Prologue
Children were screaming, woman cried, and men shouted calls of war. Josh had fallen out of his cot at the first sound of terror and had nearly dragged Ryder with him. She rolled over to find him, but he was already on his feet. Josh threw his shirt over his shoulders as he turned back to her; the wind from the fabric caught her in the cheek as he kneeled down to her.
"Stay here." Josh kissed her gently and bolted out of the hut.
The screams were deafening; she could barely hear herself think. What the hell was going on? Ryder got up to find her cloths and the rest of the team, but as she stood up there was a faint but heavy sound of foot steps coming from behind the paper thin walls of the hut.
There was a low growl, steady breathing, and the scraping echo of claws on the gravel. Ryder didn't want to move for fear of attracting the attention of whatever might be lurking nearby.
The creature sniffed the air; it was on the trail of something living. It was hungry and Ryder could hear the saliva falling from it's fangs and bouncing off the dirt when it stopped mid-stride, she knew it was too late. The creature let out a blood curdling howl.
Outside Josh had already found David and Richie, Richie's hands were caked in blood trying to save one of the villagers who seemed to have his throat ripped open. David was trying to tell the rest of the villagers to stay in their huts when he saw Josh.
"David! What's happening?"
"David was as white as a sheet trembling from head to toe. "It's here, Josh! I saw it with my own two eyes! We Have to Get Out of Here!"
Josh grabbed David by the shoulders and tried to calm him down. "David. What. Did. You. See?"
"The Nandi Bear."
"JOSH!", Josh almost broke his neck turning toward the sound. His heart sank as he recognized Ryder's silhouette against the village fire. She was running from something so big that it almost blotted out the blaze behind her.
"ERIN!"