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            The village of Somerset had a monster problem. Many of us who have lived here have lost loved ones to the monsters, and many others have lost pieces of themselves. I through a cruel twist of fate have lost both. I lost my wife and unborn child three winters ago, and the monster that did it left me with a missing ring and pinky finger on my left hand. Perhaps the monster was smart enough to understand the irony in that, or perhaps my fate is woven by the dark poetry of random chance. But ever since then, in the first week of summer, Rjolf and I have lead a hunt into the deepest parts of the forest in order to root out these creatures.

Every monster is different. Some have large fangs, others have gnarly horns, and some take on the shape of men. But it is said that no two monsters look alike. I still remember the look of the one that attacked me on that cold winter day.

We were out gathering wood for a fire from the edge of the forest. We knew it was dangerous to be that close to the forest, even if it was midday. But that winter was so cold, and the allure of a fire in our hearth was too much to resist. Elyana was just shy of nine months pregnant and we were partly afraid that without a source of warmth she might lose the child.

He came from the darkness, underneath a blanket of shadow preserved by the thick tree cover, so that even in the light of the afternoon he could still hide. He was twice the size of a normal man, with two golden horns sprouting from his head. He had fur of silver-brown and eyes like the devil himself. Even as I write this down a chill runs through my bones.

I threw myself in between him in Elyana, yelling for her to run to safety. But the beast grabbed my hand and chomped down. My memory after that is thin, though I remember being tossed, like a bag of grain, into the air and crashing into the solid base of a nearby oak tree. For my own sake—and for yours, I suppose—I will save you from the details of what I found when I roused from my unconscious state. But believe me there was no coming back from that. My wife and son were dead.

The years that followed were bitter years. My fear of the monsters turned to rage, hatred. I was determined to destroy every last monster that roamed those lands, and each year I pushed deeper and deeper into the woods. Other’s followed me too. Other victims. Rjolf was the first to ask to join me. He was the town smith, and lost two of his children to a savage monster attack not long before I lost Elyana. Mayra, the town school teacher joined up with us after that. She never said why, or who she lost, but we never asked either. I never had to convince anyone to join our yearly hunt, but over time, more and more of the people of Somerset decided to take up arms. The monster problem had gone on for too long, and it was our mission to kill every single one. Back then, I truly believed in that cause, but now I am not so sure. The things that happened to me on my fifth hunt have made me question everything that I once held true, and it is my hope, that in writing down my thoughts I might be able to find some truth in all of it. That I might be able to make sense of all the madness.

On the eve of our yearly hunt, I sat in my home sharpening my sword and fletching arrows, when I heard a knock at the door. It was Rjolf. He was a burly old man with thinning grey hair and a broad build.

“I’ve brought a gift.” He said in his gruff voice. He pulled out a stained cloth from his coat and unwrapped it on my kitchen table. It was a gun—a simple flintlock pistol with three bullets of gleaming silver next to it. Gun’s were rare this far away from the city. It was a new technology, still more novelty than true tool. Most guns were unreliable and took a long time to load. Personally, I prefer the true weight of an arrow to that of a bullet, but the proud look on Rjolf’s face told me to keep my opinion to myself.

“It’s amazing” I said picking up the silver bullet and rolling it between my fingers.

“I got the blueprint from a trader that came through a few months back. Been working on this ever since. I thought I would surprise you with it before our hunt tomorrow.”

I put the bullet down and pushed the gun back towards Rjolf.

“I can’t take this. You worked so hard on it. You should be the one to use it.”

“Nonsense. Everyone knows that you are the best shot among us, and besides, I built it so you could take him down.”

Rjolf was referring to the beast that took Elyana and my child from me. Compared to the other monsters of the wood, he was the most fearsome, the most dangerous. I never spoke about it, but every hunt was just an excuse for me to track down the beast.

“A silver bullet is the only surefire way to take down a monster, and this year I think we’re finally going to find him.”

I smiled, but only outwardly. Inside, my mind was awash with the guilt and rage that always swelled on the nights before the hunt. I scooped up the gun and held it in my hand, imagining shooting the beast between the eyes.

“thank you Rjolf. I will treasure this gift.”

“Aye, but remember nothing you do out there will bring back your boy. Let this gun be a reminder of that. It is a clean weapon; it will allow you to exact your revenge without the need for brutality. A clean shot for a clean conscious. You’ll do well to remember that when we are out there.”

“You’re a good man. I promise to keep your words in mind.”

Rjolf grunted, as if he only half believed me.

“I see that look in your eye every year. Even now, on the eve of our hunt, I see it. You are consumed with thoughts of your beast. I ask only that you do not lose yourself to those thoughts. Promise me that if we find him, you will not do anything stupid. Use the gun and be done with it. We need you Enli. I fear without you our village will surely wither away.”

