Blair Bathory

He adjusted his grip on the shotgun and was preparing to climb down from the platform to retrieve the second Labas. But then, a sound... Irgendwo unter ihm, hinter dem Baum, scharf, subtil, ein Fußweg, eine Branche, die unter Gewicht lebt. Er pausierte, hörte. Die Luft hat gewechselt. Er hat hunderten von Nachts allein im Busch gelebt, und er wusste seine Sprache intim.

He adjusted his grip on the shotgun and was preparing to climb down from the platform to retrieve the second Labas. But then, a sound... Irgendwo unter ihm, hinter dem Baum, scharf, subtil, ein Fußweg, eine Branche, die unter Gewicht lebt. Er pausierte, hörte. Die Luft hat gewechselt. Er hat hunderten von Nachts allein im Busch gelebt, und er wusste seine Sprache intim.

He adjusted his grip on the shotgun and was preparing to climb down from the platform to retrieve the second Labas. But then, a sound... Irgendwo unter ihm, hinter dem Baum, scharf, subtil, ein Fußweg, eine Branche, die unter Gewicht lebt. Er pausierte, hörte. Die Luft hat gewechselt. Er hat hunderten von Nachts allein im Busch gelebt, und er wusste seine Sprache intim.

Dieser Geräusch war nicht normal. Es war nicht das Rutschen eines Pferdes oder das Stöcken eines Predators. Es war deliberate. Etwas, das mit Zweifel bewegt war. Und es ging näher. Joseph kept his 12-gauge shotgun at the redhead and slowly switched on the torchlight. The beam pierced through the thick blackness, slicing into the underbrush where the sound had come from. Then his light caught eyes.

Dieser Geräusch war nicht normal. Es war nicht das Rutschen eines Pferdes oder das Stöcken eines Predators. Es war deliberate. Etwas, das mit Zweifel bewegt war. Und es ging näher. Joseph kept his 12-gauge shotgun at the redhead and slowly switched on the torchlight. The beam pierced through the thick blackness, slicing into the underbrush where the sound had come from. Then his light caught eyes.

Dieser Geräusch war nicht normal. Es war nicht das Rutschen eines Pferdes oder das Stöcken eines Predators. Es war deliberate. Etwas, das mit Zweifel bewegt war. Und es ging näher. Joseph kept his 12-gauge shotgun at the redhead and slowly switched on the torchlight. The beam pierced through the thick blackness, slicing into the underbrush where the sound had come from. Then his light caught eyes.

Two twin pinpoints of eerie, glowy reflection just hovering in the dark. He expected the eyes to be low to the ground, maybe a nocturnal animal caught mid-crete. But no, they were too high, chest height, then higher. The beam slowly climbed until it revealed the full outline of a man, or what looked like a man.

Two twin pinpoints of eerie, glowy reflection just hovering in the dark. He expected the eyes to be low to the ground, maybe a nocturnal animal caught mid-crete. But no, they were too high, chest height, then higher. The beam slowly climbed until it revealed the full outline of a man, or what looked like a man.

Two twin pinpoints of eerie, glowy reflection just hovering in the dark. He expected the eyes to be low to the ground, maybe a nocturnal animal caught mid-crete. But no, they were too high, chest height, then higher. The beam slowly climbed until it revealed the full outline of a man, or what looked like a man.

Tall, about six feet, and completely still, just standing there, staring directly at him. Joseph's chest tightened. The figure didn't make a sound, didn't flinch, didn't blink. Um rational zu sein, schlug Josef seine Flasche drei Mal ein, um zu sagen, ich sehe dich. Identifiziere dich. In der Wälder, es war ein einfaches, gemeinsames Gestütz.

Tall, about six feet, and completely still, just standing there, staring directly at him. Joseph's chest tightened. The figure didn't make a sound, didn't flinch, didn't blink. Um rational zu sein, schlug Josef seine Flasche drei Mal ein, um zu sagen, ich sehe dich. Identifiziere dich. In der Wälder, es war ein einfaches, gemeinsames Gestütz.

Tall, about six feet, and completely still, just standing there, staring directly at him. Joseph's chest tightened. The figure didn't make a sound, didn't flinch, didn't blink. Um rational zu sein, schlug Josef seine Flasche drei Mal ein, um zu sagen, ich sehe dich. Identifiziere dich. In der Wälder, es war ein einfaches, gemeinsames Gestütz.

Wenn die Figur eine Person war, ein anderer Wanderer, ein Lokaler, sie würden antworten, etwas sagen. But the strange man remained silent. Not a breath. Not a word. Then Joseph noticed something even stranger. The eyes. They weren't reflecting light. They were glowing. Like a cat's or something deeper in the food chain. No human's eyes did that. Not like this.

Wenn die Figur eine Person war, ein anderer Wanderer, ein Lokaler, sie würden antworten, etwas sagen. But the strange man remained silent. Not a breath. Not a word. Then Joseph noticed something even stranger. The eyes. They weren't reflecting light. They were glowing. Like a cat's or something deeper in the food chain. No human's eyes did that. Not like this.

Wenn die Figur eine Person war, ein anderer Wanderer, ein Lokaler, sie würden antworten, etwas sagen. But the strange man remained silent. Not a breath. Not a word. Then Joseph noticed something even stranger. The eyes. They weren't reflecting light. They were glowing. Like a cat's or something deeper in the food chain. No human's eyes did that. Not like this.

A cold shiver ran through Joseph's veins. The hair on his arms stood on end. His instincts screamed. This wasn't a man. He raised the shotgun and fired. The jungle erupted with the blast. A deafening boom tore through the silence, briefly illuminating the trees in stark, unnatural light. Then silence again. But not a normal silence. It felt wrong, hollow, pressurized.

A cold shiver ran through Joseph's veins. The hair on his arms stood on end. His instincts screamed. This wasn't a man. He raised the shotgun and fired. The jungle erupted with the blast. A deafening boom tore through the silence, briefly illuminating the trees in stark, unnatural light. Then silence again. But not a normal silence. It felt wrong, hollow, pressurized.

A cold shiver ran through Joseph's veins. The hair on his arms stood on end. His instincts screamed. This wasn't a man. He raised the shotgun and fired. The jungle erupted with the blast. A deafening boom tore through the silence, briefly illuminating the trees in stark, unnatural light. Then silence again. But not a normal silence. It felt wrong, hollow, pressurized.

There was no scream, no impact, no sound of a body hitting the floor. The echo of the gunshot was swallowed instantly by the thick, human air, as if the jungle itself didn't want the noise. Joseph didn't wait. Clutching his shaka, he climbed down from the tree and ran, sprinting through the bush, dodging branches, tearing through the brush, his breath ragged.

There was no scream, no impact, no sound of a body hitting the floor. The echo of the gunshot was swallowed instantly by the thick, human air, as if the jungle itself didn't want the noise. Joseph didn't wait. Clutching his shaka, he climbed down from the tree and ran, sprinting through the bush, dodging branches, tearing through the brush, his breath ragged.