Daniel and Hannah are driving to the nature reserve just outside the city.

"Look over there! I wonder what's happening over there?" Hannah points toward the other side of the canal they're driving alongside.

"A police car with its lights on. I wonder what happened?" Daniel tries to look while keeping his eyes on the road. "Look, there are two officers over there shouting at a man who's walking toward them."

   Both Daniel and Hannah watch as one of the officers suddenly fires a warning shot beside the man. The man keeps walking, and one of the officers shoots him. He keeps walking, and soon both officers are firing several rounds into him. The man falls into the canal and disappears beneath the dark water.

"Oh my God! They shot him!" Hannah covers her face with her hands.

"Yeah, damn! I wonder what he did? He just kept walking even after they shot him. He must've been under the influence of something."

   The rest of the drive to the nature reserve passes in silence. But once they unload the car and begin hiking, they soon start talking and joking like they normally do. They've been hiking all day with only short breaks when evening begins to approach.

"What do you think, Hannah? Should we pitch the tent by the ravine that's coming up? Apparently it's beautiful, with towering cliffs and the river flowing way down below."

"That sounds perfect! There's nothing more beautiful than water and high cliffs."

   They give each other a quick kiss on the move, laughing as they skip forward a few steps before Daniel suddenly stops in his tracks.

"Someone's walking over there!" Daniel points toward the edge of the cliff.

"But that's a hiking trail, you dummy. That's what people do here." Hannah laughs cheerfully.

"Yeah, of course. But there's something wrong with him. He's walking strangely, and there's just something off about him. Maybe he's a junkie or a drunk? Let's walk past him and find a place to camp afterward."

   Hannah looks at Daniel, serious and questioning. From the expression on his face, she can tell he's not joking. Better to keep moving. As they get closer, Hannah feels an uneasy knot growing in her stomach. The man walks oddly, and it sounds as though he's wheezing, like he's having the worst asthma attack imaginable. When they get close enough to see him clearly, they notice he's wearing a bloodstained hospital gown riddled with what look like holes. His eyes are vacant and glassy, and his movements are clumsy. The man turns toward them, stretches out one hand, and lets out a rasping hiss as they pass.

   Hannah is terrified. She squeezes her husband's hand so tightly it hurts and breaks into a jog. Daniel starts running too. Once they're past him, they glance at each other and see the fear mirrored in each other's faces. Daniel can't shake the feeling that the man somehow looks familiar. The man follows them along the trail, and they keep running as best they can with heavy backpacks on their backs. After what feels like forever, they have no idea how long, they finally slow down and stop. They look back, but the strange man is nowhere to be seen.

   Daniel feels Hannah's hand trembling. He turns toward her. Tears are already streaming down her cheeks, and as soon as he wraps his arms around her, she breaks down sobbing. They hold each other for a long time, letting the shock fade and the emotions spill out before setting up the tent. Neither of them sleeps particularly well that night, but nothing happens, and eventually morning comes.

   Daniel builds a fire to boil coffee while Hannah takes out two packets of freeze-dried food for breakfast. Hannah suddenly stops and looks at Daniel.

"That man we saw yesterday was so unbelievably creepy. I was terrified. I had nightmares about him all night."

"Yeah, me too. But didn't he seem familiar somehow?"

   Hannah thinks hard before nodding.

"Actually... yes. I just can't remember where from."

   They both sit silently, trying to remember where they've seen him before, when Hannah suddenly freezes. Her eyes go wide.

"I know where we've seen him!" Hannah's voice is barely more than a whisper.

"Where?"

"The man the police shot when we were driving to the reserve. It's him!"

"..."

"..."

"Holy shit... I think you're right. Those were bullet holes in his shirt, in all that blood."

"But how could he still be alive after that? There were several bullet holes."

"I have no idea. He should be dead. I don't want to go back the way we came."

"Neither do I. Let's stay on the loop trail back to the parking lot."

"Yeah! Jesus, that's creepy."

"Should we skip breakfast and coffee? I'd rather leave now."

   Daniel was hungry and looking forward to his coffee, but one look at the fear in Hannah's eyes settled it. They packed everything immediately, shouldered their backpacks, and set off hand in hand, as they always did. At first, the mood remained heavy, but the beautiful weather and scenery gradually lifted their spirits. By the end of the second day of hiking, the man and everything that had happened had almost completely faded from their minds.

That evening they make camp and pitch their tent. They eat, drink, enjoy each other's company, and admire the magnificent view over the ravine and river valley. The evening ends with them making love beneath the open sky before climbing into the tent to sleep. Shortly after midnight, Hannah wakes up needing to pee. She tries to be quiet, but Daniel wakes when she opens the tent zipper.

"Where are you going?" he mumbles sleepily.

"I just need to pee. I'll be right back."

   Hannah closes the tent and walks over to a bush, crouching behind it. As she sits there peacefully, she hears a twig snap. Then another. Then stones scraping against each other. It sounds like someone is walking closer. As the footsteps approach, she notices they're dragging across the ground.

   Hannah stays completely still, deciding to let whoever it is pass before coming out. Everything falls silent for a moment. Curiosity gets the better of her. She carefully peeks around the bush. Just two meters away stands the man they saw before. The man the police shot. Hannah screams the instant her eyes meet his cold, lifeless stare. She stumbles backward, and the man throws himself at her. Hissing and snarling, he tries to bite her face while she fights him off, screaming.

