And then he saw it shrouded in fog, or at least he thought he saw it. At that moment, Argus had been sure that what he had seen was real. But later, upon discussing it with Ranger Brock and his brothers and sister, he would become uncertain of himself; doubting his own eyes and wondering if the madness he feared wasn’t already creeping inside his head.

But all that came later. Right now he saw a naked man move between the trees in the distance, almost like a ghost walking after midnight. He saw flashes and glimpses of the being for several moments before it moved out into the open and stepped across the path, allowing him to discern the thing’s faint outline.

Argus didn’t know what to make of the sight. He’d seen people in the forest often enough, hikers usually, or the occasional ranger doing some survey or patrol, even television journalists and their crews taping things they weren’t supposed to. But while intrusive, those humans were to be expected. Furthermore, they were, more often than not, fully clothed when they walked through the woods. This man—he could tell that much from the outline—was completely naked. Not only that, but his hair was long, thick, and matted, and his beard was equally thick and tangled. He looked dirty too, with dark patches staining his skin like camouflage. But even his nakedness wasn’t the strangest thing about the man. What really struck Argus as unnatural was the way he walked, with his head held high and his chest thrust out as if there was an air of confidence about him.

It was as if…he belonged in the forest.

And then, just as quickly as he’d appeared, the man was gone. Argus blinked several times, trying to decide if what he’d seen was real or just a trick of the light. Already there was a seed of doubt in his mind.

Argus’s body was jostled slightly and he turned to see Noble beside him. No doubt the pack had noticed that he’d fallen behind and Noble had come back to get him. The group stayed together, no matter how much one of them felt like breaking away.

Noble gestured up the path with his head, suggesting that Argus needed to get moving. Argus nodded, then started up the trail. He slowed at the spot where he thought he’d seen the man, but all he could detect was the scent of wolves on the ground.

Noble gave Argus a second push, and together the two of them hurried to catch up to the others.

* * *

Their run finished, the pack returned to Ranger Brock’s home in plenty of time for breakfast. The bus that took them to school wouldn’t arrive for another half hour and the ranger’s wife, Phyllis, would insist that they have a full meal before beginning their day as humans.