Power woke him up. The feel of his power pushing through his body pulled him out of the sleep he was in. The pain in his body sustained him as he slowly stood up from under a downed tree. It took him a few moments to realize where he was. The woods around him seemed unfamiliar and the crisp night air confused his senses for a minute. It wasn’t until he heard the unearthly growl that his mind straightened out and he realized how screwed he was.

Somehow, he was still alive. The troll he was hunting was badly hurt but Titus was as well. There was no reason that he shouldn’t have been a good meal for the troll. His only thought was that a troll’s senses weren’t too keen during the day and the damn thing didn’t know he was there. Replaying it in his mind he figured its eyesight wasn’t that good in the bright lights of the day. Which added to the myth that trolls could only come out at night.  Regardless, Titus was lucky to be alive but he didn’t know how long that was going to be.

He did a quick check. The grenade launcher and his P14 were on his side but the rifle was lost in the night. He grabbed the grenade launcher and folded out the stock , and checked to see if it had a shell in it.  Satisfied, he cycled the weapon again and started to move towards the outcropping and the sound of that guttural growl.

The dead swirled around him. His power called to the dozen or so victims littered across the ground. Their essence still remained though much of the body was ground to dust. The feeling of the dead was reassuring to him as he pulled the launcher up and fired the grenade into the hole of the little cave.  The sound of the grenade leaving wasn’t impressive but the explosion of the grenade and then a wail of pain that shook Titus to the core was more than enough to compensate. The troll came out of the mouth red with blood. Apparently the grenade hit just under it and between its legs. Meat and sinew hung down in red tatters as the troll made two steps out before the right leg crumpled beneath its weight. Despite the thick hide, the grenade rounds were incendiary proving that the things was weak against fire. Another part of the myth fulfilled. Titus noticed the shoulder was almost completely healed, which meant the thing regenerated at a fast rate as well.  He was wasting no time and as the creature snarled in rage and pain Titus reloaded the weapon and fired it into the belly of the beast. Crimson rain spilled forth and all over Titus as the grenade burst on the right side destroying the arm. If he ever came after another troll he'd now know to open up with a grenade launcher first. Another yell of pain that made Titus want to run immediately came forth from the tusked maw of the troll. He moved closer to the beast. It took massive amounts of damage but somehow still breathed.

He produced his kukri with the razor sharp edge and moved around to the back of the beast.  The troll looked at him and tried to lash out with his left arm but the shoulder still wasn’t perfect so it flailed uselessly around Titus. The kukri flashed in the night as Titus neared closer. He had to clear the head from the body or it would regenerate every bit of damage Titus just did to it. He gave another small prayer as the troll made a pitiful noise. It was free of rage and now just cried, Titus even thought he saw tears. It made him almost regret killing this creature. Almost.

David Morales was still sitting at the Ranger Station in Ackerman.  He had the park cleared of everything human save for Titus and now waited there. The GPS device he had on Titus was still and had been for over six hours. He had counted him as dead. He’d have to send in an army to get all the equipment out and then go on another hunt for that Monstrou.  He ran a hand through his hair and then looked out through the windows into the dark woods. He’d wait until daybreak to send in another team. Titus was an idiot for going in alone but Morales would have done the same if he knew it was something that needed to be done. One of the Park Rangers stood up and pointed, “Hey what’s that coming out of the woods?”

Morales looked up to see a lone figure moving out of the woods. It was Titus, covered in mud, blood and other things the woods had to offer. Morales moved towards the door and at a jog began to move towards his fellow Marshal. “Dios Mio Morgan, I didn’t think you’d come out of the woods like that." As he got closer he saw that Titus was nearly dragging something in his left hand about the size of a beach ball. It wasn’t until he was next to him that he noticed it was the tusked head of the troll. He blanched a little and gave a wan smile to Titus, “Where’s the rest of him?”

“He’s with the GPS tracker, the rifle’s somewhere out there too. Gonna have to go after it during daylight.” Titus looked like he had been through hell, slapped the devil on the ass, and ran back out singing hymnals. He was alive though and that's what really counted. God watched over fools apparently.

“We’ll send in the Marines, first thing in the morning. He put up much of a fight?” Morales said motioning to the troll head.

“Eh, a little. Nothing I couldn’t handle though.” Titus gave another smile as he started moving to the Ranger’s Station. “Do me a favor and call this in, I think I have to go to the hospital. I'm probably concussed and after that fight I think I need to check if I'm up to date on all my shots."