* * *

The rage inside of him was finally starting to subside, back to bubbling precariously on the surface like an unattended pot of boiling water.

He stalked through the forest, the freezing winds whipping all around him. It was growing darker and darker with each step and soon the forest became deathly quiet. The snow crunching under Logan's feet was the only audible sound. Even the winds ceased, like they were simply turned off with some switch. Logan folded his arms across his chest tightly, trying to preserve his heat. His healing factor wouldn't allow him to get frostbite because it was a slow, gradual process; something his healing factor could stay on top of before any of the ill effects surfaced. Still didn't mean it wasn't painful. Like a thousand needles poking you at the same time, all over your body.

Logan faced another problem. His stomach was burning. It was the body's plea for food. He was hungry. Very hungry.

The "path" Logan was walking slowly began to elevate into a steep slope. His feet began to slide on the thick ice beneath the snow. But before he could fall and slide back down the slope....

<SNIKT>

He buried his claws into the ice and began climbing his way up the steep slope via his adamantium claws. When he finally reached the crest, he stood up and retracted his claws. What he saw over the crest and across the large opening in the forest sickened him. Three bears lay sprawled on the snow-covered floor of the forest. He slid down the slope into the opening in the forest and swiftly ran toward the fallen bears and inspected them.

Teeth, liver, and claws gone. What kind of an animal kills and doesn't eat, Logan thought primitively. He leaned over and sniffed the fallen beast. It was freshly killed, no more than two hours ago. In this kind of cold, no bacteria could possibly form within that amount of time.

<SNIKT>

It was time to eat, Logan thought eagerly, a smile curling his lips. He sliced off a big chunk of meat and took a huge bite. He let out a sigh of content as he chewed.

Several minutes later, Logan had wolfed down his share. From his crouching position he smelled the air. He continued, waiting for the wind to shift so he could catch the scent. After a few moments the wind shifted again and finally Logan caught their scent. The scent of man. In a blurred flash, he surged into the forest once again doing what he loved. Hunt.

* * *

"Shut up, Ralph! Quite yer blabberin' and stay quite. We're near the bear, I can feel it," a man said.

"Yeah, you can feel it alright, Jeff," Ralph mocked. " 'Cept it's called frostbite for crying out loud."

Jeff held his hand out, gesturing for silence as he moved slowly through the brush. Both men held their guns up, ready to be fired in a seconds notice.

"What?" Ralph whispered. "What's the matter?"

"I heard something," he replied.

"Like what?"

"Like," he listened for a moment before answering, "quick footfalls."

"Bears don't make quick footfalls," Ralph pointed out the obvious.

"I know..." Jeff said, looking around wearily. He was beginning to think they'd pressed their luck to far. From what they already have, they could make thousands. This wasn't the time to get greedy, Jeff thought.

"Let's get the hell outta here, man. This is startin' to get creepy," Ralph said nervously.

"Stop being a damn pussy," Jeff snapped. "The rest of the team is not even fifty yards back. If we get into some kind of trouble, they'll here the ruckus and come a runnin',"

"Yeah, but it's the ruckus part I'm worried about," Ralph stated anxiously. Suddenly, Ralph pivoted toward the surrounding forest and sent a blast of bullets into the darkness surrounding them. Ralph watched the darkness nervously, until he felt Jeff slap the back of his head.

"What the hell are you doing?" Jeff exclaimed angrily. "Don't fire until you have some kind of visual! That could've been one of our men!"

"Sorry, but I thought I heard something," Ralph explained like a child to his mother after being chided.

"Yeah, you probably did," Jeff stated. "Rick, George, Paul, or Bobby. You probably killed one of them dammit! Now I gotta go into the thick brush to check, just because you've watched to many damn horror movies."

With that, Jeff cursed his way through the thick brush, swinging his gun around to clear what he could. Soon he disappeared from Ralph's view completely, like the darkness devoured him whole. Ralph was comforted by Jeff's string of curses. Ralph shuddered when they stopped.

"You okay, Jeff?" he called nervously into the bush. He heard Jeff shush him in reply.

There was a deathly silence. Not even the sound of the slightest movement until Ralph heard the sound of multiple blades unsheathing...

<SNIKT>

.... From within the brush. Two shots fired from a shotgun and then a sickly pair of slicing sound. Silence again, then the dull thud of a body hitting the ground.

"Jeff!!" Ralph shouted into the bush. "Talk to me if you're okay!"

Silence.

"Dammit," Ralph muttered. He turned down the path they had been trekking and shouted, "Guys something's got Jeff! Come give me a hand here!"

He was rewarded with the sound of rustling and footfalls coming from down the path. When he turned back toward the brush Jeff had disappeared behind he heard a low, rumbling growl not like any other beast he had come across made. Even before Ralph could bring his gun up to fire, the beast lunged from the brush lashing out with his metal claws. Ralph fell to the ground bleeding from several gaping wounds. Soon the blood stained the snow around him.

Logan turned his attention down the path they seemed to have been trekking and saw several men running toward him with rifles in their hands. He turned and ran as his pursuers' guns opened up with gunfire. Two landed just short of him and burst into the snow by his feet. Then he felt a spray of bullets penetrate his back painfully. He stumbled, but composed himself immediately and continued running. With Logan's speed, it took only moments until their shouts faded into the darkness. He continued to run though. He felt a strange tingling sensation in and around his wounds. Some of it hurt, others were bearable. It didn't matter though; the healing process was incredibly quick. He had gotten used to the tingling that came when he healed. No big deal, better than having no healing factor at all.

Ahead of him, Logan's eyes didn't see them, but his nose smelled them. He turned his head up and saw a very thick brush ahead. Instead of stopping, he burst through the brush. It may have been thick, but it certainly wasn't wide. Just as Logan burst through, he burst out the other side and into yet another smaller clearing. Logan crouched like a savage beast ready to pounce on his prey. He snarled, bearing his teeth. His incisors were slightly longer and sharper than the average man. Stragglers, Logan thought.

The man and woman looked positively startled. The man fumbled to load his weapon and when he did, he tried to push the woman behind him.

"Stay behind me, Heather!" the man shouted protectively, frantically raising his shotgun.

Logan could here his pursuers catching up behind him so he lunged at the man, who in turn, fired his shotgun recklessly. In mid-air, Logan unsheathed his claws and raised his arms, and poised to strike with his claws...