Hypothetical

Ricky stayed in the bush and stretched out his leg when the creature walked past him. As planned, the creature tripped and landed face-first on the ground.

Without hesitating for even a moment, Ricky lunged forward and stabbed the back of the creature's head.

However, he missed, and the creature's skull was harder than anticipated. So, the dagger slipped aside. He still left a grievous gash. But it wasn't fatal.

Cold sweat seeped out of Ricky's palms and back at his failure.

'Shit.'

He stabbed again, this time, he punctured the creature's skin and broke through the spine at the base of its neck.

He couldn't afford to fail. If he failed, he could die. He would break his promise. His mother and sister would face the rabid wrath of the creatures, and his village would succumb.

Ricky took a deep breath after the creature stopped spasming and relaxed into the cold embrace of death.

Since he could kill them, others in the village also could. But footprints covered the clearing around the archway and its surroundings. There were a lot of these creatures, and a surprise attack on the village would have dire consequences.

'Maybe I should tell the hunters.'

Ricky looked at the corpse next to his feet as he stood up and wiped his dagger on a leaf.

'I have proof now, after all.'

Telling the other villagers that there were tiny green-skinned and disfigured men with violently hostile attitudes encroaching on the village's territory wouldn't work well for Ricky if he didn't have proof. His words would only be treated as the fairytale ramblings of a child who lost his father too early.

The cracking sound of someone or something stepping on a branch forced Ricky out of his thoughts and he crouched down below the bush again. He calmed his breath and listened.

He heard grunts and steps. There was more than one.

Fortunately, they seemed to be on the other side of the archway.

Ricky glanced at the corpse next to him and moved it a little so that it was also hidden by the bushes.

Then, he bravely peered through the shrubbery.

He sucked in a cold breath through his teeth.

'...Shit.'

There were several of the creatures, as he had expected from the sounds.

But that wasn't why he was scared.

They were taller, bulkier, and better equipped than the two creatures he had killed.

They were definitely the same kind of creature. But it was like the two Ricky had killed were malnourished children and the group headed toward the archway while carrying a dead boar were well-fed teenagers.

They were still a head shorter than Ricky, but Ricky was tall for his age.

They had primitive spears as weapons.

Ricky couldn't tell if the spears were more than sharpened wood. But the fact that they had weapons remained proof of the danger they posed and their intelligence. These weren't wild animals he was up against.

They also had furs covering more than the bare minimum. It was both clothing and protection.

'...Shit.'

Another realization struck Ricky.

If there were two kinds of the creatures, there could be more kinds. There could be an even stronger version than the hunters.

Ricky sank back into the bushes as the hunter creatures vanished into the upright non-pond. He was deep in thought.

The threat the creatures posed was tangible. He should tell someone.

But what would happen if he told the adults and the village's hunters?

They would believe him to some degree if he brought back the corpse of the creature he just killed.

Then, they would set out to confirm the truth, probably in a group of three or four. They would do their best to mask their presence, but they wouldn't necessarily take the situation as seriously as they needed to.

After all, Ricky had killed a creature all on his own. They couldn't possibly be that dangerous. It should be fine if they just didn't talk too loudly or bumbled through the forest like rampaging bears.

Ricky didn't want to think ill of the village's hunters. But he could see in front of him how they alerted the creatures on their way to the archway.

Instead of the scouting creatures, one of which Ricky had brought back, they encountered a group of hunters or possibly an even stronger version. They would fight. Or, they would try to communicate with the humanoid creatures, and then get ambushed.

Since the creatures were skilled and intelligent enough to hunt boars, they could surprise the careless villagers.

If the hunters were lucky, they would all be able to retreat. Maybe they would even kill a few of the creatures.

But if they were unlucky, they would get severely injured or maybe even die.

Ricky had seen the creature's ferocity for himself up close. If the muscular hunters were the same, they would be very dangerous.

If the hunters were very unlucky, none of them would make it back, and the village would have lost a significant portion of the able-bodied hunters, lowering the village's ability to procure meat and its defenses.

Ricky looked at the archway again.

That wasn't all.

If he told the others, including how dangerous he thought it would be, he wouldn't be allowed to set foot outside the village, regardless of his mother's permission from last night. Entering the forest to hunt small wild animals was one thing.

But hunting the strange creatures was something his mother wouldn't allow.

'If I can't handle it on my own, I'll tell them.'

For now, Ricky decided to take care of the creatures on his own. He wasn't sure how well it would go since he didn't know the full extent of what he was up against.

But he was going to damn well try, and he was going to do his absolute best to hunt these rabid bastards threatening the peace and well-being of his family.

Ricky dragged the corpse with him as he retreated. 

First, he needed to prepare.