Chapter 473

The forest was a scene of decaying leaves and skeletal branches, a place where the sun struggled to penetrate, casting long, distorted shadows that seemed to writhe with a life of their own. The air, thick with the smell of damp earth and rot, felt heavy, pressing down on Elias with the weight of a thousand untold stories.

He'd been tracking the creature for weeks, ever since the reports of missing hikers started pouring in—reports accompanied by a shared tremor of terror that had begun to snake its way through the nearby towns. He knelt, his fingers tracing the outline of a massive footprint in the mud—a grotesque hybrid of bear and human, unnaturally large, the claws like sharpened stakes.

The woods held its breath as he scanned the surrounding woods. A snapped branch off in the distance made him flinch, but a closer look revealed a deer.

He needed to remain vigilant, this creature was intelligent, its kills were precise, and that was the terrifying part. This beast hunted not for survival, but sport.

The silence of the forest felt unnatural; a strained hush, as if even the wildlife were holding their breath. A flock of birds, startled by some unseen presence, erupted from the canopy.

It wasn't natural, the air became cold with a different, dark feel. A sudden unease came over Elias, as if an unknown and wicked evil came too close to his skin.

It was coming for him, he knew it, as if it had always been there waiting. He set off, following a crude trail, a disturbing sequence of broken underbrush and flattened saplings.

A glint of metal, something out of place, caused him to pause, revealing a discarded belt buckle, twisted beyond recognition, stained with a dark, viscous fluid that even after a week had not faded, he'd seen the reports, the victims… the monster was taking more. Night descended, shrouding the woods in an inky darkness.

The wind rustled the leaves, creating sounds like a multitude of quiet voices, whispering unspeakable secrets to those who would listen. The only light came from Elias' small lantern, creating a pool of weak light that offered little comfort in this vast, oppressive landscape.

Every rustle was like the rustling of its coat. Every snapping branch, a break in its bones. He was on its playing field, in its den.

He came upon a small clearing, the center of which held a sight that made his stomach turn cold, his eyes widened with horror. A crude, makeshift altar of stone and wood was present, stained and smeared in the blood of what seemed many different types of creatures; humans, and animals alike, twisted together.

The surrounding ground was a matted with hair, and bits of discarded and ruined articles of clothing. The place was a killing ground, he knew this is what it was.

He could smell it, that iron odor permeated the ground, seeping out of the ground. Elias took out his field notes, meticulously marking his finding on the small notepad.

The creature's territory was expanding, more bodies would turn up, he had to move faster, it was an insane notion that such a thing could be possible. Something shifted in his periphery, and a deep growl rolled like thunder, it wasn't a natural thing, he could feel its heat and malice.

His blood turned cold, and he spun, his heart in his throat as he held the light in his shaking hands. Its silhouette rose from the tree line, a massive figure of fur and muscle, far more terrible and powerful than even his descriptions, two luminous eyes burning with cruel hunger as the forest seemed to part for it, with such imposing nature.

The stench that emanated was vile, the creature stank of death and raw meat, something vile was upon him and its stench invaded his nose, coating the insides of his nose and mouth. He stumbled back, fear giving him strength, his heart pounded like a war drum as his body shook with every tremble and thump, it would kill him, and everything it held to be so was proven right at that moment.

He stumbled as the creature gave chase, the ground shook with its heavy footfalls. He attempted to use a tree to slow it, but he knew he wouldn't win this game.

Its claws scraped at the wood, ripping bark and sending splinters in his direction as he ran deeper into the trees. It seemed as though a predator was toying with its prey, the thrill of the chase igniting a spark in his monstrous heart.

Every heavy breath the creature took felt like a cold death looming over him. He dove behind a moss covered rock, as a flash of light appeared in the distance.

"Elias!" A distorted female voice came through, he couldn't recognize who. His mind reeled and went still at hearing someone so close.

