If Nathan had any idea that drinking for the first time was going to get him killed, he'd have put it on hold. Hell, even grabbed a sheet of paper and written down a letter to his mom and sister to tie him up and keep a close eye on him.

As it was, he had no idea and he was exited about turning eighteen, so he emptied three cans of beer in a shady pub filled with all kinds of criminals.

Now he was stumbling down a backstreet, wondering if he was a block away from home or at the other end of the city. For all he knew, he'd fallen asleep in a dustbin and this was all a dream. He had a ridiculous wish that the police, unreliable as they were, would find him and lock him up, rather than leave him wandering the dangerous city at night.

He lurched out the end of the street and into the blinding glare of streetlights. He paused for a moment, glancing left and right. To his right, the street continued down until it intersected with a main road, where a few vehicles still drove. He figured that if he went that way, he could maybe somehow catch a ride. That was if he properly remembered his address though; the words seemed to swim out of reach of his addled mind.

He glanced to his left and frowned at the small crowd of homeless people huddled on the sidewalks, lying on blankets and rummaging through cardboard boxes. It occurred to him, that he could take his chances and enjoy a night with them rather than risk wondering the city alone.

Hard on the heels of that thought was the sudden feeling of wrongness, like someone had filled his lungs with a strange, numbing gas. He felt himself drifting, but he could still think, his mind free of whatever paralysis had taken over him.

What were the odds of such a large group of homeless people sleeping in the bright open at night, comfortably chatting among one another? This city was not an example of safety anywhere in the world. If these guys were not innocent victims fighting to live, then they were something else, something much darker.

Three things happened in quick succession, that made him swear off drinking for eternity.,

First, he finally noticed what the group was picking from the boxes and passing around. Large, rifles and several pistols, the real thing, and in the other boxes... chains. They seemed to be carrying enough weapons to start a war and win it.

The second thing happened within a microsecond of the first, like some wicked fate had given him an ultrasonic double slap. His phone began ringing in his pocket, screaming out the stupid machine gun ringtone he'd set back when he thought it was cool to give people heart attacks people with it. right now, it was a death rattle.

The crowd looked up at the noise as one, and Nathan stared back, frozen. he began to inch backward, but his heel caught on the edge of the curb and he fell over, landing hard on his tailbone.

The pain that hit him drove up his spine, clearing away the paralysis and, miraculously, the drunken stupor in his head. The crowd had started advancing on him and he got to his feet immediately, turning to flee. He stopped in his tracks when he realized that the backstreet he'd come from was blocked by four hulking men, grinning maliciously. They all held rifles, pointed at the ground.

Nathan's breathing began to come faster when he glanced to find his exit to the main road was also blocked by several more weapons bearing hulks that seemed to appear from nowhere. He spun on the spot, nearly sobbing as he realized how deep in trouble he was.

Then the third and worst thing happened - Nathan felt his bladder give way and felt warm liquid run down his legs. The smell of urine wafted up to his nose.

The men began to snarl as they grew closer and Nathan could hear the gnashing teeth. The snarls were not of anger, but of a deep devouring hunger. These were not homeless people, or street gangs toughing it out.

These were monsters without exception.

One of them walked faster than the others as he strode towards, his too-large eyes glinting int he light of the streetlamps. His skin rippled like a violent lake, and before Nathan's eyes, he began to grow. It was like someone grabbed him and began to stretch, releasing sounds eerily like crunching bones. His clothes bulged and Nathan heard the stitches ripping.

The man slowly settled to his fours, snarling as his whole body shape changed, enlarged into something so unnatural, so terrifying, Nathan could not help but drop to his knees. The man had turned into a giant bear, nearly five feet at the shoulder, brown fur and teeth gleaming in the dark. It rose onto its haunches and stared at him with intelligent eyes that could never be mistaken as animal. A low growl escaped its lips.

In that moment, Nathan knew he was very very dead.

He was still staring when something cut through the air and slammed into the chest of the large predator. It staggered to the side, letting loose an pained and surprised roar. The surrounding relatives looked up of the rooftops as one, their eyes wild with outrage at the attack of one of their own.

That outrage dimmed quickly into terror.

Nathan tore his gaze from the monster with an arrow in its chest, looking up at the top of the nearest apartment. At first, he could not identify what he saw, and it took a few seconds for him to make sense of it.

The roof was covered with people, staring down at the street below like spectators in a game. Or ghosts.

Their faces were hidden from the light, but Nathan didn't need to see them to know they weren't human. No, they were just other monsters, different from the ones surrounding Nathan. There were so many of them, covering the surrounding rooftops. They were all armed with bows.

The monsters on the floor seemed to notice that detail as well. They screeched loud enough to give Nathan an ear-bleed, turning to flee. A few of them made it several bounds away. Then the slaughter began.

Dozens of arrows sliced down from the roofs, slamming into flesh with enough force to rival a bullet. They tore and ripped flesh, and monsters collapsed to the floor. Several monsters fell, transformed into their their animal forms, howling, barking and snapping as their life drained from them in red fluid. Nathan stared in horror as the group of powerful, capable predators, became as helpless as fish in a barrel.

It was over in seconds, and silence, unnatural silence, followed. Nathan stared with dread at the corpses around him, bodies of creatures that had been about to feed on him. They each had several arrows sticking out of their hides.

He looked up to the rooftops again, his bone trembling as he stared at his saviors. Even from the street, he could feel their eyes on him, examining him. They stood there for several seconds more before they began to pull away from the roof, disappearing from sight. Some reluctantly left, but most went immediately seemingly glad to be gone.

Nathan appreciated the lack of attention.

The rooftops were empty, except for one final occupant who remained staring at him, her body silhouetted against the navy blue sky. He could tell it was a female, because she had long hair that flew wildly in the wind.

Nathan's trembling became shuddering as he realized the reason the last creature stayed behind, when all the others left.

She was left to kill him.

He didn't bother running; he'd seen how good they were with those terrifying bows. He didn't doubt the woman on the roof could have shot a coin on the floor, even with the distance and poor visibility. And Nathan was larger than a coin.

She slowly, deliberately pulled an arrow from the quiver on her back and nocked it onto the bowstring. She didn't draw though, and the arrow pointed towards the roof at her feet.

The two of them stared at each other, two separate species facing off. He waited for her to shoot, she waited for him to bolt. Neither happened.

Nathan wished she would make it quick, instead of forcing him through the agony of awaiting death. In fact, he could feel his bladder tensing and he realized it was possible to wet ones self several times in a row. If the lady didn't do something, he was going to embarrass himself again.

With the suddenness of someone who forcefully changed her mind, she released the arrow from the string and slid it back into her quiver. She gave him another glare that raised the hairs on his back, before disappearing beyond the edge of the roof, racing to join the others of her kind.

Nathan stared at the spot where she stood for several long seconds, trying to understand what happened and why he was still on this side of life. A low moan reached his ears and he snapped out of his daze and, glancing at the dozens of bodies around. One of them shifted and he immediately took off, sprinting towards the main road as fast as he could go.

He sobbed as he raced home, swearing off alcohol for himself and future generations. He probably looked like an average crazy individual, with the stink of beer and urine clouded around him. Truth was, he'd never had a clearer mind.

And, funny thing, that elusive address was now stuck in his head, screaming at him. He didn't think he was ever going to forget it.