The frigid wind blew into Elias’s face as he trekked through the hills. He had spotted a herd of elk here last week and among them was the biggest bull he had ever seen. When he first witnessed it, he thought it was an abnormally large moose. It had towered over the other elk by at least three feet. Its antlers were the most majestic thing he had ever seen. They were massive and far-reaching, with 12 distinct points on each one. Knowing such a creature was out there would drive Elias mad with regret if he shot a different bull, and so he hiked on, feeling as warm as a corpse.

Hours passed as Elias wandered through the valleys and hills, drawing closer to the base of a mountain. The sky was gray, and Elias’s mood was souring quickly as the temperature only dropped further. He climbed up a particularly steep hill when he felt something squishy underfoot. Looking down, many brown ovals were scattered around. There were too many. This was the biggest pile of droppings Elias had seen in his time as a hunter. Steam lazily floated up from them, and immediately Elias’s head was on a swivel. He saw nothing but grass waving at him on both sides of the small valley he was in, just below the crest of a hill. The warmth underfoot renewed Elias’s will. ‘It must be close.’ Elias couldn't hold back a grin. Grabbing an arrow from his quiver, he held his bow in front of himself, ready to draw. Crouch-walking the rest of the way up the hill Elias peered over the crest

The ground flattened out and a sparse smattering of trees stood toward the mountain. Between Elias and the trees stood a couple dozen elk but one stood out as an anomaly. This elk stood with an almost regal pose. Its crown of antlers demanded attention and respect, and its body stood above the rest. Elias’s breath caught in his throat, he wasn’t a spiritual man but it felt like the beast had an aura. He didn’t move a muscle for fear of being spotted. The elk was roughly around 70 yards away, or so Elias thought as the creature's size was throwing off his perception. The wind slowed down and Elias waited, as patience was something he was well acquainted with. He would not mess up his chance to bag this trophy.

Finally, the elk's head lowered to the grass and began to graze. Slowly, very slowly Elias raised his bow, ‘Nothin fancy, just hit a lung.’ His muscles bulged as he pulled back on his bow gradually. If he spooked off the elk he’d never hunt again. The tension in his arm and back peaked as the bowstring kissed his cheek. Without hesitation, he released the arrow. 

The arrow sank into flesh and fur going deep. The creature turned toward the trees and ran without making a sound. The rest of the herd also bolted but in a different direction. “Dammit, is it too much to ask that it drops like a sack of potatoes,” Elias says with a chuckle. He was confident he hit both lungs as the creature was silent after being shot. “Hopefully it drops soon, the trucks far.” He soon got to where it was standing when he shot it and smiled. There was a clear blood trail, so hopefully it would bleed out nice and quickly. Elias decided to call his buddy Clint to help pack it out after he finds it.

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“Alright see you in a few.” Hanging up, Elias was ready to start tracking. An hour passed since he shot it so it should be dead. He followed the trail into the trees and had glee plastered on his face. When he couldn't see the blood, the elk left many other signs, trampled grass, scratches on trees, and broken branches. A beast that size was impractical in a wooded area.

Another hour and a half passed before he found the corpse lying down on flattened grass in majestic beauty. Taking out his phone he sent a picture to his buddy and texted “Jealous?” After taking countless photos and selfies with the creature he put his phone back in his pocket, and was ready for the arduous task of packing this out of here. 

He first gutted it then removed the head and skinned it bare. “Oh honey, you are going on the wall, if I have one big enough.” After that, it was time to debone it. Clint knows the location, but even then he won't be here for 3ish hours. After an hour, he had all the meat removed. It would take multiple trips to get it all back to the truck. “I'll do several quarter trips alone ‘til Clint arrives.” First Elias hung the meat in a tree before packing as much meat as he could comfortably carry. He went two and a half miles toward his truck before putting the meat down and turning around to grab more.

When he returned, he loaded more game bags with meat and turned to depart. He took a couple of steps when he heard thuds on the ground behind him. Before he could turn everything went black. His unconscious body flew through the air and rolled down a small hill. After a couple of seconds, his eyes fluttered open and he groaned “Fuck!” A searing pain shot up his leg. His mind went hot and he lifted his head but could hardly process what he saw. The angry jaws of a grizzly bear were wrapped around his shin. Elias’s hand shot toward his hip where he carries a revolver. He fumbled around for a second as he felt like his leg was being torn off. He couldn’t aim through the pain and shot towards its head. The bullet blew off one of its ears, only serving to enrage the bear. It let go of him and stood on its hind legs before coming down with full force on his chest. The last thing Elias heard was the crack of his ribs before the world went black.