After the incident, John, Annika and Gio never saw a single werewolf again. Perhaps the beasts were wary of their presence in their territory so they went into hiding…

Weeks passed, not a single fiend appeared in their midst or even attempted to attack them. The seemingly strange peace in the land was uncharacteristic for an area populated by these wild mythical creatures.

“What’s happening John?” asked Annika.

“Why are there no sightings of werewolves lately?”

John shrugged his shoulders as he sips coffee while sitting on a fallen log near their camp site.

“I don’t have a clue Annika. It has been a puzzle to me. Maybe they were afraid that if they showed up, we will be able to observe them and learn more about their existence.”

“Werewolves are sensitive creatures,” replied Gio.

“They may attack us humans but they are not known to be aggressive enough to kill. Werewolves are afraid of us. The only instance I knew of when a werewolf killed a man was when it got hurt. It was supposed to be a simple ambush to scare the man from his territory. But when the man shot at the beast and injured it badly, the werewolf had no other recourse. He killed the man out of instinct… the instinct to survive.”

“We have waited long enough. Besides our flight going back to the United States is scheduled three days from now. If we don’t encounter a werewolf tonight, we will pack our things and go back to the hotel,” remarked John.

Gio extinguished the fire he used for cooking breakfast. Annika went inside the tent to check on the computer and equipment while John strolled around the surrounding trees to examine if the motion sensors he installed days ago are still working.

The day just like the other days that passed was uneventful. No sightings of werewolves were recorded by the team.

Night slowly crept into the camp site as the sun settles into the horizon. A full moon hovers in the night sky as a gentle breeze blew northward.

John is busy calibrating the motion sensors from his laptop when...

“Beep… beep… beep!” The sound came from the northeast region of the woods.

“Beep… beep… beep!” This time the sound emanated from the southern area of the forest.

“What’s going on?” inquired Annika.

John stared at Annika but no answer came out of his mouth. He can’t reply to her question because he didn’t have a clue about what is really happening.

“Gio! Grabbed the flashlight and toss it to me,” commanded John.

Gio immediately grope for the flashlight inside the tent and handed it to John.

“Stay here with Annika. I’m going to explore the area where the beeps came from.”

“No, John! Don’t go there,”cried Annika.

“We do not know what cause the alarm of the sensors to be tripped. There might be werewolves in the surroundings.”

“I still need to investigate. This might be the break we have been waiting for to catch a werewolf.”

Annika was not able to stopped John from proceeding as he planned.

Armed with a flashlight and a makeshift spear, John trekked to the nearby woods. He stared at the trees, moving his eyes back and forth.

“Craacckk… cccrrraaaccckkk!” The sound of breaking twigs alerted John.

He followed where the sound came from. Slowly he crept near the clamp of trees.

“Crack… crack… cccrrraaaccckkk!” There was commotion. Someone or something was moving behind the bushes!

He raised his makeshift spear high above his head, getting ready to defend himself in case of an attack.

The leaves of the bushes rustled loudly! Whatever was behind them, it decided to flee the scene…

John was surprised. Why did it run? Was the beast scared of him?

He sauntered into the direction of the sound. He wanted to investigate who or what was hiding behind those bushes…

John was taken aback by what he saw… This may be the clue he has been searching for.

“Annika!Annika!” he shouted excitedly. “Come over here!”

Annika and Gio were alerted by John’s call. Instantaneously, they sprinted towards him.

John is standing in front of a set of strange footprints. They seem to be made by an animal, but what kind of creature?

Annika took some pictures of the foot impressions. She would upload these pictures into the laptop and cross match it with their database.

The three went back to the camp site after documenting the evidence. Annika quickly uploaded the pictures. It took some time for the laptop to perform the analysis…

While waiting for the results, they collected all their belongings and began packing them into their bags. They would follow the trail of the footprints…

“Tteett… Ttteeettt… Ttteeettt!” the laptop made a peculiar sound.

Annika ran to see the results! She stared at the screen and read the analysis…

“What did it say? what did it say?” inquired John

She handed John the printed result. It was negative. The computer did not find a match in its database.

John and Annika were disappointed, but they were not close to giving up. They still have a few more hours left. They would utilize this time remaining to follow their instinct and investigate where the foot impressions would lead them.

The trail of prints brought them deeper into the woods. The trees and surrounding vegetation no longer look familiar.

“Where are we Gio?” Annika turned to Gio.

“I’m not sure Ms. Annika. The plants and the mountain trail looked new to me.”

Gio went ahead of the two to gather evidences that might help him to identify their location. He gathered some leaves and scrutinized them closely.

He then gazed at where the sun is and using his tracking skills, Gio was able to determine their location.

“We must head northeast. Let’s take the narrow mountain trail that would lead us to the nearby river. Beyond this river, we will reach the ruins of what was once an old amphitheater.”

John listened intently to what Gio remarked then said, “Let’s go then! We must travel now so we can get there before sundown.”

The three grabbed their backpacks and hiked towards the direction Gio pointed earlier.

It was already dusk when they got to the entrance of the ruins. They immediately set up camp and built a fire. Gio started preparing for dinner while Annika and John went about setting up their WiFi network.