His mind quickly devised a plan, though mostly due to haste and not how well thought out it was.
"We need to split and make a run for it. If we wait until they corner us, none of us will make it out alive," he said coldly.
"What?! Are you insane?" Decan shouted, eyes wide with fear. "We stand a better chance if we stick together! Splitting up is suicide!"
"He is right!" Norman said. "If we all go in the same direction, they will chase us. But if we spread out, our odds of survival go up."
Ace nodded. Norman had read his mind. If they all went together and the creatures caught up, they would all die. This way, maybe the ants would only go after some of them. He just hoped it wouldn't be him.
"On my mark, everybody start running through the gaps. It doesn't matter where you run, just make sure you don't run too many in the same direction. The more of you together, the bigger a target you make for yourself. On three!"
Though panicking, they all got ready to charge, selecting random directions they hoped would lead them to safety. But everywhere they looked, it all seemed the same to the eye.
"One, two..."
Ace looked around, racking his mind on how to maximize his odds of survival. He came up with the simplest solution. Unbeknownst to him, Norman was planning his own strategy, but he wanted to take a different approach.
Just as Ace puffed his lungs for a final shout, he felt a hand reach for his belt and pull his steel knife out. Before he could react, a scream cut through the tense atmosphere.
"Argh!"
"Three!"
The group dispersed before the shout reached their ears, swiftly gaining ground from their original spot. All but one individual had started running, that person carefully assessing where the four creatures would go.
Ace grinned, trying to figure out the safest path there was. He saw someone limping in the distance but didn't have time to piece together the information. He waited for the bugs to choose their targets, and when he felt it was time, ran in a direction that would pass furthest from them.
His legs exploded on the spot, uplifting the vegetation beneath him and sending it flying. Instantly, the air howled in his ears, and his side vision blurred.
Despite being a dozen breaths behind the others, he swiftly overtook them in distance traveled, soon leaving the scene behind. He desperately ran for what felt like an eternity, and even when his legs felt like they were about to combust, his mind didn't allow him to stop. That instinct he loathed so much returned and refused to let go. Not even Ace knew for how long he ran, but eventually, his legs gave out and he fell to the ground. His body skidded on the ground, rolling for dozens of feet through the dense undergrowth before coming to a halt.
Before he fell unconscious, he heard a loud scream cut through the air. Too exhausted to care, his mind shut down, and all the horrified sounds filling the forest flew by him unnoticed.
Brian ran through the forest, frantically trying to escape the clicking sound that seemed to inch ever closer to his unprotected back. He imagined being skewered like a piece of meat at a barbeque at any moment, forcing him to move his legs as fast as possible.
He felt like he was running faster than his car could drive, yet it wasn't enough. Desperation made his mind drift back to school, studying the numbers that he loved so much. He hoped that all this was a bad dream during English class, but that couldn't be further from the truth.
The immense pain radiating from his thigh pulled him right back to reality. The pain had begun right before the group dispersed, but he refused to let it slow him.
Occasionally, he would catch glimpses of a figure ahead who seemed to follow him no matter which direction he switched to. He wanted to get away and follow the plant, to not group up, but no matter how he switched direction, the figure refused to get away from him. Eventually, he gave up and just tried to keep up.
The pain that would usually debilitate him seemed like nothing. Even if his leg fell off, he would still run. That's how deep his fear ran.
Suddenly, the figure ahead slowed and ran back toward him. A familiar voice reached his ears, "H-Hey man, come here, I have an idea. Quick!"
Hearing the wispy voice that usually brought him disgust, a smile formed on Brian's lips. Despite looking down on Norman, he trusted his intelligence and plan. If this guy said he had a plan, he trusted that it was a plan that would definitely lead Norman to safety.
Exhausted, he reached for Norman, huffing and grabbing his shoulders to lean on him. "Norman, tell me—blergh!"
Brian threw up before he could finish, feeling a deep pain in his abdomen, similar to the pain in his thigh. Looking down, he saw a large knife lodged in his stomach. He looked at Norman, not knowing what to believe.
Brian stared at Norman, disbelief and betrayal contorting his face. "Norman, why…?"
"I-I'm sorry, Brian. I really am. I'm sorry!" Norman's voice quivered, eyes wide with panic.
Brian's legs buckled, and he fell to his knees, clutching at the knife embedded in his abdomen. Pain radiated through his body, but his mind was reeling from the terror. "Norman, don't leave me…please."
Norman had already moved to leave when he hesitated, his face a mix of guilt and desperation. He returned to Brian and stabilized his faltering body with one hand, yet Brian's returning smile faded the very next moment. Norman yanked the knife out of Brian's stomach, blood gushing from the wound spurting all around. Brian screamed, the sound echoing through the forest.
Brian looked in shock at Norman's departing back. Moments later, he realized the severity of the situation and ran right after him. But two steps later, he fell on his stomach, gasping.
Click!
Click!
The noise grew closer, forcing Brian to move despite not feeling his legs. He grabbed at the grass and ferns, pulling himself forward.
The vegetation cut into his palms, turning them to mush within feet. He cursed how everything in this forest tried to hurt him. Despite the pain, he didn't stop but he could feel his strength seep away through his wounds.
His stomach cut on a reed, ripping further and spilling all its contents on the ground. A deluge of pink intestines and organs flopping right out of him. Yet he was too numb to feel this any longer. The air filled with the nauseating smell of fresh entrails, left in a trail as he crawled forward.
Eventually, his hands lost feeling, flapping desperately to crawl forward. His mind broke when he heard a rattling sound above and felt the blue warmth of the canopy swallowed by a dark shadow.
Click!
"Help! Heeeeeelp! Norman, please!"
Shick!
A sharp appendage struck his neck, severing his head cleanly like the fine blade of a veteran surgeon. Only a small amount of blood spurted from the stub that used to be his neck. His final scream didn't manage to travel very far, as it got drowned in the countless others filling the forest. Ominously, the blue light radiating from his wrist disappeared as soon as his heart stopped.
If one zoomed out of the current scene, they would see a forest thousands of miles wide, filled with screams of terror and despair.
Going higher, they would find a green, lush world reminiscent of a virgin Earth, teeming with life in a symphony more vibrant than even the legends of the ancient Earth.
But listening to humanity's collective voice on this primal world, they would realize humans didn't belong here. Millions of human lives were being snuffed out by the creatures that called this planet home.
If anyone on Earth could witness these scenes, they would call this a hellish world. And they wouldn't be wrong to call it such, because for humans, this was hell.