The Mate Games
Just silence, then the sound of breathing, deep, ragged.
I grab a sharp stick I’d shaped into a spear earlier. My hands tremble.
The thing steps into view.
It’s massive. Pale skin stretched over a long, twisted frame. It’s blind, its eyes white and clouded,
but its head tilts with every sound. Its ears twitch.
A Wendish.
I remember the name from old stories. Creatures who hunt in silence, sensing the smallest breath, the tiniest heartbeat. Fast. Deadly.
It sniffs the air, then lets out a rattling growl.