An elderly man looked down at the piece of paper in his hands before looking up to the man sitting in front of him, “So Mr. Wolfe, what made you want to become a park ranger?”

“Well, you see,” the young man scratched the back of his head in unease, “my father and a good family friend died in a forest fire a couple of years ago, and I just want to prevent something like that happening to anyone else. I feel like if I could just spread awareness of the dangers of these mountains along with the necessary safety precautions, I can prevent preventable deaths.”

The elderly park ranger stood up and extended his hand “That may be the best answer I’ve gotten yet Mr. Wolfe. You start next Monday, five a.m. sharp.”

“Please, Mr. Wallace call me Jack, and thank you for this opportunity.”

When Jack stepped out of his, now, boss’s office, he could not bring himself to smile. In emotional exhaustion, Jack slumped into a chair in the hallway and brought his arms to his head as memories began to rock him. Memories of a night he will never forget. Weakly, Jack looked out of the window beside him as phantom smells of burning flesh and hair filled his nose. His eyes began to twitch as the sound of anguished screaming filled his ears. With a deep breath, Jack closed his eyes and went over what happened that fateful night.

Jack’s legs were just beginning to tire as he navigated the rugged trail that was more of a game trail than anything man-made. The large bag sat heavily on his back, and the canteen on his hip was nearly empty. But despite this, he was not the worst off in the group. With a quick glance to his side, he saw his father, Dale, completely breeze through the rough terrain. Jack could never understand how a man with a metal hip could walk so easily. Looking behind to check on the rest of the group, he saw that, besides Blare, everyone was doing fine. Clay seemed to have some small talk with Carl, while blare had to concentrate on her every move, too tired to talk. Looking back at the setting sun Jack figured they would arrive at the campsite after dark. Thankfully this was already planned, and other than Carl, everyone had a light source at hand.

As the last rays of sunlight dimmed, Dale pulled out an old gas lamp and sat down to prime it. But before he could finish pumping, his head snapped to us and a grizzled finger was placed on his lips. Clay and Carl immediately quieted, allowing the group to hear something. Undulating slowly a soft wail could be heard down in the valley to the group's left. A bile taste filled Jack’s mouth; it was the crying of an infant. “Who would bring a baby miles into the mountains,” Clay mumbled out loud, “we’re almost five miles in.”

It was a weak cry, almost to the level of being imperceptible, but it was there. Dale and Clay exchanged looks, “I’ve heard drug smugglers used to use babies to lure in unsuspecting rangers. Could it be that?” Clay asked softly to Dale.

“Well, we can’t just not investigate it. I won’t risk just leaving a baby out here for the cougars,” Came Dale's stern reply. “You three stay here while we check it out.”

Before Jack could muster up a word, Dale and Clay disappeared off the trail and began descending the 45-degree decline. Jack could only watch helplessly as the light of his father’s lantern disappeared into the thick trees. He didn’t feel safe with his father just up and descending that kind of ledge with no equipment. Men his and Clay’s age have died slipping in the bathroom, much less falling down a cliff. But Jack knew he couldn’t just leave Tweedledee and Tweedledum alone to find an unhappy raccoon intent on ripping off their faces. So, with a heavy heart, Jack sat down in wait. “So, Carl, sorry about not getting you to camp before sunset, but I’m sure your dad will understand the situation.”

“Don’t worry about it, he didn’t expect me to get there until tomorrow anyways.”

“That’s good, I’d rather not make him worried, this is your first hiking trip, yes?”

Before Carl could respond gunfire erupted, one shot, two shot, four. Jack jumped up and, in a panic, ran into the darkness with flashlight in hand. He plowed through bushes and weaved through trees. Unfortunately, on such a steep slope the soil tended to be loose and with one wrong step, Jack was sent tumbling down the hill. He could see as the world around him whirled past as his fall gathered momentum. He only barely had enough time to grab onto a few bushes and a handful of grass to slow his descent. A thud and soft crack echoed out as Jack slammed into a tree, stopping his fall. It was only a short ten feet but it still took a toll.

It was too late to regret his stupidity and Jack resumed his descent. They shouldn’t be too far. He thought to himself. They were only gone for a few minutes. Suddenly Jack saw it, the light of his father’s lantern. It was so close. He picked up speed once again before suddenly stopping when the light abruptly went flying towards him. With barely enough time to duck, the mangled lamp sailed overhead smashing into a tree, creating a resounding crash. In shock, Jack illuminated the hunk of metal behind him. What has enough force to do that? As he maintained his kneeling/ducking position a powerful force suddenly smashed into his already injured side, sending him flying much like the lantern. Also like the lantern’s journey was the sudden connection of his body with a tree.

