Raquel dressed in her complete military uniform, boots and cap. She carried her backpack with her, and headed out to join the rest.

“You be careful out there Raquel, always have your eyes wide open, so you can tell between friends and foe”.

“Thank you, Cindy”. Strangely, this was the first time Cindy actually spoke to her, how strange.

She had always thought Cindy was a nerd, but seeing her this outspoken and giving her advice was way out of the ordinary.

Raquel left with the others in a truck shortly after.

They travelled together with the Sergeants who were assigned in charge of them.

On their way to the assigned village, Raquel thought about the words Cindy said to her.

She stared at everyone in the truck, they all seemed to have friends to which they discussed with, she was the only one who was left alone.

Oh, there is Jerry, but he was so focused talking to a girl with dark brown hair, and judging from the way she smiled from time to time, Raquel could tell that they were having a romantic conversation.

From the look of things, she was the only one who was alone. She preferred living this way, though, all her life she's never had real friends.

The little ones she had, stayed away from her, maybe because they don't like those on uniforms, specially ladies on uniform, so from then on, she had decided never to keep any friend to herself.

The journey to the north was stressful and lengthy.

After a six-hour drive, they finally arrived at their destination.

Everyone gasped at the deserted area to which they were to lay their camps.

Hell no, this was a forest, not a habitat fitting for a human being, she thought.

Seems she wasn't the only one thinking about how strange the place was because the others began murmuring too.

The only company they had been with were the birds chirping, and to top it all, the forest was fucking cold. Even with her thick uniform, she could still feel the coldness of the forest.

That night, they made a camp fire where they all ate and drank. Some soldiers brought some hot gin, which they drank to keep the cold at bay.

“Hey Raquel, have some gin, it will drive the cold away, trust me”.

Jerry made himself comfortable in a sitting position beside her.

“Thank you, but I don't drink”.

“What?, for real?”

She nodded in responses.

“Wow, everything about you is a first for me, see all these ladies around here, they drank like a fish”.

“Well, thumbs up for them, not me”.

She replied.

“Why are you not joining in the fun?” He asked, curiously.

“I'd probably ruin the fun I guess, you know not everyone is happy about this trip”.

Jerry nodded in agreement, sipping the alcohol.

“Why are you here, with me? Aren't you also angry that I brought you here?”

Jerry seemed to be amused at what she said, owing to how he chuckled.

“Why should I be angry at you, when I know you aren't the reason I'm here”

“What do you mean?” Raquel asked, seemingly confused.

“You possibly aren't feeling guilty about our journey to the woods, are you?”

“Of course I am, if I didn't lose my temper out there, I'm sure everyone would still have been at the headquarters.

“Don't be silly Raquel, didn't you know that soldiers are sent to the headquarters every year in other to prepare them to fight the beasts of the community.

What the fuck! She still didn't get what Jerry was talking about.

“Are you saying this had already been plan from the onset?”

“You got it!”.

“They were searching for the perfect opportunity to send us here, and your anger became the stepping stone for them.”

Raquel could not help but gasp as realization hit her. So, they made it seem as though it was because of her they were being sent to the forest, when in reality they had planned for this day.

“Hey, I heard there's an ancient beast in the deeper parts of the wood, who terrorizes the villagers”.

Raquel raised an eyebrow at Jerry.

“If you are trying to scare me with that, then I advise you, don't because it's working”.

Jerry bursts out laughing at her.

“So you get scared too?'

They both laughed in unison.

An hour after they had all gotten to their various tents, Raquel suddenly heard the growl of an animal.

Quickly, she sat right up, looking a bit shaken with fear.

This was her first time coming to a wild forest, and she could tell that it wasn't fun like she had anticipated before coming.

She heard the growl again, and this time, it was getting closer, she panicked.

Was she the only one hearing this, or the others are too?

Suddenly, she heard the footsteps of an animal's paw getting closer, Raquel had her heart in her mouth as of this moment.

Fortunately, she didn't turn on the light, but the rays of the moon shone brightly outside the tent.

Raquel, quietly, reached for her weapon, just in case the animal tried to take them on a surprise attack.

While she listened quietly, the footsteps got even louder.

Just then, she saw the shadow of a gigantic wolf just outside her tent.

Raquel immediately stopped breathing. She heard that werewolves could sense fear, so she tried to slow her breathing, but she held on tightly to her weapon just in case.

To her greatest shock, the wolf immediately shifted to a man just outside her tent. Her jaw fell open in horror.

She could hear the cracking of bones, as this man transformed into a giant human.

She quickly held her hands to her mouth for the fear of making a sound out of freight.

Just then, she saw the man approaching her tent.

Oh, no, this can't be happening, no, no, no. Just as he was about to get into her tent, Raquel screamed at the top of her voice and suddenly, she woke up to a bright day.

“What's wrong Raquel?” Came Jerry's voice as he opened up her tent in panic.

Wait, was that just a dream?, O my God! I'm so done for.

“It was just a dream, she said, looking at the crowd who gathered around her tent.

“A dream could frighten you that much?” Came one of the blondes and the rest chuckled at her statement.

Raquel felt so embarrassed. She blamed herself for screaming so loud, but how could she have known that it was just a dream, when it felt so real?

She shot a death glare at Jerry, who was still laughing at her.

“It's not funny, this is all your fault!” She shot at him.

“I'm sorry about last night, okay, but how was I to know you were a scary cat?” Jerry said between laughs.

The commanders in charge called them together to inform them of the mission.

“Prepare yourselves, for we will be going into the woods searching for anything that could lead us to this monster”.

“Huh?, are we really going monster hunting now?” Asked a girl who isn't up to twenty, from Raquel's observation.

She had seen more girls like her, they are only in the army because they were either forced by their parents who might be in the military field as well.

They walked for hours, but found nothing at all.

Raquel began wondering if this was the correct way into the woods.

Jerry walked beside her with his gun at hand. She looked back to some of the soldiers, who seemed to be tired after walking for hours.

To Raquel, walking for hours wasn't such a big deal because she's got both the stamina and strength for it.

“Hey, aren't you tired?” Jerry asked, looking very surprised at her.

“Not the least, are you?” She asked.

“Of course not, just wondering how a girl like you could walk for hours unceasingly”. He said, staring at the others who seemed to be getting very exhausted. They've walked for almost the whole day, and night was fast approaching again, and still, they've got no sign of a monkey not to talk about a wild beast.

“I don't think the supposed wild wolf is in the woods, maybe they are mistaken about the entire thing".

Jerry said, in doubt.

Raquel was about supporting his statements, when they suddenly heard a thunderous growl from the deeper part of the woods.

Suddenly, everyone froze. The growl was so loud that even the commanders in charge trembled in fear.

What the fuck! Raquel wondered why everyone looked so scared, could it be she's the only one who wasn't scared at all?

She turned to Jerry, whose eyes darted at every corner, beads of sweet surrounded the sides of his head.

They've got to be kidding her right now, these were the same people who laughed at her for having a terrible dream, now that they are faced with reality, it seemed they are the ones scared for real.