When Wade turned a corner, he saw that the man running from him had suddenly stopped and dropped onto all fours. He had the deer in his mouth now and his body language was extremely odd, catlike. Wade hesitated as thoughts of the huge white tiger leaping at him and tearing him to shred filled his head. He came to a stop in front of the man and held his axe between them as a dangerous barrier. Despite himself, he fell back a step when the tiger-man threatened him.
Wade swallowed past a lump in his throat. "Now listen," he said, "Drop the deer now, and you can leave." He worked his jaw as he tried to decide if he was willing to kill for this deer or not. "If you make a move towards me I will chop your head off," he warned, satisfied that fear of death would at least drive him to kill for his own safety. "Drop it."