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1. Chapter 1
The Body
“I’d saytenhours. Fifteen,tops.”Detective Harpersighed,notingdownthe detailsonhisnotepad. It
wasn’tthe most gruesome bodyhe’deverseen,butthere wassomethingpeculiaraboutthe way
the rib cagesjuttedoutof the victim’schest.
[The biteswere circular.Definitelynotawolf orbear. Redstrandsof fleshcurledaroundthe polesof
bone.The insideswere shattered,internalorgansmostlygone.Strandsof thick,brown-blackslime
coatedthe body sporadically.There wasnopattern,nofrequentkills.Justthe occasional victim
showingupinthe woodsina similarstate.Some were missingarms,some legs.]
Harper hadevenseenone withone eye anda tongue missing.
Detective TomHarperwas a ratherleanman, standingataround 5 foot,9 inches.The 26-year-old
had muscles,althoughhe wasn’texactlybuff.Dustybrown,shorthaircombedmessilyovertothe
leftside of hishead,hissideburnsflowingdownintoathin,shortbeard.The detective’s oliveskin
tone was a cleargiveawaythathe wasn’tfromthisfar north. It didn’thelpthathe wasn’tusedto
the cold yet.Deepbrown hikingbootswere cutoff bya pair of lightgreywalkingtrousers.Abovethe
waist,mostclotheswere shroudedbyhisbright orange raincoat,aside fromthe greyfleece
underneath.
[The victimwasonlya student.Basedonthe picture on theirID,theywere pale, femaleandhadred
hair.The descriptiongiventothe police hadbeen“She’sonly17,short(noexact height), red-haired
and usuallyquiet.”The descriptiondidn’tmatchthe body though,aside fromthe clothes.A plain,
blackt-shirt,jeansanddenimjacket,althoughmostof the clotheswere now stainedwithbloodand
the strange slime.The skinof the victimhadlostall colour,makingthemsnow white.]
“Harper!” A local officerexclaimed,pullingHarperoutof hismemories. “Whatare you thinking?”
The uniformedofficerhadtheirnotepadout, clickingtheirpenandgettingreadytonote down
Harper’sthoughts.Inall honesty,he hadn’tthoughtmuch.Thiswas the 6th
incidentlikethisand
there were noindicationsastowhat didit.
“I don’tknow.I- I needto talkto someone.”Harpermumbledashe startedoff towardsthe town. He
was uncertainabout this;itdidn’tfeel right. Beforearrivingafew monthsago,he’dbeenreading
aboutthe local history.There were storiesabouttheseincidentsall throughoutthe native folklore.
Storiesaboutyoungmen,warriors,goingmissinginthe searchfora mythical beast onlytoturn upa
fewdayslater,dead, inpieces andcoveredinindescribablesludge.

2. In the bookit mentionedanative tribe thatwasstill aroundtoday,fillingjustunderhalf of the local
population.The “StealsFromthe WildDog”tribe hadbeenhere since before colonisation.Harper
was goingtotalk withone of the shamanswho wasusuallyina small Café calledMugShot.
The town of Hathlanwasn’tanythingspecial,justyourusual NorthAmericanvillage.Rowsand
columnsof housesandshops.A large circularintersection withfourexitslead intothe shopping
districtwith housingonthe outside anda single roadleadingoutintothe mainroad.
Mug Shot wasright on the cornerof twoof the roads,facingthe intersection.AsHarperenteredthe
shop,he notedthe rustic style of the café.Orderingasmall coffee,he satdownopposite the elderly
gentleman.Tosayhisskinwasleatherywould be anunderstatement.He waseasily90,maybe
older.Longgreyhair tiedback,he wouldlookupat Harperand smile. “Ihave beenwaitingforyou,
detective.”
As the elderspoke,itHarperfeltasif the entire worldhadsloweddown.The soundsof the café
fadedoutuntil there wasonlyhisbreathingandthe soft,firmvoice of the native man.There wasa
strange feelingovercomingHarper.He’dneverfeltitbefore.The feelingof adeerinheadlights.
Withinaninstanthe knewthismanwasdangerous,even if hisbetterdayswere behindhim.
The native man lookedatHarperexpectantly,whichmade Harperrealise there wasalingering
question.
Harper shookhishead.“I’msorry.Couldyou saythat again?”The café’ssoundsresumed.The
clangingof dishes, moneychanginghandsandjinglingaround.Talkingfilledthe voidbetweenother
sounds.“I waslostin mythoughts.”
“I said;have you heardof the ‘Beastof Moshanna Forest’?”
“Vaguely.”Harperresponded,intrigue fillinghismind.
“The Beastisknowninthe local areaas the Wingsof the Moon God.It is a malevolentbeingthathas
terrorisedourtribe foryears.Killingourwarriors,ourbison,evenourwomen.Itwassaidthatlong
ago a great herobanishedthe Beastfromourlands, but itseemsthatthe banishmenthasbeen
lifted.Nowthe killinghasstarted,there isnostoppingthe monster.Yourbulletswill notwork,onlya
special metal canwoundthe monster.”
“What kindof metal?”
“Allowme toshowyou the cave of our greathero. Kanuna’sCave.”