A Boy's Dazzling Girls

Inside the Cryptid club room after school, the members were gathered together. It started of as a small club, but with the recent addition of six students named Sandbar, Gallus, Smolder, Ocellus, Yona, and Silverstream the club doubled in size.

As Spike sat down looking at everyone in the room, he thought to himself, 'I can't believe we got six new members here. I thought for sure this club was going to be a lost cause, because very few students actually believe in the supernatural. Though if they knew find out the stuff they study is real, he wondered if they'd regret joining.

"All right, everyone listen up. We got us a new case." Lyra began.

"A case?" Smolder asked.

"Ooh, what is it?" Silverstream asked in excitement.

"There's been reports of something lurking in the mountain outside the city," Lyra explained, "Many people had been hiking up there in the last week, but disappeared with no body turning up."

"So people go missing, does that really mean it's something that calls for our investigation?" Spike asked rhetorically.

"Would it help if we told you this has happened before up there?" Bonbon asked.

"It what?" Spike wondered.

Bonbon continued, as she pulled out a laptop to read the information, "This had been happening for the last 23 years, with long gaps happening between years, and especially during the winter."

"Why winter?" Ocellus wondered.

"We wondered why as well," Lyra admitted, "So we've done some more research and found this interview with someone who didn't disappear. The article reads this guy and his friend were out hiking up the mountain and staying at a family cabin, but they were attacked a viscous creature that made off with one of them. Some people thought it was just a bear, but the survivor kept telling them it wasn't a bear, because it was smart enough to have unlocked the door, it roared like no man or animal, and it moved like lightning."

"What does that mean for us?" Sandbar asked.

"After taking all this evidence together, we've concluded what this perpetrator is." Bonbon continued.

"And..." Spike asked wanting them to get on with it.

Lyra answered, "We're dealing with a Wendigo."

"A Wendigo?" Yona asked.

"What exactly is a Wendigo?" Gallus asked, while resting his chin on his hand. Moondancer pulled out a book on lore, and flipped to her designated page. She put the book down before the group showing them a depiction of said creature.

"According to legend, Wendigo's are humanoid creatures over hundreds of years old, approximately fifteen feet fall, and look like emaciated people in a more disgusting way," the girl in glasses explained, "Lore states that a wendigo was once in its time a human who after being forced to eat human flesh to survive, they become monsters that retain little of the human features they once possessed. After their transformation, they begin to crave human flesh and feed solely on it."

"So they're cannibals?" Ocellus asked sounding frightened.

Adagio answered, "Yes, only far worse than an average cannibal because they're rarely satisfied with their meals and constantly search for more. According to which these creatures are strong and fast, making it nearly impossible to spot before getting caught by it."

Aria added her two cents, "They use their speed to prey upon victims and use their sharp claws to immobilize their captives."

Finally Sonata had her knowledge to share, "A wendigo also knows how to last long winters without food. It hibernates for years at a time. When it's awake, it keeps its victims alive by storing them so it can feed whenever it wants."

"So it's a human hoarder?" Smolder asked.

"Exactly," Lyra confirmed, "Which means there's an off chance some of the recent disappeared people could be alive. At least if the wendigo isn't monstrously hungry."

"So is there any way to stop such a creature?" Sandbar asked.

"Unfortunately guns and knives have no affect on it." Bonbon sighed.

"Well, we can't exactly get access to such weapons anyway." Gallus noted.

"The only other option is to torch the sucker." Adagio spoke up.

"Torch it?" Smolder asked.

"Yes," Lyra nodded, "Wendigo's are extremely sensitive to heat, and won't go near anyone around open flames."

"So another night hunt?" Spike asked.

"I'm afraid that's a no," Lyra answered, "Wendigo's are the ideal hunter given their strength and speed. At nighttime they are at their peak, especially since the dark makes it harder to spot them. So we're going to have to go on a daytime hunt."

"A hunt?" Ocellus asked in worry, "You're actually suggesting we take this thing down?"

"It's the only way to keep others from suffering like the other people have." Aria replied.

"Shouldn't we tell the cops or something about this?" Silverstream asked.

"Like they'd believe us?" Moondancer asked, "It's a Cryptid club, remember? To cops and other authority figures, we're just a bunch of kids trying to get attention."

"Hey, let's back it up here," Gallus interrupted them, "Now we're actually going to believe that a Wendigo it out there in the mountain hoarding people?"

"The clues and details are spot on." Sonata reminded him.

"She does have a point." Sandbar agreed.

"I joined this club thinking we're just learning about the supernatural, but hunting it?"

"We're really trying to prove the existence of them by gathering evidence." Moondancer explained.

"Killing them is strictly to keep other people safe." Bonbon added.

"You sound like you're starting to not believe in our club or what we do." Lyra squinted her eyes.

"Well, how can I not? It all sounds like a lot of made up crap."

The group gasped, at what he said, until Lyra spoke up, "Well, it looks like we're going to have to make a believer out of you, and all of you." she motioned to the rest of the newbies who felt scared of Lyra's serious tone.

Spike turned to them, "Trust me I was skeptic myself, but after our run in with both a Hidebehind and a Gumberoo I believe in the supernatural."

"Choice is yours, Gallus," Adagio began, "Join us on our trip and find out the truth, or stay here and remain a skeptic."

"Same applies to the rest of you." Aria told the other five newbies.

One by one the new members agreed to join leaving Gallus the last. As everyone looked at him awaiting an answer, he caved in with a sigh, "All right, I'll join."

The club smiled at his choice, as Lyra spoke, "Then everyone be sure to pack, because this Saturday morning we're going on a hike."

"Better stock up on some matches, lighters, and gasoline." Sonata suggested.

"We'll need a lot of that." Spike joked, and they laughed before taking off.

As Spike left the school, the Dazzlings followed, "So you think we stand a chance of finding this Wendigo before it tries to pick us off?" he asked them.

"Well, you heard what we read from lore, they're the ideal hunters." Adagio reminded him.

"But lucky for you, you have three mermaids on your side." Aria told him.

"Right, but you know I feel bad for how wendigo's came to be," Spike confessed, much to the sisters surprise, "I mean they were once humans until they resorted to cannibalism which turned them into what they are. Imagine what they used to be and how they could've ended up that way."

"It's human nature to survive by any means, even if it means resorting to cannibalism." Adagio reminded him.

"I know, human nature, survival of the fittest, do or die. I get it," Spike sighed, "I just hope when we kill it, the poor soul will be at rest."

"We can only hope for that." Sonata said.

"I hope so too." Spike agreed, as the four continued to walk off before parting ways. Saturday was going to be another epic hunt like before, and they needed to be prepared for the worst.