[center]-The night before-[/center]

Quest's blood ran cold as a howl pierced the still air of the night. All around him was darkness, pure and pitch black. He slowly circled around, his bow risen and arrow nocked. Quest silently cursed his bloody head for putting himself in this situation. Al had always told him to only hunt what he could eat, and Quest highly doubted that a scrawny kid like himself could take on an entire deer before its meat went rancid. Nevertheless, the prospect of venison was too hard to pass up, and he had tracked the damned beast deep into the woods. Of course, Quest had forgotten the time, and before he knew it dusk was settling in. By the time Quest realized that the deer had hoodwinked him and escaped, it was far too late to make it back to his tiny shack before dark.

Quest had slept in the forest before during long hunts with Al, but never alone. He was looking around for a nice tree to hold up in for the night when the howls started. They were forbidding and unnatural, a cry no natural beast could conjure. Frozen by fear, Quest awaited more sounds to signify the creature's location, but none came. Could it have left, possibly missed him or gone off to hunt a prey with a bit more meat? Quest could only hope, but he knew that he had to stay on guard. Quest was just about to take a step when the howl came. It didn't come from the sides, or behind him as he had expected, it came from above.

There was no time to react before the beast was on top of him, pinning Quest to the ground with its massive weight. The damned creature could climb trees! Quest looked up to see the second most horrifying image he'd ever seen. A wolf-like monster peered down onto Quest with cruel eyes glimmering with the thrill of the hunt. Its mouth curled up across its face in semblance of a grin, and the beast's mouth contorted to reveal teeth sharpened like razors and made for tearing apart flesh. The monster stared straight into Quest's eyes, its face mere centimeters from his and the smell of rotten meat drifting into Quest's nose. The monster's mouth opened wide and a terrifying howl rippled out, spreading saliva across Quest's face and making his ears ring in pain.

It was as the creature lowered its teeth to Quest's throat that he realized that his arm was free. In one quick, desperate action Quest thrust his hand still holding an arrow towards the beast's face. The arrow pierced through the creature's eye, the tip slicing through the soft flesh with ease. The wolf-like monster reared back, howling in rage and clawing at its face. This was all Quest needed to make his escape, pushing himself off the ground Quest ran from the creature. Spinning around once he was a good ten feet away, moonlight pushed through a gap in the foliage above and revealed the creature.

The monster had the aforementioned head of a wolf, though stood on two legs. It towered high above Quest, around seven or eight feet in height, and its body bristled with strength and power. It was huge, built for speed and strength, a combination that Quest did not desire. On the end of each hand and foot long claws stretched out, the same as sharp as the beast's teeth. There was no way that Quest could outrun a beast such as this, and the only slim chance he had to survive was by fighting.

Reaching around to his quiver to grab another arrow, Quest realized that he had lost his bow. It had been thrust away from his grasp as the beast jumped upon him, leaving him with just a hunting knife against the monster before him. His body shaking, Quest held up the knife and awaited the wolf's move. Lowering its arms to the ground, the beast pushed off and pounced toward Quest. Throwing himself to the side, Quest turned to see the monster fly past him into a tree, knocking itself hard on the head. The beast had the advantage of power and speed, but it wasn't all that smart. Seeing his chance, Quest ran forward, his knife raised for the attack. As Quest neared, the monster flung up its arm, its claws tearing through Quest's clothing and slicing into his flesh. Quest wasn't all that smart either, it seemed.

Quest was thrown to the ground, falling back to a kneeling stance. He had no time to evaluate his injuries, but he could feel warm blood flowing down his belly. The beast towered over him as if gloating, basking in its victory. Reaching down with a huge, furry hand it clutched Quest by the throat and rose him off his feet. Quest could feel his airflow being cut off, his throat constricting. As Quest came closer and closer to the monster, its mouth open in preparation, Quest realized something. He still had his knife. Thrusting upwards, the knife pierced through the monster's throat and its blood gushed out onto Quest. The hand around his throat loosened, and the beast collapsed on top of him. It was dead.

Shakily pulling himself out from underneath the monster, Quest clawed for breath. He couldn't believe it, he had against all odds, survived. Quest's breath became more erratic and heavy as he realized that he could of just as well been killed, a meal to the predator before him. Now that his adrenaline was going away, Quest felt the pain of the wound on his abdomen. Putting his hand to his stomach, Quest winced in pain. It was far too dark to do anything about it now, and Quest had no more energy.

As Quest stood, still dumbstruck over his victory, more howls echoed across the night, though this time farther off. Of course, wolfs hunted in packs. Quest had no more vigor, and he knew that if those beasts found him he'd be done for. If they did, Quest didn't know if he even would try and escape. Stumbling deeper into the woods, Quest crawled under a bush and hunkered down for the night, one that would be filled with fear and unrest.