Truth was, Somerset was half gone already. With the amount of monsters ranging from the old forest, more and more people left every year, and those who stayed were either too poor to leave, or tied down by elderly or sick relatives. I had thought of leaving Somerset many times, but every time I did I pictured the beast laughing to himself—if he even could laugh—and that made me stop packing my bags and go back to the practice yard where I trained with my axe.

“Don’t worry Rjolf, I see the bigger picture, I see that we need to find the source of these demons and root it out. Killing one monster does not accomplish that goal.”

“Then swear it to me. Swear that if we find your beast you will not lose yourself to revenge.”

“I swear it.”

This seemed to satisfy Rjolf, but in truth it was something I could not swear. I don’t have that level of self-control, at least I did not back then.

The next morning, as we gathered next to the forest to leave on our expedition Rjolf made me swear again, and it made me wonder if he had similar fears of his own. Was his obsession with making me promise him just a manifestation of his own insecurities? I can only guess.

Our turnout was good this year. Griggs and Jessa, had turned up for their first hunt, with Mayra, Rjolf, and I rounding out the regulars. Griggs and Jessa were brother and sister. They’re parents owned a farm on the far side of town, a farm that faced the road rather than the forest. By my recollection they had not lost anyone to the monster’s but I did not question why they chose to join us this year. Griggs carried an old sword with rust spots on it, and Jessa had a sharpened pitchfork.

“Thank you all for coming.” I said. “Before we leave I wish to set some ground rules for our newer folks.” I looked to the brother and sister duo. Perhaps not much younger than I in years, yet when I looked at them I saw only babes.

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“Monsters don’t tend to stick together, they like to hunt alone, so if we can face them one at a time we have a better chance of surviving. Our true mission is to push deep enough into the forest to find the source of the evil and find a way to destroy it.”

Griggs looked up. “My father says that the monsters are a punishment from god.”

“That’s nonsense.” Rjolf said. “My daughter never hurt a fly, Henrieta was the sweeter than the angels. God only punishes those who are deserving, this is not the work of the almighty this is clearly the work of the devil.”

Mayra agreed in her own quiet way, and I could see that Jessa did as well. Griggs was wise by listening to his father, a good son always does, but here his father was misguided. Perhaps by guilt at his own unseen wickedness, or some other misguided notion, but he was wrong. God had abandoned Somerset long ago. This was no punishment. This was apathy.

We waited until the sun was even with the tree line before we started the hunt. In that time, we were joined by two more men from the village. Arnold and Klark were their names. Arnold owned the local pub, and Klark played Piano for the customers, though it had been years since they had a guest stay the night. Even the merchants that came through knew better than to stay passed the sunset.

I led the group passed the tree line and into the forest proper. We always started slow in the beginning, always walked extra carefully until we came across our first monster. It didn’t take long for us to find one. It was a smaller beast, a four legged dog-like thing with red ruby glowing eyes and mangy fur. It’s teeth were long and mishappen, jutting out from its mouth in all directions.

Mayra spotted it first, and she landed the first shot too. Despite her thin frame, she had strength to spare, and the aim of a hawk. She put her arrow through the haunches of its back legs. Had it been some other animal, be it a wolf, or a coyote, it would have howled in pain, or perhaps run away, but this was no ordinary creature. It turned on us in an instant, seeking the source of the bolt that stuck out of its haunches. It growled and foamed at the mouth, streaking through the forest towards Mayra. As it launched itself into the air, pouncing at the old school teacher, I unsheathed my sword and sliced it clean through the neck.

The head and body landed with two separate thuds—the mouth still foaming, the body still twitching.

“Nice shot” I told Mayra.

She leaned down and used her crossbows reloading mechanism to draw back the string before adding another bolt. “Would have been better if I put one between the eyes.”

I nodded and turned back to the forest at large. The first monster was not always the most difficult, but it was the most important. It meant that even if we didn’t find a single other beast we still did something to even the score.

Mayra sliced off the monsters paw and hung it from her belt, next to tow other dried paws from her kills last year.

After the first kill, we stopped for some water and gnawed on some jerky and dried fruits before we pushed deeper into the forest. The further we got from Somerset, the thicker the tree cover, the harder it became for the light to penetrate down to the forest floor. Monster’s liked it dark. There aren’t many things I know for sure about monsters but I do know that. I also know that there is one thing that attracts monsters more than darkness: blood. Human blood to be exact. Monster blood does not seem to have the same effect.

After another hour of hiking with no more monsters seen, I decided it was a good idea to try and draw them to us. Mayra, Griggs, and Jessa perched in the lower branches of the trees while I used my knife to slice a small section on the back of my hand. I dripped my blood onto the forest floor and stood in wait. It did not take long for the first creature to take the bait.

