A young boy pushed and shoved the bustling crowd away as he ran towards the town’s local bar. Many in the crowd scrunched their faces in disapproval, but he didn’t care. He had much more important things to do. His breath only quickened, his eyes focusing on his destination. Seeing the old brick building, his pace only accelerated. As soon as he was an inch away from the wooden door, he burst through, yelling,” Mr. Rucker! Mr. Rucker! We need you!” Everyone in the dimly-lighted bar ceased their drinking, ceased their dart games, and ceased their gossip and turned their heads collectively towards the boy.
        With a heaving chest, the boy panted,” Mr. Rucker, its back! The howler is back! It already took one of my father’s goats!” As soon as the boy uttered his words, everyone in the bar instantly paled. Their fear stricken eyes shifted among the group. Their minds instantly remembered of the horrible nights that were once filled with blood curdling screams and howls.
       An old man whispered to his friend,” That can’t be. The boy must be lying. Mr. Rucker said that it was slain.” His friend nodded and replied,” Mr. Rucker said that he even hangs its coat on his wall.” Another voice whispered,” Mr. Rucker killed the Howler!”  Many in the bar voiced similar opinions, but none seemed comforted by them.
       Cutting through the murmurs, a strong, masculine voice cried,” Don’t fret, young boy. Whether you saw the Howler or not, I’ll see that this beast is slain and gutted before the day’s end.” Everyone turned to the voice’s owner, immediately recognizing the Hercules like man. His body was sheltered by what looked like to be piles of rugged animal pelts. His head was covered by a dark bushy hair and beard. His skin was that of a bronze tan. At his side was a massive shining sword. No one in the bar could fail to recognize the bravado that is Mr. Rucker.
       Mr. Rucker has always been known as the great hunter, the man of a hundred kills, and the man who killed the Howler. Where many failed to destroy the legendary monster, Mr. Rucker prevailed. As far as the people were concerned, he was the bravest man that ever graced their village. This was all the crowd thought and more as they watched the burly man walked across the bar.
       He approached the boy and put his hand on the child’s shoulder, smiling his famous smile,” Let’s go boy and show me where this monster took your goat.”  A wide grin appeared on the boy’s face, excited at the prospect of seeing the great hunter, Mr. Rucker, in action. With renewed energy, the boy began to lead Mr. Rucker through the town and near the edge of his family’s farm.
       Upon arriving at the scene, Mr. Rucker saw the full extent of the mysterious beast’s attack. The tall yellow grass was ripped and torn from the ground. Large claw marks were etched into the dirt. Fences destroyed to mere woodchips. Crimson blood stained the earthy floor, leading a trail beyond the farm’s boundaries. However, what really caught Mr. Rucker’s attention was the deep black fur that clung to the one of the broken fences. “It can’t be,” thought Mr. Rucker. Suddenly, his world drifted from the farm and into a very familiar and very horrifying scene.
       He turned back to see not the boy or even the old farm, but a large monster in a grey forest. Its ebony fur covered it entirely, giving it a dark atmosphere. The creature’s form was more like the Chimera than any single animal. Its lithe body resembled that of a mountain lion. Its head sporting canine snout and ears, and it also contained reindeer-like antlers coming from behind the ears instead of the forehead. The most daring of the creature’s features, however, was its eyes.
Its pure dark red eyes pierced through the hunter, leaving him completely paralyzed. It slowly approached the man, its breath deep and heavy. Mr. Rucker could only look on as the monster slowly and agonizingly stalked toward its prey.
      Just as it was mere inches away from the hunter, it released a deafening howl,” AAAWWWOOOO!” Mr. Rucker stuttered and gasped as he watched the creature lunged at him. As it came upon him, he screamed at the top of his lungs,” Please, NOOOO!”
      Seeing the hunter freeze and noting his quickening breath, the boy tugged on his coat and said,”Mr. Rucker, are you okay?” The old man shook his head, broken from his own memory. He took a few short breaths before replying.
      “Of course boy, I um I just need a moment to think,” Mr. Rucker hesitantly stated. He shifted his eyes across the gruesome scene once more, seeing no sign of the surreal recollection. He shook his head again and then turned to the boy. “I’m gonna teach you a lesson on being a good hunter. One of the things that a hunter must learn is how to look for clues of your prey and see where they lead,” said the man.
      The boy nodded and then proceeded to look on what was in front of him, carefully looking for any signs. Noting the blood trail, the boy said with great excitement,” The animal dragged the goat into the forest!”
      Mr. Rucker patted the boy on the back and then said,” Good work. Now stay here while I take care of this intruder.” The boy nodded again. As he waved to the man, wishing him good luck, he failed to see the sweat that began to shine Mr. Rucker’s forehead and his shaking hands.
      As he went deeper and deeper into the forest, Mr. Rucker felt more and more of his resolves dissipate. The trees suddenly took a more terrifying appearance, closing on him and giving him a sense of claustrophobia. The sounds of the forest seem amplified to, even the air felt thick in his lungs. His eyes constantly shifted, searching for any sign of the Howler. “Just calm down, breathe in breathe out. You’re the greatest hunter around! You’ve hunted countless of creatures, big and small!” he thought to himself. However, a traitorous part of him also responded, “Indeed, you’ve killed many creatures, well except for the most important one.” That stopped Mr. Rucker dead in his tracks. Then he shook his head and thought,” Well this time, I won’t fail. A good hunter never backs down from the hunt. I’m not going back until I have the Howler’s skin on my wall!”
      With that in mind, the hunter stomped through the forest, feeling more confident than when he first entered the forest. However, this positive mood was instantly shot down when he heard heavy footsteps and deep growling just ahead of him in a large bush. He grabbed his large sword with his shaking hands and carefully treaded toward the source of the sounds.
      As he sneaked closer, he managed to catch a glimpse of what lay beyond the bristly bush. What he saw only confirmed his fears. He saw the same black fur, the same lithe cat body, the same dog-like head, the same reindeer antlers, and the very same dark red eyes. He watched in silent dread as the Howler chewed the meat of the goat, hearing the crunching of the farm animal’s bones. Time seemed to stand still for Mr. Rucker.
       When he saw the dark monster move ever so slightly, his mighty sword dropped to the ground with a loud thud. The creature swiftly turned its head toward the disturbance. Seeing its awful eyes after so long, Mr. Rucker did the only thing that his mind told him to do. Screaming at the top of his lungs, Mr. Rucker ran off, leaving his sword and a dust trail behind.
       The Howler only stared as it watched the once proud man ran and screamed for his life. It looked down to see the once large gleaming sword lying on the ground, now covered in dirt. Seeing that it would no longer be disturbed, it shrugged and returned to its meal, greedily eating away the goat. After all, a good hunter never wastes its kill.