Beast Hunter

Chapter Ten

The video started out shaky and dark, like when you first pull out your phone in a hurry and hit the record button. You need a second or two to aim the camera and orient yourself to the subject in front of you.

That's what I saw in those first few seconds. Then Grey was able to steady the phone and the image stabilized.

There were trees. Flecks of snow falling.

From off camera, Grey said, "I hear something."

The tone in his voice set the mood. He was nervous. Anxious.

I could feel the same tension begin to permeate in the room between Stu, Sky, and myself. I wasn't sure how, but I could tell that this was an important moment, one of those rare instances where the veil between reality and fantasy is paper thin. You might be lucky to experience one or two in a lifetime. This was one. I just knew it.

And then it appeared.

From beyond the trees, it stepped forward. To Grey's credit, he didn't move. He didn't shake the phone or turn away. Maybe he was scared stiff. Either way, he managed to keep the figure centered in the frame.

It paused for what seemed like minutes, though only seconds had ticked by on the playback counter. The figure remained in shadow, a silhouette really, but I could make out its frame clearly. It stood on two strong legs, its torso wide, its shoulders broad, its arms bulging. But that's not what captured my attention the most.

It was the creature's eyes. They glowed.

I don't know any other way to describe it. They just glowed. Perhaps it was a trick of the moonlight, but I'd never seen anything quite so horrifying and yet spellbinding in my life. I could see now why Grey had managed to keep the camera steady. These eyes had a power all their own, as if the creature had the ability to mesmerize with its gaze.

I couldn't look away from the screen, my heart pounding.

At that moment, the creature drew closer. The moonlight must have hit that spot just right, because for a second – just a second – the figure came in full view.

I could see its fur, reddish brown with hints of grey. I could see its build, muscular and thick like a giant on steroids. And I could see its face, high cheekbones, protruding snout, wide mouth with sharp teeth, the rest covered mostly in hair.

A few seconds later, it turned and disappeared back into the forest.

With that, the video came to an end, and the screen went black.

The first thing I did was take a step back and look toward Stu and Sky. I could tell that they were feeling the same things I was. Shock. Excitement. A sense of awe. And complete and total cluelessness as to what to do next.

"Did you see how its eyes glowed?" Sky finally said. "That doesn't usually happen in humans or apes. That's an animal trait. You see it in owls, raccoons, things like that. But that thing was bipedal. It stood on two legs and moved almost human-like."

It didn't surprise me that Sky's first instinct was to try and process what she saw through the lens of her science. But I had a feeling that upon doing that, she would come back with more questions than answers.

"The footage is real," Grey insisted.

"No one is disputing that," Stu said.

And he was right. In this world of CGI and deep fakes, we were accustomed to seeing video-manipulated fiction. It permeates our culture and can be found in everything from Hollywood blockbusters to soda pop ads. But this was something else. I can't really explain it, but you know it when you see it, that uncanny valley that lets your brain know that you're looking at something that just isn't real. This wasn't that. The footage was short, the images dark and mysterious. But one thing was clear. This was no fake.

"Have you backed this footage up?" Stu asked.

"No. I just have the original on my phone and this copy here on my laptop. I can't risk uploading it to the cloud and having it hacked or leaked until I know exactly what to do with it."

"You should reconsider," Stu said. "That footage needs to be protected."

"Exactly, which is why I'm keeping it here where I can control it rather than letting it float around in some server somewhere. We have to be strategic about how it's used and reveled."

"I understand, but there are secure servers that would be..."

While they argued back and forth, no one heard the knock at the door. Not at first. A moment later, it grew louder, pulling my attention from Stu and Grey. I turned to the door and listened closely, hoping that what I'd heard was just a fluke.

It wasn't.

The knocking came harder and with more force.

"Guys," I said. "There's someone at the door."

Stu and Grey stopped arguing and looked toward the door.

Another knock came. We all heard it this time.

Grey made his way to the door. I walked over and stood next to Stu and Sky. The three of us watched as Grey peered through a window curtain.

I could see his body get ridged. He gave us a quick, puzzled, glance and then went to the door. I noticed him slide the lock chain on the door before he opened it. The door came open several inches, stopping when the lock chain reached the limit of what it would allow.

"Yes," Grey said.

The door burst open, Grey falling backwards onto his butt as the protective chain snapped under what must have been a forceful kick from whoever was standing on the porch outside.

Three people entered. Two men and a woman, all dressed in black tactical gear and carrying weapons.

The three of us stood silent and in shock as Grey scurried backwards on the floor to get away.

One of the men stepped forward. Based on the way he carried himself, he stood out as the leader. He had the kind of face that drew the eye, not for any hint of handsomeness or charisma, but for its power to frighten. It was pocked and wrinkled with a large scar down the right side from the temple to the chin. He was a mature man, solidly built and exuding a no-nonsense presence that, quite frankly, was terrifying.

And it only got worse when he spoke.

"The footage," he said, his voice deep and intimidating. "Show it to me."