as he brought his arm back down, the ghouls around them attacked. Lola already had her knife slid free of its sheath and Russel’s claws lengthened and grew. He let out a loud, snarling howl as the ghouls closed in on them. The dark made it harder for Lola to see them but to Russel, each ghoul was lit brilliantly with amber hues. The ghouls were almost to them when something else joined the party. They were dark, almost formless things that seemed made from shadows. Red, demonic faces so thick, they looked like masks of some kind covered their faces. There were four of them in total and each one had a weapon as black as the shadows they seemed made of.

“Son of a bitch,” Russel shouted.

“What the hell are those?” Lola asked, holding out her blade.

The ghouls noticed the newcomers as well and for a few minutes, everyone just stood completely still. Tension hung in the air.

“Oni,” Russel snarled. “My father uses them as border control. They must have been tracking these assholes the whole time.”

“That’s good, right?” Lola asked.

“Not exactly. They kill anything in their path. Indiscriminately.”

The standstill between all those present ended and it was everyone for themselves. The oni cut down a few ghouls in short order. Some of the ghouls brought down one of the oni. An oni and a pair of ghouls came for Russel and Lola. Lola sliced into one ghoul’s abdomen. Russel fended off an oni blade.

Chaos ensued.

Russel and Lola managed to get away from their attackers after a few minutes of intense fighting. Then they used that chaos to slip past the ring of monsters that had closed in around them and hurried away as fast as possible.

“They run! Kill them!” the ghoul that could speak shouted, shoving some in front of him and gesturing.

Russel glanced behind him and didn’t like what he saw. Several of the ghouls had engaged the oni, sacrificing themselves while the lead ghoul came for them. Clearly it was hellbent on the two of them for some reason. He’d never seen the thing before but he was sure it had something to do with the ghouls they killed back in Alcroft. Maybe it wanted revenge or something. He didn’t really know and didn’t care. The only thing he knew was that he needed to stay behind. If he didn’t, they would get them both. He couldn't bear to have them get their hands, or claws, or whatever appendages they had on Lola.

He pushed her ahead and she stumbled a little before catching her balance. She still ran but glanced behind her to see what he was doing. When she saw him suddenly stop running, she understood exactly what he meant to do.

“You can’t do this!” she screamed, feeling her eyes tearing up. “We can escape together. Please!”

But Russel was shaking his head no.

His eyes were like twin, amber lights. His body started to swell again but this time, the process was going much faster. Fur sprouted all over him. The fabric of his clothing quickly started to strain and tear. Fangs grew inside his mouth distorting his voice.

“Run!”