Legends say the wendigo is an evil spirit, born from humans who resort to cannibalism and according to some, a demonic beast that leaves a trail of blood and corpses in its' wake. Some people have claimed that they’ve seen such monster, a beast towering over a human greatly, a skull in place of a head, bones pushing out of its’ skin and reeked of decay and death and survived on consuming human flesh. Although there were many versions, no one has ever lived to tell the tale. Whether their existence here solely serves to scare off children or as a real threat, no one knows.

Kyungsoo is a well-known horror writer, his books were sold worldwide and translated into other languages. He was done writing another new horror and was on break but he felt bored, with nothing to inspire him to write another story when he gets back to work he was sure that he would just sleep all day and do nothing.

‘Hmm… Vampires? No, that’s already been written. Werewolves… Too common… Ugh, maybe the internet would have answers for me.’ He muttered to himself as he his laptop, drumming on the table as it hummed to life.

He sighed looking at the selca of him and his ex that he had used as his wallpaper, they were good memories and yet at the same time, felt so bitter and brought upon him nothing but anger. He was so young and naïve, unaware of the fact that she was two-timing him with another guy. Kyungsoo was devastated when he found out about her affair and tried reasoning with her, eventually leading to rejection and him going through stages of breakup including smashing things, being drunk all the time and other bad stuff until Jongin shook him awake and led him out of his misery.

‘Faeries? Nope, not my style. Definitely not elves. Ugh… Is this the most you can offer me, internet?’ He crossed his arms, people who were present would think Kyungsoo is crazy because he was talking to himself but that’s just the way he works when he’s trying to get some inspiration. He scrolled and scrolled, he was about to give up when something caught his eye.

‘Wendigo’

He clicked on it and read the legends and its origins, he was fascinated by it and decided to write a new horror based on this legend. Shutting down his laptop, he began racking brains for ideas but stopped short when he didn’t have any idea how to describe a wendigo. Only a few accounts have been made to have seen the wendigo but no one has actually tried to prove it, since existence was only a myth, people brushed it off as a story meant to scare children.

Just because it’s only a myth doesn’t mean it’s not real, he laid down in his large, comfy bed and stared at the ceiling, wishing that he could meet one in real life to write a story about it. Maybe I should just make up a story about it based off my imagination. With that thought, he put himself to sleep and didn’t wake up until the next afternoon.

Waking up with a groggy expression on his face, he shuffled downstairs to the kitchen and made some coffee for himself. There was no one except him, not even a pet to keep him company but he enjoyed the silence, it made him feel comfortable. After watching some shows, he decided to read some books and possibly something that could boost his ideas.

Picking out some books to read from the bookshelf, he found an anthology of myths, legends and monsters. He remembered that he used to love reading this book back in junior high because his grandfather gave it to him as a birthday present before he passed, it also helped him to go through the breakup and he treasured this book greatly.

Flipping through the old pages, it took him down memory lane but he stopped at one page, it somehow caught his attention because out of all the stories he’s read in this book, this one has no title and it appears to be handwritten.

Kyungsoo took a great interest and began reading it, he read and read for hours before falling asleep. It was neither a dreamless sleep nor a sleep with good dream, it threw him into an abyss of nightmare.

He found himself in a dark, misty forest, it was so dark that not even a hint of moonlight filtered through the branches. Tripping on tree roots, he managed to get to a brighter place but he was still not out of the forest yet. Everything around him looked like something that came out of his stories, it was so surreal that he couldn’t even believe it.

‘It will come for you.’

He heard a voice said in this eerie silence, what exactly in the world would come for him? A bloodthirsty beast? A vengeful ghost? A terrifying monster? He couldn’t even take a guess and for once, he was scared of being in his own story. Bloodcurdling screams echoed throughout the dark forest followed by a loud howl, huge thuds could be heard and it made the hairs on his back prick up in fear.