The world went hazy for Jack as his brain tried to process what happened. His head lolled limply to the side and a queasy feeling overtook his mind and the world went black for a moment. Bizarre images flashed through his head as his body panicked, and with a quick jolt, he was back among the land of consciousness. It was only a couple of seconds in reality but to Jack, hours had passed. It took another second for his thoughts to come back and he remembered where he was and what happened. He tried to prop himself up, but two broken ribs disagreed with that decision. What happened? He asked himself as he began to sweat furiously. He reached for his flashlight but found it missing. With a bit of effort, he managed to look around and find it situated a few feet away. But that was not what caught his attention, In the weak beam of light stood a massive beast as tall as the trees around it. So big that the light could only illuminate up to its knees.

In horror, Jack watched the thing as it approached, each step forcing the earth to rumble under its mass. In a single stride, it covered enough distance to be right on top of Jack. It lifted a massive arm covered in long grey shaggy fur and made a halfhearted swipe which caught Jack’s bag and sent him tumbling. The contents of his bag scattered from a massive gash caused by razor-sharp claws, and to Jack’s fortune, his signal box landed nearby. The massive mass of fray fur bent down and tore at a bag of beef jerky giving Jack plenty of time to open the box, load a flare gun, and shoot the beast. A streak of blazing red lit the newly born night as the flare streaked towards the beast, hitting its shoulder. The fiery magnesium got caught in the mop of fur and set it alight. The beast roared in anger and dropped to all fours allowing Jack to see its devilish crimson eyes.

With a huff of rage, the beast charged towards Jack, threatening to rip him to shreds. Each step rattled the forest, and each hacking breath it took shook Jack to his core. An arm the size of a small tree trunk narrowly skimmed Jack’s tender flesh and crashed through the wood behind him. With the sudden stop, the beast's burning fur sent ash and smoke into the creature’s eyes, causing it to back off. Jack’s muscles began to brim with adrenalin, and in the flurry of a panicked man, Jack scrambled to the side just before another thunderous attack erased his previous position. Blood rushed through Jack’s head and he pushed himself onto his feet, narrowly avoiding the blind beast’s storm of fury. With only the light of the beast’s burning flesh, Jack found a tin of oil for his dad’s, now destroyed, lantern. He failed his first attempt to screw open the canister but not his second.

Opaque liquid filled the air, striking the beast and causing the dim flames to explode up into the air. Now more confident, Jack began circling the beast while being careful to not get caught by dagger-like claws. Like a priest cleansing a house with holy water, Jack doused the creature slowly but surely. The sound of strange humanlike shrieking filled the night as fire engulfed the hideous beast. Billowing plumes of smoke permeated through the air, bringing the putrid stench of burning hair and flesh along with it. With adrenalin slowly fading from his sore and battered body, Jack dropped the empty can of flammable fluid in exhaustion. Is it over? He questioned silently to himself as the blazing inferno spread, becoming dangerously close to becoming a forest fire. Not yet, I need to make it out first.

The beast continued to spread the flames across the dry forest, preventing Jack from searching for Clay and his father. A plan began to form in Jack’s head, we can’t turn back, so our only option is to meet Carl’s father at camp. Unluckily, Dale held the only radio, so there was no way to contact a ranger station. But Jack held out hope that Clay’s father possessed one. Weakly, Jack watched the walking pyre walk deeper into the depths of the mountains. Thinking of Blare and Carl, and how they would be lost on the winding game trails, Jack set off back up the decline. Unlike the quick hike down the long hike up was will breaking, especially with a few broken ribs, but Jack held on. An hour passed by before Jack managed to hit flat ground once again. He was met with the panicked faces of the two remaining members of his hiking group. Unable to put what he just saw in words Jack only motioned to follow before weakly jogging down the trail.

With a newfound resolve, Jack stood up from his seat in the ranger station and made his way out of the building and to his car. Taking a long glance at the mountainous wilderness, he could almost hear the monster’s wails. Wait… that wasn’t him hearing things. Jack’s stomach sank, he always thought of what happened to that horrid beast, and apparently it survived their scuffle that fateful night. Jack swallowed and tightened his resolve, all the more reason to become a park ranger.