As the door clicked shut behind him, Tariq froze.
The campus courtyard — where just hours ago students laughed, argued, and sprawled out on the grass — had become a graveyard.
Trees had been uprooted, their roots split and dangling like severed veins. Cars were crashed into benches, their alarms blaring in ragged, overlapping screams. Bodies lay scattered — students, faculty, staff — crumpled and lifeless, some partially buried under rubble, others burned or broken in ways Tariq couldn't understand.
His breath caught.
What did I just step into…?
A sudden chill crawled up his spine. He felt it before he heard it — a low growl, deep and guttural, from somewhere to his left.
He turned his head slowly.
A young man — no older than nineteen — crouched on all fours just beyond the twisted trunk of a fallen tree. His eyes were locked onto Tariq with a feral hunger, jaw twitching slightly like he was suppressing something primal.
"Uh… h-hello?" Tariq said, trying to steady his voice.
The boy didn't answer.
Tariq took a cautious step forward.
The boy lunged.
With terrifying speed, he slammed into Tariq's chest and drove him to the ground, teeth bared, eyes wild.
"OKAY, OKAY!" Tariq yelled, raising his arm.
He wedged his left forearm against the boy's throat, trying to keep those snapping teeth away from his face. The boy clawed at him wildly — his fingers raking down Tariq's chest and arms like he didn't know how hands were supposed to work.
What the hell is wrong with him!?
With a desperate grunt, Tariq shoved the boy backward — hard — with his right hand planted against his chest.
The boy launched through the air.
He smashed into the building across the courtyard — the very one Tariq had just exited — punching a gaping hole in the brick wall with a thunderous CRACK.
Tariq blinked.
"…uh… what?"
He scrambled to his feet, chest heaving, clothes torn and dusty.
Looking down, he slowly patted his body. And to his surprise, he wasn't hurt at all.
Damn.
Then — a scream.
"NO! NO! PLEASE—AUUUGGHHH—!"
Followed by a sickening wet pop.
Tariq froze.
His head snapped toward the hole in the wall.
A single trickle of something dark slid down the bricks.
He took a slow step forward… then another… and peered inside.
As Tariq peered into the hole, smoke curled from the edges of the fractured wall. The inside was dim, shadows dancing between the drifting dust and rubble.
He squinted.
Was that… someone standing in there?
Then—
WHAM.
Something smashed into his face.
He flew backward before he could even process what happened.
Huh?
That was the only thought he managed before his body crashed into something hard — maybe a tree, maybe a bench, maybe God himself — and crumpled to the ground.
"OH JESUS, THAT HURTS!" he screamed, flailing.
"MY FACE! MY FACE! AUUUGHHH!"
He writhed in agony. Rolled. Kicked. Moaned.
Then stopped.
Wait… no pain?
He opened one eye, then the other.
Slowly, he sat up and stared down at himself.
His shirt was torn to shreds, barely clinging to his body. His pants were ripped wide open down the leg, his underwear on full display. One shoe was missing entirely.
At least I'm not completely naked, he thought grimly.
That's when he heard it — heavy footsteps, slow and deliberate, echoing from the hole he'd just been punched through.
His heart slammed against his ribs.
Who is that?
He narrowed his eyes, straining to see through the dust and smoke.
Then he heard it again.
A low growl.
But this time… it wasn't human.
It was deep. Wet. Animalistic.
Tariq's skin prickled.
He took a slow step back, eyes darting through the smoke-choked courtyard. Another step. Then another.
Okay. Stay calm. Just back away.
His heel hit something.
A wall.
No—not a wall.
It was furry.
Tariq froze.
His breath caught in his throat as he slowly turned his head.
Chest. White fur, matted with blood.
Then his eyes traced upward… and met two glowing red ones, staring straight into him.
"Aw, hell—"
He didn't finish the sentence before being sent flying again — the wind knocked out of him as he smashed into the ground and skidded across the dirt.
What the hell was that!? How did it get behind me!?
Groaning, he pushed himself upright just in time to see it step into view.
A massive, blood-soaked werewolf emerged from the building.
Its white fur barely peeked out from beneath the slick coat of red. Saliva dripped from its maw in thick globs, foam gathering at the corners of its lips. Its claws raked across the pavement, carving long lines in the concrete.
And those eyes—still locked on him.
It dropped to all fours.
And began to circle him.
Tariq's heart pounded. Terror flooded his veins.
Then—out of nowhere—he felt a strange surge of confidence.
He smirked.
I got this.
Then fear again.
Then confidence.
Back and forth.
Tariq's eye twitched.
What the hell is happening to me!?
The werewolf stopped.
It lifted its head and howled, a guttural, ear-splitting roar that rattled windows and made Tariq want to scream. He clenched his jaw, forced himself not to cover his ears.
Don't blink. Don't look away.
Then — movement.
To the beast's right, the ground convulsed.
Dirt exploded upward, taking the shape of a wolf.
Then another.
Then another.
Until there were too many to count.
Fifty? A hundred?
Tariq's eyes widened. His chest tightened.
Oh no.
Then—confidence again.
Look at these f**ing dogs.
He stood up straighter, met the werewolf's gaze, and raised his hand.
With a smirk, he curled his fingers.
Come get me.
The werewolf growled, lowered its head—
And howled again.
Every single earthen wolf charged.
Tariq's eyes widened.
The confidence evaporated instantly.
"OH—OH SHIT—"