It was too soon to die, was all he could think. "Stay back," Elias called out.

"Get out of here, it's dangerous!" A blonde woman appeared at the tree line, "We heard screams," she looked distraught.

A man with a rifle slowly came from the trees, as the woman covered her mouth at the site of the monster. "Elias? Is that really… is that a bear!?"

"It's no bear." He replied his hands going cold. It stepped out fully into the clearing, as though wanting them to all understand who was in charge of their own suffering.

It cocked its head, almost curious as it surveyed its new targets. He saw an opportunity; the creature's attention was now fixed on the newcomers.

"Go! I'll deal with it. There's not time to explain! Just run and don't look back!" he exclaimed with urgency and despair.

"We are not leaving you here!" the woman shouted, her voice cracking with emotion. The creature let out an inhuman screech and moved quicker than his eyes could follow, the forest moved out of the way as the man and women stood petrified at their spots.

The man raised the rifle, his fingers turning white, he couldn't even begin to think. The man attempted to get a shot off as it appeared to close the gap and quickly became enraged as the bullet was no use.

It sent him into a tree, smashing bone and splintering it, ending the poor man's life with ease. It picked up the man by the foot and shook him till limbs broke and dangled freely and his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

He threw the body into the trees and turned his massive bulk back to his initial victim. He lunged at the woman and began a quick and brutal beating to her torso with its paws, then a swift crack as the back of its claws drove her skull into the forest floor.

Her arms stretched towards Elias who lay unable to make even a sound, they shook for a few moments then relaxed as the light left them and the forest fell silent once more. She would now add to the ever growing pile.

Its eyes turned to Elias. It sauntered over to him as the woman and the man had been, with a dark smile of crooked fangs.

His world began to narrow to a singular, awful truth. He stood as it rose in stature over him, not fighting, but a profound sadness seemed to flood him, but he would be dammed if he would fear the wretched beast before him, not even after it had put him through the worst nightmare that he never imagined.

He stared at it, with anger, with pity. His lips moved but no sound escaped, and in one final push it threw itself atop his body with a sickening sound.

The first swipe ripped his clothing open as its claws tore open flesh. Each claw seemed to hit with precision and fury.

The teeth, so unnaturally sharp sunk in, the pain wasn't like the fear he had come to know, but something entirely different, but similar. It was enjoying his pain, he was just another meal to savor.

He could feel its hot breath on him as he finally realized, in this grand game he wasn't an investigator, or the hunter. He had become another prize for this sadistic monster.

He finally understood why so many people would be in its den when it chose to give its self up. People weren't hiding.

People were waiting. He tasted blood, as a final thought flooded into him; 'I hope whoever takes over… learns to see it sooner."

and then he understood everything at once, the forest and monster had grown together into something inseparable, an entity that sought to make sure not to release the grips of the cruel pain, an infinite prison, made only by one dark entity that had not a singular remorseful bone in its terrible frame. The last thing he felt was a strange acceptance and relief from all his worldly problems, then his mind flickered out like a flame as its mouth stretched impossibly wide to take his skull into it, making its way up from his collar to his temples and slowly cracking it from top to bottom as bone marrow seeped onto the earth where it belonged.

The creature dragged the three mangled corpses into the clearing. It began stacking the bodies around the alter in the pattern of some wicked perversion, leaving blood-soaked streaks upon the leaves and dirt and stone.

When he finished he began to let out an odd call that echoed in the woods, an inhuman call that invited others who waited for a turn in his wretched cage, where all are but pieces in this one's horrible playground. The sounds grew as multiple smaller creatures surrounded the perimeter, all of them wanting to play with the wicked beast, it had so many and such grand offerings and they could never have enough.

The forest kept silent, listening to the dreadful sounds that came from its depths, never offering up any reprieve or a sense of escape. The only thing anyone could hope for is for someone else to try and stop it, and eventually die with the ones that came before them, with hopes the game never changes.