The Ultimate Hunt

It was quiet, too quiet. No birds were singing and the wind was not even blowing. This was good for me because it could not get my scent. I had been following its tracks for at least an hour. The footprints were huge and resembled a human’s. The only things different were it had three toes and was about twice as big as that of a man’s. The trail led to a small stream, through a large wooded area, a huge meadow, and now to the opening of a small cave. The smell of death was fresh in the air.
I approached the entrance with extreme caution. I walked slowly, steadily toward the entrance. I took my first step onto the wet, slimy rock and immediately I stepped back. What was I thinking? There could be anything in that cave. Then I remembered the bet. The person who brings back the biggest animal from the group hunt gets the one thousand-dollar prize. This was definitely the biggest thing I had seen so far. I pulled out my flashlight, gathered my courage, and stepped into the cave.
It smelled worse than a dog pound and was as dark as night. I flipped on the flashlight and shined it around. The cave was small and circular in shape. The floor was covered with moss except the parts that were stained red. The beam landed on something and I screamed in horror.
It appeared to be the corpse of a deer but it was too mutilated to tell. I walked over to the corpse to get a closer look. It was a ten point and would have probably won the grand. If I had only got to it quicker than whatever it was had. Tears almost came to my eyes so I turned away from the corpse to look at the rest of the cave. Whatever had done this could not be far. If it was an animal it would stay to protect its kill. I shined the light to the other end of the room and saw a big hole in the floor. I walked to it and shined my light down the hole. The hole went down a couple of feet into what appeared to be another chamber. I could see the floor was covered in bones of all sorts of animals. I figure this must be where the monster dumps the bodies of the animals after it’s done with them. I was about to walk away when I heard a noise behind me. I turned around in time to see the creature bare its teeth.
I shined the flashlight on it and I got a quick look at it. It stood about eight feet tall and was scaly. It had long blades for fingers, a long tale, and a mouth full of sharp teeth. It sort of resembled a giant lizard. I screamed and fell backwards. I fell down the hole and my left arm hit the ground hard. It knocked the wind out of me so I just laid there for a moment.
There was a terrible pain in my left arm so I figured it was broken. I tried to move it, but it just hurt more. I finally managed to stand up, but I was in a lot of pain. Realizing I had lost my flashlight, I started searching for my lighter. I found it in my left pocket and I flipped it on. The light shone faintly around the room. I realized I was right about this being the monster’s garbage dump. Then I saw a shadow hunched over in the corner of the room.
I walked over and I reeled back in terror. It was Bob from my hunting group. At least what was left of him. His left arm was severed and his throat had been slit open. There was a look of pure terror in his lifeless eyes. He still had his backpack and his pistol was still in his severed hand. I grabbed the pistol and checked it. It had a full clip and there was even an extra clip. I rolled the body over and checked the backpack. I found a beer, two bottles of lighter fluid, and some food. After I gulped down the beer and ate some of the food, I began to explore the cave. On the left side of the chamber I could make out a path that led into darkness. I gathered my courage and walked into the passage.
The tunnel was pitch black so I lit my lighter to illuminate the eerie, unforgiving darkness. I walked in it for about ten minutes before I saw the end of the tunnel. I started running as fast as I could toward the opening. I just knew deep down that this was going to lead me to safety. I burst into the chamber to find that I was exactly where I had started. Now I realized why the monster had not given chase to me when I fell down the hole. It knew there was no way I could get out so it didn’t come after me. It must be saving me for when it finishes that deer.
I decided that I might as well try to set up a defense so I might have a small chance of survival. I pulled out my serrated edged hunting knife and began to sharpen some of the nearby bones. I was making all of them so they would have a sharp edge. After about two hours I had enough to fill my pockets. When I ran out of bullets for my gun I would throw them like spears. Then I emptied one of the lighter fluid bottles into the empty beer bottle. I tore a piece of my shirt off and stuffed it into the top of the beer bottle. After I finished, I gloated at my creation. This would be my last line of defense and maybe enough to finish the creature off. I would light the cloth at the top and throw it at the monster. I then lit another piece of my shirt and stuck it in the other bottle of lighter fluid. It would serve as a torch so I could see when the monster came down the hole after me. After I had defeated the monster, I would decapitate it and take the head as a souvenir. This would hopefully be enough to win the prize. After that I just sat there and waited. I did not have to wait long.
I had a small warning before it actually came after me. What was left of the deer carcass came crashing down through the hole in the roof. Then I heard a loud moan as if of hunger. The monster itself followed the carcass. It seemed to have no trouble finding me because it immediately looked in my direction. I grabbed the pistol out of its holster and opened fire. I emptied the first clip on the monster, but it just seemed to shrug off the shots and started walking toward me. I wasted half the other clip just shooting and not aiming, and then I decided I would have to aim. I aimed at the monster and fired twice. The first bullet missed, but the second one hit its target.
The monster’s right eye busted into a stream of puss from the impact of the bullet. It let out an ear-piercing scream and started swinging wildly at me. Only then did I empty the rest of the clip and started reaching for my spears. In its wild swinging, it knocked over the bottle of lighter fluid serving as a torch. Lighter fluid spilled all over the floor and on the walls. I pulled out some of my bone spears and started heaving them in the direction that the monster was last in. I heard most of them hit the floor with a thud, but then I heard the pleasing scream of pain from the monster. Only when I was out of them did I get my idea. I picked up my homemade bomb, lit the cloth, and threw it onto the floor. In a split second the cave was filled with fire. I fell against the far wall and protected my broken arm against the flames. The last thing I remembered was the horrifying screams of the monster getting burned alive.
I awoke with a terrible pain all over and I doubt there was a single muscle in my body that didn't ache. Then to my horror I heard a sound. The sound of footsteps was coming from the opening in the cave roof. I reached down and pulled out my hunting knife. Whatever it was, it was not going to take me alive. Then I heard another sound. I heard voices and they were inside the cave.
“Is anybody in here?,” they yelled.
“I am here against the wall,” I screamed back. “
"Do not worry, we are here to rescue you,” the voices said.
Twenty minutes later I was being hauled out of the cave on a stretcher. Not until I was in the daylight did I notice my entire body was severely burned. I laid my head back to relax, knowing I had won. Then I suddenly heard a sound in the woods beside me, like the laugh of a human. I turned my head to look, but I didn’t see anything. All I saw was footprints that had been burned into the grass.