Neo's mouth was as wide as a fish on the shore.
Actually, he'd never seen a fish in his life apart from in pictures and videos, and those were the bloodthirsty kind that were as huge as Old Age yachts. So, he didn't know what a fish that needed oxygen looked like in real life and was only guessing...
But...
He was just really tired.
Not only was he bloodied and bruised, but Neo had also been running for what must surely have been hours! It felt like years!
Yet, he continued to chase after the rabbit like an obsessed idiot.
Neo was determined to get that demonic rabbit and kill it. He couldn't allow it to just wound him and flee like that! Yes, he had been the one to start the fight, and the beast had just been grazing on its own, but the completionist in Neo wouldn't feel calm if he didn't kill the bunny.
It should have just waited and died! Didn't it have any dignity?
A thin, vine-like tree branch whipped Neo on the cheek, delivering a hot slap. Neo felt like the trees were tired of his bitchy thoughts...
He sullenly rubbed the pink spot on his cheek and frowned.
He was really bloody tired!
He was tired and hungry!
After another ten minutes of persevering and chasing the surprisingly fast rabbit, Neo could no longer hold on and had to give up. He stopped running and finally decided to turn around and head home.
He was already going deeper into the forest, and his danger senses were beginning to tingle. He was absolutely not in a position to fight another common-grade beast. He would be killed without a doubt!
Just as he was about to turn around, giving the hateful bunny one last look of condemnation, something shocking entered his vision.
Neo was startled. What the hell was he seeing?
He could see several cone-shaped structures with small lids made from leaves, several rectangular structures with huge lids made from leaves, and one huge dome-shaped structure with no lid.
'Wait a minute!'
Neo's eyes bulged.
This looked like a settlement!
Hee! Hee! Hee!
Sure enough, two baby gorillas suddenly appeared in his sight, throwing a pink ball to one another in what could only be called... play?
This was a gorilla settlement?!
Neo's face paled. That damned rabbit deserved to die a thousand deaths! It was crafty enough to lead him directly to a gorilla settlement?
It deserved to die a million times more!
If not for Neo astutely trusting his danger sense and stopping in time, wouldn't he have barged into the gorilla settlement like a fool?
What would he have done? Wave and say "Moshi Moshi"?
Neo calmed his racing heart and slowly turned around.
Home sweet home, here I come!
Doof!
'Fuck me!'
Hee?
Neo took to his heels! He had actually slammed his spear into a tree trunk!
Talk about courting death...
Run!
_____
"Well done! I shall remember this! I shall never forget this, you cursed rabbit! When next we meet, either you die, or I die! I won't stop until one of us goes!"
Neo stumbled through the thick bush, mumbling like a madman.
That rabbit had really done him in...
He stared at his bloody toes with narrowed eyes. They looked like boiled potatoes with ketchup.
The amount of running he had done today alone would make a person suffering from obesity complain about being called a stickman drawing...
But that wasn't the main cause behind his 'mashed potatoes and ketchup problem'...
It was the tripping! He had tripped on tree roots so much that his legs were beginning to look like tree roots themselves!
They hurt like hell!
His bad luck made him trip on anything that could be tripped on; it was tripping!
The stupid, curious gorilla babies had given him a good chase before they finally let him go. They had been so skilled at the art of chasing that they had almost caught Neo many times!
Neo shivered in fright at the thought of how close they had come on several occasions.
'Their gorilla parents sure know how to raise a menace to society...'
With kids like that, all the other animals in this forest had better watch out!
Neo's thoughts wandered to anything and anywhere as he made his way back home. He was doing his best to forget about the nasty pain he was currently in and just wanted to alleviate it, even a little.
Big mistake.
Doof!
Neo tripped once again. His outstretched arms slammed into a big, dark yellow rock the size of a small car and broke through the surface quite easily.
Neo hit the ground with a loud thud and banged his forehead on a rock... just as expected.
Suddenly, a strong feeling of foreboding gripped his heart, and his danger instincts tingled like crazy!
Neo knew at once that he was in danger!
Great danger!
Buzz!!!! Buzz!!!! Buzz!!!! Buzz!!!!
Loud buzzing sounds drifted into his ears, and he shot up instantly.
Neo's face crumbled at that moment.
The big yellow rock he had crashed into was actually a beehive!
He had done it!
A whole hive of common-grade bees!
Run!
Neo knew that he could not allow himself to get stung by these bees.
He would die in seconds to a death even more painful than being hacked to death.
Why?
Because Neo identified these bees!
'Red Stinger Bees: Extremely aggressive common-grade bees that specialise in stinging targets to death with their red stingers. Secretes pain-amplifying poison through stingers; stings are extremely excruciating and slightly paralytic...'
The information filtered through Neo's mind like a reaper's brush. Neo scrambled up and galloped away from the bees at breakneck speed.
He darted through the forest for a few seconds before stopping shortly after.
Wait a minute...
Wasn't he going back to the gorilla settlement?!
The bees were nearing Neo rapidly, and he had to make a choice. He gritted his teeth and turned left.
He was going to make a semi-circle and head home while avoiding the bees.
Of course, what else could he do?