Hunting Season

Hunting

Adira sat at the far corner of the cave, holding her legs against her chest as drops of sweat slid down her face. She stared at the darkness for hours, knowing that somewhere in front of her the thing was watching her intently. Every now and then she could make out the faint flicker of his eyes, but the monster remained silent. Perhaps he was saving her for a morning snack, Adira thought.

She eventually became too drained to handle the horror she had been thrown into, and against her better judgement, Adira started to doze off. She would snap awake every now and then, heart racing when reality came back, but at one point she completely gave up.

Adira slumped to one side, looking dead by the sudden drop of her body. The monster in front of her noticed this, and it crept forward for a better look.

He examined the woman closely, able to see every detail even in the dark. Her cheeks were stained and eyes puffy. Snot dripped from her nose due to crying, but she was finally quiet. At least for the night.

He nudged her, but she didn't stir. The monster turned away from the woman and clawed his way out of the cave. His horned head sniffed the air, grunting as a familiar scent radiated around him. It was human, and traveling from somewhere close by.

He closed his eyes, concentrating as visions of trees and the dark morning sky played before him. The scene was coming from a deer not so far from his current location. He could sense it was closest to where the human was, and therefore had chosen it to be his helper. The beast had the ability to see through creatures eyes, in fact, he could see through the eyes of every living animal in the forest. It was how he knew who needed to be punished.

The visions suddenly stopped as a loud bang erupted through the silent morning. The monster knew what had happened, and began to bolt towards his designated target. He could smell freshly spilled blood and it made him growl with anger as he latched on to a tree branch, examining the scenery below him once he had reached the spot.

A hunter, clad in camo and harnessing a shotgun bent over a freshly shot deer. The light of his flashlight reflected over the bloodied chest of the animal, and he placed it in his teeth as he reached into his pocket for a buck knife.

The monster narrowed his eyes, slowly creeping down the tree trunk and upon his unsuspecting victim. The man didn't even notice how close the creature was until it was too late. One quick swipe of his claw clutched the man's head, pulling him up as he muffled his outburst of surprise.

Red eyes bore deep into brown ones, digesting every bit of emotion that flooded into them. The creature savored killing humans who disrupted his forest, and the more he consumed their flesh, the more powerful he felt. The trembling feast before his eyes made his mouth water, and his jaw cracked wide open. The mans muffled screams would fall on deaf ears as the gaping hole of darkness revealed a large mouth filled with sharp teeth.

He chomped down on the man's body, ripping into him as he convulsed in his grip. It was only when the body stopped twitching did the creature let go. He hopped down on the floor and laid eyes on the deer, barely holding on to life as it struggled to breathe.

The monster gently lifted the dying does head with bloody claws, showing the animal what had become of her killer. The doe stared at the mangled body of the hunter, and breathed out a sigh of relief. Her eyes went blank as her chest stopped heaving, finding peace at last.

Her savior stayed by her side until the sun started to rise. It was only then that he picked up the body in his arms, cradling it as he searched for a proper place to bury the animal.

xxx

Adira slowly came to her senses, rubbing her burning eyes as she tried to make sense of where she was.

Little by little, flashes of what had happened started to come back. She immediately got up, eyes focusing on the entrance of the cave which was now filled with light from the morning sun. The creature who had taken her was nowhere to be found, and she was still alive.

Carefully, Adira began to walk towards her salvation. She would have bolted had she not realized the beast directly outside, back facing her and hunched over what appeared to be a rock monument. He seemed to have finished putting it together, placing a stick figure of something that looked like himself on top of it.  It was only then that Adira realized it was exactly like the rock structure she had seen before.

Was it some type of ritual?

Her suspicions were further confirmed when he picked up a dripping pile of what must have been flesh. The creature squeezed it over the monument like it was a wet rag. A stream of blood flowed through his claws as he drizzled it down the rocks. It flowed unto the ground identical to a fountain, and made Adira shiver at the gruesome sight.

She turned away, resting on a tree as a wave of nausea overflowed her. Before she came back to her senses, the monster who was already aware of her presence turned back. His eyes narrowed as he looked her over, a young woman now pale and hunched over in disgust. By the time Adira lifted her gaze, he was directly in front of her. She jumped, breathing heavily at the enormity of the being. He must have been about 8 to 9 feet tall, and despite having human qualities it was very difficult to place him as one.

Adira was quiet as he looked down upon her silently, blood dripping from the claws that hung by his side. She slowly managed to get up, hesitating to speak once she was sure he wouldn't hurt her, "H-hello?" Her voice squeaked out, wondering if the giant even spoke, "Who...who are you? Why are you keeping me here?"

He didn't even respond, instead crossed his arms over his chest and tapped his boot on the ground like he was impatient. Adira was so caught off guard by how human the monster was acting. But how could she be willing to speak to something that had scarred her memory so horribly? From chasing her down to eating that woman...

She steadied herself as another wave of nausea hit, but this time she couldn't hold it in. With disgust, she spewed out phlegm all over the creatures boots by accident. He stopped tapping his foot as he looked down at the mess that had become of his shoes. Adira didn't even realize what she had done until a second later. She wiped her dripping mouth and raised her hands, stepping back as the being growled in anger.