Defiance of the Fall

Finally , a few minutes after his mad dash started he recognized a large boulder which a tree had somehow split and grown through , telling him the camp was just a few hundred meters away .

Readjusting the grip of his hatchet he changed his course and ran straight toward the camp . Suddenly another of the otherworldly roars echoed through the forest , this time far closer than the others he tuned out on his way here . Panic turning into even greater speed he barreled into the camp , a look of frenzy and fear on his face . Greeting him was the familiar sight of the camp ; the grey range rover , the two small tents , and the few camping chairs were strewn about .

What immediately garnered his attention wasn’t this though , rather the monster rifling through one of the coolers . Its size was that of Great Dane , but this was where the similarities ended and it was an unholy mix of flesh and bone . The beast looked that it had been skinned then let out in the woods again , being an amalgamation of red and white . It sported a thick trunk of a torso with rippling muscles extending down to six stubbly legs , each leg ending with a paw reminding Zac more of a bird of prey than a woodland creature .

Two of the pairs aligned at the front of the torso with the last at the back . Each paw adorned with four ghastly claws with three in the front and one in the back , with the front set of claws seeming slightly larger than the other two pairs . Its head felt overly large for its body , with a broad base but a long snout , enabling an impossibly large maw . The mouth reminded him of a crocodile’s if a crocodile possessed three rows of teeth . The eyes were small and beady , and had a shine the same color as the vortex he saw earlier .

The power of the maw was readily apparent , as it was currently biting trough a can of beans like it was nothing , swallowing the metal and contents alike . The strange sight made Zac stop right in his tracks , unable to compute these turns of events . Suddenly he wished that it had been a tiger that was roaring in the distance earlier since that seemed preferable to the monstrosity in front of him .

The beast perked up before Zac could do anything , spotting him standing mutely across the camp . With an enraged roar it bolted straight towards him with a speed belying its stocky appearance . Shocked , Zac barely had time to react as the beast was upon him . Taking an unstable step back , he swung the hatchet horizontally with all the power he could muster . With his shaky stance there was no real power behind the blow , but it managed to strike at the beast’s neck leaving an ugly gash and pushing the demon aside .

Zac was once again reminded of how he somehow had become a superhuman , as even a crappy swing like that had contained enough power to throw off a large beast . However , the front paws of the monster were latched on to him , and with the combined momentum of Zac’s strike and its own , the claws drew a deep gash on his midriff and left leg . Large wounds were ripped open and blood immediately started pouring out .

A pain Zac never had experienced before exploded in his mind , clouding his vision and threatening to incapacitate him completely . Any thoughts of combating the monster head-on with his new strength flew completely out the window , and instead , an intense desire of escape emerged . He shook his head to clear his mind , but with small effect .

What the hell do I do? Do I run?’ His eyes searched frantically around for a way to get out of this situation , primal survival instincts he didn’t know he possessed kicking in . The beast had fallen over from the surprising power of the swing but was already clambering back up to its feet .

Guys! Are you here? Help! - He shouted toward the camper hoping for backup , but only silence met his pleas . Did the others flee into the forest to get away from this monster? Out of ideas , Zac hobbled a few steps toward the forest as well , his left leg now burning and not properly listening to his commands .

But before any plans could form the beast was barreling towards him , maw in an open snarl , seemingly unheeding of the small stream of blood trickling down its torso to its stumpy legs . This time Zac was slightly more prepared , putting weight on his right leg and jumping out of the way . He heard a snarl and felt a gust of wind sweeping by him , before he unceremoniously landed in a pile 3 meters away . Quickly scrambling to his feet he saw the monster had barreled past his original position , continuing on for 20 meters .

Zac realized the monster had high speed but low maneuverability and started to frantically figure out a way to use this to his advantage . With a determination he didn’t know he had , Zac abandoned all thoughts of fleeing and returned toward where he came from when running through the forest .

This better work . . . - he mumbled while ambling as fast as his pain-wracked body could muster .

Chapter 3 - Battle Tactics , v . 2