I finally relaxed again after seeing them return to the main house. I knew I couldn't do much if Brandon decided to snitch on me other than leave.

I was hiding behind the draped window, watching them leave, when Brandon suddenly stared back at the guesthouse.

“What are you looking for, Brandon?” I mumbled, “Do you remember what happened earlier?”

I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was not the end of our problems, but I did not care too much. I had more important things to worry about right now.

“I thought they would never move,” I said while preparing to leave. I needed to go back to hunting to make up for the lost money.

I grabbed a piece of dried meat that was on the small table beside my bed and peeked out the window one last time; no one was outside.

I grabbed my backpack and knife, which I had stashed away in the same bookshelf where I kept my money, and proceeded to slip out the back of the guesthouse through one of the windows. I left it half open to allow myself access back into the guesthouse when I returned.

I followed the usual path I had taken many times back to the forest. As I got closer, the scenery changed from houses, mainly on both sides, to an open plain with small shrubs. What was most prevalent here were the dead carcasses of farm animals that the invading beasts or the local wild animals had slaughtered.

“Nothing new,” I thought to myself as I continued walking.

In the distance, I could faintly make out the forest's tree line. I was getting closer, so I needed to focus more on my surroundings.

After another 20 mi or so, I finally reached the outskirts of the Khao Forest, or at least that was the official name. But most people knew it as KIA Forrest as many soldiers and strike team members had died there. It was a dangerous place to be if you did not know what you were doing. But it was also the closest place to hunt freely without worrying about anyone snooping.

I walked in, not worrying too much. I had been here many times before, so it was another night of hunting.

“Let's get started, K. Let's hope we get lucky and find ourselves something good tonight,” I told myself as I walked deeper into the forest.

One hour passed quickly. Other than a few pigs, nothing sprang out. It was already 830, and there was still nothing but small prey. I had stopped to get some water out of my backpack when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw what looked like a huge shadow run by.

“Man, that was something big,” I remember thinking. I decided to follow the shadow, and after about 5 minutes of walking and jogging, I came upon the most outstanding young buck.

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This thing had beautiful skin and massive antlers. I hid behind a shrub and started to spy on it.

“Man, that is one good-looking deer,” I said.

It didn’t move, which was good for me as it meant he had not spotted me yet. I put down my backpack and picked up my knife. I started walking parallel to it in a circular motion, trying hard not to make noise.

I kept walking, hoping it would not notice me, and ran off. That would suck, as I would have to run after it. I continue to walk on my tiptoes to avoid spooking it.

I was getting closer and closer. Finally, I was about 10 feet away from this deer.

“I need to stab him in the heart quickly to stop him from running,” I mumbled. I wanted to avoid the head as the local butcher shops usually pay a reasonable price for them. I moved in about another 3 or 4 ft.

“Man, this thing is not very good at noticing its surroundings,” I was thinking when I sprang from my hiding place, knife in hand, ready to stab this deer to death.

I was about three feet away when I lunged forward with my hunting knife in my right hand. I quickly made up the distance. I was now only about one foot away from the prey when I saw it out of the corner of my eye: a giant four-legged creature lunging out from the brush on the opposite side.

By instinct, I jump back in time to miss getting mauled by this thing. This creature looked like a bear about 4 ft. tall while on all four feet, but it had six eyes instead of two. The fangs sticking out of its mouth were about 8 inches long. It had what looked to be matted fur that was dark brown to almost black all over his body. It had six green stripes running from its head all the way down its back. All six of his eyes were of different colors and locations. Like any normal skull, he had regular eyes that were crimson with yellow pupils. Another pair of eyes was just above the eyebrows. This pair was utterly black. The last two eyes were on the side of the head, on the corner near the temple, but just a little higher on the forehead. These eyes were dark green. It also had an elongated snout, just like a grizzly bear.

This thing came out of the bush and, in one swing, ripped the head off the deer with his paws.

The paws on this thing were huge, and the nails looked like small knives about 6 inches long.

After seeing this thing rip the deer's head off, Khyrum froze, surprised by what he saw.

This thing stood up on two feet. He looked big—I want to say about seven feet easy. It took the deer’s head, broke off the antlers, stuffed the rest in its mouth, and swallowed it whole.

“What am I looking at?” I said in total shock.

It probably heard me because, in the next second, he picked up his head and stared right at me.

I jumped back by instinct as I saw this massive paw swing by. It missed me, but I could sense the danger this thing was giving off.

I’m looking at this thing, but I still think, "It has to be some forest animal."

But it seemed too big and aggressive.

“Shit, this is not good,” I said to myself.

I was a bit apprehensive while looking at this. The thought of running away flashed in my head, but something in me told me to stay.

I remembered one of my father's lessons when I was small about turning your back on any predator.

“If you encounter a situation where the predator is bigger than you, don’t be scared. If you turn around and try to flee, the attacker will likely take this opportunity to attack. You are giving your weak side to your attacker, and they will pounce on you instantly.” he said back then.

“Instead of turning and running, if you need to retreat, find a way of distracting your opponent and then very carefully fall back.”

Remembering this, I decided to stay and fight it out. In my head, this was still some bear that had appeared unexpectedly.