*Rustle*
Daniel jolted awake, sitting up abruptly. His eyes darted around, and his heart quickened its pace.
"I thought I felt something?... I must be imagining it." While he dismissed the fleeting sensation, he remained vigilant, scanning his surroundings.
As he glanced at the fire pit, he observed that the smoked slices of meat were now ready. Daniel collected them and carefully stowed them in his barely intact pocket.
'Alright, the Suns set in the East, so I'll be heading towards where it rises; hopefully, there is civilization in that direction. If not, I'll die.' Daniel devised this plan and promptly set it in motion.
He reached for his makeshift bed, intending to fold it, but as he did, some leaves were dislodged and whisked away by a gentle breeze. Daniel halted abruptly, sensing a sudden stillness settling over everything.
A foreboding feeling seeped into his gut, his skin prickled like goosebumps, and his heartbeat escalated into a rapid, fearful palpitation.
He turned slowly to look behind him, and just a few hundred meters away stood an absolute behemoth of a monster.
It shared some similarities with the lizards, but unlike those creatures, which still bore reasonable adaptations in evolution, this monster looked like it emerged from a horror movie.
Its coloration was a dark grey, akin to ash, and its eyes were round and wholly black. Towering at twenty-five meters in height and stretching upwards of forty meters in length, it defied the proportions of the familiar lizards. A low, bright red fire extended from the top of its head down to its tail, which resembled a trident. Along its spine protruded long, sharp, and thick spines, giving it an imposing and fearsome appearance.
Its breath flared from its nostrils as it slowly walked toward Daniel, each step causing the ground to shake. The creature's eyes, filled with what seemed like a mix of grief and hatred, were challenging to discern amid the heat distortions rippling through the air.
In a moment of horrifying realization, Daniel's thoughts arrived at a terrifyingly reasonable conclusion. "Did I eat its fucking baby?" The gravity of the situation sank in.
"I have to run... I-I have to run... this...this isn't possible, God dammit... RUN!" Daniel turned westward and sprinted, each footstep carrying the weight of fear and the desperate need for escape.
His legs strained against the loose sand, each step an exertion of desperate force. A roar echoed from behind him, accompanied by sporadic booming sounds. Unlike cinematic roars, the force and scale were beyond his hearing range, resembling a glissando from a singer—low notes to higher ones—vibrations felt more than heard.
The frequencies rattled Daniel's body, evoking the sensation of running in dreams. The chase had begun a relentless pursuit through the shifting sands.
Other animals in front of Daniel joined the panicked exodus, avoiding any confrontation with the vengeful behemoth. Those not swift enough met their demise beneath its clawed legs. Occasionally, a creature, driven by desperate instincts, would attempt a futile resistance, but the behemoth dismissed such efforts with ease.
Those who ventured too near were turned to ash, the intense heat beyond comprehension. The undulating dunes posed challenges for both prey and predator alike. Despite the difficulty, the Giant Lizard steadily closed the gap, drawing nearer to Daniel with each passing moment.
'Shit.. shit! I can't run faster. But I have to! I have to run faster!' Daniel's internal screams echoed in the vast, unforgiving desert.
The fear, the helplessness, the futility of his running – they all conspired to drain his strength and morale, like the merciless sun overhead.
'I... I've died once... I can't do that again. I refuse to die! I REFUSE!!' Daniel's internal desperation reverberated through every fiber of his being.
He pushed his weary legs to their limits, each step a struggle against the shifting sands beneath him.
In his frantic effort, Daniel's mind clung to a fleeting memory, a video discussing running techniques. "What the fuck was it again?" After grasping the exact breathing rhythm, he executed it: two steps inhale, three steps exhale. Anything to squeeze a bit more speed from his fatigued body, as the pursuing behemoth loomed ever closer.
It regulated his heartbeat and strength, but it still wasn't enough to outpace the behemoth. The gap was narrowing, but at least now, he had a bit more time to think about his actions.
'Obstacles. I need to find obstacles. I can't outrun it, but I might be able to outmaneuver this cool but hideous beast.' Daniel regained his composure and proceeded to act on his thoughts.
As he scanned the surroundings, there were only large dunes, with occasional oases dotting the landscape. But as he continued to travel west, signs of plant life began to appear – clumps of dead grass, wilted remains of flowers.
By this point, fatigue started to set in. He could feel the searing heat emanating from the Giant Lizard, biting at his skin. The closer it got, the higher the temperature rose, and at some point, his body might be unable to cope with the heat, perhaps even causing him to drown! (1)
The creature, too, started showing signs of irritation.
Daniel happened to pass by a few rocks as he ran, stumbling over them with his poor footing. He fell forward, tumbling on the sand.
At that moment, the Pursuing Lizard fired a concentrated column of fire toward Daniel's previous position, turning the cacti that were near him into a charred decoration, even the sand had turned into molten glass.
As Daniel rolled into an upright position, he felt the residual heat singe the tips of his hair.
'Oh, my god‽ Why the fuck can it do that!' Daniel was stunned by the terrifying revelation.
His outlook on the world plummeted at that moment.
It felt darker, even crueler. More grey than the vibrant colors that entered his pupils.
After that near-miss, he spotted a bunch of trees. The sand was giving away to rock & grass, moss & moisture.
'The terrain is changing! I'm getting closer to my goal!' Daniel celebrated his newfound hope.
Just as things were turning for him, Daniel heard a shriek, the type that urged him to carve out his ears! It resembled the screech of an eagle or hawk.
The weather changed faster than a human's mood swings in the process.
*SCREEEEEEEE*
The previously blazing and cloudless sky was suddenly covered by a storm that brewed with thunder, lightning, and rain!
'Shit! The level of that shriek was about the same as the Giant Lizard's roar... There's another beast on its level? Maybe it crossed a line?' Daniel's thoughts raced to find a way to survive.
Daniel turned to look at the Lizard just in time to see a thick bolt of lightning strike its back.
*MMM CRACK BOOM ZZZZ*
The once serene desert landscape erupted into chaos as the hawk-like beast, radiant in bright blue with hints of metallic silver, descended from the stormy heavens. It seized the giant lizard, tearing into its flesh with a ferocity that exposed the creature's rib cage amid a mist of blood.
Roars echoed, competing with the furious clash of lightning and fire that painted the skies in an otherworldly display. The battleground stretched for kilometers, an unfolding spectacle of elemental warfare.
Daniel, propelled by a mixture of awe and terror, sprinted with every ounce of strength in his body. The revelation of another formidable creature joining the fray was unexpected, yet he saw it as a potential advantage, a discovery that could aid his survival in this unpredictable realm.
As he raced across the changing terrain, marked by the abrupt shift from sand to rocks and the emergence of moss and moisture, Daniel encountered two imposing apes.
The apes, standing at one and a half meters tall, possessed a menacing appearance with dark brown fur and protruding fangs. Their well-defined muscles spoke volumes about their strength and agility.
In a desperate attempt to avoid detection, Daniel halted his movement and crouched among the foliage, hoping to evade their keen senses. Unfortunately, luck was not on his side, as the creatures quickly detected his presence, guided by their acute sense of smell.
With alarming nimbleness, the apes closed the distance between them and Daniel in a matter of seconds, their agile movements contrasting sharply with the lumbering pursuit of the giant lizard.
Realizing the absence of his trusty club, Daniel felt a wave of helplessness. The first ape approached, swinging its hands in a horizontal arc. In a last-minute effort, Daniel managed to duck beneath the swinging limbs, but his lack of combat experience became evident as he stumbled backward, losing his balance in the process.
Seizing the opportunity, the second ape mirrored the first's attack, delivering a swift hook in Daniel's direction.
This time, the ape's swing found its mark, connecting with Daniel's ribs. The force of the blow folded him like a sandwich before sending him hurtling through the air. Blood spilled from his mouth as he crashed into a tree, the impact causing the barely healed bones to creak under the stress.
Fighting through the pain and fueled by adrenaline, Daniel realized the dire situation. 'I'm going to die if this continues. I need to fight back!' The fear and determination swirled within him as he prepared to confront the looming threat.
As the apes closed in, Daniel exerted considerable effort to stand. The lead ape was just within striking distance, and with a burst of strength, Daniel retaliated with a powerful right hook. The impact resonated through both combatants, cracking their fingers and wrists in the intense clash.
The aftermath of their collision left both combatants in a momentary standstill, arms dropping to their sides. However, the solitary victory was short-lived for Daniel. The second ape, arriving swiftly, took advantage of his lapse in concentration. As Daniel's guard dropped, the ape executed a swift kick, utilizing its hands to pivot and deliver a powerful blow.
The force sent Daniel airborne once again, this time crashing through a tree and colliding with a rock. Embedded against the rock, he struggled to regain his composure amidst the searing pain. Hazy vision and the sensation of the world spinning overwhelmed him.
"I... I'm so weak," Daniel mumbled in the midst of his disorientation.
As memories flooded his mind, a particular phrase echoed in his thoughts: 'Become a monster... Then learn to control it... If you do not, you will only be a slave to those who are capable of cruelty.'
"A... Monster," Daniel uttered absent-mindedly, grappling with his current reality.
"I don't want to..."
The ape stood before him, seizing Daniel's foot as a pivot point to launch him in the opposite direction.
*Boom!*
Colliding with a smaller boulder, it shattered into pieces upon impact. Daniel tumbled along with the fragmented rocks until his motion subsided, lying motionless amidst the aftermath.
'Pain... So much pain...'
For a moment, he lost himself, drowning in the agony of his injuries.
('Become a monster.') The persistent memory surged again.
Lying there, something stirred within him. A surge of anger and wounded pride prompted a newfound clarity. Trembling with a mix of frustration and rage, he rose from the ground.
'A monster... Want me to become a monster?' Daniel closed his eyes, inhaling deeply as he embraced the swelling anger.
'I'll become a monster! I'll fight back! I WON'T BREAK!'
With a deep breath, he unleashed a roar of enraged defiance to the heavens.