I had been a hunter for most of my life leading up to this incident. The smell of the warm air and the beauty of nature always had me at ease. I never felt scared alone at night because I have seen everything there is to be scared of. I have seen bears the size of a small car and animals so vicious they would kill anything that moved.
The one thing I was never scared of was deer. I had heard the tales of the Skinwalker, The Wendigo and pretty much anything in-between. My uncle was an expert in tracking and hunting, We always went on trips together and would always come back with a fresh kill. He had something about him, It was a rule. I remember it so vividly because it was weird. He never wanted to go hunting in winter. I never asked why. I don’t know but something about it always had me on edge.
One day it was winter and I was about to go deer hunting when my uncle stopped at my front door. When he came in he saw my packed supplies and my rifle and knew I was about to go hunting. He immediately burst into a wrath of anger as he dragged me to a wall and got into my face. “WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING?” His spit went all over my face as he looked crazy, He looked primal as if he was fearful of something that he did not want to share, It’s the same face you would expect a child to make if they were dumped in the middle of nowhere, The same face of fear you see in people who have PTSD.
I calmly brushed him off and got to the door saying I was going hunting. I was not about to fight with my uncle and ruin this trip as I hadn’t gone hunting for close to a month. When you hunt you get adjusted to it and when you go on breaks you actually miss it.
As I got into my truck my uncle peered at me out the window. He was there to take care of my house but before I reversed he left with the door open. My uncle is prone to outbursts. As I should mention, He’s only ever done it a few times and it’s always in a situation where the reaction suits it. Not this one however. What was so bad about hunting in the winter?
The spot I had planned was an isolated one. It was a very heavily forested area which I had not been to before. I obviously had mapped the area out and brought essential survival tools in case the worst came. But I never thought I would have to use it after all those years out in the forest.
When I arrived the crisp cold air immediately saturated me in discomfort, I quickly got another layer of clothes on before I started to walk to where I would set up camp for the night. The clearing I had chosen was a pretty tight one, There was a big tree in the center that stood tall above the rest. It was called the forest star which suited it. Around the clearing the forest was extremely dense, Almost no sun shone through the top. There was a small hunting tower north of the entrance of the clearing so it was a direct walk from camp.
As I walked ahead I noticed something. There were small droplets of blood littering the ground. My first thought was that it must have been an injured animal or something like that but the droplets were small and almost even. I shook the thought out of my head and made it to my setup and I started to pin my tent. When I was done I checked my watch. It was around 5:30 pm. I had around 2 hours for hunting before it was pitch black and so I made it to the tower.
When I undid my rifle from its case I heard scampering. Shaking it off I took position and waited. As I stood there time almost slowed down, I was in a precise focus and was ready for anything. I wasn’t ready for what I saw. Out came 2 small bucks that seemed injured, There were small droplets of blood coming from their eyes. As I focused in I saw that it wasn’t dried blood, It was fresh and it was oozing from their eyes.
I was shocked, I had never seen anything like it. Multiple scenarios ran through my head. I was thinking “Had a hunter shot both of them in the eyes and managed to not kill them” But each scenario seemed more unlikely then the last.
I took aim at the closest one and shot it. It stood there for a second just not moving. Then they trotted off as if nothing had happened. Blood was running from the wound so I had obviously hit it, But it didn’t seem scared nor phased. I decided that was enough and sort of jogged to my site. I was freaked out and decided that I’d cook dinner and go to bed early.
When I scampered around my pack I pulled out a tin of beans. I grabbed a pot and started a fire and began cooking them. As I cracked open a beer the familiar sound of a branch snapping sounded off next to me. I thought it was probably just a small deer and I brushed it off as I sat and relaxed. I was thinking about the deer and I started to chalk it up to the fact I must not have hit deep and the deer were shocked.
When I finished eating I went to bed. I was shivering in the night cold and I could feel my body shaking uncontrollably. As I dozed off after a brutal 2 hours of cold I heard another snap. This time however, It was a-lot louder. Like a bear. I immediately grabbed my rifle and went out of my tent. My fire burned low and in the distance I saw 2 red lights. I walked towards it when my mind started to race. Something felt wrong.
