They froze at the sound of heavy breathing and snorting behind them. Benjamin had his back against the alcove’s opening. A chill went up his spine. He was too scared to turn and see what was behind him. His friends’ eyes were as big as saucers, jaws open wide.

Wuuuh, snort, wuuuh! Roscoe fainted and fell over in the water, which quickly revived him. Benjamin took a deep breath and forced himself to slowly turn his head. A giant wild boar, almost as tall as he was, had crammed its immense body into the opening.

The moonlight shone on its reddish-brown hair. Its dark, bloodshot eyes looked past both its tusks–one broken off but extremely sharp–and stared angrily at the four.

Shrill squeaking came from its mouth, where a rat’s tail twitched back and forth. “Help me! Help me!” Crunch! The boar ground the rat carelessly between its teeth and swallowed. Roscoe almost fainted again. Benjamin walked slowly to the other three, who now stood on the flat rock. The dripping water was muted by the mounting snorting and breathing. There was no escape. They were trapped and they knew it.

Wuuuh. Snort. “Ooh, what a treat for me!” said the deep, gravelly voice. Snort. Wuuuh. “Four pieces of meat.” Snort. Its tongue slid over large, crooked yellow teeth. Its enormous belly expanded and contracted with every labored breath.

Roscoe kept his eyes glued on the beast. “Pig? You met my cousins. Why don’t you introduce us to yours?” Clementine couldn’t utter a word.

Snort! Wuuuh! “So which one will be first?” Snort! The giant boar looked each of them over. “A small dog! I wouldn’t even taste him before he went down.” Wuuuh. Paco shook, and his cold, damp fur didn’t help any. Snort! Wuuuh! “A little pig? A salty one you would be!” Clementine gulped. Snort! “I haven’t had goat for many moons! I picked my teeth with the horns of the last one, but yours wouldn’t do the job.” Wuuuh. “I guess your bones would do the trick.”

Roscoe fainted again. Benjamin patted him but kept his eyes on the boar.

“Human!” It breathed and snorted louder in excitement. SNORT! WUUUUH! “Ooooh, I have never tasted human before.” Its eyes rolled back in the large head as it inhaled to smell the boy. SNORT! WUUUUUH! “You smell so delicious, too!”

Paco stared straight ahead and whispered through rigid lips. “My King, do you have any of those pretty fireworks on hand?” Benjamin had forgotten! He removed the backpack and laid it at his feet. The giant boar angrily stomped the flat rock. Boom!

Snort! Wuuuh! “Human, you will be the main course tonight!”

Clementine couldn’t bear the thought of seeing his king eaten. “Hello my name is–”

Snort! Wuuuh! “Salty talking food! Ooh, I believe I’ll eat you all!” Snort! Wuuuh!

“Look, I don’t think you’d want to–”