The Forest Masters

The real horror isn't what lives in the woods. It's what we bring into it. Dean thought the stories of the Florida Skunk Ape were nothing more than campfire myths. But while camping in the isolated backcountry of the Ocala National Forest, the legend becomes reality. Lured off the trail he's hiking on, Dean is kidnapped and dragged deep into the heart of the forest. But Dean isn't destined for the slaughterhouse. He soon discovers a stunning truth: these elusive giants aren't bloodthirsty monsters. They are highly intelligent, deeply emotional creatures facing a crisis, and they have taken Dean because they desperately need human help to save a dying member of their clan. Outside of the forest, a nightmare of a different kind is brewing. When Dean doesn't come home or check in, his loved ones spring into action and contact the authorities. When the Sheriff's office refuses to keep them in the loop, his girlfriend, brother, and best friend hire trackers and form an impromptu search party in a desperate bid to locate Dean. They charge blindly into the unforgiving Florida wilderness, completely unaware of the delicate situation unfolding in the shadows. As the rescue party and authorities close in on the Skunk Ape's sacred meeting place, worlds collide. The ensuing encounter takes a catastrophic turn when a reckless member of the search party shoots and kills a skunk ape, determined to secure the ultimate cryptozoological evidence. In an instant, the rescue mission transforms into a massacre. Greif-stricken and pushed past the brink, the Skunk Apes abandon their peaceful ways. The forest erupts into pure chaos as the creatures unleash a calculated, terrifyingly violent retaliation. Dean, his girlfriend, brother, and best friend are instantly caught in a desperate fight for their lives. Blurring the lines between monster and man, this high-stakes survival horror novel explores what happens when human panic ignites a primal war. You'll never look at the wilderness the same way again.