Dangerous research
It all finally made sense. After three months I had finally collected all the evidence I needed.
About two months ago there started to be more and more reported cases of potential poaching. Working for our local news company called “Community Pulse” I was on the lookout for a new great story, when at a police conference they said that they had seen a sudden increase in cases linked to potential poaching. Instantly hooked, I researched it and got some pictures from the police. They of course expected me to help in the identification of the criminal, but I didn’t see that as a problem. But the cases were extremely special. So I asked a few biology experts, and according to them, there was no predator in our woods that would leave bite marks like this or even leave their prey in such a state. Instead all of them would leave no trace - except for the blood and bones.
But Poachers usually wouldn’t normally destroy their kill or leave it behind like that. They’d be smart enough not to make it all so bloody, leaving behind the gross remains. To me it was clear that the police didn’t want to erupt fear, which is why they made up a supposed criminal. But with these remains clearly not being by any predator of our forest, something didn't make sense. The pieces just didn’t fit. But for quite a while I couldn't find out where I was wrong.
But then, I finally made the connection: all of these victims were brutally torn apart, with bite marks and blood all over the ground. The animals were mostly found after there had been a full moon, and the missing people were announced somewhere around a week after a full moon, never to be found in the woods. I was pretty sure that they had also fallen victim to that predator. I couldn’t find any connections between the people, but the animals seemed to be mostly large herbivores. But finally the connection became obvious: either we had some kind of unknown predator in our forest that nobody ever saw – or at least never survived after seeing it – or there was a dark secret. And I was sure that I might have uncovered it: these probably were cases of poachers trying to hunt for animals illegally, just to sell their meat without needing to pay for any of the costs associated with legal hunting. They just needed to leave behind a few dead bodies, to make the police believe that it was just something natural. And any humans that got in their way needed to be quickly get rid of in the same way. For all of this they probably chose the full moon for its comparative ease of lighting or some other reason I don’t know. That was the only thing I couldn't explain. That was it - what the police wanted to hear.
In the back of my mind I was really sure that these weren't humans. Instead I was sure that we'd have imported some predator that just hadn't been discovered in our forest for now. I still believed in the only rational explanation of the poachers, but in the back of my mind it was all obvious. I had finally connected the puzzle.
Now I just needed to collect the evidence. So there I was, thinking that this was the best opportunity I’ve had in years to finally climb up the corporate ladder. ‘All I need is to solve this riddle, and then I’ll finally become lead of research, I can practically already feel myself sitting in that office… All I need is for this to be a big story.’
'To prove my theory, I managed to prepare everything. Outside the cabin I installed a few sensors that'll activate if anyone walks around it. If it's a predator, it'll hopefully be drawn in by the deer that I trapped with a small fence. Hopefully it'll smell it and give me the opportunity to take a few photos.' I grabbed onto my camera, 'Now all that I will need to do is wait for it to arrive.'
Some of the townsfolk had started making up dumb stories by now. Something of “werewolves” or other magical creatures. The people had really become insane. Always making up some supernatural bullshit to confirm their beliefs. These people would always find a reason why we should burn down that forest and instead build that oil and gas pipeline they were so desperately trying to get approved…
Then finally the alarm took off. Quickly I moved forward to the window, to see what was happening. And just like I expected, there were no humans to be seen. Instead I could only see some big animal running closer. I couldn't recognize it at the fast speed it was moving at, I could only get a glimpse of its silver fur.
It came closer and closer, eventually ending up right before the fence I put up. I quickly got my camera ready and took a few photos. But through the fogged glass, and thanks to the bad light quality, it was impossible for me to make a good picture.
So carefully I slowly opened the door and walked out. The animal seemed to be way more interested in that deer than anything else, giving me the perfect opportunity to take a few pictures. But I was still too far away to get anything that would even be remotely good enough for my story. 'I need to get closer.' And so I took a few steps forward, against my better judgment. But I instantly felt the consequences of my horrible decision.
Suddenly it started sniffing the air. I could clearly hear the leaves crunching under its feet, making a cold shiver run down my spine. But in need of a close-up picture, I stood my ground and made sure that I had turned the flash off. I tried to take a few more pictures in the dark forest, but the trees were blocking most of the light from the full moon.
Only when it was a few meters away from me did I finally recognize my mistake. Just a few more steps away the mighty predator was. It stood as large as me, some silverish-grey fur covering its body. Its fangs were extremely sharp, and I could swear that I saw blood and saliva dripping down its massive maw. So I slowly took one step back at a time, making sure to take pictures in the meantime. I hoped that I'd be just fast enough to shut the door behind me, stopping it from creating a new human corpse.
But then it lunged at me. I was too slow to react, as it threw me to the ground. I was only barely able to take one last photo of it. It was a close-up shot just as I was hit. But before I could do anything else, its claw ripped through my chest. And just when I wanted to groan in pain, its razor-sharp fangs clamped down. I felt how it easily bit through my throat before I lost all of my senses. It easily tore off my head. Without any mercy it had taken its chance in the matter of a few moments. All of my defense was gone, leaving my dead body for it to feast and satiate its lust for blood.
And so my journey ended before it really started. Before I could uncover the truth that lay below this mystery. Instead I also became a part of it, adding to what had happened. My only hope was that they would find my camera and dead body. That they'd solve the case I had started. But never could I have assumed the truth. Never could I have assumed what was going to happen. Never would I have assumed how many people would somehow fall victim to this creature.
