Jachum woke up to light entering the entrance of the warren. His father was leaning against the other was across from him, eating some nuts and drinking cup of spring water. Jachum yawned and stretched. “How far are you planning on us traveling today?” he asked.

Thinking for a moment his father replied, “Well as we travel further east our ability to stay under the canopy will become harder. I know you really haven’t dealt with a terrain outside of the forest, so we will probably slow down a bit while you adjust. I’m hoping we can average around 30 miles a day.”

Jachum thought that sounded fair, but considering his limited traveling experience he just assumed his father knew what he was talking about. “What happens if we meet travelers?” his father laughed, “Excited to meet knew people are we? Well, it will be unlikely for us to meet anyone this far west for at least a couple of days, but it shouldn’t be a problem. Just make sure you don’t start talking too much in your excitement.

Jachum rolled his eyes and began packing up his bed roll. Storing it away in his pack, he took out some breakfast and began eating as they moved their way out of the warren and into the soft morning sun.

After another four days of traveling Jachum started to notice that everything had started to shrink. The trees did not tower as tall, and the predators that tried to kill them became smaller and small. It was on this day that his father let out a sigh of relief and said. “From here on out we shouldn’t have an problems with predators.”

“Why do you say that?” asked Jachum confused. “The predators of the Dark forest are the kings of their area, and often ruled by spirits. This lets them hunt normally without fear.As you know our cabin is only on the outskirts of the Dark forest but even still. Outside of the dark forest animals and beasts fend for themselves for the most part. And we, especially you.” Said his father eyeing him coyly. “Give off the stench of a predator. That should scare away any semi-intelligent beast. The dangers from here on out will more likely be of the human or direct spirit sort.”

As if on queue the very next day Jachum had his first experience of human danger. The father and son duo were walking the smaller forest when out of the woods came to noise of voice. Both father and son climbed separate trees, notched their bows and drew arrows. Staying calm and hidden, they waited as the voices grew closer. There were two men hurrying down the deer path Jachum and his father had been traveling along. The men looked worn and frail almost like they were starving. Jachum noted it down but didn’t worry about thinking about it. His father threw his voice the right of him and shouted. “Stop, we have arrows on you. Explain what you are doing this far west.” His father’s voice was stern and commanding promising violence.

“Please don’t shoot.” Yelled the stricken man on the right. “Were trappers who have been struggling to survive there’s a monster that’s been stalking and keeping us from eating anything. There were five of us not but two months ago.” This seemed rather odd to Jachum but kept his silence, watching the two trappers below. “When did this start?” Yelled his father, this time the voice came from behind the men. They turned quickly but seeing nothing responded in a panic. “There was a group of ten of us that came together for the winter. But soon we ran out of food after a severe winter storm. We started disappearing after that, one by one. Sometimes once a week, other times every other month. We would find their bodies the next day with their hearts and liver stolen, entrails strewn across the ground. We’re being hunted and we can’t escape.” The man was weeping by the end of the story.

There was silence for almost two minutes as his father sat on the tree branch in silence thinking of what to do. Finally, he pulled out a pack of from his shadow and tossed it down to the men. “Here is a pack of food. If you keep traveling this way you will be killed. Travel east, south or north but do not take another step to the west or you will die.

The man who had been speaking before grabbed the pack and started moving in a northeastern path, with his companion quickly following. They glanced back a couple times to see if they could spot anything but realizing there was not to be seen continued traveling away as quickly as their desperation would take them. Taking food out of the pack and eating it as they jogged.

Jachum climbed down from the tree and glanced at his father who was standing next to him with a questioning look.

“This is genuinely bad luck” sighed his father. “Why’s that?” asked Jachum curiously. “They are being hunted by a Wendigo.” It sounded familiar to Jachum but with the amount of knowledge his father had made him learn he couldn’t remember everything. Sighing at his son’s confusion, “Basically, because of the lack of food in the winter and the starvation that the trappers were facing, one of them decided to eat someone. “Ohh, I remember now.” Said Jachum. As his father had explained in the small cabin, when a human eats its own kind it triggers a reaction to the soul, and that person is changed forever. They become insatiable monsters that stalk the night, looking for human flesh.

What’s the plan?” asked Jachum. “Think boy, if that Windego isn’t killed it will not stop. Chances are it will find another group of people and feed on them as well. We are going to have to kill it.”

They hung back from the two trappers only following behind when they were completely out of sight. Jachum’s father had decided it was best that they follow them until night and wait for the monster to appear.

The sun was just setting when the two men made a cam for the night. They lit a fire in the middle of the forest and sat around it. Jachum genuinely didn’t understand why the two men were trying to attract predators but unwilling to break the silence held his tongue. An hour later both men lay sleeping and still no monster had appeared. It happened close to the peak of the moons path, when one of the men woke up. He yawned and stretched. Glancing over to the other man sleeping he walked over the man. Jachum watch in horror as the man began to change, the area around became cold and with is a foul stench covered the air. Instead of a trapper, a large humanoid monster stood in his place. It was tall, yet looked as if it was starving, with bones pushing against its skin, and it eyes sunken so deeply in its sockets you could hardly see them. It looked like a gaunt skeleton that had just bee dug up. While Jachum stood there is shocked the Wendigo let out a shriek of its emaciated owl shaped head and pieced its talon like claws into the chest of the trapper. It quickly withdrew its arm and placed the still beating heart of its victim into its mouth.

Jachum drew an arrow as another from his father hit the wendigo. It shrieked and started running. Jachum let fly his arrow hitting hitting it in the back but the Windego continued to run and disappeared into the night.

“Fuck, I did not expect that.” Said his father. “Dad we have to catch it lets go.” Growled Jachum as he jumped down from the tree and sped after the monster. His father sighed, “This is going to be a long night.” He thought to himself, as he too jumped down and began to jog toward possible death.