One step at a time, we inched closer to the fringe of the forest. The light drizzle amplified the sound of the passing cars on the nearby road, masking the sounds of our footsteps and allowing us to travel quickly. I couldn’t help but think that if we were back in America, we would have the upper hand; we would be the hunters, not the hunted. When we chose this place, it was because it was somewhere different, somewhere we weren’t familiar with. We had never been to Germany before, had never been to a town so bleak and barren. It was something, needless to say, we were not used to.
“What will they do if they find us?” I ventured. I was terrified, but Slight always kept a straight face, completely hiding his emotions. He wanted to show that he wasn’t scared-that’s what they teach you about wild animals-be dominant, don’t be afraid, show you are the alpha, and they might go away. After that, one can only pray. Unfortunately for us, these weren’t just “wild animals” that were after us. They were Die Tiere, The Beasts, smart, sneaky, and evil as the devil. They didn’t kill for food, and they didn’t kill to protect their offspring. They killed for fun, and we were their new targets. Slight and I had no idea about this horrifying group, but upon arriving in the desolate little town of Umkehren, we were strongly cautioned. Don’t go out after dark or draw any attention, lock your doors and windows. Don’t do anything to bring Die Tiere. If they come, we will all die. The people breathed fear.

“Shush, I have to focus. Damn, which way is that town?” Eyes squinting towards the road, Slight swiveled his head back and forth several times, desperately trying to answer his own questions.

“I think it’s that way,” I said, pointing to the right. “I remember seeing that yellow marker on the way in. Umkehren shouldn’t too far away, if I’m correct. Unless...”

“What? Unless what?”

“Do you think Die Tiere put it there? To try and confuse us, get us lost?”

“No, they wouldn’t do that. See, the upside to being chased by extremely intelligent creatures is that they underestimate our own intelligence. They’ll think we didn’t even notice the marker on the way in.” He looked at me and smiled as if we had already won. “Come on, we’ve got to get there before nightfall.”

We trudged on, not even thinking about stopping. Fear quickened our paces and sharpened our senses. Every snapping twig, every stirring creature had our skin crawling. At one point, I could’ve sworn I saw a massive wolf of some kind, but the sun had long-since gone down, casting the forest and everything in it in deep, murky shadows. All we had to see by was the dim flashlight we had bought at the airport. Carefully but quickly, we walked until we saw the lights of the local inn, a welcoming sign that we were finally safe, even if only temporarily. There was no telling how far behind Die Tiere were.