In the wild places of our planet, dark vestiges of our paranormal past yet cling to twisted life. In the past, the hunters and trappers of the world were tasked with removing such blights from society's fringes - legal assassins, enlisted to enforce the will of civilization against those unnatural, otherworldly hosts. Nowadays, we're not so lucky. With the idea of proper monster-hunting fading from public perception, the once-prestigious mantle is donned by amateurs, hobbyists, and self-taught warriors. It pays poorly, it's dangerous, and people would rather do something that gets them rich or famous or drowning in attention. Most often, new-age monster hunters are born from tragedy. They lack the tact, training, and funding of hunters passed. Instead, they have only their wits and brawn to carry them through.

So it is with our hero. 

In the woods of the American Midwest, foul creatures lurk. Tabitha Varna, a young college drop-out scarred by her past, is determined to uproot them or die trying. Sometimes she hopes for both.
[Participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge]