Human Eyes

There was something odd about the lone Elk as it moved through the dense scrub. Jackson watch it through field glasses for a time, but could not put a finger on its strangeness.

Then aiming his glass southward, he located his hunting companion and friend, Richie near the base of a hillock. The man’s orange vest stood out against the stark brownness of the high desert landscape.

Richie was stalking the same Elk which continued to graze until the hunter drew within 30 yards. He raised his 30-30, aiming to bring the animal down, then with a quick and panicked jerk, dropped the rifle.

“What in the…” Jackson exclaimed with a loud gasp.

Jackson watched as Richie hastily retreated, crawling till he was certain the Elk was unable to be see him, before standing and running. It would be days before searchers found Richie, hiding in a narrow cave, mumbling about ‘how human the eyes of the Elk seemed’ as it looked back at him.

Richie was institutionalized, so Jackson said nothing about how he’d witnessed the Elk stand on two hind legs and walk as if human. Nor did Jackson utter a word about the pair of human eye’s that stared menacingly at him from the face of an Elk.