Matthew and the rest were finishing up their traps, finalizing the main event of the plan—the pitfall trap. They began setting the trap and placing wood spikes. They covered the walls in oil after placing the wood spikes, covered it with a net, and gathered grasses.

  They were still gathering grass when they heard something—a loud screech and the sound of wind.

  Joey screamed from afar, "On the ground! Don't let it grab you!"

  They all dived and rolled. Matthew felt the air absolutely hiss as something huge passed over them.

  He looked up and saw it—a four-winged vermillion bird with a long, flowing tail and a wicked-looking beak. It had huge talons on its two feet, and two longer tufts of yellow hair sprouted on top of its head like long ears.

  They all ran to the forest, hiding for cover. The leaves were massive, resembling lilac leaves but curved in like canopies. They hid them completely.

  The peaks of trees were taller than he could hope to climb—almost forty feet—with many branches as big as roads.

  Brian scoffed. "The bird came first. The third sequence it is."

  Not too far from them someone made three high pitched loud whistles to send a signal.

  The second group was gathering fruits to examine and setting another trap. Matthew had written down a set of instructions for how this would go, depending on what attacked first, the dogs or the birds.

  He first discussed this to Brian who then told Jamie and the second group

  Matthew and Joey had been subtly baiting the dogs here with their scents and making the pitfall trap in open view to attract the bird

  At the moment small monkey-like creatures with stone-like heads and two tails nested above them and had been watching with interest, they ate the multi-colored fruits of the forest, so the group figured they could too and had been using the fruit to supplement their hunger.

  The monkeys above suddenly fled, jumping between the trees.

  Matthew scowled. "It's attacking!"

  They all moved as the bird crashed through the canopy, ripping leaves apart and jumping between branches. It let out a monstrous scream, and they ran toward where the second group had prepared for this type of encounter.

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  The first group focused on the falling trap to make it quickly, while the other prepared another trap using the majority of their netting.

  It was meant for things that chased prey, Joey had suggested it after watching the flying beast.

  The beast was relentless, tucking in its wings and chasing them through the undergrowth of the forest. They were only alive because of the obstructions in its way and the maneuvers they employed to confuse it.

  The second group leader appeared from the forest, signaling that they weren't ready.

  Brian scowled before ordering, "Spread out!"

  They all split up, hoping to circle around and give the second group time. The bird screamed angrily before launching itself off the ground and climbing back up to take flight. They all knew that wasn't the end. The Red Seeker, as they were calling it now, was very stubborn. Once it decided on catching prey, it didn't like giving up.

  Matthew and Kirk were running when they heard a crack above. Matthew pushed Kirk while drifting to the side, narrowly dodging the talons of the Seeker.

  They kept running, weaving around trees. Sometimes, when too close to it, they ran around a tree twice to deceive the bird. Other times, when it got too close, they split up, making the bird unsure of what to pick.

  Kirk screamed in frustration, "Rest, you godforsaken bird!"

  The whole time, they were breathing hard, moving only out of fear. Kirk himself needed a vocal reminder of what they were going to do, as his mind wasn't really there.

  Matthew would shout for them to split, run around trees, or stop and run around to not stray too far from the trap.

  Matthew noticed a tangle of vines ahead and shouted, "Over there!"

  They slid under the vines, and the stubborn, greedy bird ran right into them, getting tangled and struggling violently to free itself.

  Matthew kept running, albeit slowing down, catching his breath. He and Kirk ran while looking for the markers to find their way back to the trap.

  The bird freed itself and charged at them, unbridled anger and malice burning in its beady black eyes.

  Kirk cursed and screamed, "Run, run, run, run… dammit, keep running!"

  Matthew needed no reminder. His limbs were burning with exhaustion, sweat coating his entire body, dripping from his beard and getting into his eyes. He ran like it was the only thing he ever knew.

  The maneuvers for evading the bird became second nature in his body.

  Before long, he and Kirk no longer spoke, executing twists and turns without a single signal.

  All they knew was to struggle to stay alive.

  Finally, they heard a shout. Kirk and Matthew split up one more time.

  The bird followed Matthew—the easier choice.

  His heart pounded against his chest as he ran, breath sputtering from his throat weakly. But he was already there.

  "Help!"

  Stones suddenly flew, hitting the bird while Matthew coiled behind a tree.

  The throwers were the second group, shouting and calling the bird toward them. It roared angrily as stones pelted its body and charged at them. But just as it reached them, it entered the trap.

  They had taken a while to weave the vines used for the trap and pull down branches to serve as anchors, but it was worth it. The sudden weight of the Red seeker forced the branches up, pulling the bird with the makeshift net.

  They didn't even bother trying to stab it. They started lighting the fire bombs.

  But the bird screeched and struggled in the trap. Extending its wings with difficulty, the wind began to whisper and form torrents around them.

  Suddenly, it shot up, and the air cried as wind shot out like blades, cutting the trees.

  The second group navigator yelped as the passing wind picked him up and threw him against a tree before he slumped to the ground in pain.

  The bird had unfortunately crashed against a powerful branch that refused to be cut and fell to the earth.

  The branch followed shortly after their collision, slamming onto its leg pinning the angry bird to the earth.

  The second group's leader, Jamie, threw his fire bomb and hastily ran to get his navigator. The others threw theirs and retreated.

  The bird burned brilliantly, crying out in horrible pain as it began to gather wind to try and fly—only to fail.

  They watched from a distance as the bird thrashed, its anguished cries echoing through the forest. It whipped its wings furiously, sending wind blades in all directions.

  Even with cover, each gust was strong enough to nearly throw them off their feet, each attack left massive, terrible gashes in the bodies of the trees.

  Matthew turned to Brian. "We'll go with the second phase."

  Matthew knew their battle would attract creatures. He had suggested plans to Brian that worked with this inevitability.

  Since the bird was the first to attack, the sound of its cries would draw the scavengers. As soon as the bird grew too weak to retaliate, they doused its flames with water from the river.

  Then, Jamie stepped forward. Gripping a long, sharp stake, he drove it into the bird's now featherless chest, ending it.