Something huge is coming for him and anyone with half mind would know that this is the cue to escape to somewhere safe, it was in every living beings’ instinct to run when something not good is coming one’s way and Kyungsoo did so, obeying his natural instinct.

He knew he couldn’t run back the way he came from so he went east, he ran as fast as his legs could carry him through the plain fields. Whatever it was that’s chasing him, it was definitely right behind him, he could feel it’s breath down his neck, the blood from its’ previous kills splattering down his back. Before he knew it, he was already falling down into a bottomless pit and caught a glimpse of the hunter. It has a skull in place of a head.

Kyungsoo awoke with a start, the book falling off his lap and startling Jongin who was beside him. ‘Whoa, hyung! Calm down! You had a nightmare it seems, you didn’t even wake up when I was shaking you like a maracas! I let myself in since you didn’t answer, I figured something was wrong and I found you here right on the rug.’ Jongin explained himself.

‘On the rug? But I was sleeping on a chair in my study earlier! There was no way I was lying here on the rug unless I sleepwalked…’ He trailed off. It was getting weird by the minute, he had no history of sleepwalking and this certainly was a first. Kyungsoo then began to describe his nightmare in detail to his dongsaeng, hoping to find some answer.

‘You know that’s impossible right?’ He quirked his eyebrow at the answer Jongin had given him. ‘Well, it’s not like you don’t know my family is quite superstitious. Dreams occur for a reason, it’s either because of what you did before you fell asleep and in your case hyung, you read horror stories or the fact that it was your deceased grandfather was trying to warn you about something. I can’t be sure, so you must decide for yourself.’

Sighing, he resumed his conversation with him on another topic in hopes of forgetting what had happened but the nightmares don’t just stop there. The moment he falls asleep, it comes back to terrorize him. This time, it was no different. Kyungsoo was so sick of running every time the hunter comes for him that he decided to stand firm and confront his fears, he believed that running wasn’t going to solve the problem at hand.

With every heavy thud, the shadow becomes bigger and the air became chillier. Shivering in the cold air, he managed to find his voice as he yelled. ‘Who’s there?!’ Kyungsoo then got his answer in the form of a titan. It towered over him by several metres, like the legends had described accurately, it had the skull of a stag.

(A/N: Just a to give an image how a wendigo actually looks like. Credits: GENZOMAN.)

The huge rack of antlers that sat on its’ head glinted in the weak moonlight, it had rows of sharp teeth and two green orbs in place of its sockets. The skull was connected to a fleshy neck, complete with fur and down to a long, sleek and slightly muscular body. It had a hollowed chest with ribs poking out, a really gruesome sight that Kyungsoo felt like puking. It looked humanoid and had long arms and legs with sharp black talons. A bushy, fox-like tail swaying behind it’s back.

It stopped in front of him, it roared in his face, it was so deafening that he had to cover his ears. He noticed that instead of having decaying smell like rotting corpses, this titan wendigo did not have that stench but rather, it was a fragrant smell of lilies and roses but nonetheless, they were still flowers of death.

Kyungsoo had expected the wendigo to devour him on the spot to fill its’ appetite and close up its’ hollowed chest but it didn’t. It lowered its’ head as if bowing down to him and it surprised him, hesitating, he reached out his hand to touch this huge creature. The wendigo in return, nuzzled back into his palm and it brought smile to Kyungsoo’s face.

‘Why have you been chasing me all this time when you’re this tame? Were you waiting for me all this time?’ He asked but only got a soft hum from the beast in response. The beast curled itself around him and settled down, he smiled and ruffled the beast’s soft and silky fur, laying against the beast’s body and closed his eyes.

Kyungsoo woke up the next morning feeling content, no nightmares for him. He was about to get up when he realized that there was something else beside him under the covers, soft snores came from under it and he felt something fleshy around his stomach. Horrified, he screamed as he stumbled off the bed and waking the thing in process as he scooted far away.

‘Hey, what’s the