I am 15 chapters ahead on my patreón, check it out if you are interested.
https://www.patréon.com/emperordragon
________________________________________
Chapter Eight: Lone Wolf Logic
The forest had gone still. Unnaturally so, like the world itself had paused to catch its breath. It was calm now—eerily calm. A stark contrast to the chaos that had unraveled not long before. The violence, the unnatural energy, the tension that had hung in the air like smoke—all of it had dissipated. Now, the only sounds were the rustling of leaves stirred by a gentle breeze and the occasional call of a distant bird. Nature had resumed its rhythm, indifferent to the battle that had recently taken place within it.
For nearly an hour, Richard and I moved through the undergrowth, scanning the terrain with cautious eyes and alert senses. I focused on the scents—searching for even the faintest trace like that of the corrupted bear. I was hoping to detect anything that hinted at lingering foul energy, the twisted, sickly stench of unnatural rage. But there was nothing. The air was clean. It carried only the usual scents of the wild: the earthy musk of damp foliage, the woody aroma of tree bark, and the faint, musky trails of animals that had passed through long before us.
Eventually, Richard came to a halt and looked over his shoulder at me. "That nose of yours sure is convenient," he said, flashing a grin that had become his signature smirk. "Without you, I'd still be wandering around in here for days, trying to pick up that bear's trail. And then a few more days just to be sure there weren't any others lurking around."
I blinked, caught off guard by the compliment. "Uh… thanks?" My voice sounded uncertain, even to me. I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly. It wasn't often someone praised my sense of smell. It wasn't exactly something people usually noticed—until it proved useful, like now.
Richard let out a genuine laugh and clapped me on the back. "You'll get used to it," he said, his tone easy.
We turned back the way we came, heading toward where we'd parked the car. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, I started to feel the fatigue settling into my legs. Hours of trekking through uneven terrain were finally taking their toll. Still, I couldn't help but feel a strange sense of accomplishment. Like we'd set something right. Like we'd fixed a small part of a world I was only just beginning to understand. I didn't fully grasp what we had done, but deep down, it felt necessary.
As we climbed into the car, I turned to him with a question that had been nagging at me for a while. "Why didn't the local hunters take care of that bear?"
Richard started the engine, the hum of it breaking the forest's silence as he steered us back onto the narrow road. "Because that wasn't your average corrupted creature," he said, eyes focused on the road ahead. "Most animals that get infected by that kind of energy—whatever it is—go mad within a year. They lose themselves. Become pure rage in a body that doesn't feel pain. But this one?" He whistled low. "It held on. Kept its sanity. For at least two years, maybe more. That gave it time to grow, to adapt to the infection instead of succumbing to it."
I frowned. "So… it got smarter? And stronger?"
"Exactly," he said with a nod. "That's what made it so dangerous. Smarter, stronger, more resilient. It learned. Most hunters don't expect that. It caught them off guard."
He glanced over at me, his expression unreadable for a moment.
"The locals tried," he added. "Tried and nearly got themselves killed in the process. Barely made it out alive. It was a miracle none of them died."
I processed that, then turned to face him more fully. "They go in groups, right?"
"Always," he replied. "Standard protocol is a minimum of five per squad. You never face a corrupted creature alone. Too unpredictable. Too much can go wrong."
I stared at him. "But you do."
He gave me a look like I'd just pointed out that the sun rises in the east. "Yeah. I do."
I narrowed my eyes. "Why?"
His grin returned, but this one felt different—tinged with something harder to read. "Because I'm not smart enough to be scared."
I didn't know if he was joking. I wasn't sure I ever did.
We drove in silence after that. The trees thinned gradually, the dense forest giving way to paved roads and low fences. Civilization crept back into view, subtle at first, then more obvious. Houses. Telephone poles. Road signs. We reached the outskirts of a small town and pulled into a parking lot in front of a modest-looking store. It looked like any ordinary hunting supply shop—camo jackets hanging in the window display, neon signs advertising bait, ammo, and rugged outdoor gear.
I arched a brow. "This is it? The big secret base of the local monster-hunting network?"
Richard chuckled as he unbuckled his seatbelt. "It's practical," he said. "The guy who runs it is the regional liaison. Think of this place like a ranger station, but for supernatural threats instead of forest fires."
I nodded slowly, still not quite sure what to make of it all.
"I'll go file the kill report," Richard said, already halfway out of the car. "After that, we're hitting the road again. Got a long drive ahead of us."
I watched as he disappeared through the front doors, vanishing behind shelves stocked with fishing tackle and bear traps.
Left alone, I leaned back in my seat, arms crossed over my chest as my mind began to spin.
The world I thought I knew was far more complicated than I'd ever imagined.
And something told me—this journey was just beginning.