“Every year people all over the world gather for a chance to try and catch one of these elusive beasts. Hunters, explorers, seekers of glory all gather off the coast of Antarctica in hope of victory but for some just survival would be optimal…” As the news anchor finished speaking and the scene on the big TV, which all the competitors were watching, switched to a view of them, the meaning of the camera equipment stored in the back of the room became evident. Many of the competitors near Krina, who only a second ago looked a mix of nervous and sea sick, hitched cheery over confident smiles onto their faces.  Just as nervous, Krina mirrored them. The reporter weaved through the crowd of competitors, stopping to greet a few people who were veterans of the hunt; all the attention went to them and they clearly deserved it. They had survived harsh conditions countless times and some had even sustained injuries.  This, however, did not make Krina the slightest bit less sour. She had dreamed of this and prepared; tireless days of training she would show them and next year she would be among the greats. She was sure of it. 

_Curthump!_ The boat docked at the port with a sickening thud. Several people rushed to the edge of the boat and a loud echoing, retching sound could be heard from many of the ports. There was a surge and Krina was carried by the rushing tide of people down the many steps of the ramp, through a passage leading to the briefing room. She followed her fellow cadets (as the newbies were called) to the stands where they would await next instructions. As they took their seats a small but battle scarred man entered the room and cleared his throat he began speaking in a gruff voice almost incoherent. “In less than half an hour the hunt for Lefwolox or the part leopard, part fox, part wolf will begin. As you know, its blood can heal, its pelt gives invisibility, and its teeth give strength. These and many other rewards will be granted to the person who captures and kills it. Good luck to you all, but luck alone will not be enough to survive. Oh, and a warning, this creature is extremely intelligent as the fox is clever, the cat is swift, and the wolf is fearless. These together make a worthy foe to any.”

 An eerie silence followed this pronouncement broken only by snatches of conversation; although this was odd because Krina expected the veterans to be used to this speech. ”Clear the way for the reigning champ Groni “the hound” Hablic!” 

Krina felt a shove in the small of her back and collided with something hard. “I said clear the way pipsqueak!” Then in “Or should I say cadet,” in a mock baby voice.

“Sorry” Krina mumbled, knowing not to trifle with this group. “The ring of champions” as some called them. She'd heard stories about them from returning competitors, and none of them were good. They may be jerks but joining the group was the only way to gain fame- well- that or winning and the chances of that were practically 1 in a million maybe lower since she was a cadet. 

“Take your places” How had time gone so fast? How had it slipped in the rush? She was not prepared, not ready at all—she had a bad feeling a feeling telling her that she wanted out. There was no out. She knew that when she entered her name. She knew that when she packed her bag. She knew that when she boarded the boat.  And she knew that now. There was no going back.

The lights dimmed and the gate blocking the cold air from breaching the inside of the room lifted, revealing a landscape covered in snow and ice, a desert of frost. Once again Krina let herself be carried by the tide of people, her winter coat seeming much more thin. The people dispersed, each squinting at the ground looking for tracks or otherwise casting wary looks at their competitors, trying to catch each other looking at what they were doing. A flash of sun momentarily blinded Krina.  As she blinked in the sunlight she saw a white spotted tail whip behind a snow cap in the distance. She cast a glance back at the others to see if they might have spotted something but she seemed to be the only one who had even a slight clue of the Lefwolox’s location. 

Triumphant, she broke into a trot in the direction she saw the tail, though she still had the nagging suspicion that someone was watching her. There a clump of fur.  There a paw print. These were all good signs but they also registered as ominous— that the creature who was allegedly extremely clever would let itself be spotted so early in the hunt… without a reason. Just as the thought of running or screaming or doing something crossed her mind she saw a blur of fur and felt claws scrape her forearms as she was hurled into a snow drift and buried by the beast. So this was how it would end, outsmarted by an animal. No, she thought no no no this was not how it would end.  She had come here with a goal and she was gonna accomplish the goal.

“NO!” That last no she said out loud, realizing there were people all around and maybe one would help a poor hopeless cadet who posed no threat… or so they thought.

“Help help help please!” She heard footfalls somewhere nearby.

“I'm in here” she yelled then waited with bated breath as the footsteps approached. A savior finally someone here who was a good person. A shaft of sunlight illuminated her icy prison. Her heart sank. This was not a good person and unless she was very convincing, not a savior.

“Well little pipsqueak got herself in quite a mess.” Sneared Groni Hablic.

“What do you want?” Krina hissed.

“Well first I wanted to see what mess you got yourself in,” said Groni, ticking them off on his fingers as he leaned casually against a tree. ”I also wanted to hear what you had to offer.”

“What I had to offer?”

“Well, you don’t possibly expect that I’d help you if I didn’t get something in return?” In truth,  as soon as she knew who her “rescuer” was she knew she better have a good offer. And she did.

“I studied the Lefwolox’s anatomy, behaviors, and adaptations—  everything and I found this in an old archive.  Here.” She handed him a small slip of paper containing one of the few pictures of a Lefwolox.

“And I can prove it, ask me anything,” she said, trying to cross her arms, then remembering she was stuck and only managing to shift the snow a bit.

“All right, what’s the beast's main sense?”

“Oh easy, smell. All the animals that make up the Lefwolox have an amazing sense of smell, so the Lefwolox’s smell is 60 times more powerful approximately than most animals”

“Correct” Groni said, looking surprised “I hate to say it but I didn’t know some of that stuff,” then switching back to his normal patronizing tone, adding “pipsqueak.”

He extended a hand through the hole and Krina shook it, then his grip tightened and he wrenched her free. 

“Now to business, identify these tracks.” And so it continued like that for several hours until once again Krina saw a white tail that others did not. 

This was her chance. She was ready for it now, but how to ditch Groni? 

She reached into her pocket and felt the wet cloth she had packed the day before. She had been saving it but desperate times call for desperate measures. So without his notice Krina drew from her pocket a handkerchief coated in chloroform. She meant to knock out the Lefwolox but this was better. In one swift motion she covered his mouth and nose with a cloth and covered it with her hand to muffle any noise. He slumped and let out an all mighty snore as he hit the snow with a thump. 

She was off after the tail, after the beast, after victory.  Like a cat she pounced, pinning the thing to the ground and pulling out the knife hidden up her sleeve. 

“Gotcha!” She yelled in victory but as she looked down her triumph was sapped from her body.  The Lefwolox’s eyes were practically human and she could see it knew what was going to happen.  It knew cruelty. She had studied this creature and learned all about it but she learned more about it in this moment than with the months of research she had put in. 

“No” she said for the second time that day and this time she truly believed it. You had to be a monster to kill this creature. And for fame and glory? No wonder Groni had a heart of stone and this proved it. No, she would not kill it like she meant to… but that was not enough. She would save it. She had a plan.

She ran down hills pointing frantically with a most convincing expression of confidence on her face. “That way the beast went that way!” The crowd surged and ran towards the place where they had started the hunt… just as planned. 

“It went inside!” she yelled and it seemed to convince them because by the time she reached the briefing room all were corralled inside looking confused. She slipped in after them and pressed the lock button on the door.  It was over.  And not just for the moment. She had studied the building's schematics.  The door lock had a timer.  It would not open for another year.  This gave the Lefwolox enough time to grow the population and prepare for the next hunt. 

She should have felt regret that all her dreams of glory were down the drain and Groni was going to hunt her for a change. But she only felt glory. This was better than fame, better than triumph. She even made herself a title. Krina the savior.