As I closed the distance my gut was literally twisted, My mind was anxious and I felt like I was about to break down. Then I realized what was wrong. Those weren’t lights. They were 2 big beady solid red eyes. There were no pupils, They were just orbs hovering.
When I realized I stood frozen, I thought it was a big cat but what emerged was so much worse. Its fur was black, Darker than the night around us, Its antlers grew twisted and uneven. But the worst part? It was crying blood. Deep red droplets were pelting down its unnatural eyes. I couldn’t make a sound, I was frozen in fear.
Then it started to make sounds, The sounds of a baby crying. It was horrible. The sounds of unnatural wails filled the cold air making it worse. My body felt crumpled and so I finally broke out into a sprint. When I looked back it stood there. It wasn’t even breathing. But the sounds of that baby crying weren’t fading. It was like a speaker was attached to my ear.
When I made it back to camp I rushed to pack my stuff. In a hurry I ran leaving the tent behind and I rushed to my truck. As I fumbled with the keys I saw that something was walking slowly towards me. That’s when the whispering started. Terrible faint voices echoed throughout the forest as my mind started to close. I felt my cerebral melting as anything I tried to do would not happen, It was like sleep paralysis.
As I stood there I found the strength to finally open the door and get in my car. I slammed the door shut and that thing was right at the window. I started to sob as I jammed the keys in the ignition. My mind felt fried as I swerved out of there. I didn’t care if I hit anything, I just wanted to be away from that thing.
Before I could properly back out it stood up on its legs and it repeated a voice I recognised “You… You do not escape thee.. The forests are.. Mine..” It was my grandpa’s voice. He died when I was 6 and I never knew any of the details.
The thing then made a howl, a terrible shrieking howl that hurt my entire body. As it did so I heard scampering as more of those things came out. They had blood running from their eyes as well. The baby cries started again and thats when i finally drove out of that fucking place.
When I raced home I immediately barged into the door. My shoulder ached but I didn’t care. I shoved my door and locked it and ran into my kitchen. That’s when I saw my uncle sitting at the table enjoying a small glass of scotch.
“So.. You saw what I did , didn’t you Anthony?”
“I..I” I couldn’t form words. I was so shocked. My uncle came up to me and said “What you saw out there is my rule I abide by. There are things in those forests in winter that are so horrible even the most seasoned can’t handle it. I saw it when I was a boy and since then I don’t hunt during winter.”
I finally mustered a sentence “W-What was it.” He took a small sip before sitting me down “You saw something called Urburak, It is an ancient being that dwells in the forests during these winters. Hunters who see it usually never are the same again but some never come home. I was lucky.”
My uncle sort of sniffled as he told me about his encounter with Urburak.
“When I was 23 my father and I went out into the woods on a very cold winter to hunt. Our family was struggling so we didn’t have much food. When we were hunting my father called out to me but before I could even get to him I heard him yell out before he fell silent. I never saw him again. But what stood there was worse than the loss of my own. A deer with red eyes, Black fur and twisted antlers stood there. Blood was running from its eyes. Then it started to cry like a baby.”
My uncle broke down and had to take a second before continuing. I comforted him as I was teary eyed.
“It.. It ran after me Anthony. On 2 legs. It was like a human and I rushed to get away from it. I managed to get myself.” He rolled up his sleeve to reveal a terrible red scar that ran across the entire underside of his arm. “It was trying to feast on me, It knew I feared it. But eventually I managed to lose it.”
He finally finished his scotch before continuing.
“I was stuck in those forests for 3 days fighting to survive. I heard its cries and whispers all around as I tried to make it out, I finally arrived at a road and was taken in by the police. No trace was found of my father except for one thing. They found blood at the scene and tested it. It was my fathers. What was strange about it? It was mixed with his tears.”
My uncle finally stood up. “Fear it for it knows who you are.” Those were his last words. He left my house and the police found him wrapped up in a noose 2 days later. It broke me. My hunting buddy and best friend was gone.
There was 1 detail about his suicide that was never resolved. He had droplets of blood coming from his eyes. The coroner’s inspection said it was an aneurysm. But I’m not so sure that is the truth. I am 50 now and I haven’t been hunting in 2 decades, I can’t even go into the forests anymore. I’m thinking about going back and seeing what Urburak is. Maybe I can kill him..
Beware Urburak, For he lurks in the cold.