Johnny Henderson

Something was off today.

There was a deafening silence there in the forest.

No bird or insects.

Only the sound of the wind in the trees.

Convincing himself that it was nothing more than a case of the nerves, he continued to press on until he came to a clearing not far from his tree stand.

Stepping into the clearing, Jacob saw the remains of what appeared to be a large deer.

And he wasn't quite able to make out what he was seeing from this distance because the sun wasn't completely up yet and the forest was still enveloped in shadows.

Jacob walked closer to get a better look, and found that he had been correct.

It was a deer.

A large eight-point buck, in fact.

Looking at the remains, he felt a sense of dread come over him, and icy fingers danced along his spine.

Something about this kill just didn't seem right.

The throat was completely torn out, and the stomach was ripped open.

Plus, several of the internal organs were missing.

It was the most grisly thing he had ever seen.

This definitely wasn't a coyote kill, and no hunter would have done this.

They would have taken the head to have it mounted.

What could have done this, he wondered.

and then a fear like nothing he had ever experienced before began to wash over him in waves.

What is going on, he thought.