The bounty on the Wendigo continued to be unclaimed. The news came to light, the Hunter who went out to dispose of it had disappeared for weeks on end, so we all presumed he was dead, with good reason, I say so myself. However, this made people want to take on the challenge even more, enticing them. They not only wanted the reward but the fame that would come with being the individual who slayed that thing. If I know anything about Wendigos, it's the fact that they are the embodiment of gluttony and jealousy. Apparently, they were once human but went on to devour the flesh of their kind, resulting in cannibalism. I can't say for sure if I believe that they were once human, but information like that sure will help, in the log on, I guess.
Uncle walked up to me, staring at the poster of the Wendigo. "Ah, you are thinking about going after that thing," he said sarcastically.
I shook my head, signalling my disinterest with a quick flick of my eyes. He smirked wider, then slapped me on the back with enough force to jolt me forward. "You, me, and your brother are going to hunt that thing tonight," he declared, his voice carrying a hint of excitement that made my stomach whisk with dread.
Fear began to brew inside me. I'm not going to lie; it was nerve-wracking hearing my Constantine say that. His words began wrapping around my thoughts like a vise. Questions flooded my mind, each one hindering my attention span and drowning me in a river of thoughts. Are we even ready to hunt that monster? Or is this just one of Uncle's twisted tests to see if I'm reckless enough to accept such a dangerous quest?
"Nah, I think I'll pass, Uncle Constantine," I muttered, trying to keep my voice steady, though it wavered like a leaf in the wind.
Right after those words came out of my mouth, Darius appeared like a gush of wind. "I'm going either way," he said calmly.
It mean it was as if he was asking for a death wish here. Uncle Constantine was certainly strong enough, he'd taken down a skin-walker with minimal effort, but Darius and I would likely just get in the way, hindering Uncle's full capabilities.
"It will be a learning session for you both. I trust you boys will assist me?"
No way in hell. Even if I did come along, which I wouldn't, why would I assist in such a risky task? Last time, I nearly got devoured by one of those entities, and now Uncle wants me to risk it again. I glanced at my brother, who sighed with annoyance, his lips curling into a derisive sneer as he scoffed at how pathetic I must've looked in a moment when I could've been learning from Uncle Constantine. What was I afraid of, right? With my elder twin and Constantine backing me up, it should've been no sweat.
"Forget what I just said, I'm coming."
My uncle smiled, a proud gleam in his eyes. "That's my boy," he said, ruffling my hair with a rough hand.
Darius walked ahead of us, his expression as stern and unreadable as ever. With a sound that was almost a snort, he muttered, "Hmph," under his breath.
But that's Darius, my brother, for you, so serious, appearing as if the whole word was resting on his tiny little shoulders. Although I still felt butterflies in my stomach. When we reached the Northern Reaches, a sense of stability came over me. My silver hair began to blend in with the frost and snow around me; my brother stuck out with his jet-black hair and silver highlights. It soon became night, the light drawing to an end. The only thing we could make out was the moonlight shining down on us. Darius conjured up one of his light circles, and we began to see clearly. But, of course, it was a double-edged sword, and whatever that mangy beast was doing had been diverted by the shining radiance coming from us.
"You idiot, now it can see where we are," I whispered.
Uncle chuckled and remarked, "That's exactly what I want, for it to take the bait. Besides, it can smell us. That thing has been feeding on hunters for years, so it has begun to develop a smell for it."
Holy crap, that abominable creation can smell us. We are so screwed. I should calm myself—Uncle's here, I'm fine as long as I stick with him. But, shit, Darius isn't even the least bit fazed. Talk about obvious opposites. Man, I wish I had nerves of steel just like him. Well, enough of that. Focusing on this monster is my best course of action right now. I know I can act as bait to distract it, and it can probably smell the fear from me, so it would target me, the weaker prey, instead of the others—giving Uncle and Darius the chance to devise a strategic plan ensuring our swift victory.
"Hey, I'm going to go in this direction," I proclaimed with my high-pitched voice.
"No way. You're a kid, and I'm your guardian. I'm not letting you out of my sight."
Sorry, Uncle, but right now I'm just trying to keep us alive to see another day. With that, I screamed and taunted the creature. The beast began roaring, and to put it lightly, it felt like the fear inside me amplified, like frantic cuts to the bone. It was nothing I had ever heard before. Whatever the skinwalker was, it's nothing compared to this thing. Apart from all of that, I could feel it slowly tracking me, waiting for me to lower my guard and then pounce.
I ran as far as I could, purposefully making trails for Constantine and Darius to follow. If they couldn't simply track me from the boot marks I would leave due to the snow, I was just trying to be as considerate as I could and, on the other hand, trying my best to survive this. Soon it was dead silent. It felt strange, normally, quietness like this would ease my mind, but it made my body as tense as possible. Of course, the cold weather wasn't helping. My hands felt like every nerve inside them had been turned to ice. Not soon after, I heard Uncle's voice calling out to me.
"Hey, kid! We got rid of it thanks to your efforts!" he shouted, his voice ringing through the trees.
But something didn't feel right. Uncle usually would come straight to me and say that, not shout it from a distance. So, being the careful person I envisioned myself to be, I stayed on guard, gripping the last piece of my father that I had left, his blade, in my trembling hands. And just as I was lost in thought, the thing realized I wasn't falling for its bait, it came charging through the forest trees, a blur of dark fur and gnashing teeth. My heart began to race, the sweat glands began to leak with sweat rapidly despite the freezing air. Then it paused, playing with my senses, its predatory gaze locked onto me. It could kill me right here, right now, with one swift attack. But there's no way I'm going to die here.
"I know you can understand me!" I shouted my voice trembling with fear "You were human once before, so come out here and face me like a man, you greedy bastard!"
With that taunt, it came rushing towards me at a pace I couldn't comprehend. If the folklore is true, a blade forged with iron could kill it indefinitely, especially if it's decapitated. So all I have to do is chop that thing's head off. I began to dodge its attacks. It tried continuously to swoop me. Glancing towards its giant claws, I managed to evade each time. I closed my eyes and could see some sort of glowing thing. I don't know what it was. Could it be its glowing red eyes or its bright yellow fangs? But it was neither. I couldn't describe it, but it almost looked like its figure. I could see its attacks before it could perfectly time them.
I could feel Uncle and Darius' presence beside me, his sleek iron sword with a purple design and a design of a purple dragon as the handle, just like mine. "Guess the training paid off, right, kiddo!"
The creature was outmatched. Darius' purifying light hurt it drastically. All I could feel from the thing was a sense of decaying, iciness, like it was living yet dead. So then I thought, fire harms the thing, so of course it would be susceptible to light attacks too. And with that, I requested that Darius put some of his mana into Father's sword. It began to envelop itself in the shining blessing of my brother. I clawed my way up to its head, a task so impossible due to its 15 feet of height. But nevertheless, Uncle pinned down its arms with his twin blades, and Darius blinded it with his bright light. There I saw an opening, and just like that, I slashed right through the creature's ashen flesh. It collapsed. I sheathed the sword of my father just as I did that. Uncle commanded us to stand back.
"I'm going to carve its heart with my sword. You might want to look away."
But we refused, and the image of its beating dark heart being ripped out of its living corpse was enough to freak out a kid beyond wonders. And there I began to think, are these really the things I should be exposed to at such a young age? Damn, our lives are so messed up. I don't even remember the part of me that gleefully used to think that this was all another chance. Right then and there, I began to understand that something brought me to this world, whether it's God or something entirely different carrying an ulterior motive, is up for debate.