Chapter 3 The Encounter with the Manor: A Fight for Survival

“Shh. Something’s here,” Jonas paused.

Zander kept his mouth shut and his pricked ears up, listening. The sound got closer, he heard the movement tearing up roots, moving closer towards the men.

"Do you perceive that smell?"

Zander shook his head. "No." If his father sensed a smell then the monster was close. A strange scent filled my nose. It wasn’t like anything I’d ever smelled before. It was equal parts decay and woodsy, as well as slightly burnt.

"It’s there. In the glen," Zander whispered. There was a part up ahead where the trees broke and the wilderness became a long, sloping valley. That’s where I spotted the monster. It was a manor, a demon looking flesh eating monster.

Jonas crouched. “Let see if we can sneak up on it, before it attacks."

This would be an easy kill. Zander thought. He ran the process in his mind. Sneak up, jump, and give a fatal bite to the monster’s neck before it made any fatal move.

Zander followed his father's lead. “I’m right behind you.” “Stay low.” he advanced. Zander maintained a short distance behind hi father. They reached the trees. Father crouched, then sprung into the air with one coiled fist, he punched the manor in the head.

But then he faltered, and his hind legs lost balance. He weaved in the air and hovered over the ground, avoiding whatever he’d initially tried to attack.

The manor was fully alert of their presence now. Zander had no such way to prevent myself from halting my charge, as everything happened so fast. Instead he shifted his weight in mid-air to turn away from impending attack. He hit the ground and rolled, wondering why his father had drawn back.

When he lifted his eyes to witness the creature, he understood why. The had made a critical mistake, underestimating the size of manor. The creature was like something out of a storybook. It was twelve feet tall, with tree roots for feet and long, dangling arms that dragged along the ground and ended in black claws, connected to a masculine form. Its head was that of a deer’s, with large antlers growing out of either side of its head. There were sharp, ravenous teeth, and a skeletal body that had grey skin dangling loosely off bone.

It was much worse than Zander feared. A manor. A demonic man-eating creature of the forest, rumored to be given black powers by the ancient Greek gods.

Jonas rolled further away from the creature, but close enough to see Zander. “Zander, run!” he shouted.

Zander didn’t need to be told twice. He tried heading to the safety of the trees, but the manor raised his clawed hand, and sharp spines sprung up from the fingers. Zander dodged as blow rolling on the ground away from the brutal attack. It barely missed his torso as they stabbed upward through the dirt.

Jonas had changed back into his human form. He brought out curved ram’s horn, and blew into the pipe signaling to the other hunters that he needed help.

Zander heard the loud noise as he did his best to outrun the manor as it pursued him through the valley. The ground shook underneath his feet like an earthquake as sharp spines came flying over his head.

From a distance, Jonas snarled, and he erupted into his wolven form. He took to the skies and charged at the manor, trying to distract it. He attempted to get close, but every time he tried the monster swung his large claws, preventing him from landing a secure bite. Now that the manor was distracted, Zander thought it wise to help his father he noticed he was limping his right foot, from the fall earlier.

Zander ran forward and sank his teeth into its leg. It was like biting through a wood. The manor gave no indication that it was hurt, merely kicked Zander off. The blow sent him crashing into the tree stem. He heard something crack, most likely his ribs. He moaned in pain, struggling to get up as he watched my father war with the manor.

Zander's eyes widened and he watched his father miss a blow The manor's claws came too close, and they cut across his father’s chest. He snarled, and blood spilled. The cut was deep.

Zander gasped. Despite the agonizing pain in his ribs, he forced himself to stand and return to the fight. His father needed him. He wouldn't sit back and watch the manor rip his father to shreds.

Taking a leap, the manor threw back its head and let out a wicked cry. Just in time for Zander to hear thundering in the trees. He looked ahead and there were a sleuth of wolves stampeding through the forest and into the valley. There were dozens of them— the clan hunters had arrived.

Jonas paid no attention to his wounds. He kept focusing on the manor. Making sure to distract it. One wolves transformed to human, he was Lucian. The manor tried to whip him out into the air, Lucian dodged and sliced his sword through the manor's hand. Jonas turned on the manor and pinned it to the ground.

Jonas hadn’t given up. His grey pelt was soaked with blood, but he was determined to bring down the manor.

He ran at the creature with teeth bared. Jonas and the manor met, rearing up on their hind legs to strike out at each other with antler and fang. Jonas was limping but he exerted more pressure on the creature.

Zander could only move but stiffly for the pain in his ribs. but I wasn’t content to die unless it was on his feet and defending his clan A second wolf charged at the manor, it was Jordan. He sank his teeth in the neck of the creature. Jordan dipped his fingers into the eyeballs, bursting the eyes from its socket.

There was a roar from manor, as Jordan continued to rip the face of the manor apart. Zander's heart lifted. The other hunters began to throw gallons of gas on the manor.