The Hunter and the Demon



I saw it. The Demon; the fox like monster that devastated hamlets and villages. I raised my Enfield to my chin and shoulder, and I waited. I waited patiently for the creature to return, as the snow draped the dense tree canopy above my head. I heard it. I heard the demon nearing me; the cracking of snow underfoot, the demon’s foot. The steady breath of the beast, struck an unexplainable fear into my heart, to the point in which I believed that my blood had stopped flowing. I gripped my Enfield tightly, for the small musketoon was my flicker of hope that enlightened a dark world of sorrow, yet only shone once in a lifetime of winter. I gripped the small rifle tightly, so tightly that the blood of my hands retracted, and my knuckles became paler than the snow itself. The small bit of light from the moon reflected off of my pale skin and into my eyes. Impossible was possible in this world of hate and anger. The beast, the demon, it came closer, I could feel it. I felt it bear its teeth as it sensed my presence. Somehow, I could sense that my lifeline was being cut short by a being of the unknown, no…by fate itself. I could feel it thinning, more and more with every breath I took. I calmed my nerves, steadied my hand, and silenced my excessive breathing. I peered over the sight of the Enfield, and I could barely distinguish the outline of an oversized, black fox. As I focused my gaze, I saw that it had two tails, chasing each other, in a swirling spiral of black fur that mirrored itself as it remained in constant motion. That was my mistake. I realized that I had focused my gaze upon the Demon’s tails for far too long, giving it time to disappear into the shadows once more. I cursed myself for my stupidity and I took a shaky breath. I rose from my hiding place and I quickly yet silently sprinted to a gap made between two old pine trees. I slid into the shade of the closest one, trying my absolute hardest to stay out of the sight of the Fox, for if it did see me, I might as well already be dead. There are no second chances, not today. I raised the musketoon once more and I quickly peeked over the sight, and what I saw scared me out of my wits. My muscles clenched and my mind went blank. I began to tremble uncontrollably as I continued to look at the gruesome sight. I couldn’t make myself turn away, for all of my senses had completely left me at that moment. That scene that I had just witnessed was the fox itself. It stood three meters tall, with the blackest coat of fur on the earth. Two Tails outlined with blood circled each other at the hind legs of the Demon, and the Fox was doing something that I definitely did not want it to do. It was staring at me. An evil aura seemed to radiate from the fox, emanating into a black and red whirlwind of malice. The fox, what it did next was impossible, for it raised itself up on its hind legs, taking the stance of that which is taken only by another human being. The demon stared at me, and as if it had sensed my fear, it bared its teeth in an odd fashion as if it were grinning. No… it WAS grinning. It was grimacing maniacally at me with an unmistakable look of insatiable hunger for blood, my blood. The demon than cackled uncontrollably, its snout contracting and elevating whilst an evil and raspy laughter escaped the Demon’s mouth, its head reared back, facing upwards towards the night sky. Its voice was deep, yet sounded as if multiple voices were laughing at once, each with a slightly lower and higher pitch than the previous one. I swallowed my fear, and tightly closed my eyes, as I jerked the Enfield upwards and squeezed the trigger tightly. A cracking boom resounded in my ears as I quickly began to reload the weapon. I momentarily maneuvered myself onto my feet while leaping somewhere to my right. I than heard a crashing noise come from my rear, as I sharply turned to see that the beast had crushed the pine that I had been under only moments ago. My heart made its way into my throat, and I quickly swallowed it back down, not believing my current amount of luck. Perhaps fate was on my side today? I quickly shook the thought from my head as I realized that the fox could also only just be taunting me; Playing with me before crushing my skull under its mighty foot, and picking its teeth clean with each of the bones from my decomposing ribcage. I shook my head at the thought, as I finally finished placing the fuse within the flintlock of the Musketoon. I raised it to my shoulder, and squeezed the trigger as hard as I could. Another resounding crack was heard, and this time I was sure that it hit. The small musket ball embellished itself into the large shoulder of the Demon. It let out a large wail as the ball exploded inside of the Demon’s already wounded shoulder…