Every muscle in Shawn's body seemed to lock, his brain going into overdrive at the sight of the hulking beast over their heads. They had to get away, they had to run from this thing, whatever the hell it was. Maybe they could make a run for the crowds, if it'd been lurking in the dark waiting for its prey maybe it wouldn't follow them into the open.

Then again... if it did... He swallowed, deciding it'd be best to stay within the alleyways. They could try to lose it by running it around some of the buildings, maybe it wasn't smart enough to follow the looping alleyways...

Just then, Shawn focused back to the creature, catching the subtlest shifting of its muscles, tensing, ready to lunge down toward them. Shawn forgot all his plans and techniques. He yanked Miles by the arm and took off, choking on a gasped breath when the ground shook beneath their feet with the impact of the monster's landing.

Gotta run... Gotta hide... Gotta- “NOPE.” Shawn skid to a halt, yanking Miles behind him when they nearly ran into another monster, more humanoid, yes, but seemingly a lot more pissed off. Shawn doubled back and took off down another alley, praying that they wouldn't be running into anything else.

Just when he started to lose his stride, from the stitch in his side and Miles slowly falling behind, causing Shawn to have to keep pulling him forward, he ran into what felt like a brick wall, being pushed by a freight train. He stumbled back, trying his best to stay on his feet, only to look up to be face to muzzle with the monstrosity that'd been stalking them before. Shawn swallowed a scream, scrambling back, pushing Miles back, who seemed to be praying, mumbling something to himself in a trembling voice that made Shawn feel nauseous.

The monster seemed to grin – if you could call it that – as it moved forward, slowly, almost like it was taunting them. There was a knot of dread settling in the younger man's stomach, his throat closing as a sense of gloom fell over him when he felt cold, unforgiving brick against his back. He... he didn't want to die... not like this... not in some cold, dark alley to a monster he could've never imagined existing.

“You won't die.” A harsh, baritone, almost growling voice muttered, making Shawn nearly jump out of his skin. He felt a flicker of hope, only for it to be dashed when the creature smirked, opening its terrible muzzle filled with sharp, deadly teeth to speak again. “Only one little bite...” It inched closer, Shawn could smell its horrible breath as it panted, seeming to egg itself on as it continued. “One bite...” Its voice was basically all growl now, Shawn squeezed his eyes shut as it caged him in, baring its terrible maw to the kill. “Then you're mine!”

Shawn braced for his death, braced for the pain he'd imagine would come with being eviscerated by all those gruesome teeth. But it didn't come. Instead, he felt the world shifting, a shove from behind him sending him into the cement, his elbow cracking sharply on the ground, making his arm lose all feeling for a moment. He heard Miles' scream, something like out of a nightmare...

He opened his eyes only to find the monster gone, and Miles crumpled to the ground, a massive wound around his middle, blood pouring onto the ground much too heavy for Shawn's liking. He cursed and scrambled up, flinging up his shirt as fast as he could with his injured arm and applying pressure with the cloth in a vain attempt to quell the bleeding.

Looking into his friend's eyes he at least found him somewhat aware but... he was staring ahead at something, not even blinking as he watched, as if he would miss something if he did.

Shawn looked down the alleyway Miles' gaze was locked on, only to see a young girl, jogging toward them, wearing only an oversized hoodie that was covered in blood. She seemed to have just gotten out of a fight, scratches and fresh bruises littering her warm beige skin, her cropped black hair sticking in every direction possible.

“Has the bite started healing yet?”

Shawn thought this was an odd sort of question. Even if it wasn't coming from a complete stranger that'd wandered into their personal hell, he'd still think it'd be odd to have that be the first thing to ask.

Then, before he'd even had a chance to answer, the girl was kneeling on Miles' other side, trying to pry Shawn's hands away, succeeding a lot easier than Shawn would think possible from someone as small as she was. “Hey!”

The girl simply ignored him, lifting up Miles' shirt with some groans of complaint from the man, then she swore. Shawn looked down to figure out what she'd seen, and he had to use every ounce of willpower not to vomit.

It looked terrible, mangled flesh and blood all over, the wound covering about half of Miles' midsection. How the hell was he going to make it out of this?

“Hey, you.”

Shawn looked up at the girl in a daze, jumping back a bit when he saw her eyes glowing a bright, bloody red. Was... was she one of them...?

The girl seemed to either not notice his shock, or simply not care. “I need you to hold your friend down, okay? I can help him, but it's going to hurt like hell, and he could risk ripping something open if he moves too much, so can you do that for me?”

“You're... you're not human, though...” What if she was lying? She could just be finishing the job for the monster that had attacked them before. And when she was done with Miles...

She snapped her fingers in his face, bringing his attention back to her. The red had faded away, being replaced with a neutral, stormy gray. Her expression was... somewhat sad... maybe regretful. “I'm sorry, but... other than claiming him, there's not much else I can do for your friend. The most I can do for right now is to make sure that psychopath that attacked you can't have an influence over him.” At Shawn's blank, disbelieving stare she sighed. “I can explain it all to both of you when he is fully awake, but right now we're running out of time. So please... Let me help him.”

Shawn didn't know what to do. Logically, trusting her would be insane. But... what else was he to do? She seemed to know at least something of what was going on, and she seemed somewhat helpful... If she was lying, Miles would die, if she wasn't and he didn't let her help... Miles would probably die... So... maybe that one percent chance she was being honest would be the best.

He nodded, gingerly gripping Miles where ever he couldn't find a wound, and nodded to the girl. She seemed to relax, giving him a grim nod in return, before her eyes glowed red again, and her jaw seemed to extend as her teeth sharpened into fangs, and then she was biting down, right in the center of the first bite mark.

Miles' screamed for a few moments, before he slumped down, thankfully passing out. Shawn shuddered as he released his near death-grip on his friend, watching the girl lift her head back up, wiping the blood from her mouth, before he joined Miles in the land of the blissfully unaware.