The Unraveling - It Creeps

In the years that had passed since Avalon’s disbanding, Milo had spent his time pursuing his passion of anthropology and archaeology, traveling the world over in search of ruins of the Lost Species. He had been across the globe, seen sights untold, found relics of all sorts, and had adventures a-plenty! But now in his twilight years, all the elder wolf wanted to do was return to the ruin-rich lands of Ardent for one final tour before he retired for good. He had many good memories in these lands; they felt like a fitting place for him to spend the remainder of his life.

Crossing the channel on an old ferry system to the massive ruins on the island, Milo stepped onto the weathered dock, the sea air tousling his graying fur, turned salt and pepper by age. Though slower in his pace, Milo still walked with the purpose of a wolf young at heart up towards the jungle-laden ruins. This place surely would house a treasure trove of artifacts for him to find! With enthusiasm in his heart, the older wolf followed the mossy stone paths up into the heart of the island, blissfully ignorant of what horrors he was about to witness.

It was only once he got deeper into the jungle that he heard the screams of panic. His mirth died immediately, but he didn’t run away. Milo instead hurried in the direction of the sounds. If someone needed help, he wasn’t about to leave them to fend for themselves. What if they’d fallen in the ruins and broken a leg, or gotten pinned under some rubble? Nope. The truth was far more horrifying. Pushing through some dense ferns, Milo found the group of wolves fighting… what the hell was that thing?!

"Oh dear heavens! What in the unholy hell is that?!" the old wolf exclaimed, tossing his bag of artifacts aside to rush forward to try and help any of the injured back to their feet. "Keep your distance everyone! Use the ruins for cover!" Milo was no fool. He’d encountered large, dangerous predators before and managed to get away each time. But this thing… this was the largest threat he’d ever seen. There was no way they could hope to kill it. Fleeing was their only feasible option.