Adam woke to the sharp stink of antiseptic and the flicker of firelight. His head throbbed. His leg burned. He tried to sit up—and immediately regretted it as pain lanced through his body.
"Easy, kid."
The voice was gravelly, calm, and not particularly friendly. A man crouched near the fire in what looked like an abandoned ranger station—wood walls, faded maps, and a lantern casting long shadows. He wore a patched flannel, had gray in his beard, and looked like he hadn't smiled in years.
"I stitched you up best I could. You're lucky. Another few seconds and that Rugaru would've cracked your skull open like a walnut."
Adam blinked. "Rugaru?"
The man gave a short nod. "Yeah. A human who eventually transforms into a flesh-eating monster—loses control once the hunger hits. Thing's have been munching down on livestock, probably still trying to supress the monster within, but it'll start craving people real soon"
The memories came rushing back—eyes glowing in the dark, the smell of rot, the sheer strength of the creature that had nearly torn him apart. The way it had stared at him, with a strange recognition, growling, "It's you," in that guttural, barely-human voice.
"You're a hunter?" Adam asked.
The man hesitated, then gave a grudging nod. "Name's Roy Keller. Been doing this a long time."
Adam tried to sit up again, wincing through the pain. "The Rugaru—is it dead?"
Roy nodded, his face expressionless. "Burned it to ash about an hour ago. Only way to kill those bastards." He gestured to a makeshift flamethrower leaning against the wall. "Found you half-conscious in the clearing, Rugaru about to take a bite. Got there just in time."
"How did you know where to find me?"
"Been tracking that thing for days. It's been hitting farms in a pattern, working its way south." Roy handed Adam a tin cup of water. "Drink. You lost blood."
Adam took the cup with shaking hands. "What exactly is a Rugaru? You said it starts human?"
Roy settled onto a wooden chair that creaked under his weight. "It's a genetic condition. Person seems normal their whole life until something triggers the change—usually in their thirties. First comes the hunger. Small animals. Then larger ones. Then..."
"People," Adam finished.
"Yeah. Once they get a taste for human flesh, the transformation completes. No going back." Roy's eyes had a distant look. "This one was Thomas Beck. Local mechanic. Disappeared about three weeks ago. Wife reported him missing, but by then he'd already started changing."
Adam frowned, remembering the creature's strange behavior. "It recognized me. Or... I think it did. Right before you showed up, it looked at me weird and said 'It's you.' Like it knew me somehow."
Roy's eyebrows furrowed. "You ever meet Beck before? As a human?"
Adam shook his head. "No. Never heard the name before."
"Interesting." Roy studied him more carefully. "Some Rugarus have moments of clarity right before the end. Or it could have mistaken you for someone else." He paused. "Or maybe it sensed something in you. Predators can smell fear, but they can also smell a threat."
"I wasn't much of a threat," Adam said ruefully, gesturing to his injured leg.
"You were out there hunting it, weren't you? On some level, it might have known that." Roy leaned forward. "Speaking of which, what exactly were you doing in those woods playing monster hunter? You got a death wish, kid?"
"I need to learn," Adam said, his voice steadier than he felt.
Roy scowled. "No. What you need is to forget this ever happened."
Adam stared at him, defiant. "I can't."
Roy sighed and sat across from him. "You think you're special? That you're gonna outsmart the monsters because you read a few old books?"
"I've been preparing for this since I was ten."
Roy snorted. "Then you're already halfway dead."
Silence settled between them, thick and cold. Roy finally reached into his coat and pulled out a worn photo—his wife and daughter, smiling on a picnic blanket.
"This was my family," he said, voice low. "A werewolf tore through our house in 1989. I came home to blood. Pieces. I hunted it down. Killed it. Then kept going, because I didn't have anything left."
Adam looked away, throat tight.
"This life," Roy continued, "it doesn't end with parades. It ends in grief. Or in a shallow grave somewhere in the woods. You think you're strong enough to carry that?"
"I have to be."
Roy studied him for a long time. There was something in Adam's voice—something hard, forged young.
"You really believe that?"
Adam nodded. "It's not just about me. It's about stopping what's coming."
Roy muttered something under his breath and rubbed his eyes. "Damn kid's got a death wish."
But he stood up, crossed to a battered duffel, and tossed Adam a silver knife.
"Fine. You're not gonna quit. Then you're gonna do it right."
Adam caught the blade, fingers trembling slightly.
"First lesson," Roy said. "You freeze in the field again, you die. So we're gonna start with what you don't know—and work up from there."
"Tell me about the Rugaru," Adam said, turning the knife over in his hands. "How do you hunt something that used to be human?"
Roy's face hardened. "Carefully. And without mercy."
He pulled up a chair and began to explain. Rugarus were rare—maybe one in every million people carried the gene. Most lived normal lives, never knowing what lurked in their DNA. But once triggered, the transformation was swift and irreversible.
"Beck started changing after his father died. Stress can trigger it. Grief. Or sometimes it's just time." Roy shook his head. "First signs are hunger. Insatiable hunger. Then the physical changes start—enhanced strength, heightened senses. Skin stretches. Bones elongate. By the end, there's nothing human left."
"But he could still talk," Adam said. "He still had some awareness."
"They keep some of their memories, at least for a while. Makes them more dangerous. They know how to hide, how to hunt."
Adam winced as he shifted position. "You've hunted them before?"
"Three. Including Beck." Roy's face was grim. "First one was the hardest. Woman in Idaho, middle school teacher. Had two kids. Started eating neighborhood pets. By the time I got there, she'd already taken a homeless man."
Adam swallowed hard. "How do you do it? Kill something that used to be a person?"
"You remind yourself what they are now. And what they'll do if you don't stop them." Roy stood up, stretching. "Sun's coming up. Need to get you home before your people call the cops."
Adam suddenly remembered his mom. "Oh god. My mom's going to kill me."
"Better her than the monsters."