As the trench coat figure came into Louis' view, he realized he didn't want to find out who it was. He turned to start running away and heard a smooth, deep voice call out to him.
"Louis! Wait! I only want to talk."
Not even surprised anymore as to how this odd individual knew his name, Louis continued to run with no particular destination in mind, he just wanted to get away. In his head, he thought he might've fainted or become unconscious as he was entering his therapist's office. Right now, he was probably in "La-la Land" and he would wake up from this madness at any moment. Or maybe it was just another nightmare and he was still asleep in his bed, in his house and he had dreamed everything.
But no. This felt as real as it could've ever been. Something was very wrong. This wasn't how his day was meant to go. Navigating his way through the lush, lively forest; he sensed his legs grow heavier and heavier until he couldn't take another step. With an uneasy feeling brewing in the pit of his stomach, Louis looked back and saw the figure approaching him with an outstretched arm and he couldn't help but wonder whether they were responsible for his sudden immobility. Where was he? What did this person want with him?
Completely rooted to the spot now, Louis watched as the figure finally came into proper view. He saw a caramel-skinned man, possibly around the same age as himself, with golden hazel eyes edge closer and closer to him. The trench coat he wore was navy-blue and had a peculiar crest on the storm flap that Louis was sure he had seen before. The trench coat reached the man's knees and he wore blue slacks and brown brogues to match his coat.
'For someone that menacing, he has an impeccable taste I must say' Louis thought.
"I really don't want to hurt you," the man said. "But I am losing my patience. Stay still."
"What the hell is going on?"
"All will be explained later, just relax. I'm not here to harm you."
Just then a piercing screech came from within the forest. Whatever it was, it didn't seem to be good as Louis saw a streak of fear run across the face of the man before him. Next, there was a tremor in the ground and he stumbled and fell. Feeling his legs start to shake, he got up unsteadily and that was when it happened. A pillar of dirt rose suddenly from the ground some distance away from him and thick, brown dust clouded the air. Coughing, spluttering and eyes watering, Louis heard the sound of the furious beating of wings. This caused the dust to quickly diffuse. Whatever caused this must've been really big!
Painfully opening his dust-filled eyes, he looked to see a massive creature floating mid-air just a stone's throw away from him. Its face resembled that of a middle-aged lady with blood-red eyes piercing into his soul. From its neck downwards was the muscular but feminine body of a lioness. Large bat wings that flapped every few seconds held this gargantuan beast in the air and the curled tail of a massive scorpion dangled from it, the telson gleaming menacingly in the afternoon sunlight.
And that was when it hit Louis. He knew this monster. It was a fabled Manticore. He'd read about it from one of his fantasy books back home. But these man-eating beasts weren't meant to exist. At least not in the real world anyway. So why then, was it licking its lips in front of Louis? He tried to move but once again he couldn't, this time though he was sure it was due to the immense fear he was feeling at that particular moment.
A rustle in one of the shrubs nearby distracted the bloodthirsty manticore. Louis used the opportunity to slowly back away trying not to make any sudden movements. Feeling he was far enough from the creature to try, he turned to see whether the trench-coat man was still behind him. Unsurprisingly enough, he had disappeared. Louis sighed.
"I guess this is the end," he muttered to himself. "Any moment now and this thing is going to charge at me. What a cruel way to die."
The manticore, no longer distracted and with its glistening eyes fixed on its prey, rushed forward, hind legs first.
Suddenly remembering the jug of milk in his right hand, Louis threw it at the beast hoping it would deal even just a little bit of damage to it. The manticore effortlessly dodged the stray container of milk but seemed to be riled up even more after the poor attempt of resistance from its frightened human prey. Louis now trembling, shut his eyes firmly and braced himself for the worst. A few seconds passed and nothing. Opening his eyes, he saw the blurred image of a creature that looked even bigger than the manticore just a few metres beside him, its low growl rustling the leaves around it.
All of a sudden the atmosphere seemed to get hotter and Louis felt a searing wave of air blast him from the side, blinding him momentarily. As he opened his eyes once more, he saw more clearly this mighty beast and its glowing, reptilian-like body. The two wings on its back were neatly folded and bore golden horns on each tip that curved outwards. This behemoth's large frame seemed to be held together by four muscular limbs projecting from it. Its large red tail that had intricate scaly patterns running along it wrapped gently around the four-clawed hind legs of the beast. Numerous golden horns starting from its head spread uniformly across its back in a straight line until it reached the tip of its impressive tail. This lizard-like creature looked like it came straight from Hell.
It turned to face Louis and it stared at him with its large, slit, black pupils that were surrounded by amber-hazel irises. Its snout twitched suddenly and two puffs of steam that departed from its nostrils nearly took him off his unsteady feet. Eyes widened, Louis could only gape at the impressive beast that now turned to face the already cowering manticore. He knew what it was. But he couldn't accept it. He'd believed a lot of things today. This wouldn't be one of them. Surely not. He had not just done a mini-staring contest with a dragon.
He could feel himself become light-headed and his legs started to grow weaker. It wasn't long before he found himself sprawled across the soil and darkness slowly washed over him.