Eric's heart raced as he ventured deeper into the dense forest. He still had no idea where he was headed, but the pull in him was getting stronger. As he walked, he thought of Lauren, his mind consumed with thoughts of her safety. Every step he took was guided by an unexplainable force, a magnet pulling him towards something unknown. It was as though the attack from those rabid wolves had somehow tied him to them, forced his will under theirs and made him do things that an otherwise sane Eric would have objected to.
The weight of the responsibility Lia had placed on him pressed heavily, but he was determined to protect Lauren from her vicious father, no matter the cost. 
He stopped and stared through the canopy of leaves and branches above. The sun was beginning to rise already, painting where he stood a brilliant mix of orange and yellows. Hikers and other nature-loving people would soon come out for their rounds: perhaps a quick rest wouldn't be so bad anyway. He would rest for some minutes, then continue his journey to....where exactly?
His mind swirled with the possibilities of where the pull was taking him to. He guessed it was Dr Makovsky's hide-out, though he couldn't really explain why he thought so. Eric sighed and walked over to another tree, then leaned against it, considering his options. If this tug in his gut was truly taking him to the facility, then he knew what he had to do to keep Lauren safe.
He would have to sacrifice himself.
Even as that thought crossed his mind, Eric's mouth went dry with fear. 
Would he find the man consumed by his sinister experiments, creating monstrous creatures out of innocent lives? Would he be able to reason with him, convince him to abandon his cruel pursuits? Eric had no answers, but he knew that he had to try and strike this bargain with the scientist was better. Perhaps it would protect Lauren from her father: he really hoped it would.
His consciousness began to drift away in sleep when he heard the first sound.
A rustle to his right made his eyes fly open. Eric's senses heightened, attuned to every rustle of leaves, every subtle shift in the wind. The ominous sound kept him on edge. He stood to his feet and looked around.
"Hello? Lia, is that you?" He called out, his voice sending some birds flying away from their perches. In the midst of his contemplation, the sound grew louder. Faint footsteps crunched against fallen leaves. Eric's heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively leaned against the tree, his senses sharpened to pinpoint the origin of the sound.
Tension hung heavy in the air as he strained his ears, trying to discern. Suddenly the footsteps stopped. Eric counted to twenty slowly, then stepped out from behind the tree. 
Suddenly, a figure emerged from the shadows, lunging at him with ferocious speed. Instinctively, he swerved to his left to dodge the attack, but the attacker's strength was overwhelming. Something great and black collided into him, knocking him against the tree. His head throbbed as it hit the tree with sheer force, and a grunt of pain slipped from his lips.
His attacker was a brindled beast, all fangs and dark fur and sharp claws. He knew it wasn't one of Doctor Makovsky's rabid wolves; the eyes that glared at him was a queer shade of green, not red. A paw striked him across the face, and he felt claws rake across his face. Warm liquid trickled down his skin as he grabbed his assailant's neck, trying to gain the upper hand.
The assailant was stronger and larger, though. Another hand smacked him across the face, and his head hit the tree again. Consciousness slipped away as Eric succumbed to the brute force of his adversary. Then the darkness began to close in on him, and then he blacked out.
******
When he opened his eyes again, it was to a loud rumble beneath him. Eric groaned and turned on his back. His eyes met a clattering roof above him. The ground upon which he laid his back was also clattering violently, adding to the severe headache that pounded at his head.
He sat up and leaned against the wall, then looked around. He seemed to have lost his glasses in the forest scuffle, and the images before his eyes were slightly blurry. But he appeared to be in the back of a truck, most likely used for hauling. Around him were several wooden crates and cardboard boxes. 
Through the metal grate that separated the driver's seat from the back of the truck, he could see a large, beastly-looking man. He scooched forward on his behind, trying to make as little noise as possible, and peered through the grate. The man who had captured him was large and beefy, wearing a baseball cap and a flimsy singlet. He was humming to a song on the var radio—I want it that way by The Backstreet Boys, if Eric heard right.
He sighed. Funny how he paid attention to little, unnecessary details when he was on edge.
The man had heard the sigh. He turned his head sharply towards Eric, frowning. Then his frown dissolved into a creepy smile. "I see you're awake."
Eric glared at him. "Where the hell are you taking me to?"
The driver shook his head, as though he was asking the wrong questions. "You should go back to sleep. Perkins is still a long way ahead."
"No, I won't!" Eric yelled, then hit the side of the van. "Let me out of this thing!"
The driver bared his teeth, revealing a row of rotting teeth and two sharp, pointed fangs. "You'd do well to keep your voice down, boy!"
Eric's eyes caught a sticker on the dashboard, of a howling wolf on its hind legs. His blood went cold as he remembered where he'd seen such sticker last.
On the hitchhike to Perkins, all those weeks ago.
"Hey!" He called out. "You won't happen to be a werewolf, would you?"
The driver turned to him and grinned again. "You're such a smart boy, aren't you? Alpha Lyall said so himself."
Eric frowned. "Who's Alpha Lyall? And where are you taking me to?"
The driver raised his eyebrows. "Oh, you're going back to Perkins, to see an old friend of yours. Doctor Makovsky."
Eric nodded, then leaned back and stared at the car window in front of him. He couldn't tell if he was relieved or scared.