Rjolf, standing at my back, was the first to spot it.

“Monster!” he cried. “Be ready!”

I turned my gaze and tightened my grip on my bow. This monster was especially hideous. I saw it skittering down a nearby tree and run towards our position. The monster was vaguely like a spider, but only in orientation. It had a massive human skull at the top, and the bottom had a thousand human legs squirming it forward like it was a grotesque millipede.

I loosed and arrow, but my shot bounced off the boney exterior without so much as a knick. Mayra loosed the next shot, this time aiming for the legs, and even though she hit one of the legs, and pierced the thigh, it still did nothing to slow the beasts advance. I drew my axe, ready to defend myself, as Rjolf charged forward with his silver sword gleaming in the dim light of the afternoon. He sliced clean through two of the legs, causing the monster to lose its balance and topple over. All of us seized on the momentary opportunity, and Griggs, Jessa, and I pounced on the monster chopping through more of the legs until it was completely immobilized. That’s when we focused on the hard skull at the top. Like a miner with his pickaxe, I chisled my way through the thick bone exterior until I was sure the monster was dead.

            It was almost sad in a way. The monster was once a terrifying nightmare, and now it was a sad lump of mess in the grass. I would have felt pity for it if I was capable of such a feeling. We did not have time to relish in our second kill of the hunt before another monster screeched in the distance. Rjolf looked up and saw my face lose its color. That screech. I knew that noise. I had heard it before on a bitter winter afternoon. It was him. It was my beast.

            I searched the perimeter, eyes longing for a glimpse of the beast. I had not seen it since the day it took everything from me.

            “The gun” Rjolf yelled. But I barely heard him. The beast was bigger than I remember, perhaps more fearsome too, but I was blinded by a strange emotion. It was similar to excitement, but there was a burning anger in there too, bubbling its way to the surface.

            The beast with its golden horns and gray-brown fur ran on two legs, dragging its long clawed arms behind it as it ran towards our party. Axe drawn, anger welling in my gut, I ran head first towards the beast, but he swatted me away as easy as he had done the first time we met.

            Perhaps sensing the easier kill he turned his attention towards Griggs who was struggling to knock an arrow on his bow. The beast scooped him up in his large hand, but Rjolf struck him with his sword. The beast did not howl in pain, but it did drop Griggs, who landed awkwardly on his ankle, turning it with a nasty crunch.

            The beast slashed at Rjolf who raised his sword to block, but it was not enough to completely stop himself from getting hit. The sword was wrenched from his hand and Rjolf was thrown to the ground. Mayra landed a bolt in the beast skull, but the hide was too thick and it did not pierce deep enough to stick in its fur.

            I ran, axe first towards the beast and swung at it with all my power. But the beast was quick as it was terrible, and it moved out of the way, causing me to stumble from putting too much power in my swing. Again I missed, and again the beast swatted me aside like a fly. This time is skittered across the ground and into the base of a nearby tree.

            My ears rang, and I felt a trickle of blood go down the back of my neck.

            “The gun!” shouted Rjolf again. “Use the gun, you fool!” he yelled.

            This time I heard him, and I pulled the flint lock pistol from my belt and aimed it at the beast. Jessa poked it in the back with her pitchfork, which caused the beast to turn its attention towards her. It swiped with its clawed hand and left a nasty gash through her hide tunic. Instantly a spurt of blood rose from her chest and her eyes went wide with fear. Griggs yelled out for his sister, as I lined up my shot and pulled the trigger.

            There was a puff of smoke and a pop, as the silver bullet launched from the gun and lodged itself in the beast’s eye. For the first time, it showed some semblance of weakness, letting out a small yelp as a purple streak ran down the shattered eye socket. The beast seemed surprised, almost as if it had never been hurt before, and for all I knew it hadn’t. I loaded up a second shot, but before I could pull back the hammer the beast turned and ran in the direction it came from.

            Rjolf and Mayra ran over to Jessa, who was laying in the grass, a pool of blood seeping out of her wound. Her brother crawled over, clearly struggling with the pain in his ankle, and tried to comfort her.

            “It’s going to be okay. “We’re going to get you help.” Rjolf assured her.

I couldn’t take my eyes off the beast. I finished loading the gun and then got up to run after the beast. Before I made it ten paces Rjolf called to me.

            “Enli, no! We need to get them to safety.” And then he added. “You promised.”

            But it was a promise I knew I could not keep. I saw the beast getting further away, almost disappearing into the darkness. I took one last look at our party, but I avoided Rjolf’s eyes, because I knew exactly the disappointment that I would find there. Then I took off into the forest, pushing deeper than I had ever gone before.