   Daniel wakes to Hannah's panicked screams outside. Still groggy and clumsy, he struggles free of his sleeping bag and the tent. Moments later he's outside. A few meters away he sees someone on top of Hannah while she desperately struggles to break free. The man turns toward Daniel. Daniel's blood turns to ice. Daniel recognizes him too. The man lets out a deep, hoarse hiss before lunging at Hannah again. Hannah fights for her life. Daniel rushes forward, grabs the man from behind, and hurls him away.

   His body feels horrifyingly cold. No body heat at all. Hissing and growling, the man hauls himself back to his feet and shambles toward Daniel. He snaps with his teeth and swings his arms wildly, trying to get hold of him. But he's too clumsy, and Daniel is too quick. Before long, Daniel has both of the man's arms twisted behind his back, pinning him in place. The man thrashes violently. Daniel hears one of the man's arms crack as it breaks.

   Panicked by the man's relentless violence, Daniel drags him to the edge of the ravine and throws him over. A dull thud echoes up from the darkness below.

   Daniel turns toward Hannah. She's on her knees crying, clutching her left forearm. He kneels in front of her and hugs her tightly for a long time. When her tears finally begin to subside, he gently brushes the hair from her face before kissing her forehead.

"Let me see your arm."

   Hannah holds it out. Right in the middle of her forearm is a clear bite mark.

"Wait here. I'll get the first-aid kit and clean it."

   Daniel retrieves the medical kit, cleans the wound thoroughly, and bandages it.

"I want to go home now. This isn't fun anymore."

"I agree. Do you want to sleep a few hours first, or should we pack up and leave right away?"

"I want to go home now."

"Okay. We'll pack up and leave immediately. If we keep a good pace, we should reach the car late tonight. We took it pretty easy on the way up here and stayed a long time at our first campsite."

"Mmm."

   Daniel rolls up their sleeping bags and sleeping pads, takes down the tent, packs both backpacks, helps Hannah put hers on, and together they begin the silent hike back. After several hours, the sun has risen high enough for the day to become warm. Daniel suddenly notices how unusually cold Hannah's hand feels. She hasn't spoken in a long time either. He looks at her. Her eyes are empty. Glossy. Lifeless. After a brief moment, her normal expression returns.

   Hannah feels strange. Her head pounds. It's as though a red filter has settled over her vision. When she looks into Daniel's eyes, an overwhelming urge suddenly surges through her, to throw herself at him and tear chunks of flesh from his face with her teeth. She snaps out of it with a jolt. Daniel is staring at her with concern.

"How are you feeling?"

"I feel awful. I think the bite might've gotten infected. We have to stop at a clinic before we go home."

"Yeah, we will. You don't look well at all. I'm seriously worried about you."

"It's nothing. A little penicillin and some rest, and I'll be fine again."

   Hannah gives him a tired smile. As she smiles, the skin at the corners of her mouth feels painfully tight, as though it's about to split open. Her skin feels fragile. Her joints sting whenever she moves.

   Several hours later they stop to rest. Hannah sits on a tree stump while Daniel leans against a large boulder. Daniel closes his eyes for a moment. Then he notices Hannah's breathing. It's become a rasping hiss and he looks up. She is staring directly at him. Unblinking. Her breathing is deep. Labored. Predatory. The longer he looks at her, the more she resembles a wild animal watching its prey.

"Hannah! Hannah! Hey! Wake up! How are you?"

   She doesn't react. Not even a little.

"Come on, Hannah. You're scaring me."

   She suddenly blinks. Her eyes clear. She looks at Daniel in confusion.

"How long have we been here? I don't even remember stopping."

"We've been sitting here for over half an hour. You looked completely gone. How do you feel?"

"I don't feel well. Everything hurts, and I keep losing time."

   She scratches absentmindedly at the bandage on her arm, looking at it with confusion.

"What's this? What happened?"

"Don't you remember getting bitten?"

"No..."

"Come on. We need to get you to a hospital as fast as possible."

   Daniel helps Hannah to her feet. Together they continue toward the car. Hannah's head pounds harder. The red haze over her vision deepens. Now it pulses. Inside her head. Across her eyes. She looks at Daniel walking beside her.

   Hungry. Need to eat. Eat Daniel.

   No.

   Yes. Hungry. Eat.

   No.

   She looks away. Then back at Daniel. The pulsing grows stronger. Then everything goes black.

   Daniel hears Hannah's hissing grow louder. He tries to hurry, but she resists. He's just about to turn toward her when she suddenly lunges. Her jaws clamp down on his ear. She bites hard. And tears. The agony of having his ear ripped from his head makes Daniel scream in horror. He tries shoving Hannah away, but she grabs his right hand and bites off his little finger and ring finger. Daniel screams. He tears himself free, but loses his footing. He trips over the low railing marking the edge of the trail. He falls backward. Over the edge. Into the ravine. Daniel tumbles down the steep slope until he slams violently into a massive rock. Pain explodes through his back. He tries to stand. His legs won't move. He can't feel them.

   He looks uphill. Hannah steps over the edge. She falls. Rolls. Comes to rest roughly ten meters away. Her legs are shattered. It doesn't stop her. Hissing, she begins dragging herself toward Daniel on her stomach. Daniel tries to crawl away. He can't. His back is broken. He's lying on top of his backpack and can't reach anything with his arms.

   Then… Another hiss. Behind him. He turns his head. The man who bit Hannah is climbing through the ravine. Both of them drag themselves toward him. Hissing. Growling. Closing in.

   Daniel screams in terror and agony as they both begin to feed on him.