Large trees were visible on the right and left, filling the forest. Early this morning, we had already set off to venture deeper inside. We had to leave very early because we planned to return to our gathering point near the river.
We were now heading towards the mountain I had decided on yesterday. My leg no longer hurt, and it seemed ready for strenuous activity again.
In the forest, as usual, I instructed Julia and Silvia to walk close to the bushes to avoid sudden dangers. I had no idea what wild animals or monsters might be in the forest leading to the mountain we were aiming for.
"Grrr... Huh... Grrr... Huh..."
"Grrr... Huh... Grrr... Huh..."
Groans were heard from above the trees. I had a very bad feeling this time. Hopefully, it was just my imagination.
I then looked towards the tree from where the sound came. From a distance, I saw leaves swaying, and shortly after, I spotted an enormous ape, perhaps three times the size of an adult human.
The ape was covered in hair all over its body, and its face was as large as a disc. When I looked in its direction, it seemed to have already noticed our presence.
"Julia, Silvia, let's go back to the gathering point!" I shouted to inform them.
"What's wrong, Eric?" Silvia asked.
"Over there, there's a giant ape. I think it's looking at us. I have a bad feeling about this," I said, pointing with my head in the direction of the giant ape.
"Run!" I shouted after seeing the ape start to move towards us.
The three of us ran with all our might, hoping that my feeling was just a false alarm and that the ape wasn't actually coming our way.
"Grrr... Huh... Grrr... Huh..."
"Grrr... Huh... Grrr... Huh..."
The sound of the giant ape grew louder. I had no idea what the ape's intentions were with the sounds it was making.
Sure enough, the ape was heading our way. "Oh God, what now?" I thought to myself.
"Silvia and Julia, you two go towards the gathering point. I'll go in a different direction!" I instructed them.
The ape moved quite fast, even catching up to me. I made the decision to split up from Julia and Silvia so they could escape safely.
If we ran together, I was sure that Julia and Silvia would be caught.
I wasn't confident in my speed, especially since my left leg had just healed from a stab wound and wasn't fully recovered yet, making me even less confident.
"Huh... Huh...!" I shouted, mimicking the sounds made by the giant ape.
I hoped that by provoking it, the ape would follow me, as I took a different route from Julia and Silvia.
I turned right into the forest while they went straight ahead. Luckily, the giant ape chased after me. Now I could focus on escaping.
I kept running to avoid the giant ape. The ape got closer every moment, making me, already drenched in sweat, start to sweat cold.
My heart pounded. If I got caught, I would definitely die. The size of that ape was unimaginable.
Occasionally, I glanced back while running. From a close distance, the giant ape stood about 6 meters tall, like a human-shaped giant, but this time, it was a monster ape.
"Damn it!" I cursed our bad luck.
My heart pounded even faster as the giant ape got closer. "Will I end up here?" I wondered to myself.
"Bang!"
The sound of a collision was heard. The giant ape picked up a tree branch and threw it at me.
It didn't hit me, but if it had, I would be in critical condition. I forced myself to run as fast as I could. This was a tense moment in my life.
If I got caught, it would be over, and I would die here before I could explore this vast world.
"Bang!"
Another branch was thrown, this time almost hitting me. Maybe the next throw would hit its mark.
"Come on, legs, move faster!" I muttered, urging my legs to run faster.
"Ba-dump, ba-dump"
"Ba-dump, ba-dump"
I could now hear the sound of my heartbeat. This was the first time I felt so scared.
My body was drenched in sweat, whether from exhaustion or fear.
My running slowed down over time. My legs hurt a lot, and if I stopped running now, I wouldn't be able to continue later.
"Should I just give up? My body can't keep running," I muttered to myself.
Even so, I kept running as best as I could. If I died, my life would end here.
The giant ape picked up another branch, this time preparing to throw it.
"Swosh"
The branch flew toward me. I felt something approaching. "Maybe this time, I'll die," I muttered, feeling the giant ape throw another branch at me.
"Bang!"
My right leg was hit slightly by the branch, leaving bruises and the sound of a bone cracking. It seemed like my leg was broken this time.
"Argh!!"
"Argh!!"
I groaned in pain. My right leg was hit by the branch. Although it was just a slight hit, the branch wasn't the usual small branch. It was from very tall trees, reaching 25 meters high, not the small branches people usually know.
"Argh!"
I kept groaning in pain, lying on the ground, unable to move this time. "I think I'll die this time." I felt hopeless, unable to move or fight back.
"Goodbye, Julia."
"Goodbye, Silvia."
"Goodbye, world."
I said my goodbyes, waiting for the death that was right before my eyes.
"Thud"
The giant ape jumped down to the ground. Seeing me lying helpless on the ground, the giant ape walked slowly towards me.
I just closed my eyes, not wanting to see my moment of death. The sound of the giant ape's steps slowly approaching was very clear in my ears. Each step felt like time was stopping, and time seemed to stretch on forever.
At this moment, time feels incredibly slow in my life.