He saw it from his hiding place, the place his father had told him to wait. He saw it in the moonlit clearing, while holding is crossbow loaded with a silver tipped arrow.
The merest hint of movement.
The tiniest twitch of the creatures nose, lifted into the breeze to catch the scent of those he knew were on his trail.
He saw the impossible features of a beast not human and not of God's creation.
His mind cleared of everything but the hunt. He heard only the voice of his father. Steady, calm and deadly.
A child no more.