"What do you mean?" Heather asked, twitching her tail.
"This forest is enchanted," Jennifer replied. "The longer you stay here, the more potent the were-creature within you is when it's released. It's too late for me, but if you three escape the forest, then the transformations will ease. You won't be nearly as freakish as I've become."
"What about the tribe?" Alice asked.
"You're supposedly not required to join them if you don't want to," Jennifer said. "I've heard tales of women who escaped the forest through the western path. That land isn't cursed, and those that stay long enough eventually become freed from their werecurses."
"You don't know for cerrrtain?" Heather asked.
"If it's true, not many women would obviously want to return here to tell the tale. However, the tribe is extremely zealous. If they catch you and you refuse admittance, you'll undoubtedly find yourself in danger."
"Well, I'm not going to get caught up in this," Alice said, looking forlornly at her wolfish tail. "I'm willing to risk the western path."
"Me too," Heather replied. "If it's possible, I want to rrreturn to my old life and go home."
"Sharon help!" the wild blonde added.
"Very well then," Jennifer growled. With a sniff of the air, she pointed towards the direction in which the sun had set. "You want to go in that direction. I'll go with you as far as I can, but if I have to leave, you should have no trouble finding your own way."
Sharon grinned, baring her fangs. Her primitive cave senses had come in handy before.
Together, the four began trekking through the forest, making their way towards the western border. Every so often, they paused to listen to howls, growls and chantings in the distance. At times, the tribe seemed to be coming in their direction. At others, they seemed further away. It was all rather unsettling, but Alice and Heather hoped that their monstrous frames would be able to at least defend them from an ambush.
Hours passed, and eventually, Jennifer noted that they were coming close to the forest's edge just as they heard a noise. "What was that?" Alice asked, perking her ears up.
Pausing, the group heard the sound again. It sounded like something being dragged across the ground in short slides. "Snake-woman!" Sharon cue.
As if on cue, Mary jumped onto the path and confronted the others. Right away, they could tell that there was something different about her. Her eyes were empty and soul-less, aiming to kill without remorse. "Jennifer..."
"Oh, no!" Jennifer couldn't believe it.
"Snake-woman mad?" Sharon asked.
"What's going on?" Alice asked.
"I can't believe it!" Jennifer replied. "The tribe actually went and did it."
"Did what?" Heather asked.
"The tribe captured Mary. They must have gotten wind of me helping you, so they performed a ritual to turn her into a killing machine!"
"Machine?" Sharon asked, her primitive mind not understanding the term.
"Just keep running!" Jennifer said. "I'll hold Mary off."
With that, the wereforms of Alice and Heather along with Sharon charged to the edge of the forest.
Thu Mar 6 02:51:07 2003