Wendigo

He watched the phone ring as he lay in his bed, alone. Jim had lost his wife and daughter in an accident a week ago and his phone had been receiving calls ever since that day. He knew they didn't care. No one had cared about them before this accident and these phone calls were mere formalities. It grieved him deeply and each visit from one of his 'concerned' relatives and each call reminded Jim of their faces. The faces of his wife Sarah and his daughter, Emily. It was all too much for him.

Their belongings, from Emilie's toys to Sarah's makeup, everything made him cry despite being a generally composed fellow.

He had had enough of it. He knew it was time that he needed to get away from it all. Jim was an experienced hunter and he decided it was time to return back to town to visit the woods nearby. It would help take his mind off of it and he needed some peace desperately. He boarded a plane as soon as he could manage and flew to the remote village. He was a stranger in the town. People looked at him with side eyes, judging the way he was dressed but he didn't pay one ounce of attention to them. He was here for hunting and he went right to business.

He got a room at a hotel and went to the pub to have some drinks in the evening as it had gotten late. He was planning to start first thing in the morning.

"So, what kind of animals should a hunter expect in the woods?" Jim asked the bartender.

He looked at Jim as if he was quite shocked to hear what he had just said. Composing himself, the bartender replied, "Err yes, uh all kinds of animals. The forest is full of em, strange creatures I tell you."

"Oh, I believe I can handle it. I've come prepared." Jim replied.

The bartender shrugged and carried on serving other customers. He noticed that an old man kept staring at him with a confused expression as if he was worried about something. Jim's eyebrows twisted in confusion but he looked away and focused on his food. A while had gone by when he heard,

"Don't." he looked up and found the same old man standing beside him. "Don't go into the woods young man." He continued.

"Why is that?" Jim questioned, getting more confused because the old fellow was genuinely worried and somewhat scared.

"It's not safe, I have been to the woods, I have seen horrors which I would never wish to see again. I have escaped it by chance and sheer luck." Replied the old man, his voice getting grave.

"It? Escaped what?" Jim was even more confused now.

"The wendigo." Answered the old man.

Jim gave a small laugh at that. The old man was just a superstitious villager he thought. He waited for the villager to join him in his laugh but he just kept staring at him gravely. Jim stopped at the old man's concern for him.

"I will be fine. Like I said to this gentleman here." He gestured towards the bartender. "I've brough my gear, and I've been at it for years. Nothing can take me by surprise." Jim confirmed to the old man.

"You don't understand, the wendigo, it's been living with us for years, you can't kill it, it won't give you a chance." The old man continued telling Jim about the wendigo. He told him how this creature was stealthy fast and immensely strong. It was cunning and it knew of ways to deceive human beings in order to lure them into his traps where he'd compel them to eat human flesh which would eventually make it possible for it to possess that man's body. The old man saw that nothing he said would change Jim's mind to go hunting tomorrow so he gave him some advice and told him about a few safety measurements.

"The only known way to kill it is by fire. It often lures its prey by mimicking a human voice." Continued the old man.

Jim knew that the old man was not quite in his senses but he respected the elderly and he acknowledged whatever the old man was telling him. He listened to everything the old man had to say not paying much heed to it as it was merely the old man's irrational fears. He let everything go over his head as the villagers weren't very educated and didn't know what they were talking about. Jim went back to his hotel room and started preparing for tomorrow. He had brought his guns with him. He usually only needed the shot gun but the animals here were quite vicious so it was more dangerous which is why he brought extra guns this time. Jim knew that it was very dangerous for him to go alone, but he had no other choice. He needed to vent out the suppressed emotions and this was his way. Determined, he went to bed and fell asleep immediately, unlike all the other nights back at home. At home the thoughts of Sarah and Emily would keep him awake. He would keep expecting Sarah to walk into the room and instant and would wait for Emily to wake up in the middle of the night and cry. He would sometimes hear their actual voices. But that night, Jim had no such thoughts, he was somewhat at peace and he knew he needed to get back to the good old hunting days to fix it all.