[Jessari]

The dark creature slunk through the mists that wreathed the forest, its dark body blending nearly perfectly with the shadows. Its motions were smooth, fluid. Well, for the most part. Occasionally, the creature would pause, and one limb or another would twitch, spasm. Once the spasms had passed, the creature would shake its entire body, then continue on.

As it went, it frequently glanced behind itself, tongue flickering out, tasting the air. It had escaped, it knew, but there would be pursuers. And, it had determined, it was not going back. It had killed before, and it would kill again to retain its freedom.

[Jessari]

 

"This is ridiculous," Armand grumbled. Actually, what he really said was something that would have required editing on national television, but that was the kind of being Armand was. "We should be back at the prison, making sure none of the others make a run for it while we're short staffed." Although he wouldn't admit it, the forest had him feeling just a little jumpy. Whisper Forest had already creeped him out, and with the lack of color, it was even worse. It was a cloudy day, with rare patches of sunlight, and with the color gone, the fog made it hard to distinguish any forms clearly.

[Jessari]

"Quit yer whinin'," Gridditch rumbled. The senior guard was only a few months out from retiring, and wasn't much happier himself about the venture. What good was a retirement, after all, if you weren't alive to collect? It was all the new hire's fault. He couldn't even recall her name now, but he remembered her face just fine. Or rather, he remembered the state the escapee had left her face in. She would be lucky to keep both of her eyes after the job the creature had done on her. Cryin' shame, he thought, but she had known what she was getting herself into.

[Jessari]

Working at the prison wasn't for the faint of heart, as Gridditch (known as Grid to his coworkers) well knew. Working a normal prison detail was hard enough. Whisper Max, however, was home to a variety of supernatural creatures in addition to any human monsters who had committed crimes serious enough to deserve being shipped to Whisper Max.

In any normal prison, you had to keep an eye out for 'shenanigans', as Grid called them, inmates making hooch, hoarding medication, fashioning shanks out of anything they could get their hands on. At Whisper Max, it frequently got a little more complicated than that.

[Jessari]

Armand was just a young pup himself, Grid thought. Boy hadn't even been at Whisper Max for a full year yet. He was smart, that he was, but problem was, he knew it. Thought he had already learned all there was to know. Grid hrumphed beneath his breath. All Armand knew was textbook. Ya gotta know the policies and procedures, no doubt, but the inmates knew them too. And all those inmates hadn't gotten in there for following the rules. There were some twisted minds within the walls of Whisper Max. With nothing but time on their hands, someone was bound to find a way around just about any of the rules.

[Jessari]

Armand rubbed at his shoulder, where his sleeve mostly covered a fresh tattoo. All the CO's had one, it seemed, and he'd wanted to get rid of his 'young kid' reputation as quickly as possible. He thought it made him look tough. It certainly made him feel tough. Well, it had within the walls of WM. Now, he wasn't so sure.

"Hey, Grid. You know much about this thing we're looking for?"

The paperwork had been nearly non-existent. Unusual, because usually loads of it came in with each new arrival. All Armand knew was the creature's height and weight, and whatever he could glean from the mug shots.

[Jessari]

"Nothing' for sure, kid."

Grid had overheard Admin discussing the creature the other day, but it seemed they were just about as much in the dark as all the CO's were. It was rumored that it had something to do with Evelon losing its color or maybe had something to do with the possibility of color coming back, but Grid didn't hold much interest for rumors. What had interested him was the sharpness of the creature's claws, to be able to mark the new hire's face like it had. That there was the thing about supernatural creatures - some of 'em came with shanks built in.

[Jessari]

Behind Grid, Armand muttered something that might have been, "Don't call me kid." Grid wasn't sure, and he sure didn't care. At his age, most everyone seemed like a young buck to him. Around the prison, it was rumored that only some of the supernatural inmates had seen more summers than old Grid.

"Hush now," he whispered, thrusting an arm out to stop Armand's progress. He peered out from beneath eyebrows that would have been grey whether Evelon still had color or not. Something was out there. He wasn't sure what he had seen, but his sixth sense was blaring all kinds of alarms at him, and he hadn't gotten as old as he was by ignoring his sixth sense.

[Jessari]

"What is it?" Armand whispered, head swiveling side to side as he tried to spot what Grid had seen. "What did you see?"

"I dunno, but-"

With a screech, the creature burst up from a patch of fog and launched itself at Armand. Armand yelled, taking a step back and reaching for his firearm, but the creature was too swift. Before he could pull the gun, the creature was upon him. Armand lost his balance as the creature landed on his chest, landing flat on the ground with the creature atop him. He finally managed to draw his gun, but as he lifted it, the creature's mouth closed around it, ripping it from his grip and slinging it into the forest.

[Jessari]

"Help!" he yelled, throwing up his arm to cover his face. It wouldn't do much against teeth or claws, he knew. In hindsight, he should've donned the light body armor as Grid had, but at the time his ego had told him it wasn't necessary. That he would be able to see and defend against any threat a mile away.

The creature's head reared back on its lithe neck, then darted forward, needle sharp teeth glistening in its mouth. Armand shrieked and covered his eyes, then felt the creature shake all over. Next, there was a grunt, and the sound of electricity, and the weight of the creature shifted to the side.

[Jessari]

Armand opened his eyes to see Grid standing over him with his taser in his hand. "Thanks, man!" he exclaimed, clambering to his feet. "Thought I was a goner. Good thing you're such a quick draw with that taser!"

Grid hrumphed, then pulled a cigarette from his pocket. "I'm not a quick draw. That thing glitched before I even touched it. You got lucky, young punk. This time." He stuck the cigarette in his mouth, leaving it unlit. "Now, got ahead and put restraints on that thing. I have the feeling that something else is out there, and I don't fancy getting caught out here with only one set of restraints handy."