Cole
I’ve been dying to ask you something ever since we started dating…
Cole
Why don’t you ever take off that weird necklace?
Cole gestures to the choker around Amy’s neck.
The campfire flickers over its chunky silver links.
Amy
This is a family heirloom, Cole.
Amy
Not even when I sleep.
He gives her a cheeky grin.
Cole
Don’t you at least take it off in the shower?
Amy’s answering smile is…odd.
Amy
No. It ALWAYS stays on.
Cole
Jeez. Is that thing literally attached to you like glue?
She only draws her red jacket more tightly around her…
Amy
Cole…what if I told you that I truly CAN’T take this choker off?
Cole
And here I thought I’D be the joker in this relationship!
Amy
But this ISN’T a joke.
Amy
Because if I ever DID take off this necklace…
Intrigued, Cole leans forward melodramatically.
He’s been hoping Amy’s sense of humor would turn out to be as ridiculous as his.
And this is quite a joke!
Clearly they were made for each other.
Cole
Please. Tell me more.
Amy
My family’s been cursed for centuries.
Amy
And first daughters have to wear these necklaces or…
Amy
The curse will be unleashed.
Cole
Wow. You sound like a doomed princess in a fairy tale.
But Amy swallows heavily.
Amy
I’m no princess, Cole…
Amy
But my life IS basically a screwed-up fairy tale.
Amy
It’s just that, over the years, everyone has gotten the details of the story wrong.
Behind them in the woods, something makes a low, mournful sound.
A chill creeps underneath Cole’s skin.
She really has him going!
He brushes off his goosebumps.
Cole
What story are you talking about?
Cole
If you take off that necklace…
Cole
You’ll become a wicked witch?
Cole
Or maybe even a frog?
Cole
Oh, wait — that was a story about a prince.
As he resumes laughing, Amy’s jaw tightens.
Then she gets out of her camping chair and starts walking toward the tent.
Cole
Hey — I didn’t mean to ruin your joke!
Cole
Come back here and finish it!
Amy
I’m sorry I even started up with you.
But she’s already walking away—
Pulling her red hoodie even tighter around her as she disappears into their tent.
He keeps thinking about how he shut down Amy’s attempt at a joke.
He wishes he could have another chance with her…
Show her that he really does appreciate her sense of humor—
And that he regrets acting like a jerk.
She’s wrapped in her red jacket and her sleeping bag.
He inches his fingers toward the back of her neck…
To the clasp of her choker.
If he could just slip it off her neck…
Then they could laugh together about her B.S. story, right?
After that, it’ll be kiss-and-make-up time.
So he slowly undoes the clasp.
He wonders if this is worth it.
But then it comes undone.
After she sighs back to sleep, he slides the necklace all the way off.
He holds his breath, almost expecting her to turn into a frog…
He laughs in semi-relief.
Then he bends to whisper into her ear.
Cole
I’ve released you from your curse.
He pushes her hair back from her cheek.
Another second crawls by, and then…
She stares at him with wide green eyes.
He grins and lifts the choker.
Frantically, she reaches up to her neck.
Then she lets out a blood-curdling scream.
Then something very strange happens…
The skin over her cheek moves—
Almost like there’s something underneath it.
Amy yanks her hood over her head, hiding her face from him.
Cole
I took your choker off and—
Because he thinks he sees her cheek moving again.
His mind is just playing tricks on him, right?
Then Amy lets out a harrowing sound—
Before Cole can be sure, she leaps out of the tent.
He sees a flash of red disappear into the trees.
Cole
Stop playing around!
Cole runs deeper into the forest.
But Amy is nowhere in sight.
Amy
Cole, just RUN before it’s too late!!
Her voice sounds twisted.
More twigs snap beyond the trees to his right.
He darts toward the sound.
Just ahead, he sees the red jacket again…
Then it disappears behind a gnarly pine.
Its branches reach out like crooked fingers.
He sees the red jacket cutting to the left.
He follows, gaining ground on her…
Up ahead he sees Amy sprinting toward a rocky hill surrounded by trees—
She skids, barely avoiding running into a large tree.
Cole slows to a stop, his breath cloudy with the cold.
Amy falls to her knees, her head down…
Her red hood hiding her head and face.
Cole slowly walks toward her.
Cole
Amy, just come back to the tent with me.
Cole
It’s not safe out here.
Amy
You’re right — it’s not safe at all.
Cole takes a wary step backward.
Amy’s breathing is heavy and raspy.
Amy
But you just wouldn’t listen.
Amy
Without the choker to bind me, I’m…
She looks over her shoulder.
Cole’s heartbeat throttles to a stop.
This can’t be his girlfriend.
Not this creature with the long snout…
And eyes that are glowing green in the night.
Cole stumbles backward, tripping…
He crashes to the ground.
Amy starts to move toward him on all fours, baring her long teeth.
Amy
Remember that story about the girl who went to Grandma’s house in the woods?
Amy
Well, everyone has the fairy tale all wrong.
As she stalks toward him, her back arches like a wild thing’s.
Amy
It true that the girl WAS going to Grandma’s…
Amy
But on the path there, she found a different old woman—
Amy
One who was being attacked by a wolf.
Amy
The girl was too scared to help.
Amy
But not before the old lady used her last breath to curse her—
Amy
AND each first daughter of the girl’s family.
A small, frightened sound wells up in Cole’s chest.
He tries to scuttle away from the advancing beast…
But the thing that used to be Amy is moving closer…
Amy
That night, there was hair growing on the girl’s palms.
Amy
So she went to a magic man in the village.
Amy
He gave the girl a set of charmed necklaces—
Amy
But they weren’t just pieces of jewelry…
Amy
And they were the only things that could bind this curse for every generation to come.
Cole is frozen on the ground—
Transfixed by the sadness in the beast’s eyes.
Then the beast sniffs at him.
And all humanity disappears from its gaze.
Amy
It’s been building in my family for centuries and…
Saliva drips from the beast’s long teeth.
It throws back its head, tossing off the hood.
Then it lets out a skin-prickling howl.
Cole tries to scramble to his feet—
A claw swipes at his legs, taking him down with a jarring crash.
On the edge of a scream, he looks into the green eyes that are glowing with a raging appetite.
The beast snarls, looming over him.
Amy
Amy’s gone, you fool.
Amy
All that’s left are these big ears…
Amy
These teeth are no joke now, are they?
Hot juices drip from its mouth onto Cole’s face.
Amy
And they’re all the better to eat you with, my dear.
As Cole starts to scream again, the beast strikes—
Ripping into him with a flash of red.
There is no sign of Cole.
Briefly it revels in its conquest.
And stalks through the forest in search of its next victim…
