hunter's dilemma

chapter 1.1

The cold air of the night rustles the leaves of the forest. The soft ambiance of the forest can lull anyone to sleep, but not those who prowl in the dark. Listening well to the dark;  snapping twigs, dried leaves being crushed, scratching on bark, distant howls and growls. No one knows if they are just the animals scuttling by or a predator getting ready to pounce. A tired sigh rings out through the night, a rhythmic crunch of leaves follow. Someone, something is on the move. The footsteps are light and quick, heading toward a village. The quaint village in a peaceful slumber, is almost deafeningly silent. Something unusual is looming. The footsteps get closer and closer to the village, then silence again.

"Who's there?!" A local shouts out, seemingly startled by the sudden appearance and disappearance of the footsteps. "I'm armed!" they added. Silence. The person being disturbed by the recent occurrence starts to slink back, self preservation taking the reins.  A creak breaks the silence, a sound that frequents mainly wooden houses, but this sends the person back.

"I-i'm not afraid to use this, i'm warning you!" they stutter out, voice now riddled with fear.

Silence again, the guard now on high alert. Pointing their gun towards the woods, aim darting back and forth, desperately searching for what's lurking in the dark. Seconds start to feel like hours. A hand suddenly covers their mouth and yanks them to the ground. Shhhh. A hushed voice sounded next to their ear, the guard looks over to a burly looking man forming out of thin air. The guard gasps.

"Stay here and shut up, you'll scare it away if you keep screaming like that." The man scolded the quivering guard, before seemingly evaporating into thin air. What was that?! The guard thought to himself. "As if monsters weren't enough, now we have to deal with bandits that can disappear!" The guard thought further, now being stuck in his own worries for himself and his home. As he raked his mind for every bad thing that may happen, creaks from the houses started to sound too fast, as if something was moving on the roofs. An inhuman screech breaks him out of his thoughts.

"Get down here you little shit." A familiar voice demanded, hushed yet stern. The creature screeched in protest, pulling back what looked like it’s tongue from the man’s grasp. “I said…’ the man mutters, wrapping his hands in the tongue for a better grip. “Get down!” he continued, yanking the beast off the roof it was perched on. The beast lets out an unholy screech, fighting for it’s life, sprouts wings in order to escape. As it was clamoring to escape, the man pulled out a stake and stabbed it through the tongue and dug it into the ground, immobilizing it.

“You’ve been too much of a pain in the ass already, at least die quietly now.” The man sighs out, gripping the sickle from his back getting ready for the kill. Pulling on what hair the creature had on its head, the man cuts it’s head off swiftly. Still in shock, the guard couldn't believe that a seemingly regular human could go toe-to-toe with the monsters plaguing them. 

“You, there.” The burly man says blankly, pointing at the guard, bringing him back to reality. “Is there anyone pregnant here?” he adds.

“Yeah, the one in that house there.” the guard replied sheepishly.

“Hmm… That explains that.” the man says to himself, wiping the blood off his blade. “I’m going to send some people to protect this place, but for now get everyone some garlic and salt to protect themselves.” he sternly instructed the guard. “This ain’t ending anytime soon so it’s going to be better if everyone is prepared.” he ended, sheathing his blade and disappearing into thin air again.  

“Thank You…!” The guard shouted out into the night, with the hope the burly man hears it. “Wha- aAAHHHH!” A lady peeking out of a window screams, seeing the decapitated beast on the ground. The village erupts to life, clamoring about as they surround the corpse of the foul creature.

What the hell happened?!

What the hell is that?!

Did you do this?!

Is there more out there?

These were some of the questions that circulated among the people of that settlement that night, fear and panic setting in. The guard, still in awe of what he just witnessed, is stunned in place. A slap takes him out of his reality. “Hey, What the hell happened here, man!?” A neighbor exclaims, panic written in his eyes. The guard briefs everyone on what took place. Shock, relief and weariness loomed over everyone as the guard explained what happened. 

"ah, when will the attacks stop." a raspy, somber voice put the crowd to silence, everyone disheartened. The guard seeing this sad display pipes up, "The man who killed this thing will send people to protect us!" he exclaimed in a joyful tone. The people still clamoring over what they will do to prevent more incidents happening in the future. "Excuse me!" a cheery voice put the crowd to silence. Looking towards the voice, a petite figure waving, approaching the village from the path set to get to and from. The person dressed in all black with a mask adorned with a design that resembles sharp teeth.

"Have any of you seen a big man with a giant scythe, he can-" they stop, looking over at the now human corpse surrounded by the villagers.

"oh, looks like he already did the job." looking up, eyes in an obvious smile. "That bastard never waits for me, huh?" thet chuckles to themselves. a phone chimes and the masked person checks to see who it is. "speak of the devil." he sighs. He pulls down his hood and mask to reveal a pretty face. the crowd finally chimes up. one question most asked

Who are you people?